Chapter 44

Hudson grumbled as he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He’d spent half the night outside Ruby’s house begging Amanda to let him in so he could explain, but she never did. He hoped that, after some time of cooling off, he’d go back over and try again.

When he walked into the kitchen, his mom was in there talking with Martha the pack cook. They both looked up when he entered; the looks on their faces told him exactly how they were feeling about him at that moment.

“Morning,” he said to both of them.

“Morning,” they answered back.

Martha handed him a plate full of food.

“Thank you.”

Martha responded with a “hmph,” then returned to the stove and continued to cook.

Hudson’s shoulders slumped. Martha had always been sweet to him. It hurt him that she was treating him this way. He made his way to the table and sat down.

His mom walked over to the table and took a seat across from him. “You look exhausted, son. Long night?” She took a sip from her cup.

He looked up at his mom and arched his right brow. The silence between them spoke volumes. Hudson returned to his plate while his mom just smiled. When he’d finished his breakfast, he got up from the table and deposited his dirty plate into the sink.

“I’m heading back over to Ruby’s and see if Amanda is up to talking yet,” he told her.

Just as he was about to leave the kitchen, he heard, “She isn’t there.”

Hudson stopped in the entryway and slowly turned to look back at his mom. “Where is she then?”

Cynthia took another sip from her coffee and cradled the cup between her hands.

“Mom, please?”

“She went back to the campus with Tabitha earlier this morning,” she told him.

Hudson could feel his frustration rise as he clenched his fists. “What do you mean she went back to the campus? Why didn’t they wait for me and Marco to go with them?”

“Go where?” Marco asked as he made his way into the kitchen from the other entryway. He walked over to Martha and grabbed the plate she was holding out to him. “Thanks, Martha,” he told her.

Martha let out another “hmph” and returned to her duties.

“The girls already went back to the campus,” Hudson answered.

Marco looked up from his plate. “Wait, they left without us?”

“I told them to,” Luna Cynthia told them as she hid her smirk behind her cup.

Hudson walked over to the table and slammed his fist down. “You had no right to intervene, Mom. this is between me and Amanda.”

Cynthia looked up at him, but before she could say anything—

“Hudson, you know better than to talk to your mom like that,” Benjamin barked out when he came into the room. He walked over to his wife, placed his hands on her shoulders, and began to rub away the tension he felt in his mate.

Hudson snorted. “I’m sorry, Mom. I just don’t understand why you would do that.”

Cynthia looked at her son. “Because you broke her heart when you didn’t show up for her transformation last night. She’s hurting, Hudson. A little distance makes the heart grow fonder and can also help it heal. You need to give the girl some space.”

Hudson shook his head. “No, Mom, I disagree. If I give her too much space, I’ll lose her. I can’t let that happen.”

Cynthia arched her brow at her son as she lifted her cup to take a sip, “I guess you have some running to do if you want to catch up to her.”

********

Zachary threw the last pouch bag onto the rest of the pile of bags they had found buried around campus. “I believe that’s the last one.”

Vita leaned her head onto Deak’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist. She was exhausted and hoped that was the last hex bag. She moved her hand over the bundle and whispered a spell. The bags started to smile and a spark ignited. Slowly the bags began to burn, causing the contents inside them to incinerate.

“That should be the end of that,” Vita whispered.

Deak could tell that his Vita was tired. He needed to get her home to rest. It would take them hours to get back to her house, and the car ride home wouldn’t be comfortable for her. “Vita, you’re exhausted. My home is not far from here and has plenty of rooms for you to stay in.”

Vita started to pull away from DeakShehe appreciated his support, but staying in his home seemed a bit much. “That’s nice of you to offer but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“But…” he started when he heard a familiar voice.

“Deak?”

Deak, Zachary, and Vita all turned in the direction that the voice had come from. Walking toward them were Amanda and Tabitha.

When Amanda saw Vita, she immediately walked up to her and hugged her. “I’m so glad to see you’re safe.”

“Thank you for helping to find me,” Vita squeaked out as she tried to fight back the tears.

Amanda pulled back from Vita. “Of course! After everything you’d done for me, how could I not? Besides, that’s what friends do for each other right?”

Vita laughed as the tears continued to burn. “Right.”

Tabitha walked up and wrapped her arms around both girls. “I’ve got a great idea. How about a girls’ night? No guys allowed.” She turned to Deak and Zachary. “No offense.”

Zachary raised his arms in surrender. “None taken by me, besides I need to get back to Ruby and my mother.” With a final wave, Zachary turned and left.

Dean didn’t like the idea of Vita being so far away from him, but he knew this was something she needed—to know that she had people around her who loved her. “If this makes Vita happy,” he said.

The girls squealed with excitement.

Dean turned and surveyed their surroundings. He felt as if they were being watched, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly where. He decided to sit close by to keep watch, just in case the girls needed him.

*****

In the far distance, he stood watching the girls squeal with excitement. His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch his mark from a distance. He needed to be careful with his choices in how he handled the situation from here on out. He needed this scheme to woo to get her to rust him. He needed to make his move at just the right moment.

He smirked as he watched the girls head to their dorms, continuing to keep his distance so he didn’t draw attention to himself and make the Lycan suspect him. It was only a matter of time before he would go up against the Lycan and take back what had been stolen from him.


Fighting for my Mate

Mated to my Bully (Book 1)