Page 18 of The Hunt

Jaxson stopped.“It’s not that simple.You know what they expect, right?”

“When they say mating, do they mean like a full mating?”

“I told you this,” he said.“When we got here.”

She groaned.“I know that is what you said but ...come on.Can’t there be a compromise?We’ve already agreed we would work on our mating.Doesn’t that help?”

Calliope wanted to get them both out of here so neither of them died.They had made mistakes as teenagers, and she didn’t want it to affect their future.

He cupped her face, tilting her head back.“I wish it did.But it’s not going to work that way.”

“So, we’ve got to mate?”she asked.

He nodded.

She took another deep breath.“Then why don’t we?Would it be that hard?”

“Are you ready?”he asked.“Like, truly ready for what is to come?”

Was she ready to go all the way with Jaxson?He’d been her best friend and then her enemy, and now he was her mate.They had so much damage control to work through.

“No, I’m not, but you’re meant to be my mate, right?I’m your mate, and we’ve got all this history.”

“I’m not going to force this.We can do this, Calliope.You and me.We’ve done a lot harder stuff than this.”

“I don’t want anything bad to happen.”

“Then it’s simple.Nothing bad is going to happen.”He pressed a kiss to her cheek.It was so soft and sweet.“Now, I think we should get a move on.”

She was about to agree with him, when all of a sudden there was a roar, and the bushes began to shake.

“What is that?”Calliope asked.

“No time to waste, we’ve got to run.”He didn’t let her go, and the thick bushes made it impossible to run, but she did.She found the strength to keep moving, even though she felt afraid.She didn’t stop, nor did she turn around.

Her heart raced, and she had a horrible feeling she was slowing Jaxson down.This is what she hated and why she was tempted to just go ahead, be done with it, and mate him.It would be so much easier than allowing them both to die.

She let out a scream as a bear suddenly appeared.The fear gripped her and Jaxson pulled her around him, and then his stance changed.She realized he had gone into defensive mode.

“Jaxson?”

“It’s fine.This is all part of it.”He let out a howl of his own, and the bear growled right back.

She felt the bear was well over seven foot tall and massive.There was no way it was real.The bear didn’t take Jaxson’s howl as a threat and she gasped as it suddenly charged them.

“Don’t move, Calliope.”

There was no way she could if she even wanted to.The fear was real.Terrifying.He was the one in control.Not her.

She watched, wanting to jump in and protect him, only Jaxson made impact with the bear.The bear sprung back, but it didn’t go far.It came in, swiping at Jaxson, but didn’t make a connection.It was relentless, and she realized it was aiming for her.The bear was attempting to get around Jaxson, to get to her.He wouldn’t let it.

At one point, the bear’s swipe made contact with Jaxson, and she couldn’t stand watching it anymore.

As if by magic, leaning up against the tree was a crossbow.Jaxson had loved crossbows when they were children, and they both spent a lot of time outside doing target practice.It had been years since she fired one, but it was like riding a bike.She never forgot, and lifting that crossbow into her arms, she locked, loaded, and then stared down the target.The bear was coming at Jaxson, and he was moving too fast.

Taking a deep breath, she focused on the bear, and then shot.The first connection landed, and it was enough.

There was no whimper, and the moment she hit the bear, it was like it exploded into nothing.Just glitter and dust, only nothing landed on her.

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