My Hunted Mate

Corinna

Once Gia and Jack agree to keep an eye on Elias for a few minutes, Phoenix and I exit the room. We wander through the house, stopping off at the kitchen to grab one of the many bags of blood stocked in the refrigerator before wandering outside to the gazebo

Nerves bubble away in the depths of my stomach when Phoenix pulls the jar of Kai's blood from his pocket as soon as we sit on the bench together, he gently places the jar in between us, but doesn't say a word about it, indicating that he is allowing me to take my time.

A feeling of gratitude rises in me from my in-laws respectfulness, a small smile momentarily forms on my lips as I place the bag of blood down next to the jar on the metal of the bench. Phoenix starts to push the swing into a light, rhythmic sway.

" You know, you have fit in here perfectly from the moment Mal found you. You have been unbelievably kind to all of us, you gave us a gift that all of us never thought was possible. " Phoenix mumbles, running his thumb across the face of the silver watch clasped on his wrist, the one I enchanted so he can be protected in the sun. " I don't think I ever properly thanked you for it, so thank you. *

"You don't have to.. "I shift awkwardly at his kind words.

" And I also wanted to thank you for making my brother the happiest I have seen him in a thousand years, for giving him unconditional love and testing him when he has needed to be tested. * Phoenix ignore me, continuing his little speech.

" He.. He died because of me Phoenix, he died trying to protect me. " I whisper sorrowfully.

" It's not your fault Cori, you did what you could. " He shakes his head. "1 couldn't get to him in time, how pathetic is that? There's a chance he could've lived if I had just gotten to him on time. " Tears stream down my face as the overwhelming guilt and grief fill me up.

" You did everything you could. You tried to get to him, you avenged him, you brought him back to life and you did your best to fix the damage that was done to him in the process of rising from the dead. I would hardly call any of that pathetic. " Phoenix musters up a smile, gently shoving my upper arm with his elbow. He pauses, his smile fades as he places his hand on top of mine in a form of comfort. * My brother died to protect the woman he loved, so she can be a mother to their son, pretty honourable death in my book. "

" Thank you. " I sob, leaning across the bench to wrap my arms around him tightly.

Phoenix returns my embrace, then when we separate after a minute or so, he speaks again. "I think you should lead the clan, now that Mal is gone. "

My face contorts into pure shock at his words. " I should what? *

" Dahlia and myself have never been fit to lead, we never wanted to. We let our turned go their own ways without a second thought, we wanted to continue to travel and party when Mal wanted to settle down, take care of the people he had turned. " He explains. " The clan know my sister and I have absolutely no interest in leading them, they'll start to argue amongst them for who will take over and it will no doubt turn violent. You wanted to stand by Mal's side and lead, so by that logic this is your role now that he has passed. "

"1 don't know, I don't think Kai would want me to- " I speak, but he cuts me off.

" He would. Trust me. " Phoenix smiles. * Think about it, okay?

I nod my head, then finally turn my attention to the jar still sitting on the space on the bench between us. With shaky hands, I pick it up, unscrewing the lid, letting the top fall to the ground with a clatter. Taking a breath, I bring the jar to my lips, allowing the familiar thick honey tasting blood to coat my tongue. As I gulp down the liquid, I feel my heart beat come to a complete stop as fangs begin to extend from my gums, veins prickle under my eyes and down my cheeks and then finally my heart's beat returns but it is faint and slow.

All of my senses burst at once, everything around me becomes louder, sharper, clearer. Everything I feel intensifies to the point it feels almost crippling, I try to breathe to focus and ground myself but a sweet scent hits me, causing an overwhelming hungry inside me to spark.

My gaze snaps toward the bag of blood that is sitting on the bench where the now empty jar had previously, without it begin a conscious thought, I know that's what I need

My hands move before I process it, snatching the bag and tearing it open. Without any hesitation, I gulp down the cool crimson liquid and within seconds nothing but an empty piece of clear vinyl remains.

" Wow, you're fast. " Phoenix mutters, but I hear his words perfectly and snap my head in his direction making his eyes widen.

The confusion at his reaction causes my face to return to it's normal state. " What? What's wrong? " I question.

"Your eyes... They're.. " He trails off, shaking his head in what seems to be shock.

" What? They're what? " I ask, my tone demanding as the worry starts to turn into panic.

" I've just never seen anything like it, your pupil turns this dark purple like indigo, but your iris is this glowing lilac colour and anything beyond that is just black. * He informs me, his tone both confused and amazed.

At the description, my confusion and panic grow. I stand to my feet, looking around, my eyes fall on one of the many trees I mutter a word in Latin, barely getting to wave my hand before the tree violently cracks down the middle.

The crack spreads throughout the entire tree until finally it splits and begins to fall down in my direction, I go to run away but without any effort and within the blink of an eye, I'm back sitting beside Phoenix, the tree lands on the ground, shaking the earth thunderously.

" So you still have your gifts, you're faster than any vampire I've ever seen, including myself, freaky. " He chuckles.

" My gifts are stronger now too, I can feel the energy coursing through me, it's strange and I didn't know what it was before. * I mumble, unsure of how I'm going to manage all of this new found power.

" Are you still a wolf? * He questions quietly.

" Only one way to find out. " I shrug, standing to my feet once more. Moving away from Phoenix, I close my eyes. Immediately and painlessly my bones begin to crack and reshape, much quicker than usual I find myself on four paws. Looking over at Phoenix, I tilt my head as my eyes meet his extremely wide ones.

" Has your wolf always been this big? " He whispers.

Now that he mentions it, I realise I feel much taller all of a sudden, at least a foot taller. Panic floods me again as I shift back, my breathing comes out in short pants when I'm back on two legs. Phoenix averts his gaze from my naked form, but follows after me when I take off running toward the house.