Hunter’s POV
“Hunter?” Alex called me quietly.
I looked up at him and furrowed my eyebrows. He was smiling at me. Why was he smiling?
“You can go inside,” he said, making my heart stop beating. “My mom mind-linked me. She wants to see you.”
My heart jumped in my throat and it cut off my breathing. I moved instantly, trying to get to her as fast as I possibly could.
I almost knocked Emma over when I ran into her while she was walking out of the cabin.
“Slow down, Hunter,” Alpha Logan said as he caught his mate.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I just…”
“It’s okay, go,” Emma interrupted me, giving me a small smile.
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I rushed toward the room, wanting to get there as soon as fucking possible. I missed her. I needed her.
I glanced through the window as I was passing it and I saw her sitting on the bed, looking down at her hands in her lap. My heart skipped a beat.
I ran toward the door and stepped inside. Her scent almost made me fall to my knees.
“Angel,” I mumbled quietly.
She took a deep breath and looked up at me. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears and it made the pain explode inside my body.
“Oh, Sophia,” I said quietly as I approached her.
I sat next to her and pulled her into my arms. The tingles exploded on my skin.
“Oh, my love,” I said as I kissed her temple. “I missed you. I missed you so much.”
She turned her head and buried her face into my neck.
“I am sorry, Hunter,” she cried out. “I am so sorry.”
I placed a hand on her head and held her closer to me. I could feel her pain and fear and it made me want to scream. She was in so much pain and I had no idea what to do.
“It’s okay, Angel,” I mumbled as I picked her up and placed her on my lap.
I needed to have her as close to me as possible. I needed to feel her whole body against mine. I wished that there was a way for me to somehow tuck her under my skin and keep her safe forever.
“I killed your grandfather,” she said, sobbing hard. “I killed him, Hunter. I am a murderer. You don’t deserve that. You deserve…”
Fear exploded inside me and I pulled her head up so I could look at her.
“Stop it, Sophia,” I said as my heart started racing impossibly fast. “Stop it right now. You are not rejecting me and I am not leaving you.”
Just the thought of it made me want to die. I didn’t want to live without her. I couldn’t live without her.
“That man wasn’t my grandfather,” I continued sternly. “I don’t think of him that way. I think of him as a man who took my mate away from me. I think of him as a man who tortured my mate and almost killed her. If you didn’t kill him, I would have. I would have watched him die and it would have made me so fucking happy. He wouldn’t have survived my anger, my love.”
Sophia took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“I love you,” I told her. “I can’t even explain how much I love you and I am not going to lose you because of this, Sophia.”
My eyes fell on my mark on her neck. I lifted my hand and touched it. She shivered and closed her eyes.
“You are mine,” I continued softly. “I put my mark on your beautiful body knowingly. I want you and I want everyone to know that you are mine.”
She opened her eyes and another tear fell on her cheek. I wanted to lean in and kiss her, but I had so much more to say before I did that.
“I marked you knowing that it might not work,” I said. “I was aware of the fact that the darkness might not leave and I still did it. I did it because I love you, Sophia. I loved you with your darkness and I love you without it. I would have found a way to stay with you if this hadn’t worked. Hell, I would have embraced the darkness and we would have reigned terror together.”
I meant every word that I said. I wouldn’t leave her even if my mark didn’t take away the darkness.
Sophia sobbed and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I love you,” she said through her sobs. “I love you so much.”
“Oh, my Angel,” I said as I tangled my fingers into her hair. “I love you too. I missed you so much.”
I bent my head and kissed my mark on her neck. She pressed herself closer to me.
“I can’t wait to wear your mark on my neck, my love,” I said softly. “I can’t wait until everyone knows that I belong to you.”
Sophia lifted her head and I took that opportunity to kiss her. She moaned quietly, making my body burst into flames. She tasted so fucking amazing and I wanted so much more from her.
“I was so scared that you didn’t want to see me ever again,” I mumbled as I leaned my forehead against hers.
She pulled back from me so she could look at me.
“You were scared that I wouldn’t want to see you?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
“Yes,” I nodded. “I was scared that I did something…”
She interrupted me by cupping my cheeks.
“No, Hunter,” she said, shaking her head. “I want you and I will always want you. I was just so ashamed of everything that I did and said.”
She shook her head and took a deep breath.
“I am still ashamed of it,” she mumbled. “I still just want to disappear and…”
This time I interrupted her.
“No, Sophia,” I said sternly. “You won’t disappear. You can’t disappear. Not again. I won’t survive it. Your parents won’t survive it. Alex…”
I stopped talking and took a deep breath.
“Your brother won’t survive it, Sophia,” I continued quietly. “You have no idea how much he suffered. He was trying to hide it, but I saw how desperate he was.”
Sophia gulped and another tear fell on her cheek.
“We can’t lose you again, Angel,” I added. “We wouldn’t survive it again.”
She leaned in and pressed her lips against mine. I kissed her back and tightened my arms around her.
“You won’t lose me again,” she mumbled against my lips. “I promise.”
I kissed her harder and pressed her as close to me as I possibly could.
She was right. I would never lose her again. I wouldn’t let it happen again.
