Hunted (Pack of Dawn and Destiny, #1)(42)

“Just as well,” Greyson said. “Pre-Dominant Harka will be waiting at the Cloisters with some of her people.”

“You have a meeting with her, I take it?” I tipped back the last of my hot cocoa, shaking the empty paper cup.

“Not for me, for you.”

I almost spat out my lukewarm mouthful of cocoa. “What?” I squeezed my empty cup into the cupholder. “Why on earth would the Pre-Dominant be waiting for me?”

“I don’t know, Lady Hunter.” Greyson’s voice was way too smug for my personal wellbeing. “First, we went to the Night Queen’s crowning banquet together, and now I’m going to court for you. Maybe she thinks you and I—”

I thrust my arm up between the front seats of the car and smacked Greyson on the chest. “You! You have a mate! Don’t joke about that sort of thing!”

“Yeah, the mate who’s been so present and helpful in my life.” Greyson glanced back at me and cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t see her around, do you?”

I sank back in my seat and mutely pinched my lips shut.

There’s no way I’m touching that potential bomb. I don’t know what a mate bond is like, but I do know he suffers for it. It’s the one thing I actually feel bad for him about.

“If she had any decency she could have at least wandered in by now and bitten the Low Marsh Alpha for being an idiot—or at least stabbed him,” he continued. “But I’ve got no use for some elusive daydream that may never come true, and only causes trouble.”

“But it’s a mate bond.” The words popped out before I could stop them. “Once you find her, it’ll be different.”

I cringed a little once I realized what I’d said.

I’ll fess up, as a teenager I’d been pretty sad when I found out hunters could never be a part of a mate bond—our magic made mental connections like that impossible.

Yes, I’d been attracted to the romance of the bond, but it was really the depth of the relationship that I was jealous of. To have someone who really knew you—from your very soul—with you for the rest of your life?

I didn’t even like Greyson all that much, and I was a tad jealous of whoever was out there waiting for him. I knew he’d treat his mate right—he’d tear down the world for her. There was no hiding that kind of loyalty in the heart-breaking song he uttered as a wolf on the late nights the Pack went for runs.

“As if I’ll get a choice to reject her,” Greyson said, his low voice lined with a bitterness I hadn’t heard before, snapping me out of my daydream.

I frowned. “But can’t you reject the bond?”

“In theory.” Greyson glanced at the GPS system on the dashboard. “But that doesn’t account for all the fussy politicians in the Curia Cloisters. They’d tan my hide if I rejected a mate—they want too badly to tie me down.”

Before I could fully ponder what that meant, Greyson pointed down the road.

“We’re on a bypass right now, but that’s Magiford straight ahead.”

Magiford was no urban superstar, but it was a large city and served as the center of supernaturals for the Midwest.

It was fenced in by several lakes that were a beautiful shade of blue that sparkled brightly enough to make my eyes hurt as Greyson took the bypass exit.

The lakes made the city more meandering and spread out with a quaint downtown, a defined industrial section on the edge of the city, neighborhoods of huge, stately wizard Houses, and several blocks with high-rise apartment buildings, hotels, and more to house all of the out-of-towners.

I knew from the supernatural general studies I had to take to get my hunter certification that Magiford was also home to the six most powerful fae courts in the Midwest, as well as the stronghold of vampire power in the Midwest thanks to the infamous Drake family, and had recently become a revival point in wizard power given the actions of the much-admired Hazel Medeis, who was rallying the wizards into a fighting force like they used to be back during the elf wars.

I was pretty sure the werewolves were putting pressure on Pre-Dominant Harka to strengthen werewolf power as a result of the growing powers of the other supernaturals, and based on the amount of attention the Northern Lakes Pack got, I was fairly certain she thought Greyson was going to be it.

That’s why I know she’s there for him, even if he’s pretending it’s about me. Maybe that’s also why he feels like he can’t reject a mate bond? Because there’s a lot of pressure on him, as well.

As little as I liked the way he took over the Northern Lakes Pack—and yeah, okay, as much as I might complain about the way he acted when it was just the two of us—Greyson was a nearly perfect Alpha.

It made me grind my teeth just thinking about it, but he didn’t misstep.

And to repay him for that perfectness, he must keep on being perfect. Or else.

I frowned and tucked my chin into my neck, disturbed by my own thoughts.

I almost sounded empathetic. To Greyson!

Woah.

In his defense, it didn’t sound like fun. Not that it affected me. Greyson and the Pack weren’t my monkeys or my circus to worry about. Not since I wasn’t really part of the Pack.

I pressed my forehead against the window and watched as Greyson drove through Magiford, taking us around the lakes, through downtown, and to the Curia Cloisters.