Marking his mate - A Silver Shifter Series 2

Chapter 6 - Elisa

Baggage. It can be expensive. When I was a university one of the girls got expensive luggage for her birthday. I thought it was a terrible gift. Who wants a suitcase as a birthday gift? For some reason, this is what I thought about while Hunter was telling me about his baggage. He didn't have expensive luggage, but a female shifter. I didn't know much about female shifters, only what Logan, Rory, and Todd told us last year. I tried to listen carefully but all I could hear was that this female shifter had threatened me. She didn't like me being his mate. She wanted me out of the picture. Hunter kept talking but I was really paying attention since he wasn't answering any of the questions I had.

"Is she going to hunt me down for the rest of my life?" I interrupted.

"Possibly..." was all I heard even though he continued to talk.

When we moved to Silver Thread Valley, I thought life would be better. That it would be the end of constantly being concerned for myself and my family. The end of trying to make things better. The end of pointless hope that my mother would be normal. We have only been here for about a year, and I thought it was coming. I was slowly feeling less worried about everything. Grace had made things better on her own, she found a mate, she fell in love, and she had a baby. Sia was more of an adult than I ever was. She got her job and got it all together. She didn't need advice or care. She knew what she wanted, and she didn't care what other people thought.

With this news, I felt that old weight that settled on my shoulders. What if she didn't come after me? I might not know what it's like to deal with a female shifter. But I know what it's like to deal with a violent person. Mum didn't hurt Sia or I, she hurt Grace. I would never let that happen again.

"Can we do anything to stop her?" I asked.

"There is a chance that she will stop on her own, but it's slim. Logan can arrest her and move her to a facility for female shifters. Though there have been reports that the others in the pack will seek revenge for taking her" Hunter said.

"I guess that is no" I said.

"I will protect you" I could hear the desperation in his voice.

"I know" I smiled at him. I did know, I believe him. My mate would do anything to protect me and keep me safe. But I wasn't thinking of myself.

I didn't want to leave Hunter, I needed to be with him. But could I with this constant weight of fear that I might cause the death of my loved ones? Maybe I'm being too negative. Maybe I'm not considering all facts like Logan, to protect Grace and Sia who, well, I would have to find someone to protect her. Then again maybe it wasn't like female shifters to go after family members. I didn't know much about them. I knew that people came with baggage. I had baggage, it might not be the killing kind of baggage, but it was still heavy. I had shared all of my past leaving nothing out. He didn't run away. Not when I told him about my crazy mother or the fact that I was born in Kennelly. He was still here, if he could accept my baggage, I could accept his.

"Would she continue if we weren't mates anymore?" I asked.

"That isn't an option," Hunter replied.

"Can you please just answer the question?" I could hear the exhaustion in my tone. Hunter gave me a questioning look "I just want to know,"

"No. I told Logan before, there was an old report of a mate running interstate from a female shifter. But the shifter was still able to track her down and killed her. Even after she rejected him." He said, which was disheartening to hear.

I made him hold me that night. I didn't know if it was because I thought this was coming to an end or if it just helped me sleep. It was difficult to get used to the weight again. I knew that I was going to carry it no matter my answer. When I woke up, I made love to him like it was the last time. He didn't let me go and I didn't want to go.