Page 27 of Hunting for her Heart
“All of you?” I whisper in shock.
He nods slowly, then presses a finger to my chest, over my heart. “Do you feel it in here? A pull toward us?”
My eyes widen again, and I nod. I had wondered what that feeling was, but… “I don’t feel it anymore,” I tell him with worry.
His lips curl into a breathtaking smile. “That’s because we’re touching each other. When you were in the tree, did you feel it? A tug toward us? Telling you we were safe?”
“Yes,” I tell him, rubbing my palm over my heart as I try to make sense of it.
“It’s how we found you,” Bo explains. “When we were released into the Mating Hunt, we followed the pull straight to you.”
The reminder that we’re still in this strange game, or ritual, has a new set of questions arising. “What would have happened if I wasn’t in this world? Would you have felt the pull toward the other Willow? Would you have hunted down one of the other women?” My brow furrows at the thought of them with anyone other than me.
It’s a completely new and foreign feeling. I don’t like it.
“No,” Ronan says confidently. “It was always meant to be you.”
“But why did you come here to join the Mating Hunt? You didn’t know I’d be here,” I ask in concern.
“We came here for another reason, not to join the hunt,” Ronan explains. “But the moment we saw you, we knew you were ours, so we signed up.”
I blink at him in surprise, my heart feeling light and full of joy. “You entered… just for me?” I ask in awe.
He hugs me gently. “We’d do anything for you, tinytreasure.” He presses his lips to the top of my head, and I soak up his affection as I consider everything they’ve told me.
Fated mates are a foreign concept to me. It sort of sounds romantic, but it also feels a lot like what I’d gone through at the cult, having someone else dictate who I will be with.
“So…” I start, before licking my lips as I gather the courage to ask my question. “You’re saying that fate has brought us together?” They nod, and I continue. “That you are being forced to be with me, that there is no free will involved?”
“No, no, nothing is forced,” Ronan tries to explain. He presses his lips together in thought before continuing. “None of us have to accept the bond. We all have complete control over completing it or rejecting it. But the fates are never wrong. They are able to find the perfect match for us, the one who completes us, makes us feel whole. The one who we will love with all our heart and be loved by in return just as strongly.”
He makes it sound romantic, as if we were chosen by fate and not by chance.
“So when you ask what we’re going to do with you…” Ronan says, reminding me of my original question. “We’re going to keep you safe.”
Bo reaches out and squeezes my hand gently as he adds, “We’re going to take care of you.”
Hawk lays a hand on my foot, adding, “We’re going to love and cherish you.”
Ronan cups my cheek, tilting my head toward him. “We’re going to win the Mating Hunt with you in our possession, then we’re going to let you decide what you want to do next.”
My brow pinches as a mix of confusion, hope, and desire battles within me. “Next?” I ask.
He nods. “We can help you find a way back to your world, if that’s what you wish,” he says, sounding a little sad. “Or we can take you back to Redmere with us.”
“You don’t need to decide that now,” Bo adds as Ronan feeds me the last piece of meat. “None of us can leave until we’ve won the Hunt, anyway.”
“In the meantime, let us take care of you,” Ronan adds. “And maybe, let us show you what it could be like… to be our mate?”
I bite my lip, unsure what that means as I consider their behavior toward me so far. “Is feeding me a mate thing?” I ask, and he nods. “And the carrying me and sitting in your lap thing,” I ask, gesturing to how I’m currently perched in his lap.
“We have a deep drive to care for you,” Hawk explains from the cave entrance. “All our actions extend from that need.”
“Are you a virgin, Willow?” Ronan asks out of the blue, making my cheeks heat as my wide eyes turn to him in surprise. “There is no wrong answer. I just need to know,” he explains. Nervously, I bite my lip and nod.
He said there was no wrong answer, but from the way his eyes darken, and he clutches me a little tighter, I think he’s pleased.
“Have you been intimate with a man before? In any way?” he presses, and I shake my head, even my ears heat with embarrassment now.
