The idea of something happening to Hunter because of me makes my blood run cold, especially when he’s the least skilled shifter of all of us, and yet here he is, comforting me in my sleep. It’s enough to make my heart melt, and I find myself shifting a little so that I’m facing him, subconsciously tightening my grip on him.
The movement is enough to make him stir, and his bright blue eyes open a moment later. “Sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He hums, still half-asleep, and whispers back, “That’s okay. I’m a light sleeper.” A moment passes, and then, seeming to realise that he’s holding me, his eyes go wide, and he lets me go. “I’m sorry,” he says hastily. “I didn’t mean…”
I raise an eyebrow. Even in the darkness of the room, I could swear it looks like… “Are you… blushing?” I whisper teasingly.
“What? No,” he retorts. “Vampires don’t blush. Obviously.” We lapse back into silence, and I can feel his body tense up next to mine. “You just looked like you were having a bad dream,” Hunter explains at last. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I was just trying to get you to calm down, but then you came closer, and I…”
“Hey.” I crane my neck to look at him, but he’s deliberately not meeting my eyes. Blushing or not, it’s clear that he’s embarrassed. “It’s okay,” I whisper. “Thank you.”
Hunter hesitates for a moment, and then rests his chin on the top of my head, his hand coming up to brush my arm. “I should be the one thanking you,” he tells me. “If it weren’t for you, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to hold Lyle off.”
Thinking back to the battle at the Boston Academy, when the two vampire shifters went head to head, I’m struck with a fresh surge of affection for him. “It was a team effort,” I reply.
Hunter squeezes my arm for a brief second. “The thought of that bastard hurting you, Millie…” His voice trails off, and he pulls back to look at me; my heart is already pounding in my chest, and I’m thinking back to the time he kissed me, the feeling of his lips on my own.
But then one of the others sits up on the other side of the room. “Get a room, you two.” I recognise Shade’s voice, and bury my face in Hunter’s chest to stifle my laughter. I can feel him tense up with embarrassment. Things could be worse, though; considering I kissed the wolf shifter not long ago, he’s taking my closeness to the other guys rather well.
As for the others, well…
Now isn’t the time to think about that, I tell myself, allowing my eyes to drift closed. Snuggled against Hunter’s muscular frame, I let sleep consume me once more, and this time, there are no nightmares.
“All right, lovebirds, up, up, up.” I’m roused by Landon’s teasing voice, struggling to separate myself from Hunter as I open my bleary eyes. The siren shifter is standing over us with an amused smirk on his face, his hands on his hips. “Looks like you two were up to more than just sleeping,” he teases.
“We weren’t,” protests Hunter. “I-I mean, it’s not like-”
“Relax, I’m just fucking with you.” Landon laughs as he steps over us to draw back the curtains, flooding the room with sunlight and making me blink.
Elsewhere, I can hear Shade groan in protest, but as I sit up and look around, I can see that Silas is already in the kitchenette, staring down at his phone. Slowly, the five of us begin to rise, Landon and Shade bickering as they stretch while Hunter pulls me to my feet. I share a small smile with him before turning to my hastily packed bag. We left the American Academy in a hurry, and I left most of my stuff behind, but Hazel and I went on a run earlier to pick up some basic necessities: clothes and toothpaste, mainly.
“Has someone gotten up Hazel and the others?” I ask, pulling out a t-shirt, jeans, and a bra.
“I will,” Silas volunteers, straightening up. “We need to get to the airport. The sooner we leave the country, the less heat will be on us.” He leaves out the unspoken let’s hope, but we all get the message.
I watch as the dragon shifter disappears into the hallway before making my way to the bathroom, nearly bumping into Shade along the way. “Sorry,”