Omega Hunter
“Okay, man. We’ll see what we can do with her.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know. I’ll put Nick on it. He’ll have it done in a couple of days, if it can be done.”
“Great. You’ve got my number. Just call me when she’s ready and we’ll pick it up.”
“Yeah,” he said, glancing over toward Autumn once more and leaning closer to, speaking quietly. “What are you doing running around with a bear bitch?”
“Long story, but she needed help, and I was there. We’re all in the same boat, really, aren’t we? All animals beneath our skin?”
“I guess. Good luck with that. I’ll call you,” he said.
“I’ll be waiting.”
He and Autumn left the garage and stopped off at a grocery store to pick up some things for the cabin. If he was going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bear shifter, he was going to need some alcohol. He grabbed a few bottles of wine and a corkscrew, along with some food for the cabin, telling her to pick up anything she wanted and not to be shy. Why he felt so generous toward her was a mystery even to him, but something about her called to him. She was hot, so there was that. He’d have to be a blind man to miss her generous curves and pouty full lips. Her large green eyes and dark hair reminded him of Jasmine from Aladdin: not that he had ever watched the film. Like most people, he’d seen the pictures here and there.
“Alright, I guess that’s set. Let’s get back to our little hideaway and hope for the best,” he told her, putting their groceries in his side saddles and climbing on. She climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around him as he kickstarted the bike and roared down the highway toward the campground.
By six, they were kicked back on the sofa with two glasses of wine and flipping through the limited channels on the TV without success in finding anything worth watching. They ended up watching reruns of an old eighties sitcom about a quirky family and their weird friends. It played in the background as they talked a bit, getting to know one another.CHAPTER EIGHTAutumn-2
Autumn found herself warming up to Malcolm the more they talked. Perhaps it was the wine loosening her tongue, but she felt at ease with him, despite him being a wolf shifter. Her anxiety seemed to shift into neutral a bit, a welcome change from being tied up in knots ever since the incident with Trevor. Just the thought of him made her tense up again. How long before they came looking for her?
“What is the deal with you and this shifter you’re running from? I mean, I know what you said, that he, um, tried to assault you. How did you end up with someone like that anyway? Did your father not know what sort of person he was? Why didn’t he defend your honor?”
“I don’t know how it works in your wolf clan, but in our bear clan, women are more of a possession than people. We’re pawns for bargaining. Those of us with any standing in the community are expected to marry well the moment we reach mating age.”
“So, you are only eighteen? Not quite eighteen? No offense, but you seem quite mature for your age.”
“Actually, I’m twenty-two. I’m an old maid by our standards.”
“Then your father can’t tell you what to do. How did you escape getting married this long if things are like that in your clan?”
“I was promised to the Alpha’s youngest son, but he’s younger. He only turned the mating age last week.”
“That’s crazy.”
“You’ve no idea. I was promised to him when I was fifteen and he was only eleven. My father wouldn’t even allow me to date anyone for fear that I’d anger the Alpha or somehow bring shame upon the family. He’s been keeping close tabs on me ever since I was promised. I kept hoping that, as we got older, the Alpha’s son, his name is Trevor, would fall in love with someone else and insist upon marrying her. He always gets his way, so I figured that would get me out of it, but no one ever wanted him. Most of the girls wanted nothing to do with him and those that did regretted it. I guess I know why now.”
“Wait. So, you weren’t allowed to date, but he was, but he didn’t date you?”
“Right. He was expected to ‘sow his oats’ before marriage. I was expected to remain ‘unsoiled.’ They didn’t want the two of us getting ahead of the game, if you know what I mean—as if there is a chance in hell that would have happened.”
“You’re a virgin?” he asked her incredulously.
“Yep. Never even been kissed,” she said.
She laughed bitterly and took a sip of her wine, watching out the window as the moon slipped into full view from behind some clouds and shined into the window.