Page 65 of Fanged Temptation

“I’ll be right back,” I murmured to Leah, catching Hunter’s eye again and tilting my head toward the corridor to the left in the hopes that the scorned vamp would follow.

I half-expected her to ignore me entirely, but a moment later I heard her clipped footsteps rounding the door before Hunter was standing right in front of me, hands fastened on her hips.

I swallowed, forcing myself to meet her gaze. “Hey,” I said quietly, bracing for the worst.

Hunter let out a breath, almost a hiss, but didn’t speak—for a tense beat, neither of us did.

“Hunter, I…” I hesitated, searching for the right words. “I’m sorry. I know I messed up with the secrets, with Gregor, with… everything. It put everyone in danger, and that’s on me.”

Her jaw tightened, though she said nothing. I prepared myself for scathing remarks, but Hunter only glared for another second or two—just enough to let me sweat—before letting out a resigned sigh.

“You’re an idiot,” she stated flatly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “A well-meaning, infuriating idiot who nearly got everyone killed.”

I hung my head, wincing as her words hit home.

Hunter stepped forward, resting a hand on my shoulder. “But you came through, too—you and Leah both. You risked everything to get Addison back.”

I blinked, relief rocking through my chest. “If you still hate me, I get it,” I stuttered out. “I did keep you all in the dark, and–”

Hunter barked out a laugh, cutting me off. “I don’thateyou, Maxine. I was pissed as hell, sure—but we’re a team, or a family, or however Jordan likes to put it. We fight, we forgive, we move on.”

A slight, wry curve crossed her lips. “And it’s not like you’re the only one of us who draws trouble like a magnet. We’re all guilty of wreaking havoc from time to time, myself included.”

And then, to my utter shock, Hunter stepped forward and grabbed me in a tight, unexpected hug. I froze, unable to compute the sudden embrace. Hunter was infamous for begrudging every show of affection unless it involved Addison.

“Just… talk to me next time,” she muttered. “I’m always gonna have your back, even if you are doing something stupid.”

A second later she pulled away, cheeks faintly pink. She shot me a narrowed glare, gesturing between the two of us. “If you tell anyone I just did that I’ll kick your ass.”

I bit down a grin, raising my palms. “Understood. My lips are sealed.”

With one last quirk of her brow—a silent warning not to blab about her secret softer side—Hunter strode off to rejoin her fiancée.

I sagged against the wall of the corridor, a weight sloughing off my shoulders.

Across the hall, Leah’s grandfather was in the middle of regaling the group with some long-winded story about a military prank gone wrong. Leah was standing beside him, both mortified and helplessly amused as the Leyore women leaned in, enthralled.

River asked polite questions that made him beam with pride, and Amara offered affirmative little nods like she’d heard the story before—though I suspected she missed half the anecdote, busy fending off Dylan’s fussing.

From my vantage at the edge of the room I watched Addison put a hand to her mouth at a particularly outrageous detail. Hunter had rejoined her side, arms crossing over her chest in that usual bodyguard stance she wore around Addison. Jordanlingered nearby, exchanging eyerolls with Sky every time the old man delivered a dramatic flourish.

Leah caught me staring, her lips curving into a gentle smile that made my pulse flutter. She waved me over, raising her brows in a silentEverything okay?I nodded, warmth seeping into my bones, blazing from my heart in waves.

It was better than okay. It was the best it had ever been, though it would take some getting used to.

It was hard to believe it had only been a few hours since that brutal final battle, but a part of me was still raw. Like I’d torn myself open to vanquish my past, and the wound was still fresh, throbbing and aching in time with the beat of my heart.

I closed my eyes—and saw Gregor staring back at me.

I pushed the image from my head, rubbing my eyes.I killed him. He’s gone.The thought slipped through my mind, unbidden, sending prickles down my spine. He would never threaten us again, never haunt my nightmares—there was no longer an axe over our necks. Still, it wasn’t something I could just shrug off in the span of an afternoon, I knew that.

I caught my reflection in one of the polished gold moldings. I looked the same, maybe a bit paler, a bit hollow under the eyes. But inside, I felt fleeced open and stitched together again.But you’re alive,I reminded myself,and free of him at last.I inhaled slowly, catching a hold of that vow I had made to myself—to live my life, on my own terms, from now on.

A burst of laughter from the group brought me back to the present. Leah’s grandfather was spinning a yarn about her childhood antics, to her very vocal dismay.

“Grandpa, they really don’t need to know about–”

“Oh, but you were so cute, Leah!” He nudged Amara with one patched elbow, signing alongside his monologue. “She was so cute.She’d put the bucket on her head and run around the garden pretending to be a scuba diver–”

---