The Hunter's Alpha

10 Friends

Amber

I waited until he was gone and came out cautiously. My chest still felt tight. It wasn't guilt for making him feel so terrible; it was like his disappointment was rebounding onto me.

If this was what the mate thing was about, I wanted no part of it.

I sighed and made my way down to the kitchen and peeked inside. It was empty, so I went to the fridge and looked inside, unsure of what I was allowed to have. There were no boundaries that I could figure out and it made me uneasy. I didn't want to cause problems that could rebound onto me in the future. I sighed.

"What are you going to have?"

Oliver's voice made me jump before I realized that it was not my supposed mate. He sounded a bit like his brother, except my chest didn't give that weird little flutter at the sound of his voice. I spun around and gave him a half-hearted smile. "I don't know."

"Eat whatever you want, they can always replace it later."

This was such a world apart from Mrs. Lyndon's rigid system I could barely take it. Without set rules, how was I supposed to know what to avoid?

"Want a sandwich?" Oliver prodded.

"Sure." He brushed me out of the way and started pulling out ingredients. I stood back cautiously and watched him.

"Turkey?"

"Okay."

"So he told you, huh?"

He could only mean the whole mate disaster. "Yeah."

"Cheddar?"

I nodded. Had anyone ever given me so many options before?

He kept asking me questions and adding things to a sandwich until I finally stopped him. "I need to be able to fit it in my mouth."

Oliver grinned and proceeded to construct a second sandwich. We carried our food and drinks over to the table.

"So, how're you feeling about it?"

I was sure that anything I said would get back to the alpha so I smiled half-heartedly. I didn't want to criticize him or get his hopes up.

Oliver looked across the table at me. "Pressured? Confused? Trapped?"

I gaped at him before remembering to keep my eyes lowered.

"Thought so. Must be a huge thing for a hunter to come to terms with. I mean, weren't you basically raised to destroy us if needed?"

"It was not as open as that. They're raised to keep the peace and maintain supernatural secrecy, and to take out the problematic ones, but that definition can be flexible. And I'm not really a hunter, I was found by them as a baby and was raised by them." No point in keeping it a secret now that the alpha knew.

"Ah. Well, does being human change anything?"

"Not really," I said.

Oliver paused. "Well, I don't want to push you, but I wonder if you know what mates mean to us? There are very few that we can reproduce with easily, and when we find that one, we just bond instinctively. I know you don't feel like you have a choice, but honestly, Devon doesn't have much of one, either. He's already been half in love with you from the moment he killed that bastard who hurt you."

I paused. "Then isn't it better for everyone if I just leave, don't you think? Why should he be forced into something he doesn't actually want?"

"You're beautiful and sweet, I'm sure it's not just the bond. That just speeds up the process, you know?"