The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 14: Hunted

Sophie

Maybe it's the sadness of seeing my family's pack again, or

maybe it's because I was distracted by the masculine scent mixed with pine that Hedda was purring over, but I didn't realize that Alpha Hunter was in the hidden space until I stepped back into it after saying goodbye to Penny.

I wanted to run, to get out of here before he could grab me, but Hedda held me in place, and he made a good point. If had wanted to grab me, he could have, and I wouldn't have realized what was happening until it was too late.

I considered giving him my real name. Hedda wanted me to, but I don't trust him yet. It doesn't help that he's standing here. naked in front of me. I've been working with humans for so long, I've forgotten what it's like to live with shifters who have no modesty.

And why is he here? What are his motives for being here? Are his warriors right outside the entrance to this space and if I follow him, he'll force his mark on me in front of them? No way I'm letting that happen. I can see the shock on his face when I tell him I know who he is. I'm not sure if I should be insulted that he doesn't remember me or happy that he doesn't know who I am. I have changed my hair color. I'm sure that I look harder than I did a couple of years ago when I led a cushy life. Life on the run tends to do that to you. I'm thinner, more muscular, and more streetwise than I was two 21:15

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years ago.

"You know who I am?" he asks, his nose going up in the air and he sniffs my scent again. "Have we met?"

"What do you want, Alpha Hunter?" I ask him and he instantly. refocuses his attention on me. I swallow hard. The man's gaze is intense. It was before when we danced at my sister's birthday party, but now... now his gaze is sending waves of warmth through my body.

"I want to get to know my mate. I want to keep you safe, and I want to let you know that I'm not one of those Alphas who will mark and mate you in public."

raise my eyebrow at him and chuckle derisively. "Really? Are you going to keep me safe from yourself?"

"I would never hurt you."

"Why should I believe that you are any different from the other Alphas who claim their mates publicly?"

"Because I am a possessive man, a possessive wolf, and a possessive Alpha," he growls, making shivers run through my body. He takes a predatory step forward and I press my back against the rocky wall. "I will never share my mate with anyone. No one has the right to see her, to see you, in that state except for me," he says. "You are mine. The Moon Goddess made you for me and I do not share what is mine." His words are doing strange things to me. I desperately want to believe him, but I can't. I remember the way he watched me that

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night at Amelia's birthday party. Now, I wonder if it was this possessiveness he's speaking of Did he know back then that I was his mate? "You said it's your Beta female who is leaving the food out here?"

"That's right. I want to help when and where I can."

"Then, what you're saying to me is a lie," I tell him.

"Why do you say that?"

"In her note, she very clearly says that you can't bring these she- wolves into your pack because not everyone in your pack. agrees with your decision to not claim mates publicly. Tell me, was her claim public?" "Yes, it was. My Beta did not understand the impact of the public mating until after it was too late."

"What does that mean, too late?" ask.

"When you mark your mate, you not only can hear their thoughts, but you can feel their emotions. He was able to feel everything that she was feeling in that moment. He s**hed her up and took her to their room, but the damage was done. It's taken them over a year to finally start to come together. He understands now why I would never do that. I want a positive relationship with my mate. I want her to trust me, to love me and cherish our bond as much as I do. The only way that's possible is if I cherish it from the very beginning."

ra

"Those are pretty words, Alpha. But that's all they are. Words." 21:15

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"How can I convince you? Would you be willing to stay here until I can bring Kinsley to you? She can confirm everything I've said to you."

I can feel Hedda howling in my head. She knows what I'm about to do and she's howling her resistance, making my head hurt.

"She's your Beta. She would do whatever you tell her to do. I can't trust that. I'm sorry," I say and I see his eyes go wide.

"NO!" he shouts, taking a step forward.

"I..." S**t! I can't give him my real name. He'll know who I am, that I'm an Alpha female, and then I'll never be free of him, "I reject you, Alpha Hunter Reynolds as my mate and Alpha," I say, and watch as his hand slaps against his chest.

I don't wait to see if the rejection works. I know it's only partially complete anyway. He'd have to accept it, but perhaps he's hurt enough for me to escape.

Leaving my bag behind, I quickly make my way out of the secondary exit. I scratch myself in several places as I rush to get out and away from Alpha Hunter, from my mate, from his intoxicating scent, and from all of the pretty things that he said that I wish I could believe. But that's not reality. There's no way he'd risk losing his pack members and maybe even his Alpha title to claim me privately.

Rather than follow Penny, I change directions and go left. I leap, letting Hedda take over and begin running hard and fast. I don't know if Alpha Hunter will follow me, but I'm not taking any chances. I haven't gone far when I hear the howl of the hunt. My heart.

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s**p*s a beat, and we stumble as we run. Thankfully, Hedda catches us before we can fall, and she begins pushing herself even harder. I hear the answering call of three more wolves, and I know I'm in trouble. If they catch me...

'If we're going to be forced, I'd rather it be my mate,' Hedda says, and I can hear the fear in her voice. She doesn't want to be forced into a mate bond, especially when her mate is so close. Unfortunately, we most likely left our mate writhing on the ground, so I don't think we can expect any help from him.

'Do you think we can turn back?' I ask her, just as we hear yips coming up on either side of us.

'Too late,' she says. Real fear slides down my spine. If this group is able to keep up with us, they are all ranked members. This is most like an Alpha and his ranked members hunting for a mate. And as an Alpha female, I'm the golden prize.

I hear paws running us down as the wolves on either side of us begin closing in.

'Faster, Hedda,' I scream.

I feel her push even harder, but I was right. This is an Alpha male. Only an Alpha can run down another Alpha.

I feel jaws snapping at Hedda's legs, then a nose bumping into her legs, tripping her up. She stumbles, flipping over and over before finally landing on her stomach. When she shakes her head and focuses, we're surrounded by four wolves. The largest one, the Alpha, comes to stand in front of me. He shifts, then Nooks down at us.

"Shift!" he commands. I can already see that he's aroused,

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excited by the hunt and capturing his prey. Me.

I feel the weight of his command wash over me, but I'm an Alpha too. I can't be forced by an Alpha that isn't my own.

When I don't comply with his command, I watch a slow, predatory smile spread across his face.

"Well, well, looky here boys. We caught ourselves an Alpha," he says, watching me intently.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to shift, little one. Then, if you don't comply, I'm going to let Hegir, my wolf, to mark and mate you and then you'll be forced to shift on command so that I can mark and mate you in human form. What will it be, little Alpha?"

Hedda gets to her feet, her head low as she growls menacingly at him.

I watch as he smiles. "Good, I love a good fight before I f**k," he says before shifting.

He leaps and Hedda jumps away from him, only to be corralled by the other three wolves. The wolf, Hegir, begins stalking us. Hedda waits until he close, then leaps, trying to jump over him. I'm not sure if he anticipated the movement or just got lucky, but he leaps up at her as she jumps, knocking onto her side. Before she can get up, he pounces on her.

She snaps and scratches, snarling at him. He lays his body on her, crushing her into the ground and trying to get his teeth around her throat or the back of her neck to force her submission.

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It's getting harder to breathe and know we're only moments away from his wolf getting the upper hand when I hear another snarl and suddenly, Hegir is ripped off of us.

The huge wolf puts himself in between me and the other wolves as they snarl, some checking on their Alpha and the others preparing to leap on Hunter's wolf. Because that is who came to my rescue, Alpha Hunter.

Faster than I've ever seen anyone shift, he's in his human form, his head turned to look at me.

"Run! I'll find you," he says before quickly shifting back just in time to snap his jaws at the wolf leaping at him.

When I don't immediately take off, he turns, barking at me to go, and I shake off the shock before Hedda turns and races off.

I don't know what I'm more terrified of that he'll come and find me, or that he won't because he's dead.