Page 58 of Plus-Size Bullied Mate

“That’s not the same. I told you to stay inside,” he retorts, still looking at me like I might collapse at any moment.

“Hunter,” I say more deliberately as I put my hands on his forearms and feel him still under the direct contact. “I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”

But even as I reassure him, his jaw is tight, and his chest is heaving while the anger threatens to take over. I can see it behind the relief as the two fight for center stage.

I hold his gaze for a moment, feel as something passes between us that’s too fast and too serious to focus on right now. Then I look over at the woman who’s on her feet now, looking a bit disoriented.

“The children are inside,” I say to no one in particular.

Hunter acknowledges this before we both approach her, guiding her towards the house to get her out of the rain.

As we move, Hunter takes a steadying breath, and I watch him decide to put his anger aside for now. It certainly isn’t gone, but it’s on pause long enough for us to see this through.

When we move up the porch and get the woman inside, she’s immediately surrounded by the kids, and relief cloaks them all.

Hunter glances at me and keeps his expression controlled for now, but beneath it, I can feel through the bond that there are things he wants to say and is deciding not to say them.

Well aware that I went against his word, I’m going to have to reckon with all of it, but for the time being, it can wait.

Chapter 22 - Hunter

The young mother’s name is Brooke, and her kids, Maggie, Eli, and Violet, have been sitting around the fire to keep warm. Eli has been attached to Tessa’s side for the last forty minutes with the certainty of a small child who has identified a safe person and fully intends to cling to them.

Either way, they’ve had time to calm down and dry out, and the house seems to have settled in general.

I watch from across the room while Brooke tells me what happened.

“They came through the back,” she says with her hands wrapped around her mug like she needs the warmth of it to keep talking. “There was no warning, and they didn’t give a reason. They just broke in through the back door, and I had maybe thirty seconds to get the kids out the front before they were on us.”

“I’m assuming that means they didn’t give you a reason.”

She nods a bit solemnly. “I don’t know what they wanted. They didn’t say anything. It’s not like we had much for them to take.”

“They likely just wanted to cause some fear,” I tell her, keeping my voice level. “But you got your kids out as you should have.”

Brooke takes another deep breath and glances over at the kids. A small smile settles on her lips even though she’s still shaking a little under the blanket Dominic put around her shoulders.

She’s part of the pack along the middle portion, where most families are best protected. Historically, the outermost houses are the most vulnerable, but even then, the border is usually secure enough not to raise any issues.

That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, and I know what Hayes is doing.

This wasn’t random, and it wasn’t even primarily about Brooke or her children. It was a demonstration, and Hayes’ opportunity to prove something important:

I can reach inside your territory, knock on any door, and remind you at any time that your defenses are more vulnerable than you think they are.

He’s escalating the provocations, and each one is designed to create a direct response from me. He wants me to be reactive instead of strategic.

I make a note to myself to avoid being exactly that, but when I look across the room, I immediately feel reactive.

Dominic leans against the wall near the kitchen entrance, and Tessa is a few steps away, and they’re talking with the ease of two people who have found an unexpected frequency. I can see in her body language how her shoulders loosen slightly, and she doesn’t look as guarded as she tends to be with me.

He mentions something about her acting quickly, and while the praise is subtle, she looks a bit bashful.

She says something that makes Dom laugh, and it hits him suddenly before he says something back that makes Tessa shake her head in disbelief, but there’s a beginning of a smile on her lips.

There’s nothing directly offensive or inappropriate about the interaction, but my end of the bond reacts anyway.

While I want her to get along well with the people in my life, there’s something about how simple and almost natural it seems between them now, and I don’t know how to feel about it.