Page 16 of The Hunt

“I guess we agree that we attempt to mate, and we mend the gaps we caused each other.”He shrugged.

“The Hunt isn’t going away just because we agreed to it, is it?”Calliope asked.

“No.At this stage, they need proof, and that is only going to happen with time.”

She nodded.“So, we talk, we have fun, we build a sense of adventure.We repair the damage we made years ago.Do you think they can hear us or know what we’re going through right now?”

“I have no idea.”

“Your dad is like the alpha, doesn’t he ever talk about any of this?”

“No, and he never talks about other members’ private business.”He ran a hand down his face, then pushed his fork into his sausage and took a bite.“I wish I had taken the time to listen to all those other couples that had returned.”

“I agree.”She sighed.

They ate their food and kept the firepit going.It was getting dark really fast again.A howl in the distance had him turning and looking.

“Do you think it is safe here?”Calliope asked.

“It is as safe as it is going to get.”

Along with their food, a pillow was provided, which he nestled under his head, and she moved closer and snuggled against him.The hot weather had changed, and it was starting to get cold.She shivered just a little.

“I don’t think they are being very fair,” Calliope said.

“I’ve got you.”He put his hand on her exposed arm and rubbed it up and down, trying to generate heat.

“Did we ever camp out in the winter?”she asked.“I’m trying to remember all the times we camped outside, and how we got warm.”

He chuckled.“There was one time, we were ten, and there had been a giant snowstorm.You loved the snow.”

“I still do.”

He smiled.“Anyway, you were determined to camp out, and you ended up with ten blankets, a heater, hat, gloves, scarf, and you were still freezing cold.”

“I think I remember that.”She sighed.“You were toasty warm, even in freezing conditions, which sucked, and I don’t like how that was possible for you.”She pouted.“Oh, well.”

He laughed.“You don’t have to sound so sad about that.Like now, I am toasty warm and providing you with some body heat.”

“Thank you.”She reached up and kissed his cheek, and they both seemed to freeze.

He wrapped his arms around her.

Silence fell between them, and the night moved on.He heard birds, and then nothing.Another howl, followed by stillness.Calliope hadn’t fallen asleep.She was still stiff within his arms.

“What do you think will happen, if we don’t make it out of here alive?”Calliope asked.

“We never return home.We die here, and that is that.”

“Do you think the next couple will find our bodies?”

“I have no idea.No one has ever opted to die here.”

“I get that, I just ...what if something goes wrong?You’re a wolf, I’m a human, and what if I make a mistake?What if I die?I don’t want you to be trapped here.”

He held her tightly.“Calliope, I wouldn’t want to go back if something happened to you here.You’re where I would want to stay.”

He didn’t even want to think of Calliope not making it.What would be the point in returning home?She was his mate, there was no point in denying it anymore.They were bound together.The elders had deemed it so.He only wished he had tried.In the last three years, he could have done something, said something, so many things, so many times.It wasn’t like they lived separate lives.He saw her almost every day.That was the point in living within the pack.

---