Page 37 of Alien Huntsman

“Dinner is almost ready,” she said, turning back to the pot bubbling on the back of the stove.

He ate hungrily, then stared down at his empty bowl, acutely aware of Tessa’s presence across the small table. The silence between them stretched, broken only by the crackling fire and the occasional scrape of spoon against wood. He’d barely tasted the food, his mind too full of her—of them—to focus.

He gathered their dishes, needing something to do with his hands that didn’t involve reaching for her. When he turned back from setting them in the wash basin, he found her on the floor, surrounded by the adyani pups. They tumbled over her lap, playfully nipping at her fingers as she laughed.

The sight twisted something in his chest—a sharp, sweet ache he couldn’t name. Her dark curls had escaped their braid, framing her face in wild tendrils. The firelight caught the curve of her cheek, the fullness of her lips. His beast rumbled with possessive satisfaction.

Something about the way she sat there, surrounded by the pups, looking so damned content—it reached into the darkest parts of him and soothed the jagged edges he’d carried for years.

She belonged here. The realization hit him with unexpected force. Not just in his cabin, but in his life.

His claws extended and retracted against his palms as he fought the urge to cross the room and pull her into his arms. Last night hadn’t been enough. Nothing would ever be enough where she was concerned. That was what terrified him.

He’d spent so long defining himself by his rage, by the blood on his hands, by the darkness that had consumed him after hismother’s death. The bounty hunter. The killer. The lone wolf who needed no one.

Yet watching Tessa now, laughing as one of the pups tumbled over her lap, he realized he wanted something he’d never allowed himself to want before. Her happiness. Her safety. Her light.

Could a male like him give her that? He’d been alone so long, carried so much darkness. The blood on his hands would never fully wash away. He’d been shaped by violence, molded by loss.

But when she looked up at him, her blue eyes reflecting the firelight, all his doubts seemed suddenly insignificant against the weight of his need for her. Her smile was knowing, confident in a way that made his blood heat.

“Are you going to keep avoiding me all night?” she asked, scratching behind a pup’s ears.

“I’m not avoiding you.” The lie fell flat even to his own ears.

She laughed, the sound light and teasing. “You spent the entire day chopping wood. We have enough to last through winter.” She tilted her head. “And you’ve barely said two words to me since breakfast.”

He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “The cabin needed wood.”

“The cabin needed about a quarter of what you chopped.” She scooped up a squirming pup, pressing a kiss to its fuzzy head. “If you regret last night, you could just say so.”

“I don’t,” he said roughly, honestly.

Her eyes softened, and she set the pup down gently. “Then why are you all the way over there?”

CHAPTER 15

Two days later Tessa hummed softly to herself as she moved through the dappled shadows of the forest, her basket already half-filled with plump berries. The morning sun filtered through the canopy above, creating shifting patterns of light across the forest floor. She paused to pluck another handful of berries, her fingers already stained purple with juice.

Last night’s memories warmed her from the inside out. Korrin’s hands and mouth had been everywhere, driving her to heights of pleasure she hadn’t known existed. Each night he’d prepared her a little more, so focused on her enjoyment that when she’d tried to touch him in return, he’d gently caught her wrists and pinned them above her head.

“Not yet,” he’d whispered against her skin, his amber eyes glowing gold in the darkness.

She understood his hesitation. For all his physical strength, there was something fragile in the way he held himself back. Each time he let her see more of him—his past, his desires, hisfears—it cost him something. Vulnerability didn’t come easily to a man who’d spent his life keeping others at a distance.

She smiled to herself, reaching for another cluster of berries. She could be patient—at least a little longer. After all, what they shared now was already more than she’d ever dreamed of finding. The way he looked at her sometimes, like she was something precious and rare, made her heart flutter wildly in her chest. But she was greedy enough to want it all, to be joined to him in every way.

A nearby bush rustled, startling her from her thoughts, and Storm bounded out. He must have escaped the outdoor pen that Korrin had built and followed her. She laughed as he circled her feet, yipping excitedly.

“You’re supposed to be with your brothers,” she scolded gently, crouching down to scratch behind his ears. He leaned into her touch, eyes closing in contentment.

This is happiness, she realized. Not the grand, dramatic kind from storybooks, but something quieter and more profound. The simple joy of gathering food that would nourish them both, of caring for creatures that depended on her, of knowing that someone waited for her return.

A branch snapped behind her and she let out a startled cry.

She jerked around, nearly dropping her basket. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she scanned the trees, expecting to see the feral Vultor or perhaps some other forest predator.

Instead, she found herself staring at a small elderly woman with silver hair and sharp brown eyes. Agatha Ashworth stood with her hands resting on a gnarled walking stick, dressed in practical clothes that had seen better days. Scarlett’s grandmother lookedcompletely at ease in the wilderness, and strangest of all, she didn’t appear surprised in the slightest to find Tessa here.

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