Page 9 of The Wolf Guard’s Mate (Marked Beneath the Moon #3)
nine
OLIVE
I made myself a simple breakfast, then spent an hour in the pool before boredom drove me to look around for the entrance into the basement again.
After an hour of searching, I finally gave in and texted Hunter.
Me
How do you get to the basement?
Hunter
There’s a staircase in our room, and a separate entrance on the outside of the building. Why?
Me
I want to see it
Hunter
It’s empty right now, but feel free to look
Me
Why is it empty?
Hunter
I shipped all the furniture out to Clay’s storage unit after the first time they spent heat together. He wasn’t going to let her suffer through heat alone anymore, and I wasn’t going to sleep with her, so I was glad to get rid of it
Me
Guess it probably smelled like her
Hunter
Probably. I never went down there.
Me
How did you spend heat when she was here?
Hunter
I stayed in the forest, in a tent
Me
K
Thanks
I put my phone back in my pocket and headed for Hunter’s bedroom. When I poked around in there, I found the staircase behind a set of large double doors I hadn’t noticed before.
The staircase was wide and pretty, matching the rest of the house. I made my way down without hesitation, flipping the lights on as I went.
Just like Hunter said, I found a massive, empty living space at the bottom of the stairs. Even the TV had been taken off the wall. I could see the mount, and the cords sticking out.
I wandered the few rooms downstairs, disappointed when I didn’t find much other than the monstrous, open space. And sure enough, nothing down there had any furniture. The only scents I found belonged to cleaning supplies.
After my exploration was finished, I plopped down on the hardwood floor and stared at the place where the TV had been. Focusing on the wall, I tried to imagine what Nova must’ve felt like when she was trapped there, going through heat.
In pain, definitely.
Alone, without doubt.
Sad? Maybe.
I must’ve been sitting there for fifteen minutes when Hunter lowered himself to the floor beside me. I hadn’t heard him come down the stairs, but I had been pretty sure he’d want to talk again after he had time to think.
Maybe I was starting to figure him out just a little more.
“Sorry about earlier. I panicked,” Hunter said. I could feel his attention on me, but didn’t look his way.
“Does that happen a lot?”
“More than I’d prefer.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine. Taking time to think before an important conversation is probably a good thing, and panic makes sense in this situation.”
“You’re not panicking.”
“I almost died, remember? Everything seems less overwhelming now.”
Hunter grunted. “Maybe I need to get cancer.”
I snorted.
He didn’t make jokes often, but when he did, I liked his dry, sarcastic sense of humor.
“I can’t sleep without you anymore,” he admitted. “The pillow with your scent on it wasn’t enough. My wolf is a control freak.”
“I don’t think the wolf is the only one.”
“He’s not,” Hunter agreed.
“That’s fine, I don’t mind sharing a bed. Waking up with you is pretty memorable.” I flashed him a small smile, and found his face reddening again.
“I swear I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“I know. It’s actually pretty hot.”
His chest rumbled, and he tugged at the neckline of the shirt he had on. “I’m probably always going to be overbearing. Asking permission doesn’t come naturally to me, but I can try. I can’t function in small spaces, though. If you want to live in your house in Crimson River and sleep in mine, I can figure out a way to make it work. But I won’t be able to live there. I can’t handle feeling trapped.”
“Why not?”
His expression darkened, and he didn’t reply.
So I waited.
Finally, he said, “My dad was a piece of shit. He kept my mom prisoner in a small, underground cell. I spent a few nights down there with her, and the combination of the tight space and the scent of her blood and pain screwed with my head. Any time I’m stuck in a small area since then, my heart starts to race. Some days I can’t even handle a whole day at my office, and it's the biggest one in the Lodge. I have to take a break to run every day. And my brothers don’t know that, so don’t say anything to them. Or Nova.”
I could tell his guard was going up, so I put a hand on his arm. “Thanks for telling me.”
He nodded.
“I didn’t know it was that important to you. If you want, I can check out your house when we get back to Crimson River and decide if I can be comfortable living there,” I said.
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I’m not really attached to my place, anyway. My sister’s brother-in-law gave it to her as an apology gift.”
Hunter grimaced. “You said you were going to let that go.”
I winked at him. “At least I didn’t say my brother-in-law.”
“I’m not your fucking brother-in-law, Oli Pop.” He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into his lap, tickling my side. I couldn’t help but squeal as I swatted his hands away, trying not to laugh.
He was too strong, and tickled me anyway.
I finally gave in when happy tears were leaking down my face and there was a cramp in my side from laughing too hard. “Fine, you win. You’re not really my brother-in-law, Honey Bun.”
“For the love of all that is holy, pick a new nickname.” His lips brushed my ear, his forehead resting against the side of my face.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s argue about my job instead, because I know you’re going to have something to say about that,” I countered.
He wrapped his arm around my waist. “I’d rather you do something that doesn’t involve making every male who walks into the bar horny. But if bartending is what you like, I won’t ask you to quit.”
“I don’t have any other skills outside of tattoos, and I don’t want to go back to that, so bartending is really the only option. Plus, I have a lot of medical bills racking up interest.”
Hunter made a noncommittal noise. “I could give you a better job with the pack right now. You’d be great at assigning rooms and houses. No one can stay mad at you, and they’re always pissed with me. There are a handful of similar tasks that are always ignored for as long as possible, and you could handle some of those too.”
“You don’t have someone else in charge of that already?” I asked.
“No. My brothers and I like to handle everything ourselves.”
That wasn’t even a little surprising. Hunter was a control freak, but his brothers were too.
“How much would the pack pay?” I checked.
“How much are your medical bills?”
I elbowed him in the gut, and he made a noise of complaint that told me I hadn’t even almost hurt him. “Don’t pretend you haven’t already hacked into my account to figure it out yourself.”
“Fine, I did. I didn’t pay them, though.”
“Why would you pay them?”
“You’re my mate. There’s no reason for you to keep paying interest on loans you took out to keep yourself alive when I can pay them off.”
My nostrils flared. “I don’t need help with them.”
“Olive.” Hunter’s lips brushed my ear again, and I nearly shivered.
“What?”
“I’m really fucking rich. If I want to pay your bills, I’m going to do it. I figured I’d just warn you first.”
“Asshole.” I smacked his arm, but there was no heat behind the motion.
Being out of debt would be a relief. A huge one. I was barely making the minimum payments with my bartending job, and I was going to be in debt for the rest of my werewolfly-long life at the current rate.
“What do you want for our life together?” he asked me.
The question made me smile. “That’s giving me a lot of freedom.”
“I’ve been told to stop being a hardass and let my mate make some decisions.”
“Did Clay or Enzo tell you that?”
“You did, Ol.” He nipped my earlobe, and I smiled.
“I just want to enjoy life. Go running in my wolf form. Watch sunrises. Have sex in random places. Do a bunch of crazy-hard hikes. Jump off a waterfall. I don’t know—I just don’t want to look back and realize I wasted my second chance at living.”
“I’m not opposed to any of that.” He paused. “Except maybe the waterfall thing. That sounds dangerous.”
I patted his arm. “You can research the waterfalls around Crimson River and find a safe one.”
“Good thing I have the rest of the winter to figure it out.”
My smile widened.
He was joking again.
I leaned back against his chest, and his grip on me tightened. He inhaled deeply against my hair. “I’ve been obsessed with you since you came to town. Clay said all the enforcers have been whispering about it.”
“Maybe that’s why Jake didn’t make a move,” I mused.
“Jake didn’t make a move because I threatened his balls over text,” Hunter admitted grudgingly.
“What?” I tried to turn to face him. “I want to read the message.”
Hunter pulled his phone from his pocket.
“I won’t look at your code,” I promised, figuring he’d be as protective about it as he had been in the Jeep on the way there.
“It’s fine. If I can read your messages, it’s only fair that you can read mine too.” He didn’t sound thrilled about it, but I doubted anyone would. Especially anyone as private as Hunter was.
Nova was right about that, as much as I didn’t want to admit it.
I repeated his code silently a few times as I scrolled through Hunter’s messages, reading a couple of them as I went.
Almost every one I read was a message from him to a random guy, and they all had some sort of threat in them even
Hunter
Olive is off limits.
Hunter
Stay away from Olive.
Hunter
I will tear off your fucking balls if you touch Olive.
The last one was what he’d sent to Jake.
“I guess it’s tamer than threatening to rip off his head and leave it on the nightstand while you screw me,” I remarked. “You could’ve been worse.”
Hunter laughed.
I scrolled through some more of his messages. Honestly, they were pretty boring.
When I gave his phone back, he set it on the wood next to us.
“Alright, we’re planning on living in my house when we get back to Crimson River, as long as you like it when you see it?” he confirmed.
“Yes.”
“And I’ll start scheduling adventures.”
“Definite yes.”
“What else?” he asked.
“You were very passionate about cooking for me a few days ago. Want to tell me why?” I checked.
He grumbled. “You’re trying to get all of my secrets out today, aren’t you?”
“Yup. I am your mate, after all.”
Hunter pulled me closer again. “My dad poisoned us when we were teenagers, so my brothers and I all cooked for each other afterward. It was a safety thing, but it became just a normal part of life for us. I’d like you and I to cook and eat together when possible.”
“Sounds reasonable.”
He rested his chin on top of my head. “Thank you.”
“Thanks for trusting me.”
“It may not be evident, because I’m shit with relationships, but you’ve got me wrapped around your finger, Oli Pop. I’ll give you anything you want.”
“How about the story behind your scar?”
“It’s not much of a story. I fell in love with a human woman a century and a half ago. We hooked up after I ran into her walking on the edge of her pack’s land during a midnight run, and I found out afterward that she was mated to an abuser. I thought I could save her from him, and she would want me afterward.”
I grimaced. “What happened?”
“She loved him more,” he said simply. “I saw him hit her one day, and killed him. She went out of her mind with the loss, and attacked me. Tore through my eye deeply enough to scar it, but somehow, I regained my sight. I walked away, and Clay moved her to another pack. I decided then that I didn’t want a mate, and haven’t been with a woman since.”
“Until me.”
“Until you,” he agreed.
Turning in his arms, I wrapped mine around his neck and hugged him tightly. He held me close, his grip like iron. “I’m sorry, Hun. About everything. All the shit you’ve been through.”
“Most of it was a long time ago. And you still need to come up with a new nickname.”
“I’m sticking with this one.”
He sighed heavily. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.”
I smacked the back of his head, and he chuckled, pulling me closer. “Do you have any other requests?”
“Do you play video games?”
“I used to play with some of the guys who worked in my studio. Why?”
“I fucking love video games,” he admitted, and I laughed.
“I’m not against that.”
“Good.”
“My wolf’s itching to get outside. Can we run in the forest around the mansion?” I checked.
“Of course. Right now?”
“Mmhm.”
Hunter stood up, set me on my feet, and kissed me lightly before taking my hand and leading me out of the basement.