Page 36 of The Wolf Guard's Mate

“Sorry about earlier. I panicked,” Hunter said. I could feel his attention on me, but didn’t look his way.

“Does that happen a lot?”

“More than I’d prefer.”

I shrugged. “It’s fine. Taking time to think before an important conversation is probably a good thing, and panic makes sense in this situation.”

“You’re not panicking.”

“I almost died, remember? Everything seems less overwhelming now.”

Hunter grunted. “MaybeIneed to get cancer.”

I snorted.

He didn’t make jokes often, but when he did, I liked his dry, sarcastic sense of humor.

“I can’t sleep without you anymore,” he admitted. “The pillow with your scent on it wasn’t enough. My wolf is a control freak.”

“I don’t think the wolf is the only one.”

“He’s not,” Hunter agreed.

“That’s fine, I don’t mind sharing a bed. Waking up with you is pretty memorable.” I flashed him a small smile, and found his face reddening again.

“I swear I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“I know. It’s actually pretty hot.”

His chest rumbled, and he tugged at the neckline of the shirt he had on. “I’m probably always going to be overbearing. Asking permission doesn’t come naturally to me, but I can try. I can’t function in small spaces, though. If you want to live in your house in Crimson River and sleep in mine, I can figure out a way to make it work. But I won’t be able to live there. I can’t handle feeling trapped.”

“Why not?”

His expression darkened, and he didn’t reply.

So I waited.

Finally, he said, “My dad was a piece of shit. He kept my mom prisoner in a small, underground cell. I spent a few nights down there with her, and the combination of the tight space and the scent of her blood and pain screwed with my head. Any time I’m stuck in a small area since then, my heart starts to race. Some days I can’t even handle a whole day at my office, and it's the biggest one in the Lodge. I have to take a break to run every day. And my brothers don’t know that, so don’t say anything to them. Or Nova.”

I could tell his guard was going up, so I put a hand on his arm. “Thanks for telling me.”

He nodded.

“I didn’t know it was that important to you. If you want, I can check out your house when we get back to Crimson River and decide if I can be comfortable living there,” I said.

“I’d appreciate that.”

“I’m not really attached to my place, anyway. My sister’s brother-in-law gave it to her as an apology gift.”

Hunter grimaced. “You said you were going to let that go.”

I winked at him. “At least I didn’t saymybrother-in-law.”

“I’m not your fucking brother-in-law, Oli Pop.” He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into his lap, tickling my side. I couldn’t help but squeal as I swatted his hands away, trying not to laugh.

He was too strong, and tickled me anyway.

I finally gave in when happy tears were leaking down my face and there was a cramp in my side from laughing too hard. “Fine, you win. You’re not really my brother-in-law, Honey Bun.”

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