Page 22 of Hunting for her Heart
I try to hold in my concern but end up speaking anyway. “But it’s not who finds them first. It’s who has them at the end of the week.”
“That’s true this year. But in the past, it’s always been the first to find them.”
“Oh,” I say as Hawk stands, and suddenly, all three of them are in front of me, staring down at my body with varying shades of anger and pain. “What?” I ask, glancing down at myself, worried my coverings have shifted.
“You’re covered in bruises and injuries,” Ronan says angrily. “You didn’t get all of those running in the hunt.”
“No,” I say, lifting my left arm and seeing a particularly bad bruise.
“Is that…” Bo trails off as he lifts his hand over my arm, showing the bruises on my upper arm are, in fact, in the exact shape of a hand. “Who did this to you?” he asks, a mask of anger covering his face.
“Was it your brother?” Ronan asks angrily, and I shake my head.
“He isn’tmybrother, and no, I already had the bruises when I arrived here.”
“Someone in your home world did this?” Hawk asks, sounding like he’s in pain.
“My father.” Their eyes widen, clearly not expecting that. “And the man he was forcing me to marry.”
“Forcing you?” Ronan asks, his anger pushing to the front.
Nodding, I try to explain. “My father is the head of our cult.Hiscult.” When I see their confused expressions, I try toexplain. “It’s like a religious group, but he makes up his own rules of what we do and who we worship. We’re kept sheltered, and away from society. Especially the females. He told me I was to marry his second in command, an older man named Paul. He was more than thirty years older than me and...”
“And?” Hawk prods, his hand finding its way to gently stroke up and down my back in support.
“And I hate him. I hate both of them. My father demanded I marry him and lie with him, and I refused. He said the next day they would offer me up as a sacrifice if I still chose not to marry him, then they both beat me and left me unconscious.” I lick my lips as I glance up at them.
“When I woke up, I ran. They hadn’t locked the door or chained me up that time, so I ran into the forest and through the night until I came into a large city. Eventually, I found myself in a bookstore, and the woman there sent me through a portal into your world.”
“Where you landed yourself right at the beginning of the Mating Hunt,” Ronan finishes for me, and I nod. Ever so gently, he lifts my left arm and inspects the red marks around my wrist. “This is where they chained you?” he asks, his voice is quiet, but there’s no mistaking the anger and tension there.
“Yes,” I answer as Bo steps up in front of me. He’s holding a small container with some sort of white cream, and dips his fingers in it before looking at me.
“This is for anywhere you have open wounds. We don’t have anything for the bruises, unfortunately.”
“That’s okay,” I tell him with a tight smile. “I appreciate you helping me.” He starts to rub the cream into scratches on my left arm as I glance at the other two. I hesitate amoment before asking, “Why are you guys being so nice to me?”
Hawk and Ronan exchange a knowing glance before Ronan asks, “What do you know of fated mates?”
I frown, shaking my head. “I’ve never heard that term before.” He nods as if expecting as much.
“What—” I cut myself off when the three of them suddenly spin to face the trees, pulling their weapons out as they surround me.
“Willow, put your dress on. Quickly now,” Ronan whispers, his eyes still glued to the forest. The tone of his voice makes me jump into action, ripping the wet bindings off and yanking my dress over my head.
When I turn back to them, I see Hawk blindly reach a hand back toward me. “Come here, angel,” he whispers, and I immediately press my hand in his, and he pulls me against his side. I place my other hand against his warm abs as I stare into the forest. I want to ask what’s happening, what they’ve heard, but instinct tells me to stay quiet.
I hear a twig snap somewhere ahead on our right, and slowly, Hawk bends down and wraps one arm around my legs, right below my butt, and lifts me up against him like I weigh nothing. I wrap my arms around his neck and try to keep my head out of his eyeline as I cling to him in fear.
When I realize how awkward this must be for him to hold me like this, I part my knees and wrap my legs around him. Luckily, the skirt of the dress has enough fabric to allow me to do so. His large hand settles on my ass as he holds me against him and starts to back away from where the sound originated.
“Go,” Ronan whispers so quietly, I almost miss it. Hawk turns us as Bo appears in front, leading the way into the treeson the opposite side of the clearing. I watch Ronan follow behind as they move so silently through the forest, and my breathing is the loudest thing I can hear.
Being around these three it’s easy to forget I’m in the middle of the Mating Hunt. A very real game where apparently, I’m the prize. The implications of what that means are still lost on me, but for the first time since this started, I don’t feel completely hopeless.
What happens if I’m still with them when the game ends in six days? What is it exactly that they get from me? Or want from me? Ronan said he thought the Mating Hunt was archaic, so why enter?
“We’ve lost them,” Ronan says, and I see that some of the tension has left his shoulders. “But let’s keep going until we find a good place to stop.” He glances at me before adding, “We’ll need to hunt for food soon.”
