I WOKE TO COMPLETE darkness, the room chilled by an overactive air conditioner and my mate absent from our shared bed. “Hunter?” I whispered. My inner wolf should have been able to hear his footsteps padding across the carpet toward us, but she was sound asleep. So I only noticed Hunter’s presence when the covers lifted and his long, lean body slid underneath to lie beside mine. “Just checking on the munchkins,” he murmured, kissing my forehead as he encircled me in his arms once more. “Were they alright?” I asked drowsily, nuzzling closer and feeling like a wolf pup in my own right. For all of Hunter’s passion and skill in the lovemaking department, this was my favorite part of shacking up—just lying by my mate’s side as his hands skimmed idly over my recumbent body. I knew it was jus