HUNTER 9
Last night was intense and painful, as I could feel every fibre of my body, and it felt like it was on fire. When it was over, I could feel a peace within myself that I have never felt before, but the best thing was that I could feel Dakota. I could feel her worry, and then later, before we joined the others for dinner, I could feel her anger and then her passion when we kissed, and to be honest, I nearly skipped dinner and rushed upstairs with her, but I knew that the others were expecting us there, as it had been arranged to celebrate our bond.
“Stop moving your head or I’m going to cut your ear,” Fang mutters as he swipes the hair-cutting machine over my head again. My hair has been irritating the back of my neck since yesterday, so I decided to shave it all off. I don’t usually cut my hair, but even if I do, it grows quickly. I left Dakota sleeping and came downstairs, looking for someone to cut my hair. The first one I saw was Fang, so here we are in the garage, me shirtless, sitting on a bench, and Fang standing behind me in only his low-cut jeans.
“You might need it drained; it looks infected,” Fang says as he looks at my now bare neck.
“It fucking hurt like hell,” I state. “I think he enjoyed it way too much.” And then I yelp and stand as Fang pokes at my neck. “What the hell?”
“Just checking,” he says with a grin.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter as I rub my hands over my now shaved head. “Thanks, bro.”
“No problem. So tell me, how does it feel to be bonded?” Fang asks as he takes the bench where I was sitting and looks up at me in curiosity. I pick up the plastic container that we usually have in the garage and take a few gulps of water before answering.
“Having a woman like Dakota who fits everything I ever wanted in a woman has me thinking about her constantly. Yesterday, after the Initiation, I could finally feel her, which is a feeling I can’t explain, to sense her worry, her passion like it’s my own, but knowing that it isn’t is the ultimate high,” I explain.
“I’m happy for you, brother. How is it with your wolf now?”
“After constantly fighting to keep him at bay, I now feel a peace like I have never felt before, but I know he’s with me. I can sense that my wild side is more engrained but not fighting to come out.” Fang nods in understanding just as I sense worry and know that Dakota has woken up.
“Need to go. Dakota has woken up, and I want to go for a ride with her today.”
“Don’t forget we have a meeting later. King postponed it because of your mating,” Fang reminds as I start making my way out of the garage.
“I will be here,” I reply before making my way to Dakota and our room. Opening the door quietly, I hear her muttering to herself, which has me smiling. I have noticed that she has a habit of doing that when she doesn’t think anyone is about.
“Hey, babe,” I call out, which has her gasping and hurriedly turning around from where she was just entering the bathroom.
“Hunter!” She gasps in surprise. “Don’t you know how to make a noise?”
“Sorry, babe.” I approach her and see her eyes widen when she realizes that I have shaved my hair.
“What did you do to your hair?” she asks, shocked.
“It was bugging my neck, so I had Fang shave it off,” I say. “Don’t worry, it will grow back quickly.”
“Is your neck hurting you? Let me see.” She doesn’t wait and walks around me until she’s looking at the back of my head. “Oh, it’s looking infected.” She gasps, her fingers lightly stroking up my back until they reach the ridges of the bites on my neck. “Is it supposed to do that?” Her light touch soothes the constant pain.
“We actually heal very quickly, but as this is a bite from our Alpha, it takes longer. Don’t worry, babe, it will be fine.”
“You know you could have let me cut your hair for you,” she says.
“I know, but you were sleeping so well that I didn’t want to wake you.” I lower my head and kiss her on the forehead. “Now, how about we go down and get you some breakfast and then go for a ride?” I see the smile that brightens her face at the idea and know that my woman is pleased.
“That sounds great. Also, is there a bus that stops close by here that will take me into town tomorrow?”
“Why the hell would you want to catch the bus into town?” I see the look of surprise on her face as she looks at me.
“Well, I have to go to work tomorrow morning. When you brought me here, the ride seemed a bit far to walk.” I just assumed she would now stay here instead of going into town and placing herself in danger. I should have known better.
“You don’t need to work any longer. You know that, don’t you?”
She frowns, her arms crossing over her chest, which tells me that she doesn’t like that idea and is ready to tell me so. “Now why would I do that?” she asks sweetly.
“You don’t need to. I just thought that it would be safer.”
“What, to hide?” she asks. “Hunter, I need to be independent; I can’t be dependent on you to pay for me. I need to feel like I have an option. Do you understand that?” Fuck, I know that she doesn’t want to be dependent on another man again because of that son of a bitch, but she’s my woman, and I’ll be damned if I don’t take care of her the way she deserves. If she wants to work, I will let her go to work, but she will go on my terms.