Huntress

Chapter 47

Ryder listened to his rock music during the drive. I played with my hair that was still wet from my shower. Milo greeted us at the door, swinging it open before we even had a chance to knock. Though there was still tension between the three of us, showcased by Milo's mistrustful gaze running over Ryder, we still embraced with a hug for me and a brief handshake for the men.

Milo prepped us all drinks. Despite the summer weather that was on its way, I was delighted with my white-hot chocolate chia. Milo always had a great taste for good drinks. Ryder settled for an iced coffee – something so simple that I thought Milo rolled his eyes at the request. We migrated into the living room as we had before.

"Any signs of the royals trailing you guys?" Milo asked almost immediately.

"No, nothing," Ryder answered.

"Georgia," Milo prompted. A simple handshake clearly didn't mean that Milo and Ryder were the best of pals.

"I haven't noticed anything unusual," I agreed. "But, in fairness, I don't know what their cars look like or what many of their people look like. Aside from the king and queen and the guy who ripped out my nails, I didn't see many people. Still, I haven't seen anything out of the norm recently. No new cars on my street, no one tailing me."

Ryder's hand tightened on my knee. He didn't understand why I was putting even a pinch of doubt in Milo's mind. But Milo knew me damn well. He knew the hunter side of me that survived by being wary and by noticing overturned rocks. If I had just shrugged and brushed it off, he would have known that something was off.

"You've stayed out of the woods, right?" Milo pressed.

"I'm not an idiot." But I was, because I had gone hiking in the woods I knew were infested with wolves. It's just that I now had a wolf at my side most of the time.

"Since you left last time, it's all I could think about," he confessed. For the tiniest second, I saw the weight on him, his body unable to carry the load so silently all the time. "I know that the whole Cassey situation was a shock to you, but seeing you alive, then finding out that all of the royals were alive, that was insane for me to even consider. I have no real way to contact you so all I could think about was that they had gotten to you. I don't know how you managed to get away the first time, but I am almost certain they will not let you escape if they ever find you again. In a town this size, it's only a matter of time before they find you."

Hearing the genuine concern in voice, watching the way he stared at the floor instead of me, my heart ached. The mysterious and distant Milo that I had once crushed on must have spent sleepless nights staring at the ceiling, worried. About me. While I would have swooned two years ago, now I was only burdened with guilt. While he had been worried about me dying – again – I had been galivanting around with Ryder, stealing away tiny moments of bliss.

"I'm alright. I would have come right to you if I saw something out of the ordinary," I assured. Another lie.

"So when do you plan on making your next move then?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the royals are alive, Georgia. You are the best person for the job. You are the Huntress after all. I mean, they've already seen your face, it would be dangerous to put someone else in the line of fire now. You know more about them than any of the rest of us."

"She's not going back to hunting." Ryder was tense beside me, his voice stern and cool.

"I understand that you might want to keep her safe as her boyfriend or whatever, but this is our life. This is what we do. A single relationship won't change that."