Page 7 of Claimed By the Hunter

“Yeah, she does. I’m planning on talking to Roman. He might have an idea of what to do.”

“Good idea. The woman has never been normal, but it looks like she’s getting worse,” Rafe said as he stood and walked out.

Hunter sat back in his chair. Jesus, he didn’t know what to do with her, but she’d have to wait because his mate needed him.

He grinned. She was probably cussing him out at that moment.

A minute later, he walked through the door of the bakery his mate owned with two friends and instantly felt her need and anger that he wasn’t there.

“Mate, come to me,” he yelled, knowing it would piss her off.

His little spitfire charged out of the back room where she was baking. She and Simone did most of it, and Brenna took care of the customers and placed all the treats so they looked good. They took turns selling if one of them had to be with their mate.

He couldn’t help as his smile grew at the flour on her hands and face and the little frown she made when she needed him. Even after a few weeks, she was still pissed that the mating heat controlled her life, or maybe because she couldn’t control him. He’d fallen in love with her that first night, but it seemed every time he saw her, he fell a little more.

They didn’t waste time driving home when they needed to mate. It would take hours out of everyone’s day, and they couldn’t afford to do that. The three couples had decided to use the upstairs building Blake was renting next door to the bakery. It was set up as an apartment, but the alpha hadn’t done anything with it. It also had an outside entrance, so they didn’t have to go through the store or through the back.

The girls had cleaned while the men, his brothers, and a few townspeople fixed what was needed and carried the two sets of new beds up the outside stairs. They’d put up an extra layer of sheetrock on the walls and between the two bedrooms for privacy.

The place wasn’t fancy but clean and close, and the men made sure there were snacks and drinks because their mates needed all the nourishment they could get. So far, only one couple had been in the apartment at any time, so they had more privacy.

Now, he just needed to get his mate up to the second floor without pissing her off and having her push him down the stairs.

Chapter Five

Even though Nicole and Hunter had been together for several weeks, it still made her feel emotional and confused when the mating heat started. Annoyance and anger because it would interrupt her day. Then the wonder, contentment, and happiness of being with him which made her even madder. It would go around and around in some vicious circle.

She glared at Hunter as she got dressed.

“Mate, if you keep up the attitude, I’ll have you naked again,” Hunter said with a smirk on his face.

Nicole gritted her teeth and turned away. A breath stalled in her throat when his huge arms wrapped around her from the back, and then a shiver raced down her spine when he nipped at her neck.

“I’m sorry this isn’t easier for you. I wish I could do more to help.”

She leaned against him and let him take her weight. “I’ll get used to it.”

“Do you still wish you never came here?”

Her brows snapped together, and she glanced at him over her shoulder. “I’ve never regretted coming here.”

“Would it have been better if you hadn’t found me?”

She hated the hurt he tried to hide. She twirled and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I can’t imagine my life without you and how I was able to live happily. Looking back, I wasn’t at all content with my life, I just got more uptight and edgy, but I didn’t know it. I figured this was life, and it was as good as it got.”

He squeezed her tightly against his chest. She tried to wrestle to get some space between them so she could take a breath.

“Mate, I can’t breathe when you hold me that tight.”

He stared down at her with the most intense expression. “What did you say?”

“I said I can’t breathe…”

“No, I know that part. You called me Mate. It’s always been my name, jerk, or asshole. I never even got a sweetheart or honey.”

She hadn’t realized how much it meant to him, and she knew it was because he didn’t want to overwhelm her or push her too hard.

Nicole looked up into his eyes. “How about I love you, Mate.”

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