The Huntress and her Alpha

Chapter Fifteen

Lip’s aunt and uncle didn’t try to approach me, or Lip for that matter, in the days after our disastrous dinner. I felt like it was my fault that he was in a fight with them, but he told me that he would always choose me before his family, because I was his family now.

It should’ve been sweet, but I knew how much it hurt to have the person who raised you decide you weren’t worth their time anymore.

Lip didn’t let the horrible meeting of his relatives ruin us though. He continued to show me all the ways in which he wanted more than just the physical bond to be the reason we were together.

Days turned into weeks which would soon turn into months and suddenly the pack house was starting to feel more like home to me.

We had been splitting our nights between our rooms now. Sometimes we fell asleep in mine other times we fell asleep in Lip’s. Last night we ended up in his very nice suite. So we were taking our time waking up and getting ready for the day.

“Beautiful.” Lip whispered as he came up behind the couch and kissed my cheek.

I laughed. “Yes complete with bed head and morning breath. I’m sure I’m just gorgeous.”

He came around and sat on the couch beside me, then pulled me into him. It didn’t take long for me to wrap my arms around his neck. I pulled myself up into his lap as his hands gripped my hips. Now that he knew I was comfortable with kissing him, he couldn’t seem to stop.

“Max.” He moaned my name as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his chest against mine.

I laughed into his mouth. “Are these the plans you had for today? Making out on your couch?”

Lip’s laugh vibrated through his chest into mine. “No. But I can adjust said plans to incorporate this.”

I moved my lips down his jaw, then to his neck. His eyes rolled back as I pressed my teeth against his skin, the way he liked to do to me.

“Max.” His hips jerked against mine. I smiled, a thrill went through me knowing I could cause that reaction from him.

I pulled away, gasping for air. “Okay. So tell me about today’s surprise date.”

Lip tried to catch his breath. “It involves old books. Shopping. Clothes. Food.” He sighed and smiled at me. “Or we could just keep doing this.”

I rolled my hips into his. “I think I like your plans. Old books. Shopping. Food.”

He laughed. “I thought you would. Okay I have a meeting in a few minutes that I couldn’t postpone. So I’ll be quick and then we’ll go.”

I nodded, smiling as I fell off his lap and back onto the couch. “I’m going to change.”

I was still in my pajamas since we had been hanging out. It was almost eleven, but it felt nice to relax with Lip and pretend like we were still in our own little bubble. I stood up and went back to my room, grabbing a pair of leggings and a sweater.

I was more than excited to go with Lip wherever he had decided to take me. I was starting to realize while this bond made me want physical things from him, I wanted to be his friend more. I wanted to know him, and it seemed like he wanted to know me.

After all he had planned a date around an old bookstore. He knew how much I loved vintage things and books.

I took my time getting ready. Lip tried not to let his meetings run late, especially when we had plans, but I had a feeling this one might. This one involved Lip extending invitations to fellow packs to come to the ball he would begin planning soon.

Thankfully he didn’t give me the task of planning said dance. He had an event planner and she would handle this one. Of course should I become Luna that would be part of my duties.

Planning events and picking out decorations. I really wasn’t a Hunter anymore. There wasn’t training to keep the wolves in line, no patrolling the border to make sure they abided by the treaty. Instead I was more or less a housewife.

I wasn’t sure why but I was okay with that. For now.

I knew I’d get bored of it eventually. But right now I was going to play the role and get to know Lip. Which meant I’d get to know the pack as well. I sighed as I started my makeup, wondering what my father would think of all this.

I decided in that moment to start finding my way to training again. I wouldn’t let myself become soft when it came to my skills just because I was a Luna and not a Hunter. I wanted to be strong, to be ready if something happened. I didn’t have to be one or the other, I knew given the choice Lip would have no problem letting me be both.

At that thought I smiled, realizing how liberating that felt. Knowing the man I was mated with wouldn’t stop me from being me. Not the way my father had tried time and time again. He wanted to keep me in his house, with his rules. He wanted me to be the leader he had been, not to think outside the box and find a way to bridge the gap that had been forming between hunters and wolves for years.

But Lip was everything my father wasn’t and so much more. He was my partner, my equal. He was my safe place to land. It might have taken me a few weeks, close to months, to figure that out. But as I did I felt my chest tighten and fill with… something.

I looked at my reflection and I realized right then and there. I was falling in love with Philip James. The alpha of the Black Forest pack, the wolf who touched me and claimed me as his mate, was also becoming the love of my life.

I laughed out loud at how crazy that sounded. And yet it felt so right.

“I love him.”

The words were soft as they fell from my lips. My chest kept pulling, the bond throbbing. Was this what it felt like? To fall in love? To realize that maybe you were meant to share your life with someone else?

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breathing trying to clear my mind. I heard my bedroom door open as I pushed my hair out of my face and waited for him to come find me.

I knew he would always find me.

His foot steps were soft as he came into the bedroom, standing in the doorway for a moment just staring at me. I smiled at him through the mirror, his hazel eyes flashing with desire from where he stood.

“So beautiful.” He stepped into the room. Then as he got closer he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I felt that thing inside my chest respond to his touch.

“Did you know.” I giggled as he pressed his lips against my neck. “That I have never been a touchy feely kind of girl? Before I met you I never really… wanted to be hugged.”

Lip smiled at me through the mirror. “Are you saying I changed that?”

I shrugged, his teeth skimming across my skin. “I guess you are. Changing me.”

He squeezed my hips. “I can’t say I’m not thrilled to hear you say that, Max.”

Before I could ask if he was ready to go, Lip pulled away from me. I turned towards him, watching as he got that far away look in his eyes like he was talking to someone else. He stood there frozen, not looking at me, his eyes open but not seeing.

Then all at once he came back into this moment and sighed, his brown eyes focusing on me once again. But instead of the playful alpha who had come into the room, I was looking at an alpha who had been called for help.

“I’m so sorry Max, but we have to postpone our date. I have to go.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know but Jack said it’s bad. Please stay here?” He asked the question softly. He reached out and twisted one of my curls around his fingers, waiting for me to agree.

There was a tear in his voice as he looked into my eyes. I knew he had been pushing a lot of his duties onto Jack because he wanted to make me comfortable and get to know me. So I knew by asking me to stay here he was asking me to be one less worry he needed to have.

“I’ll stay here.” I sighed and grabbed his face. I pulled him to me and kissed him. “Come back to me.”

His smile made my heart skip a beat. “Always, sweetheart.”

He squeezed my hand before standing up. “Be safe.”

Lip nodded and then left his room, leaving me there on his couch to once again be the girl waiting for him to come back