River’s m*uth fell to the floor when she heard Alpha Hunter’s decision to take her to sleep in a room next to hers. The girls around him were trembling with fear but that didn’t mean that they didn’t pass dir*y glances at her. And in the midst of all of them, Hunter pulled River with him across the busy hall that was teeming with activity, towards the exit. Rosalie watched him leave the banquet hall all over again and her stomach twisted into knots.
Mina and Gina came rushing to her. “You have to be very careful Lady Rosalie,” said Gina. “The breeder loves to play a victim card and that is why Alpha Hunter protects her so much. She is the typical damsel in distress.” And at the moment Rosalie knew that she had to act like a damsel in distress to attract Hunter’s sympathy. She gritted her teeth as she saw how Hunter’s hand was intertwined with River’s and how he was dragging her with him.
Seething with fury at the behavior of the she Lycans, Hunter exited the hall and took River right to the wing of the castle where his room was. When they reached the landing, he turned to her and found her panting heavily. “Oh! I am so sorry,” he said, feeling guilty that he didn’t even see how tired she was. She was so thin that running wasn’t a good idea with her. Without leaving her hand, he opened the room that was adjacent to his. He switched on the lights and took her to the bed.
“Sit down,” he said and then rushed to get a glass of water for her. He brought the glass, gave it to her and knelt in front of her as she drank from it. He took the glass and placed it on the bedside table. “I am so sorry for how they behaved with you out there! I don’t know why they are conducting themselves so improperly.” He looked into her eyes as if asking for forgiveness.
River was dumbstruck. At first, Alpha Hunter dragged her to this room and now he was kneeling in front of her as if some puppy. He looked extremely concerned. “Please don’t be worried. It was nothing.” She remembered what the girls said in the ball. He was upset with Rosalie because she refused to have sx with him. While that hurt her terribly on the inside, she said, “You must go back to the ball. Lady Rosalie must be waiting.”
Hunter’s brows creased in a deep furrow. “I don’t want to go there,” he replied gruffly. He placed his hands on both her sides as if caging her. Then he looked deep in her eyes and said, “From today onwards you will sleep in this room, okay?” And soon he would bring her to his room.
River blinked at him once and then twice. Pursing her lips, she nodded slightly, unable to help the blush that rose on her cheeks. “I will have to bring my clothes here,” she said in a low voice, feeling awkward in his close vicinity.
“You don’t have to. Faria is going to bring them for you.” His eyes went to the dusty lining of her blush on her cheeks and he felt like tracing it. His heart began to beat wildly when his gaze traversed to her plump lips which were meant to be wrapped around him and su*k and su*k till his eyes rolled back in his head. His mind nosedived into all the possibilities.
“Th- thank you,” River replied as she peered into his sharp green eyes. The moment froze for both of them and she didn’t know if they sat captivated in each other’s gaze for minutes or for hours. Finally when she was able to pull her mind away, she said, “You can go and rest in your room.”
But Hunter was in no mood to go back. “Have you had your food?” he asked.
“We did have it. In the kitchen’s backyard.”
Hunter realized his fo*lish excuse to stay back. “Perhaps you would like to have coffee?” He was looking for a way to spend time with her because it was impossible to stay away from her.
River… nodded.
A wave of excitement surged in his chest. “Let me bring it for you. I make some great coffee. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
“But I have to change,” she said.
Hunter’s mind again went into gutters. How he would help her change her clothes or maybe undress her completely and see her like that on bed. He gulped at the whirlwind of his thoughts which seemed never to control themselves when he was around her. Pointing to the closet on the left wall, he said, “You can find my shirts there. You can change into them, but don’t go to your room. Faria must be coming any time soon with your clothes.” He would have opened his mind link with Faria and asked her to bring her belongings, but how could he miss the chance of seeing his mate in his clothes.
River lowered her head in pure abashment. She nibbled on her lower lip in a silent yes. Feeling satisfied, Hunter got up and slowly walked out of the room, closing it behind him. It was then that River released her tight breath.
She got up and took the room in. It was beautiful. It was drenched with luxurious silk draperies and gorgeous antiques and a large terrace that extended out over the garden below and offered a spectacular view of the hills that were dotted with forests beyond, but were covered in darkness at this point of the hour.
River let out a sigh as she walked towards the terrace, wrapping her arms around and inhaling the misty and woodsy air. She leaned over the railings. The moon hung over the forest like a giant snowball. She loved the feel of this place as if she belonged here, but sadness soon marred her emotions when she reminded herself that she was just a breeder and won’t have the luck or luxury to stay here longer.
Emotions swirling in her mind, she walked back to the bedroom and changed into one of the shirts that belonged to Hunter. She realized that she didn’t have a bra because she was wearing a corset beneath her dress. “D*mn!” she rasped and quickly jumped into bed and pulled the blanket up to cover herself.
Meanwhile Hunter walked in the kitchen to prepare coffee for her, which he had never prepared in all his life. To the chagrin and complete astonishment of the omegas in the kitchen, he spilled milk, burned coffee, broke a few cups, added heaps of sugar and then ended up breaking the coffee espresso maker. After half an hour, he finally churned out a cup of coffee and to impress River, he made a smiley with chocolate powder on its surface. Impressed with himself, he walked to her room with it.
He opened the room to find her sitting in his shirt with a blanket. His throat slid when their gazes locked. He was going to keep that shirt next to him for the next few days just to smell her. “Coffee. For you,” he managed to say in a hoarse voice, his eyes hooded.
“Oh, thanks!” she said and extended her hand for it. The blanket fell.
