Chapter 38
Safety
***
Leila woke up with her body aching. She immediately got up from the cold floor when she saw pair of eyes staring at her. She almost fell because her vision spun.
And it was because of the fact that Hunter’s hawklike eyes were intently looking at her. That made her shocked.
She swallowed the lump in her throat as she felt Hunter’s strong arms wrapped into her. She didn’t know whether it was a good thing that his reflexes were quick causing her not to fall from the cold floor.
Her cheeks instantly blushed when their eyes met. Not to mention the electrifying sensation that was rushing through her veins when she had touched him skin to skin. She wanted to push him instantly but she was caught up with the moment. It was as if she didn’t want it to end.
Leila couldn’t deny the memories that ran into her mind the moment she saw those deep blue ocean blue eyes.
The way he cuddled her and…
She instantly shook her head as she stopped herself from thinking too much about it.
Leila knew that she would just embarrass herself if she thought about it more.
“Uhm…” Hunter pulled her gently so she could get her balance and stand up.
Her breathing hitched especially when she smelled his familiar scent. It was as if her inner wolf, Silver, was getting agitated inside her. She mentally groaned at that.
Then, she slowly sat down on the floor as she tried to get her senses up.
“T-Thanks…” She uttered thankfully as her cheeks slightly turned bright red.
Hunter let out a deep sigh.
“Did I sleep that long? How many days have I been sleeping? What happened?” Leila inquired curiously but with a hint of panic in her voice.
Hunter looked at her like he was weighing down her words.
It was as if he didn’t know whether he would answer her question or not which was a bit odd for her.
Then, he cleared his throat and looked away.
“Just a day.” He simply replied causing her forehead to crease.
Then, her lips went ajar as she processed his words.
‘Just a d-day?’ She mentally thought.
And her eyes widened as excitement filled her.
“Then, did I pass? Can we go o-out now?” She inquired eagerly.
However, Hunter stared at her seriously making her swallow hard and simply shut her mouth. She couldn’t deny the intensity of the way he looked at her. And now, all that she could do was to wait for his reply.
“We can’t go out… Not just yet. We have to wait for two more days here.” Hunter stated all of a sudden.
Leila was confused and it was visibly written in her face already.
So, Hunter let out a deep sigh patiently before staring at her.
“B-But I already passed the challenge, r-right?” She asked with hesitation.
Because right now she was truly bewildered and unsure of what to do. In fact, she couldn’t deny that there was the slightest part in her heart that perhaps, she might have not passed the challenge.
But she knew that she had shifted.
She felt it.
However, her memories were a bit vague.
Then, Silver just told her to be strong and take over her body again.
It was the reason why she knew that she managed to get out of the hall and saw Hunter guarding the place.
Then, everything went black.
And based on Hunter’s expression, she just knew that they were thinking about the same thing.
“Yes. But…”
Hunter stared at her seriously.
It was the kind of stare that was making her mind in haywire and making her heart beat wildly inside her chest.
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“You have to stay here… You have to pretend that you almost failed the challenge.” Hunter darkly explained.
Leila couldn’t stop herself from pouting her lips.
She couldn’t understand why she had to pretend that way.
“But why? I would love to tell it to Myrtle and-”
“They already knew about it. Elder Howard already explained that to them a while ago. For now… You must do what I told you to do. This is for your own good and safety.” Hunter seriously stated as if it was enough for her to understand.
Well, to be honest, she didn’t know why it was better for her to do that.
“You are not a pure blooded werewolf, Leila… You have to be careful. Some members of the pack might want to challenge you just for the sake of their egos. And this… This is the only way for us to make sure that you are safe.” Hunter explained elaborately.
For the first time, those words made her smile widely.
However, Hunter’s forehead creased because of her sudden giddy expression.
“What?” He asked rudely while his forehead crease and his expression became a bit crueler than usual.
But Leila seemed not to get affected by it anymore.
In fact, her lips stretched more for a naughty smile which made Hunter a bit uncomfortable.
“Whatever that you are trying to think of stop it.” Hunter instantly broke her anticipation and she pouted more.
Hunter grunted inwardly.
However, he felt his face burn because of the way Leila look.
She seemed to be a lost puppy but a cute, little puppy.
“Stop it. You look like a duck.” He said all of a sudden instead of the genuine thoughts that he was thinking about.
Leila let out a deep sigh.
“You are so rude, you know that? What else can we do now if we stay here for the next few days then? I am bored and starving.” Leila wailed childishly causing Hunter to shake his head and look away.
However, before he could even look away Leila saw his smile at that.
Her eyes widened in shock as she blinked her eyes.
“Are you… Are you smiling?!” She uttered, surprised.
But that made Hunter stand up. And when he looked at her he was wearing this dark expression on his face again.
‘What a bummer…’ She silently thought and scoffed at him.
Hunter has this particular behavior of ruining her mood.
“I am not.” He confirmed seriously.
Leila grunted in defiance. But Hunter just ignored her.
“I will get us some food. Don’t go out and wait for me.” He strictly stated.
She smiled at the sudden thought of sneaking a bit outside.
However, Hunter looked back and stared at her warningly.
“I am serious. Henry is outside. Don’t even try to sneak out. This is for your safety.” He rumbled at her like a child.
And that only made Leila a bit down.
It seemed like Hunter knew her very well already.
She looked at Hunter’s back and smiled.
It looked like he truly cared for her. If not, he wouldn’t think about her safety, right?
Well, she wished and hoped that it was the case.