Prey Cove

Three

Nix leads me to a car and opens the passenger door for me. I climb into the seat and close the door, Nix rounds the car and climbs into the driver seat. He ignites the engine and pulls away with a spin of his wheels.

“What pack are you from darling?” He asks whilst winding down the roads back to the start up camp.

The men will have had an accommodation last night to stay in.

I scoff at his words, “stop calling me darling. My name is Cove.”

“Okay Cove, what pack are you from?” He tries again.

“South Claw Pack.” I notice his knuckles tighten slightly on the wheel. “What about yourself?”

He hesitates a moment, “Pale Acre Pack.”

A beat of silence passes as I realise the reason for his tense reaction. Our two packs despise each other.

“Ah yes. I doubt your Alpha will be happy with you mating someone from South Claw Pack.” I almost chuckle over the words. We have all heard the horrors that go on at Pale Acre. Their Alpha is brutal and unforgiving..

“I actually think he would be okay with it.” He shrugs but I notice a slight smile rising on his mouth.

I make a hmm sound in sarcastic agreement. “So what is your job?”

“I protect my people,” he shrugs as though this is no small matter.

“Like a warrior?” I enquire for confirmation. Being mated to a warrior would be okay, he could protect me and will always be in good shape. My eyes drift toward Nix as I try to imagine the muscles beneath his shirt. The way his T-shirt hugs his biceps tells me all I need to know, the man is ripped.

He shrugs in response to my question, “sort of.”

I nod slowly, still staring at his chest. Then I realise he answered my question and I cannot even remember the question I asked. I shake my head as I turn to look out the window.

We are just pulling into the driveway of a small cottage.

“Seriously?” I scoff, “we get kidnapped and you guys get cottages to stay in.” I heave a sigh as I climb out of the car. “It all seems wrong to me.”

Nix is beside me quicker than I expected and closes the car door behind me. “I don’t disagree but this ritual has bought me to you. So I cannot complain.”

I roll my eyes as I begin walking up the steps to the cottage. It is pretty actually, little flower beds surround the outside. Vines creeping up the windows. The wood still has a rustic freshness to it so it cannot be too old. I glance left and right before noting we are surrounded by tiny cottages.

Nix opens the front door for me and I step inside.

“The bathroom is second door on the left if you need to freshen up,” Nix gestures to the door. “Glass of water?”

“Sure, thanks.” I head to the bathroom door and step inside before closing it behind me. I lean my head back against the closed door and take a deep breath.

This is not how I thought my day would go. I quickly us the toilet to relieve myself before standing in front of the mirror.

I don’t have any change of clothes with me so I slide my jacket off and lay it on the side. I run the warm water and grab the bar of soap before washing my hands and arms, followed by my face. I rinse the soap off and dry my arms and face with the towel.

Next I pull my hair tie out and use the brush to untangle my reddish brown waves. After brushing it I decide to leave it down, I tuck the strands behind my ear.

I find a new toothbrush in a wrapper in the cupboard so I squeeze some toothpaste on and brush my teeth.

Satisfied with my freshness for now I grab my jacket and leave the bathroom. Nix is sitting at the dining room table and glances my way as I step into the room.

His eyes catch on my hair and darken before he clears his throat and stands up.

“There is a fresh glass of water there for you,” he gestures to the table and I walk toward the seat. I hold my jacket up, “is there somewhere to wash this? Mud splattered up the sleeve.”

He shakes his head, “not here. We can wash it once we reach the pack.” He starts taking his own jumper off before offering it to me. “This should keep you warm in the mean time.”

I take it before sliding it over my head. The material is still warm from his body and I hate the way my senses scream at me to smell it. “Thank you.” I sit at the table and take a few good gulps of the water. Running around the forest all night apparently makes you thirsty.

“I am going to freshen up now and then we will head off,” Nix tells me as he walks toward the bathroom.

“We aren’t staying for the party?” After the hunt they host a campfire party for all new couples.

He stops before reaching the door and glances back at me, “would you like to?”

I shake my head, “not particularly.” Parties have never been my scene but especially this party. I will want to punch every one of the a-holes in the throat for what went down the last twenty four hours.

He shrugs, “then no. We won’t be staying for the party.” With that he carries on to the bathroom and closes the door behind him.

I count to ten to be certain he is gone before I press my nose to the jumper he gave me. I take a deep inhale and almost mutter a moaned curse at how good it smells.