The Hunt: War Continues

Chapter 1

"I know what you want," Cole mumbled into my skin, causing me to moan as he traced his lips against me, peppering kisses around my collarbone. "But I'm not going to mark you- not yet."

I pouted, closing my eyes. His words hurt. Did he not want to make me his forever?

"Trust me, Reya," Cole spoke seductively into my hair. "I want you as mine. You will be. There's no question about it, but I want our marking to be special. The last time you wore mine, it was forced upon you, and I'm remorseful of it every single day. I want you to mark me first this time. I understand it doesn't un-do what I did to you, but I want you to feel like you're in control of it this-"

Cole didn't have time to finish his sentence before I leaned forwards and sunk my teeth into his neck. He gripped onto me, groaning in pain as my flat teeth broke his skin, the taste of his thick metallic blood coating my tongue. I wanted to gag, but I refrained, pushing my teeth harder down into his flesh, hoping that my human ones were enough to mark his skin. We weren't made for it.

Cole's groans quickly turned to moans, and his grip on me loosened, my body harshly pressed against his. It allowed me to feel his hardness as I clambered closer to him on his lap, and I shivered as he muttered my name in pleasure before I pulled away.

"I do feel in control of this, thank you," I told him with a cocky smile, Cole reaching forwards and wiping his blood from my lips and chin. I turned to the side, pointing to my neck, but hearing Cole chuckle caused me to turn to him with knitted brows.

"I deserve to wear your mark without being given the opportunity to place my own upon you for a little while," he told me, pressing his lips to my forehead. "I will proudly show the one you have given me off though. I want my pack to know that you have me wrapped around your little finger."

These were words I had never heard Cole speak before, and butterflies fluttered inside of my stomach at the thought of the pack members seeing my claim on his neck. It wasn't the prettiest thing, my teeth not sharp like Cole's were, but, you could easily tell what it was. I was concerned it was just going to look like a large hickey, so I was somewhat proud of myself.

"I want to see it," Cole said, pushing himself up off the floor and strolling over to he full length mirror by the couch. He craned his neck, prodding at it before hissing in pain, a smile making its way up onto his face.

"I kind of butchered it," I said sheepishly, feeling my race redden. I was aware that Cole had noticed my sloppy work, but, it was the best he was probably going to get from a human.

"No. It's perfect," he told me, taking my hand in his.

I smiled. "I don't want it fading even the tiniest bit, so you'll be marking me in a few days."

"Whatever your heart desires," Cole mumbled, kissing me softly, his hand trailing down to skim over my belly. He studied it, looking closely as if he was going to be able to see a visible difference. He had told me it was early days, and judging by the fact that I hadn't even started having any symptoms yet, it must have been very early days.

However, the risk of miscarriage was high due to what my body had been through. My mental health was suffering, and stress was a big cause of losing a foetus. I didn't want to get my hopes up too much that we were going to have this child. Otherwise, I was going to crash and burn if I ended up miscarrying.

Cole and I spent the next few hours talking and soaking up each other's presence. We didn't talk about anything particularly important. We knew there were things regarding my capture that we needed to discuss, but, we didn't want to spoil the mood.

I tried to stop myself from thinking of Amber and Anthony, a part of me concerned that they had both left. Anthony was a good friend, and I would miss him if he did decide to leave. Amber was lovely be around too, and she was beginning to open up to me. It felt nice.

I wasn't sure how the meeting was going to go, but my guess was that things were going to turn heated very quickly. It was all dependent on what Amber had to say though.

"I don't want it to feel like an interrogation," I told Cole as he gathered up his paperwork, setting it down on the kitchen table. I was unsure why we weren't using his office, but I gathered that he also wanted this to appear casual so as not to set either Amber or Anthony off.

"I agree," Cole said, flinging open the front door to reveal a sheepish looking Rowan. He clutched his notebook under his arm as he ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair in anguish. Cole stepped aside, allowing Rowan to enter, his eyes glued to him.

I shot my mate a warning glare, letting him know that now wasn't the time to turn against Rowan for his mistake. There was no need to fight over it. I wanted more than once child, and Cole could inform me of my pregnancy further down the line.

Cole grunted, shoulder barging Rowan out of the way purposely, causing him to stumble back a few steps before steadying himself. He nodded once at me to let me know that he understood why Cole was so upset, and I gathered my wide eyes had given away how concerned I was.

"Where are they?" Cole muttered impatiently as he set himself down at the table, huffing at Rowan as he studied his new mark. It was swollen and looked somewhat painful. However, werewolves healed quickly, and I knew that by the morning, Cole's gash would have scarred over nicely.

Rowan didn't comment, especially since I noticed his eyes travel to my own neck, causing Cole to release a loud warning growl, letting him know that he was crossing a boundary by being so nosy. My hair was covering the side of my neck though, which I was thankful for.

I didn't want Rowan thinking that I hadn't allowed Cole to place a mark upon me. I didn't want him to think of me as someone who was wanting to keep their options open, because that was far from the truth.

The air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife, and I tapped my fingers against the mahogany wood impatiently as all three of us stared at each other awkwardly. Thankfully, after only two minutes or so, the front door rattled, and I hopped out of my chair to make my way over to it.

Cole was quickly behind me, clearly not liking that I was putting myself in what could be seen as a vulnerable position. Anthony's outburst earlier was unexpected and he didn't seem to trust him.

I ignored him though, opening it up and smiling as I was met with a blank looking Anthony, Amber small by his side. She appeared nervous, but not as frightened or petrified as I had expected her to be, and Cole and I both stepped aside to let them inside.

"Sit anywhere you want," Anthony told Amber as he pointed to the table, allowing his little sister to choose her chair before sitting down in the one next to her. She gazed up at her brother with curious eyes, her face looking slightly red and splotchy from nerves.

"Okay," Rowan spoke, opening up his notebook and jotting down a few notes already, causing me to narrow my eyes at him. That wasn't intimidating at all.

"Let's begin," spoke Cole as he cleared his throat, glancing down at his own paperwork briefly. "Amber, do you know why you and Anthony are here today?"

•••

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