Page 32 of Alpha Hunt

“Edirn?” a voice snaps me to the present. Jagger is looking at me.

“Yes.” My voice is gruff. I clear my throat.

“Your apartment is ready.” He aims a teasing smile at Casey. “There’s a three-bedroom place a block from mine and Sierra’s. Savannah and Gage are close by, too.”

“Three bedrooms?” Casey looks alarmed.

“Well, you did say you wanted a pack of pups…”

Casey makes a choking sound, not looking at me. “Right. Sure.”

“So what are we all waiting for?” Tarkin has joined us, and he’s grinning. “By the way, no hard feelings about before…the hunt. We’re all good?”

“Of course.” I barely notice him. I’m too consumed by my own thoughts about what’s happening.

We’re on the move again, and my feet move on autopilot as we’re taken through the old steel mill that forms the barracks and administrative area of the Steel Lakes pack. Then we’re in the adjoining village where the mated couples live.

Couples like us.

There’s happy chatter all around, an air of festivity. I can pick up the thoughts of those moving along with us. There’s genuine joy for us. Again, I go warm.

My mate…my pack.

It’s all happening at lightning speed.

And then we’re stopping outside a tidy apartment block. There are yellow flowerboxes on the window ledges and shady trees in the small garden outside. It’s downright suburban bliss.

“This is it.” Jagger looks pleased with himself. “I picked it out myself, Stone.” He takes a quick look around and then leans in. “This is the last time you’re getting preferential treatment because of our friendship.”

“Um…okay.” She gnaws on her bottom lip. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look this out of her element. When Jagger holds out a key, I take it.

“First floor. Second door on the left.”

I nod.

The others have fallen back, a cheerful buffer between us and the world we once knew. Because there’s no doubt in my mind that my world has changed now.

No more running? It feels like too much to hope for.

“Go on,” Jagger urges, nodding at the entrance to the building. I look at Casey and then at the door ahead. This isn’t just stepping over a threshold. Casey and I are standing on the precipice of our new life together.

Chapter 13

Casey

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Think about what?” Edirn cocks his head.

“You know what I’m talking about.” I put my hands on my hips. Now that we’re standing in our new home – ournew home – I’m struggling with the reality of what I’ve done.

Seal the bond.

I have to have sex with this man. It’s the way of it.

You idiot! What were you thinking?

Obviously, I wasn’t thinking at all. My brain was filled with tiny fingers and tiny toes, and I lost my mind.

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