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“Need help?” Hunter asks, his voice almost as rough as Conall’s.

“Take care of our mate.”

Hunter’s hands tighten on me, almost painfully, as Conall saunters out of the room.

I’m frozen as Conall’s words echo in my mind.

Take care of our mate.

Callused hands flip me over so I face Hunter. Then, he begins to run his fingers and palms over me in slow, steady strokes that make it nearly impossible to focus. I want to luxuriate beneath the touch like a cat. But it’s not just exploratory. It’s possessive. He’s touching me as if he owns me. I want to hate it. To roll away from him and out of this bed. But I can’t. I’m bewitched by the stroke of his hands, the rasp of his calluses. I shouldn’t love it, but I do. Goddess help me, I do.

Finally, I manage to speak. “Our mate?”

His eyes are solemn as he studies me, using one hand to brush my hair back from my face. “I know the idea of belonging to someone frightens you, Little Red. But neither of us wants to own you. We just want to walk beside you.”

I try to suppress the flinch his words cause, but judging by the look on his face, I fail. I don’t want to hurt him, but he must understand. “I’ve seen what happens to women when they marry, Hunter. I’ve seen it all my life. My mother. My friends. The other women in the village. I’m sure even the ones who marry for love believe belonging to someone will be beautiful. But I’ve watched, day by day, year by year, as the light goes out of their eyes. The pain they carry. The loneliness. They have a husband, children, but they’re living their life alone.”

He pauses, staring at me in consternation. “That’s the thing, Scarlett. When something belongs to you⁠—”

I open my mouth to tell him I’ll never belong to anyone. Ever. But his finger covers my lips.

“Please let me finish,” he murmurs. “Then, you can rail at me all you want. I promise.”

I glare at him but don’t try to speak.

“I’m not talking about women as things, Little Red. But a woman’s heart, a woman’s love, is something that can belong to a man if she chooses to give it. When it happens, when someone gives you something precious, you take care of it. Some men don’t know how to care for anything but themselves. They’ve been taught their entire lives that their wants and needs are the only ones that matter. You and I both know it’s not how a man should love his woman. I can speak for myself, and even for Conall, when I say this… your wants and needs will always be at the forefront of our minds. Conall especially, because that’s how Lycans are. Their mates are everything to them. The center of their world.”

“But why are you different?” I ask, unable to stop myself. “Why do you think I should trust you won’t treat me the way other men in the village treat their wives?”

“Because you have been important to me for a long time. How you feel. How you think. What you need. It’s all important to me. And it’s how it should always be.”

I want so badly to believe his words, to let myself fall into a romance with my entire heart and soul. To believe he’ll always feel this way about me.

But there’s a soft hiss in the back of my thoughts, insistent and pervasive.

All men lie.

“I’m sure it was the same for every man and woman who fell in love and got married. But things change. Once the first blush is gone, it doesn’t seem so important any longer,” I argue.

Hunter’s eyes are soft as he gazes down at me. I feel as though he can see right through me, to all of my doubts and insecurities. And he’ll stop at nothing until he’s demolished them.

“Since the day we met, you have been the only woman I see. The only woman I want. Even before I thought I might be able to court you, to have you, my thoughts were centered around you.”

I have no idea how to respond to his words. I knew he liked me. Goddess knows I’ve always found him attractive. But he never gave this away, this… obsession. In the past eleven years, I never knew.

Before I can decide what to say, Hunter continues, “But my feelings are not your responsibility, Little Red. Not unless you decide you want to be in possession of my heart.”

My lips part to continue my argument, but he kisses me, soft and deep, until my head is fuzzy again. Without letting me speak, he rolls out of bed and tugs on his trousers. “I’m going to make us some tea and help the Lycan with breakfast.”

All I can do is blink at him as he leaves the room.

Chapter Thirteen

Hunter

Scarlett is quiet the rest of the morning.

After eating the breakfast Conall and I made for her and drinking several cups of tea, she washes up before dressing and heading off into the forest with her basket. The Lycan tries to go with her, but she waves him off, insisting she’ll be fine.