#7 The Twins of Satin Moon

Chapter 27: Hunter

“Is possessiveness a werewolf thing, too?” She asked, trying to wiggle away from me.

“It is for a werewolf’s mate.” I nuzzled my nose against her neck and breathed in deeply. I had missed her scent so much.

“I’ve heard that word before. Miles called Ana his mate. He said it was just a cheesy pet name.” Maizey fidgeted at my closeness.

“It’s not. It’s a term werewolves use for their soulmate, their one true love, their life.” I had no idea how I was going to explain this well enough for Maizey to understand but I knew that I had to get it right. It was the only way she would forgive me for all the horrible things I’d done trying to keep her safe.

“I don’t understand, so like a werewolf’s girlfriend?” She asked. I chuckled against her neck and pulled back so I could see her face.

“No, it’s so much more than that. Mates are the same soul, plucked from each other at birth and drawn to each other for the rest of their lives. They are two halves of the same whole, missing puzzle pieces to each other’s hearts. Mates will do anything for each other. They love each other in a way that isn’t human and it can’t be compared to human relationships. Saying that I would die for you isn't just an animated pick up line, it’s the truth. I literally cannot live without you, Maizey.” I was holding her face in my hands now, pleading with her to understand.

“How do you know I’m this….your mate?” She mumbled, fear obvious in her hazel eyes.

“Werewolves find their mates by smelling them.”

“I smell!” She gasped and I couldn’t help but laugh at her,

“You smell amazing, princess, the best smell I’ve ever experienced. That’s how I find you, that’s how I know when you’ve entered a room or where you’ve been. It’s how I first realized you were mine.” I was tracing circles over her cheek with my thumb, using her warm skin to keep me calm.

“You mean here when you came to check on my brothers after your party?” She asked and I shook my head. Another lie I had to come clean about.

“No, I knew you were my mate before that. I just didn’t know you were Matt's sister until the party. I came to work shortly after you left from your meeting with HR. Do you remember that?” I paused and she nodded, “Well, you had spoken to Ana so I smelt you on her. Then I followed your scent into the elevator and up to Joan’s office. She had your file and showed me your picture, that’s how I learned your name. Then, I went to the party and met up with Matt who told me about his sister who started working for my company. That's when I put it all together.” I explained.

“Did you tell Matt then?” She asked and I nodded,

“Yes, I told him that you were my mate. He already knew that I was a werewolf so it made things a little easier.”

“That explains why he liked you so much and was so adamant about me giving you a chance. That was so unlike him.” She looked away from my face and seemed far away for a minute.

“There’s so much you need to know about the mate bond but it’s hard to explain it. It’s almost impossible to put it into words. It’s something that I’m going to have to show you, something you’re going to have to experience for yourself.” I sighed.

“How can I if it’s a werewolf thing?” She raised her eyebrow at me.

“Tell me that you haven’t felt something already?” I challenged her and she started to think.

“I always know when you’re in a room, it’s like I can sense your presence the second you’re close to me. I feel like I can find your eyes anywhere and meet your gaze,” She paused and smiled as our eyes met,

“When I came to your party and we danced, I felt like I could trust you and I never feel that way about strangers. The more time we spent together the more my walls broke down. And then, when you told me you didn’t want to see me anymore, it felt like something shattered inside me. Being rejected by you hurt way more than it should have.” She was frowning now as she thought about the worst day of my life.

“Baby, that was the hardest thing that I ever had to do and easily the worst day of my life. It ripped me apart and every day since has been slowly killing me.” I had my arm around her shoulders now, rubbing my thumb against her bare skin and holding her closely.

“You went to Carmin.” She stated, her eyes hardening.

“Only to weaken our bond, to keep you safe. I meant what I said at the party, I feel nothing for Carmin, I’ve never felt anything for her. I don’t want her but I needed her around to make our bond feel rejected.” I tried to explain.

“Why? Why did you need to stay away from me and why did it change tonight?” She was getting over the shock of finding out I was a werewolf and returning to being furious with me and my actions. I knew I had to act quickly to save the tone of this conversation.

“Listen, princess, there’s a lot you need to understand and a lot that you need to learn, but it’s going to take time. I keep saying this, but you need to understand it quickly and believe it, you are the most important thing in my life and keeping you safe is my number one priority, even if that means not being with you. Everything that I do for the rest of my life will be with one goal in mind, to keep you safe and happy. Tell me you understand that?” I begged, pressing my nose against her cheek. I felt her nod,

“I think I understand that.” She said softly.

“I have a twin brother, his name is Archer.” I confessed and she pulled away, her eyes wide.

“I know, your sister told me.” She admitted shyly.

"She did?" I blinked in surprise, not expecting that.

"She said he had something to do with why you pushed me away. Something about him being bad and you not wanting anything good to be around him." She shrugged but I could tell she was frustrated because she didn't understand.

I made a mental note to yell at Mel later for this.

“There's a little more to it than that," I signed, "He got his wolf at 15 years old, unheard of for a werewolf, and it made him feral. He didn’t know how to control it, he wasn’t mature enough or experienced enough to contain his adult wolf. All his wolf longed for was his mate and that drove both of them mad,

"His wolf killed a girl just because Archer was interested in her as a teenager. It was then that my brother decided he never wanted to be the Alpha of our pack, instead he wanted to use his rage and become a Warrior. That year, he left home to join a pack of warrior wolves far away and he never came back.” I paused to give her time to process this information and ask her questions.

“What is a werewolf warrior?” She asked.

“They are the most elite among us, the strongest, fastest, the very best. They are charged with protecting the werewolf species, settling disputes and safeguarding our people. There’s a pack in the werewolf realm that trains the best warriors.” I said.

“The werewolf realm?” She squeaked.

“Yes, this is the human realm. There’s a fae realm, vampire realm, siren realm, and werewolf realm. They are like pocket universes that live in the spaces between your world.” I tried to explain. She was taking deep breaths now, disgusting this information slowly.

“Vampires? Fae? Sirens? What else is there?” She asked.

“Witches, fairies, dwarfs, nymphs, pretty much everything you can think of.” I shrugged and she was bug eyed.

“Oh okay.” She was nodding quickly, trying to make this all seem normal.

“It’s okay, baby, you’ll get over the shock eventually.” I chuckled, kissing her temple.

“Your brother?” She prodded.

“Yes, well, my brother left at age 15 and never came home. My youngest two siblings have never met him and Mel was only seven so she doesn’t remember him well. He barely even calls home. But, three months ago, he called home and asked if I had found my mate. He could feel the bond through me and not being near his mate was making him weak.” Maizey raised her hand to stop me and I clamped my mouth shut,

“His mate?” Her face was white and I sighed, realizing I had just kinda skipped over that part.

“He’s my identical twin. You know how biology works, we were one egg and one sperm so, essentially, we are of one soul. Therefore, we share a mate. You are my mate and Archer’s.” I explained quickly, ripping the bandaid off.

“Fabulous.” She replied in a snarky tone and I took that as permission to continue. We would address the shared mate thing a little later, when her head isn’t already ready to explode.

“Anyway, he felt the connection and that caused him to feel weak. He threatened to come home and take you with him so he could be strong. We made a deal, if I stayed away from you and took another, a chosen mate, he would stay away from you, too. Our distance would drive a wedge in the matebond and weaken it, thus, no longer weakening my brother.” I explained as carefully as I could.

“I don’t understand. Why was he weakened?” She had the most adorable puzzled expression on her face that I was really struggling with the urge to kiss her. I shook my head slowly and regained focus.

“The matebond makes us strong. We are never as strong as when our mate is near us and the bond is completed. If we know who our mate is and we aren’t with them, it weakens us. Being away from your mate is like draining the energy from a battery and the matebond is like the charger.” I was proud of my analogy and it seemed to help Maizey understand better, too.

“So, he wanted to just take me?” She gulped and I pulled her close, again.

“I won’t let that happen, not even now. Honestly, if my brother does come home to take you, I think his entire plan will change once he’s near you. It’s nearly impossible to be vengeful or selfish around your mate. He’ll be enchanted by you just like I am and turn into a big softy, I’m sure.” I smiled widely at Maizey but, deep down, I was trying to convince myself that what I was saying was really true. I was counting on it to be true.

“So, you stayed away and you dated Carmin to try and weaken our….connection?” She asked and I nodded,

“Exactly. It was working, too, until that incident at the bar.” I looked away, feeling guilty.

“What does that have to do with anything?” She was glaring at me, I could feel it.

“I protected you, I got close to you, I felt a level of jealousy and rage that only a mate could make someone feel. Archer felt all of that, too, and he called me. That’s when I knew I had to take things up a notch. It wasn’t good enough to just avoid you, I had to make you hate me.” I sighed, feeling a lump in my throat and a hot, burning pain rising in my chest.

“Well, mission accomplished.” She grumbled and I looked into her eyes again.

“I’m so sorry for everything, princess, I really am.” I would apologize forever if I had to.

“Why stop now?” She asked, ignoring my groveling.

“I realized that you’re already in so much pain, that you’ve already had so much heartache in your life and I cannot, I will not, be the cause of any more. You deserve happiness, you deserve the entire world and I'm going to give it to you, come hell or high water. My brother be damned. Besides, with a threat like that out there, I cannot stand to be anywhere but beside you. None of my bodyguards will protect you like I can. It killed me when you didn’t want my comfort and I don't blame you, but I can’t live like that. I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you, Maizey.” I pressed my forehead against hers and closed my eyes, letting her scent fill my senses.

“There’s something you need to know about me, Hunter.” Her voice was hard and stubborn, a tone I had come to know and love. I smirked and leaned back so I could see her properly.

“What’s that, baby?”

“No one makes decisions for me, nobody makes up my mind for me. You have no right to decide what risks I am and am not willing to take, that includes with your brother. Stick bodyguards on me and follow me around like a puppy, fine, but don’t presume to know my thoughts on something.” She was glaring at me and I was confused. I deserved her anger, but I wasn’t expecting to be yelled at regarding her choices.

“Baby, I don’t understand.”

“I’m telling you this because I never want you to make this mistake again. If you had come to me with the truth three months ago, the whole truth, I would have told you something entirely different. I would have told you that I didn’t care about the danger, we would face it and survive it together. I would have told you that I’ve lived in fear my whole life, I’ve seen the worst that the world has to offer and I’ve survived it. I would have told you to not underestimate me because my resolve is stronger than even that of a werewolf. And I would have told you that fighting for us was worth it. I don’t know what this is, but figuring it out is worth any cost.”

Holy s**t this woman was perfect.

Watcher was howling in my head and my entire body was on fire. Her eyes were burning a hole into mine, her expression filled with so much passion and heat that I could hardly stand it. I lifted her up easily and placed her on my lap so she was now straddling me. She gasped, but I silenced her with my mouth.

I crashed my lips to hers, moving against them urgently. I grabbed her face like I was afraid it would disappear. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she pulled herself even closer, like she was trying to crawl inside of me. I didn’t relinquish her lips until I could feel her gasping for air. Once we parted, I buried my face in her neck and kissed her soft marking spot. She wiggled on my lap and a small moan escaped her mouth. It was the most delicious sound that I’ve ever heard.