Hunt Me! (I Crave The Chase) - Page 191

To hurt the people he cared about—not because he wanted to—but because fate decided for him that he would.

He’d survived.

He’d survived.

And I was so fucking proud?—

He’d learned what he had to do and he’d done it without question. And I…was just…doing the same. Why was that so hard for everyone to understand?

“I can feel myself slipping,” my voice cracked. “Sometimes I’ll just be sitting and the world will fall away—and the hunger…the fucking hunger will take over and I’ll think—” I sucked in a breath. “How easy it would be to act. To—to—hunt. To do what I’m meant to.”

My eyes pinched shut and I scrubbed a hand over my face.

“I’m going to die,” I said, voice hoarse. “You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. I’m going to die—and I just…wanted it to be on my terms. Just wanted to do it before I did something I can’t come back from.”

“Mutt,” Harry’s voice broke. I twisted to look at him, my heart lurching when I saw the tear streaks on his face. “Why didn’t you tell us? We would have sent you home early.”

“Because it wouldn’t have changed a thing,” I said, aching. “I made my choice—and I was…am…so happy with that.”

“Is he really worth this?” Harry’s voice was hoarse.

I nodded, and he…well…

He nodded back.

“I love him,” I said, because I did. “I know it’s stupid. I know there were easier paths. But…” I shook my head. “He was the right choice.”

“I called Dad,” Harry said several long silent minutes later. Jules was silent beside him, his eyes far away, his head nestled against Harry’s arm.

“You what?”

“I called him,” Harry said. “You were being held in one of two places. Butters and Theo went to the other—they told me you weren’t there. So I called Dad and we came here.”

“Fuck.”

“I know…” Harry sucked in a breath. “I know you’re just trying to do the right thing. But…Mutt. Fuck. I can’t let you.” His eyes were swimming again. “I can’t. So when Dad comes, I’m telling him the truth. I’m telling him that you faked it. And then I’m going to show the hunters the phone records that prove that you’re the one that called them in on your fucking self. And then you’re bonding to the first eligible wolf we find.”

I should’ve resented him.

I knew that.

But I couldn’t.

Because Harry may not have been an alpha but he was my big brother—and I couldn’t hate him for protecting me, even though it fucking hurt.

Several more hours passed. I’m not sure how long. My stomach ached, and I’d transformed back into my wolfskin to keep up the facade. I didn’t want the hunters to realize that I could shift. They’d be forced to release me—and I…just…

No.

So, stubbornly, no matter how many times Jules and Harry cursed at me, I stayed firmly put.

Nothing changed, aside from the garage door sliding open at one point for a vehicle to be parked inside, only for that same vehicle to drive back out twenty minutes later loaded with cargo.

To pass the time, Jules—because he was Jules—started regaling us with the plot from the book he was reading at home.

“Gunther was like, two seconds from confessing,” he lamented. “You couldn’t have waited to turn yourself in until after they’d made out?”

I grunted, and Jules laughed. He’d warmed up to me a bit over the last few hours, though Harry remained mostly icy. I couldn’t blame him. I knew what I’d done was shitty but I just…I didn’t know what else to do.