Page 16 of Hunter

“Human?” he smirked.

“Normal person,” Hunter replied.

“I’ve got to go,” Willa said, tugging away from Hunter.

“Willa.” He knew he should ask her to stay but responsibility to his pack came first. As she slipped out of his arms, a sense of loss twisted through him. What was it about this female that stirred his emotions? His gaze lingered on her as she stood and fiercely stared down the vampire.

“Don’t leave on my account,” Viktor said blithely.

“Vampires don’t scare me.” She turned her focus back to Hunter. “The wolves that put me in Hell. It could be them.”

“It could be any rogues. The fact is that we get them sometimes. They come through the mountains into the valley. The troublemakers have a false sense that they will be more protected, but then they get here and have to deal with my pack. And the ones not looking to cause shit, just stay a short time and move on.”

“But they could be the same ones,” she insisted.

“Or not. But one thing is clear, we’ve got a bad bunch who just roughed up a human. They could be a danger to other humans or even my pack. We’ve gotta round em’ up and ship em’ out.”

“Or kill them. Yes, see how I fixed that?” Viktor walked around the piano and stood by the fire.

“If I leave Jackson Hole, they’ll leave you all alone. I’ve got to get to New Orleans and then back to Guatemala.”

“Hold on there, Willa. You aren’t going anywhere without me. I know I agreed to let you go but I’ve decided it’s not safe. Just give me time to take care of these assholes and we’ll sort the rest.”

“I don’t have time. Your wolves are at risk and my…” Willa stopped short of finishing her sentence and raked her fingers through her hair with a sigh.

“Your what?” Hunter’s curiosity was piqued.

“Nothing. It’s just…well, my research. I need to get to New Orleans and pick up a few things and then I have to get a flight out.”

“You’re not leaving, sweetheart. Not tonight. You’ll be safe here…”

“You can’t keep me here like one of your wolves. I don’t belong to you,” she countered, defiance flickering in her eyes.

Hunter ignored Viktor’s laugh of amusement. While he admired her fiery spirit, his little rogue wolf tested his patience. “Ah, you see that’s where you’re wrong. Every wolf that roams my land submits to me, as shall you.”

“That’s so not happening. I need to borrow your phone. I’m getting a flight out of here tonight.”

“Sorry sweetheart, there’s no flights going out of Jackson Hole this late. Please. Be my guest. Take a bubble bath or something. We’ll be back in a few hours.” Hunter stood and walked over to the counter and snatched his cell phone, tapping out a text message to his beta.

“You can’t keep me here just because you decide that. As long as I’m here every one of your wolves is in danger. I’m leaving. They’ll have trouble following me to New Orleans.”

“The girl. Did you leave her at the bar?” Hunter ignored Willa’s declaration. With rogue wolves in the area, it wasn’t safe. There was no way he’d let her leave.

“Yes. A bite and a bang and she was on her way. Appears she was planning to dance the night away.” Viktor caught Willa’s look of annoyance. “I don’t want to interfere with your little tiff, but I brought you clothing.”

“What?” Willa asked, her mouth open in surprise.

“You brought her clothes?” Gratitude tempered Hunter’s desire to strangle the vampire.

“I thought I could be of service. Made a quick stop at a boutique before it closed.”

Fucking vampire. The Alpha angrily typed out the rest of his text to Remus, asking him to start a search of the territory. He would set out with Viktor to question the girl and her brother.

“Thank you.” Willa smiled at Viktor, her voice soft. “I’m sorry I don’t remember…”

“No worries at all, pet. If there is one thing I can do easily enough it’s flash in and out for an errand. If you ever decide to dump this wolf, I’d be happy to show you the rest of my tricks. Vampires do it with a bite.” Viktor winked, flashing a flirtatious smile.

Hunter’s jaw ticked as he stuffed the phone into his pocket. He’d called upon a few wolves to monitor the perimeter of his home and keep tabs on Willa. Her icy stare told him she had no plan of submitting any time soon.