Hunter's Secret

Hunter's POV

Amusement spreads across my face and I clap Cameron on the back and turn around, heading back into the house. I am trying to give them some privacy but I also can’t help feeling a bit nosy so I head up to my room and slowly move the curtain out of the way so I can watch them from my window.

‘You are 100% being a creeper right now,’ River tells me.

‘Well, I need to know if I need to step in and I can’t know that if I can’t see what is going on.’

‘Still a bit creepy. I think Cameron can handle himself.’

‘He is stuck in his emotional brain right now so his logic and ability to think clearly is impacted. I need to make sure he is okay,’ I try to explain to River.

‘Whatever you have to tell yourself to help you sleep at night. You are definitely a creeper though.’

‘Go lay down or something. You are annoying.’

River doesn’t respond to me this time and dramatically sighs and lays down. I roll my eyes at him, he has a lot of attitude for someone who lives in my head. I turn my attention back to Emma and Cameron.

Emma grabs Cameron’s hand and pulls him out of the doorway and into the grass. As much as I want to hear what they are saying and I know I could if I wanted to, I don’t let myself interrupt their privacy to that level.

He says something and drops his head, almost like he is bracing himself for something. She reaches her hand up and brushes his face. She goes to move her hand away, but he gently places her hand back on his face and then places his hand over hers. He takes a deep breath and leans into her hand a little.

She removes her hand from under hers and shakes her head and then starts walking away from him. I thought for a second that she might have rejected him but then she paused and motioned for him to join her. He quickly caught up and hesitantly grabbed her hand which made me chuckle. My best friend has met his match, and they look really good together. I am so glad she didn’t reject him. I think it would have actually broken his heart. Seeing them walk hand in hand brought a twinge of sadness for me though, I wanted that for myself.

‘I want that too. It isn’t fair that he found his mate first. He is two years younger than us!’ River growls out.

‘Now who is jealous?’

He huffs at me again but chooses not to respond. I laugh at him but part of me agrees with him. Not so much that it isn’t fair but more that it has been almost three years since my first shift, and I am still not any closer to finding my mate than I was then. I can’t wait until I can hold my mate’s hand.

I go lay down on my bed and stare up at my ceiling. I wonder what she looks like, not that I really care because I know she will be beautiful in my eyes. I haven’t even met her yet, but I know I will absolutely love her. She will be perfect and made just for me. I just hope she feels the same way. I hope she likes me. I vow to myself to do everything possible in my power to be a good mate and husband to her.

She deserves to have the entire world and I want to give that to her. I hope she is from a good family and is the daughter of a higher up wolf. Not because I care about her status, but because I know she will be able to handle the responsibility of being a Luna because she will already have some practice. But I also know that if she isn’t, I will be patient and help teach her. I know my mom will help too. If she was made for me, she was also made to be Luna of this pack.

I am interrupted from my daydreaming by a mind-link from my father, ‘Hunter, please join me in my office. We have something we need to discuss.’

I would much rather think about my future mate than deal with my adult responsibilities. Sometimes, being an Alpha is exhausting. Actually, sometimes just being an adult is exhausting. Regardless of my desire to stay in my bed, I walk out of my room, down the hall and into his office, trying to keep my anxiety at bay.

“Yes, dad? What did you want to discuss?” I ask, peeking my head into his office.

He waves me in, and I take a seat across from him.

“I need your help to make a plan. I am sure you have noticed in the files that I gave you that our pack is running low on resources. As thankful as I am that our pack has continued to grow, I also know soon we will outgrow the space we have left. I don’t think the few houses we built will be enough to keep us comfortable for very long. We need more space. Do you have any ideas?” he inquires with a serious tone to his voice.

“Yes, I did notice. I have thought about this already and I have a few ideas. We could add additional stories to the existing family homes we have built. Or we could remove some of our farmland to build more houses and work with surrounding packs to trade in the food we would lose from that decision. We could offer trainings in exchange. I am sure Ryan wouldn’t mind have new wolves to punish…I mean train,” I say, stifling a small laugh.

My father also wears a small smile. He knows as well as I do that Ryan is excellent at his job, but he is also incredibly tough, especially on new trainees.

“I am proud of you, Hunter. I can tell you have really thought about this. You are doing a good job so far. As much as I like the sounds of your ideas, I am not sure how practical they will be to implement.”

“Thank you, dad. I do have one more idea but I am not sure you are going to like it,” I pause, and he raises his eyebrow, telling me to continue, “What if we took in Red Rock?”