Page 172 of Fated to the Hunters
“I told you,” Kurt sing-sang.
Maximilian ignored his warrior. “You can bring muffins next time.”
Her heart leapt. There would be a next time, and she couldn’t even express how much that meant to her.
“So, Scarlett, what have you been up to?” Maximilian asked once everyone had sat down with their overflowing plates.
“I got my driver’s license this week.”
Her brother’s brows hit his hairline. “You did?”
“I did, and I’ve enrolled in a few university classes for the next semester too.”
“What did you choose as your major?”
“Fine arts.”
Maximilian’s true smile could light up a room, and it warmed her heart. “It suits you. Did you spend all summer hiking the Black Ridge Mountains?”
“We did. There was a beautiful village nearby and it was the perfect place to get some drawing done.”
Maximilian smiled, so soft and proud that she could barely look at him before his gaze rested on Vince. “I saw that you were a carpenter. But I assume hunting is your main business.”
“Yes. It was actually the reason for our travels to Black Ridge. We suspected lycans to be hiding out in the mountains.”
“And you took Scarlett with you?” Kurt snapped. “Fucking gr—”
Kurt snapped his mouth shut with a single look from his alpha.
“She was no where near our hunting grounds,” Mateo assured. “Nor will she ever be.”
“I have no doubt you have her best interests in mind. You are her mates after all. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be sitting at this table. But the most important question is: did you find the lycans? Because I always thought they were extinct these days.”
“We did. Five in fact,” Mateo confirmed.
“Interesting. I assume they are all dead now.”
“Sure thing,” Ezra bragged. “Killed, gutted, and sold.”
Kurt was trying hard to hide his feelings, but he struggled to keep an open mind. The fact that Ezra attacked him probably wasn’t helping.
Maximilian, however, was better at keeping his cool. “Was it your first lycan encounter?”
“Yes,” Mateo answered. “Like you, we thought they were extinct. We usually hunt vampires. During our last hunt we found evidence that lycans might still exist after all.”
“Interesting.” Then her brother’s gaze turned to Ezra. “And how did the warlock become a hunter?”
“Too greedy to pay someone for what I needed.”
That made Maximilian grin. “So, what is your story Mateo? Did you grow up a hunter?”
“Yes, but my family has the tradition to give the eldest heir everything. I happen to not be the eldest, so I decided to forge my own wealth.”
“And ended up with the carpenter and the warlock.”
Mateo chuckled. “I lured them in with my charm—and cooking skills.”
Maximilian was the one to keep up the conversation through breakfast. Mateo was the most talkative while she could feel Ezra’s façade wear off slowly. She had her hand on his thigh, trying to soothe him through touch. She knew how hard it was for him to be so tame, and appreciated it more than words could say.
