She nodded slowly, still watching him with those eyes that saw straight through him. “Okay.”
Hunter checked the front door. The new deadbolt he’d installed was solid. Nobody was getting inside. The windows were more vulnerable, but the apartment was three stories up with no fire escape access.
“I’m going to bed,” Brie announced.
“Lock your door,” he said, voice rough.
She studied him for a long moment, and he could see her wrestling with something. Finally, she nodded and stepped into her room. The door closed with a soft click, followed by the sound of the lock engaging.
Hunter stood in the middle of her living room, listening to her move around her bedroom. He forced himself to move, to set up for the night. The couch was too short for his frame, but he’d slept in worse places. At least it smelled like her, vanilla and warm cinnamon had soaked into the fabric. His wolf wanted to burrow into that scent, to surround himself with his mate’s essence.
Hunter stared at the ceiling in the dark, processing the earthquake that had shaken through him during dinner. His confession that she was everything to him hadn’t been planned.It had been ripped from him by forces he couldn’t control. Now it sat between them, this truth he couldn’t take back and didn’t know how to handle.
He’d been alone for so long that he’d forgotten what it felt like to need someone. Or maybe he’d never known, because what he felt for Brie was unlike anything in his experience. It wasn’t just desire, though his wolf certainly wanted to claim her. It wasn’t just protectiveness, though he’d kill anyone who tried to hurt her.
It was something deeper, more fundamental. Like she was the missing piece he hadn’t known was gone until she’d appeared. Like every mission, every fight, every lonely night had been leading him here, to this moment, to her.
The realization should have brought him clarity, but instead, it left him more confused. He knew how to track targets, how to fight, how to survive. But he didn’t know how to be the mate she deserved.
Chapter
Twelve
The next morning,Hunter took his position by the front door of the bakery while Brie moved through her opening routine in the kitchen. At 0600, Sophie burst through the door in a whirlwind of scarves and November cold.
“Morning, Hunter!” She unwound her scarf with theatrical flair. “Omg, it’s cold out there.”
Hunter nodded, returning his attention to the window. The street remained empty. There had been no surveillance since the attack two nights ago.
“Good morning, boss!” Sophie disappeared into the kitchen. “You okay?” she asked Brie. “You look exhausted.”
“Long night.”
“Your bodyguard looks like someone shot his dog. Did you two have a fight?”
There was a pause. The sound of an oven door closing. “He admitted I’m everything to him last night, but he’s still treatingme like a protection detail.” Brie’s low voice carried into the front of the bakery on the still air.
The words hit like a punch to the sternum. She was right. He was failing at being a mate.
At 8 AM, Hunter stepped into the alley behind the bakery to make a call. The cold air bit at his face as he paced between the dumpster and delivery door, phone pressed to his ear.
“Status report?” Dom asked.
“No surveillance detected since the attack. They’ve gone completely dark.”
“That’s concerning.” Papers rustled on Dom’s end.
“Either they’re regrouping or they’ve pulled out entirely.”
“Your assessment?”
Hunter stopped pacing, stared at the gray morning sky. “They’re waiting for reinforcements or new orders. The failed grab spooked them, but they’ll be back.”
“Copy that. Anything else?”
“I’d like to take Brianna to dinner tonight. At Fate Mountain Lodge.”
“Good. You need to handle the mate situation.” Dom’s tone was matter-of-fact. “Just maintain operational awareness.”
