Page 59 of The Hunter's Heart

Her brow arched. “You deserve all the good things, Luc.Allof them.”

He curled his fingers over her back, tracing the soft skin and smiling as she let out a growling purr. “As long as I’ve got you, then I have every good thing I could ever want.”

Grinning, she kissed him and then slipped from the bed. “If we don’t get going, Brynn is going to pitch a fit, and then Acksel will be mad at us for making her mad.”

Lucian sat up and swung his legs over. “Shower?”

“Hell no. We smell like each other, and that’s important, since we’re going onto pack lands.”

“Good point.”

They dressed quickly, and when he asked why she wasn’t wearing panties or a bra, she said, “What’s the point? I’m just going to strip in a while anyway, and now there are two less things to take off.”

His berserker didn’t think much of her being naked around unmated males.

As if reading his mind, she said, “We’ll duck to the side of the house when it’s time for me to shift. I’m going hunting with Mal and my cousins, Devin and Hayden.”

Acksel was going to assign Lucian to patrol duty around the alphas’ home. He’d transform and keep watch until Acksel returned from his own hunt with the high-ranked males, which would be several hours at least.

He drove to the alphas’ home. Mia fidgeted next to him, biting her lip and occasionally cracking her knuckles. The street was lined with cars on both sides, and there were cars on the lawn in front of the alphas’ home as well. He found a place to park on the street and turned off the engine.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“My wolf is arguing with me.”

He couldn’t help but smile. He was still getting used to having his berserker making suggestions, so he could relate. “What’s up with her?”

“I want to shift and hunt so badly that my fingers are aching.” She turned her hands palm-up and curled her fingers. Her fingernails darkened, and she groaned softly.

“And?”

She looked at him, her eyes glistening with emotion. “I don’t want to leave you.”

He cupped her face, stroking his thumb across her cheekbone. “Damn, I love you.”

She chuckled and a tear slipped down her cheek, which he wiped gently away. “I love you, too.”

“I want to see you shift, sweetheart. This is a big part of who you are, just like it’s about to be a big part of who I am, too. I get to be in your pack. Do you have any idea how much that appeals to me? I freaking love it. I’ve got a purpose now – protecting people who are important to you. And in about eight months, I’ll be able to protect youandour child. I couldn’t be prouder or happier. So you have to go out there tonight and hunt. Doc said you probably wouldn’t be able to hunt after another month or so of your pregnancy, so now’s the time.”

Once she reached about the third month of her pregnancy, her wolf would settle down on the full moon and the urge to shift would disappear until after the baby was born.

She inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. “I know.”

He had a feeling that she was feeling out of sorts about hunting because she didn’t want to be away from him. He could relate, because he didn’t like being away from her for any reason, but he wouldn’t share that with her. Making her feel guilty on top of whatever other things she was feeling wouldn’t do any good. Hunting was what she needed tonight.

“Ready, sweetheart?”

She nodded.

He leaned over and kissed her swiftly, and then got out of the car, coming around to her side and opening her door. “Tomorrow, let’s go look for a new car.”

“Oh?” she said with a smile.

“I’m not saying I’m ready for a minivan, but I do think we could do with a midsize SUV.”

“Is anyone ever ready for a minivan?”

“If we have more than one kid, we’ll need one,” he pointed out. “Even if they are powerfully uncool.”

---