FATED TO ALPHA HUNTER BY VENNEH LISAH

𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗔'𝗦 𝗣𝗢𝗩

I walked out of the bathroom, hearing him sigh loudly. I felt terrible for scratching him and hoped it would heal quickly. Walking back into the room, I closed the bathroom door behind me. Making my way back to the bed, I snatched the phone from where I had left it earlier and tried to call Rina again. This time, her phone beeped, and it didn't connect. I cussed to myself. Never before had I been so worried about anything.

My anxiety about not knowing what was going on with her made me itch. I tried calling her again, but it was the same. Her phone was switched off. My eyes moved to the bathroom, and I wanted to ask Hunter if I could snoop around Rina's room. Perhaps we could get a hint of where she would have gone. But, I didn't want to argue with him again. Instead, I walked to the door and growled in frustration as I realized I couldn't walk past the command threshold of being in the room until he dropped the command. Kim noticed me and walked over to me.

"Do you need anything, my Luna?" Kim asked, and I growled at the title before he quickly apologized.

I shook my head, excused myself, and closed the door. Nausea rolled over me, and I didn't know if I wanted to throw up or throw something. My instincts were all over the place: fear, anger at my mate, anxiousness, all of it bubbling up and beginning to spill over. Before I even registered what to do, my hands clenched into a fist, and fur started growing up my arms. I tried to stop it, tried to regain control. I grabbed my phone, the urge to throw something overwhelming me.

Hunter opened the bathroom door just as I tossed my phone towards it, but his reflexes were quicker and more controlled than mine. He snatched the phone from the air before it could smash into the door, and I noticed that his face, which had been badly injured before, was now healed, but left a faint scarring.

Hunter growled before pocketing the phone, while I tried not to shift. The urge to shift was becoming overwhelming, and I had no idea how to stop it. "You need to calm down," Hunter said. It was easy for him to say, but much harder for me to actually do, especially when it came to Rina. She was the only person who had stood by me when everyone else hadn't, and I was going out of my mind with worry.

Clutching the headboard of the bed, my claws slipped out of my fingertips, scratching into the mahogany-stained wood. "My Luna, do you want my help, or are you shifting?" Hunter asked, as I tried to breathe, my fingers stretching and growing longer. I didn't want his help, as I was still angry with him, but I really didn't want to shift. It had taken me ages to shift back the last time.

His body heat pressed against my back as my claws sliced through the wood. My canines elongated painfully, and although the stretching and moving of my bones grossed me out, it was nowhere near as painful as my first shift. It was still unpleasant, however.

Hunter's hands fell on my hips, and he pulled me against him, rocking with me. "Do you want help?" he asked, and I growled before nodding. "Please," I gritted out through clenched teeth, knowing I would be stuck in my Lycan form without his help until my body shifted back on its own.

I melted against him as he purred, his call washing over me. Goosebumps rose on my flesh, and my nerve endings buzzed. I wanted to rub myself all over him, but the urge to shift left as he held me against him.

"We will get Rina back. We just have to be patient," Hunter purred next to my ear.

"You should have told me," I snapped before purring, anger and lust mingling and blurring the lines between both emotions, fighting a war within me.

"So you could worry about something you can't control?" Hunter asked.

"You're the alpha. If you announce it now, everyone in the pack will go out there searching for her."

"And start a war for the abuse of power. Just because I can doesn't mean it's allowed. I may be the alpha and your mate, but we live by the law. Otherwise, it will seem like I am biased. I didn't act the same way when the others disappeared. I can't break the laws that I created."

"But is she safe?"

"I don't know, my love. I can't tell. We can only hope for the best," Hunter answered with a sigh.

"Then why is Joe upset?" I asked. Hunter growled, his arms tightening around my torso before tugging me toward the bed.

"Joe has been in love with Rina for the longest time. Rina is his mate, and he is waiting for her to find out on her own," Hunter told me.

"And you don't want to do anything about it until three days are up?" I snarled, turning in his arm and shoving him off.

"Trust me, love. I will handle it, alright?"

"I only want her to be safe. Mate, I am so worried and scared," I yelled at him, my anger spewing over, and fur grew over my arms, my neck cracked. Hunter's calling grew stronger, and I closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath and calm down

"I apologize for pressuring you, Alpha, but she is my best friend," I told Hunter. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I understand your concern, Luna, but my hands are tied. You also need to prepare yourself psychologically in case she does not make it. As you know, everyone who has gone missing has wound up dead," he explained.

My anger flared, and I growled, wanting to hurt something. "I know, but you must also understand me. Please order the search," I pleaded.

"Shh, calm down," Hunter said, stepping closer and rubbing my arms soothingly.

"Let that be my headache and not yours," Hunter said as he stepped away, retrieving the phone I had thrown from his pants pocket. I followed him over to the bed as he climbed in.

I crawled onto the bed and he patted his chest. With a sigh, I laid down, placing my head on his chest. "My love, I want us to talk about your origin. Are you sure your parents were both purebred wolves? It doesn't make sense that you are a vae-wolf and they are both wolves. Could it be that they are not your biological parents?" he asked. My mate had a lot on his mind, but I wanted my origin to be less of his concern, so I asked him, "Will you love me any less if my parents were not my biological parents?"

"Never, Ania. I would love you all the same. You will still remain my mate," he answered.

"If that's the case, let's leave my origin matter for now since it's so trivial and focus on finding the bas***d who is behind these killings and disappearances so we can all go on with our lives freely. All I can say is that my parents never gave me a reason to doubt my paternity," I said, and he smiled lazily. I wanted him to be alright, I needed him to be alright. His worry flooding through the bond was really bad. "What can I do to make you feel better? I don't like how worried you are, my alpha," I asked him.

"Would you really like me to feel better, my Luna?" he asked me. I pursed my lips and hummed in response.

He looked at me and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Then claim me. Claim me as your own, my Luna. Mark me and let it be known that I am yours."

"Is that all my alpha desires?" I asked him. "Yes, Ania," the alpha growled, and he pressed his lips hungrily against mine.

As he pressed his entire body against mine, our bond flared to life. His tongue dominated mine as he tasted every inch of my mouth, and the sensation of his skin against mine made my whole body tingle. His scent filled my nose, and a purr escaped me as I kissed him back with the same desire. I yearned to mark him, the bond screaming for me to tie him to me. My canines slipped out and nicked his lips, causing him to growl and roll his hips against me. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Hunter pulled his lips away from mine and growled in annoyance at the disturbance. I tilted my head to look at the door and let out a sigh as he climbed off me to answer it. After speaking in hushed tones with someone at the door, he shut it and walked back over to me.

"Is everything okay, Hunter Allan?" I asked, noticing the troubled look on his face.

"Another body has turned up," he said, causing a wave of panic to wash over me.

"Rina's?" I asked anxiously. I felt relieved when he shook his head, but troubled that someone else had died. "Am I still a suspect?" I asked, and he replied, "No, my love. The leads don't even involve our pack. We'll soon catch the culprit." I nodded, feeling somewhat reassured.

"Can you let me come with you?" I asked, getting to my feet. But he shook his head.

"I won't be gone long, an hour at most," Hunter told me, and I let out a sigh.

"It's not something you want to see. I won't be very long. Eat. Hopefully, I'll be back before you fall asleep. Kim is outside the door, so if you need anything, just call out to him," Hunter told me, pulling a table before me. I opened the dishes and gagged, seeing it was fruits and vegetables with a thoroughly cooked steak. Hunter chuckled and retrieved the dishes, his eyes glazing over. A minute later, there was a knock on the door, and he asked the person to come in. A chef walked in.

"Take this food away, and from now on, my mate will be eating meat that is cooked the same as mine, half-cooked. And we will be joining the rest in the dining area for our meals," he instructed the chef, who took the food away after nodding. Hunter didn't leave until another food was brought.

He bent down and kissed the top of my head. He walked into the walk-in closet and pulled on a black top and denim jacket before leaving.

After he left, I ate my dinner before grabbing the tablet and started working on my school assignments that I was really behind on, hoping to divert my mind off Rina, but I couldn't. I walked from place to place, doing my work. However, once again, I was beginning to feel sick. The bond had me yearning for my mate, and I felt terribly ill. I squirmed, my stomach turning, and I ran for the bathroom.

Sweat glistened on my skin as I broke out in a cold sweat. Rinsing my mouth, I went and laid down, crawling under the blankets. Hours passed, but I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned until I heard the door open, and Hunter quietly entered the room. I had the lights off, hoping that sleep would take me, but it never did. Hunter noticed I was still awake and came over, pressing his hand to my head.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I can't get my mind off Rina," I confessed.

"You feel warm," he murmured.

"Do you have a fever?" I shook my head. I felt like I was freezing, despite the sweat that drenched me.

"I tried to get back as soon as I could. I thought you were sick because you felt off through the bond. It must be your heat coming on," Hunter said before sniffing the air. I watched as his brows furrowed.

"You don't smell like you're coming into heat, and your scent isn't affecting me either," he mumbled to himself. I wrinkled my nose as he leaned down, pressing his lips to mine, and he chuckled.

"Sorry, the police officer I am working with in this case had a very strong cologne. You don't like it?" he said with a laugh.

"No, I don't... You smell terrible," I told him.

"I'll go shower, but I think I might call in a doctor to check you over," he said. I shook my head, not wanting to be prodded and poked by any doctor or stuck with needles. Besides, I was sure it had to be the bond.

"No, I think it's the bond. I felt sick not long after you left," I murmured, trying to close my eyes, which felt scratchy like sandpaper. Hunter growled, not seeming to like my answer, but nodded anyway.

"I will be quick," he whispered, and I nodded to him, tugging the surrounding blankets higher, trying to warm up. Just as he was about to leave, I called him back, wanting to know about the girl that was found, remembering why he left in the first place.

"The woman?" I asked. He stopped and quickly sat back on the bed.

"Her face was brutally mutilated; we couldn't identify her," Hunter answered.

"Was she a student?"

"We aren't sure, but we think so. She had a uniform tunic, and the school is not in our pack, though it was rather in a different state."

"Next of kin?" I asked. Hunter shook his head.

"Unsure. We only have the name of the school from the badge on the tunic. Joe is trying to contact them to see if they have a missing student."

He hopped off the bed and made his way into the bathroom, and the light hurt my eyes, making me squint at the brightness. Yet the motion of him climbing off the bed made me queasy, as his weight made it dip and spring back.

I lay there for a few minutes until his scent wafted out the open door with steam. I wiggled to the edge because my instincts wanted me to go to him. My teeth chattered, and goosebumps spread across my body the moment I pulled the blanket off. My hair was drenched in sweat and sticking to my face.

I climbed out of bed and staggered to the bathroom, wanting his scent, knowing it would reduce the churning in my stomach. The bond crying out for him to ease my discomfort. My vision blurred as I made my way into the bathroom, and black dots flickered before my eyes. I could hear my own breathing in my head, each breath becoming harder to take as I forced myself to breathe. Stumbling almost blindly with my hands outstretched, hands gripped my arms, and tingles spread up them.

"My love?" Hunter called, and I clutched my stomach.

"I don't feel good," I told him, my voice barely audible to my own ears, and bile pooled and filled my mouth.

The taste was terrible, and I gagged before throwing up everywhere. Hunter jumped, not expecting it, before a wave of dizziness washed over me, and everything went black. Hunter's screaming out for Kim vaguely reached my ears before I no longer felt anything.