Page 49 of Hunted

Bennett angles his head, scrutinizing me. “It’s not like you to be so unsure.”

I sigh. “This is important. Probably the most important thing I give her. I want it to be perfect.”

He nudges my shoulder. “It’s not the most important thing you’ve given her.”

I tilt my head to the side, curious. “That thing is…”

“You gave her a home. A fresh start. Your love. I’d say all of those things were more important than this.”

I blink, surprised, but the longer I think about it, the more I’m sure he’s right. Aerin has never wanted things. Months ago,I gave her a credit card to buy whatever she might want, and to this day, she almost never uses it.

She’ll use it to do the grocery shopping or buy stuff for the rest of the pack and the baby. But when it comes to stuff for her, she always says there’s nothing she needs or wants.

“You might be right about that.”

“No need to sound so surprised,” he drawls, his voice dry.

I laugh. “And here I was thinking you came to rub my nose in my breaking the lounger.”

“I’d tell you I told you so, but that would be too easy.” He arches his eyebrow. “I caught a scent in the kitchen and it smelled like you and Aerin were busy trying to break other pieces of furniture.”

Shaking my head, I bend to collect the remnants of my project from the floor. There’s not much since I’ve been cleaning as I go, but I wanted to wait until Aerin was out before I came in here. “I left Aerin in bed and went downstairs to figure out how I could protect her, then I started planning what we’ll all need in a house. Not an hour later, she finds me snoring.”

Bennett holds the door for me and I smile gratefully. “Pack works better together. Aerin and the baby need you rested, not staying up all night trying to solve problems alone. That’s my job.”

“What does Helena think of that?”

“Helena is an enforcer. She understands.”

I guess she would. She’s no longer a Boone Pack enforcer, and I didn’t ask her to occupy that position when she joined our pack, but she’s stepped into the role anyway. It actually works out for everyone. Bennett is my beta, head of security, and he’s her mate.

An enforcer and the beta always work closely together.

“Have you discovered anything new at the hotel?” I ask him as we walk down the stairs.

This morning, after I dropped Aerin off at Adela's house to spend time with her grandparents, I texted Bennett to stop by the hotel and check if there had been any new arrivals.

Other than keeping our eyes open and staying alert, there’s not much we can do.

But ever since we found the claw marked tree outside the hotel, I’ve had a bad feeling trouble is coming to Winter Lake. No shifter does that and just leaves.

“Aerin thinks someone might be testing our defense,” I say as we make our way outside to dump the trash. I’d leave it in the kitchen, but I’m holding evidence of what I’ve been up to in the nursery that I don’t want Aerin to see yet.

Bennett nods. “That sounds plausible. Especially if it was the same someone calling up and hanging up.”

I dump the trash, and Bennett closes the lid.

“We’ll keep the pack safe, Aerin and the baby, too.” He claps me on the arm. “I better go. I promised Helena we’d clean the house.”

He makes a face and I laugh. “Just wait until she starts nesting. Aerin was determined to scrub every corner of the house.”

He leaves, but I stay outside, hands stuffed in my pocket as his car disappears from view.

Aerin will be gone for most of the morning. Adela said she might even be there over lunch.

I walk around the side of the house, and grateful not to have any near neighbors, I enter the forest at the bottom of my garden and strip.

I hadn’t intended on shifting today, but why not take advantage of the time to sniff out any potential trouble while Aerin is away?

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