Page 60 of Binding His Fated Mates

Daniel was sitting cross-legged on the mattresses when I returned, his fingers threaded with Lee’s. Then both looked up when I walked in.

Lee gave me a weak smile and Daniel’s expression lit up with genuine pleasure at seeing me.

My heart did a little flip in my chest. Yeah, I loved him. I loved them both. This was home. The only home I could imagine wanting.

“We were talking about those things,” Lee told me, when I kicked off my shoes and came to join them on the bed. I felt bone-deep exhausted. “The monsters.”

“What about them?” I asked, yawning. Then I patted the bed between Lee and me, shooting Daniel a wolfish grin, wagging my eyebrows. “You could come over here and tell me all about it.”

“The way they ignored us and went for Daniel,” Lee said quietly, his eyes dark with worry as they met mine. “We think they’re drawn to magic.”

Alarm surged through me at his words. I looked at Daniel and saw that his expression was shuttered and unhappy.

“Which means you’re a target,” I said numbly. “The monsters might come for you.”

“Yeah.” Daniel’s gaze dropped to the bed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” I said flatly. “Don’t apologize. That’s not your fault. Sorry, but no.”

The ghost of a smile curved on Daniel’s lips. “Is that your version of reassurance?”

“Take it or leave it.”

“You missed your calling,” Lee said solemnly, his eyes dancing with amusement as they met mine, some of the worry banished. “With your keen people skills, you ought to be a therapist.”

“Hey now,” I said playfully, determined to lighten the mood. “Don’t think you two can start ganging up on me now.”

“But it’s so much fun,” Lee said brightly.

“Speaking from experience, I didn’t mind getting ganged up on,” Daniel said, too innocently.

Lee laughed at that, his eyes crinkling at the edges, while I flashed Daniel another wolfish smile and wagged my eyebrows suggestively.

But then Lee winced in pain. “Ow.”

Steeling myself, I glanced down and saw, to my relief, that Lee’s bruise had lightened significantly and was now yellowing at the edges. It looked days old. That meant it was healing quickly. But it was probably still painful as hell.

“You’ll be fine,” I assured him.

“Gee, thanks. Nurse Hunter to the rescue,” Lee said, rolling his eyes.

Daniel and I traded an amused look.

After that, the three of us sat in silence for a while.

I realized that—for the first time since I’d gone from being Hunter Lee Jameson to just Hunter—I was happy. Genuinely happy.

“I need to say something.”

“What else is new?” Lee teased.

“No, I’m being serious,” I said. “Listen, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am right now.”

Daniel and Lee both stared at me, visibly shocked.

“But we just almost died!” Daniel protested, incredulous. “And those things—plural, by the way—might be super interested in snacking on magic! Which means that I and everyone else in the pack are probably monster-bait. Because the pack is suddenly way more magical than they were before.”

“Even so,” I said, deciding then and there that if I was determined to do this—to let myself be vulnerable with Daniel and Lee—I was going to do it right. “Even with all of that, there’s nowhere else I’d ever want to be than right here, right now.”