Page 25 of Hunted

After he’d left, I’d showered, dressed and gone downstairs to have tea and catch up with Helena, who is a couple of months pregnant with Bennett’s child. We watched TV, hung out in the garden for a bit, and read, but I could never fully relax as I waited for Mack to come home.

She’d done her best to distract me, but the longer Mack was gone, the more certain I was that something had gone wrong.

I shrug. “You couldn’t help it. What happened?”

“We found a marked tree in the hotel. Can we save that conversation for later? I think I’d rather hold the woman I love for a bit.”

And for absolutely no reason at all, my eyes fill with tears.

Instantly, he’s concerned, hurrying over to drop into a crouch beside me. “What is it?”

I sniff. “I don’t know.”

He picks up a box of tissues and offers it to me.

I choke out a laugh. “Is there anywhere you didn’t leave a box?”

The corners of his eyes crease in a smile as he brushes a tear from my cheek. “I left a packet in your coat pocket in case you ever need it when you’re out.”

This man owns my whole heart, and his thoughtfulness makes me want to cry even more.

He kisses my forehead, then gathers me into his arms, carrying me to the bed.

He sits on the edge, wrapping his arms around me and making me feel like there is nowhere safer in the world. “Please don’t cry, love.”

Turning my face against his throat, I wind my arms around him. “If I’m not crying, I’m using the bathroom a million times a day. But I still wish I could have gone with you, so I could help if you needed it.”

He strokes a hand up and down my back. “I wanted you safe, love. And it’s okay not to be able to help all the time. All Bennett, Chris and I did were sniff around trees. You’d have been as frustrated and bored as the rest of us.”

I peel my face from his throat to peer up at him. “Sniff trees?”

He nods. “I’d have much rather been here with you.”

“What’s going on, Mack?”

He sighs. “I don’t know. I tried calling my dad on the way back and he didn’t answer.”

“I tried calling Ivy, and she answered, said she was busy, and hung up fast.”

We study each other for a bit.

“Do you think they’re having a baby and they don’t want to tell us?” I ask.

Ivy is in her late thirties, still able to get pregnant, and Connall, Mack’s dad, is older. So maybe that’s what this is allabout. They’ve taken the next step in their relationship and they think we won’t approve or be comfortable with it.

As long as my aunt is happy, that’s all I care about. I didn’t particularly like Connall when I first met him because he couldn’t have made it any clearer if he tried that he had a problem with me and omegas in general. But if he’s making Ivy happy, then that’s all that matters.

I just try not to think about what they get up to.

When Mack winces, I can’t help but smile. “Did you just imagine my aunt and your dad having?—”

He kisses me. “Uh, you’ve said more than enough, love. I’d appreciate you stopping right there.”

We fall into another long silence.

“We’ll figure this out together,” he eventually says. “We won’t always be able to face everything side by side, and that’s okay.”

“I feel pretty helpless not being able to help you.”

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