Running from Vampires

Chapter Twenty Two

"Hunter?" I called as I ran around the castle.

It was the next morning and after another round with Declan, in the shower of course, I had gotten dressed and then went to check on my baby. He wasn't in his room and I was currently running around trying to find him.

No, no, no... Please don't be hurt. I begged as I felt panic settle in me. I'd searched the entire castle, and was now looking outside. My beasts were thrown into a frenzy.

"Momma?"

I spun around to see Hunter standing there, thumb in his mouth. He was perfectly fine, but I couldn't stop my beasts from taking over and scooping our pup into my arms, cradling him close to my chest.

"I didn't know where you were. You had me scared, baby."

His blue eyes widened and he removed his thumb from his mouth. "I'm sorry, Momma. I didn't mean to scare you. There was a bunny and I wanted to follow it, but I stopped at the trees. Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"The trees scare me."

"Why's that, baby?"

His big eyes filled with tears and he threw his arms around my neck. "Cause they took you and hurt you!"

My heart broke for him and I cooed him as I walked us inside. Declan stood at the front entrance, his face long, which let me know he heard Hunter's "secret". As I got inside, he shut the door and followed me into the living room, which was empty.

"Hey, baby, don't cry," I rubbed his back and he gripped onto me like I was a lifeline. My eyes watered and I sniffled, but continued to comfort Hunter. "It's okay, I'm back, aren't I?"

"Yeah," he said softly.

"You've seen me go into the trees and come back again after I came back, right?"

"Yeah."

"So you don't have to worry. The trees won't hurt you, or me, or anyone else."

"Promise?"

I looked up at Declan and he smiled. "Promise."

Hunter let go of me and wiped his eyes. When he caught sight of Declan, he grinned and launched himself at my beloved, shouting, "Daddy!"

Laughing, I watched as Declan caught the four year old and started tickling him, much to his surprise. Hunter managed to wiggle free, and scrambled behind my back to use me as a shield against Declan. My beloved leaned back against the couch and pulled me into his side. Hunter crawled into my lap, curling up against me and stuck his thumb back in his mouth. 

Ajax, Cyan, Slate, Castor, and Xavier all walked in at that moment, laughing. They stopped when they saw the three of us. Ajax whipped out his phone and snapped a picture, cooing at it afterwards. I looked to Declan to see him rolling his eyes. 

"Send that to me," Declan commented and Ajax nodded. Seconds later my beloved's hip buzzed, notifying him that he received the picture.

"Is no one going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Slate asked, crossing his arms.

"I thought no one was going to say anything! Legna, what kind of moisturizer do you use?" Cyan asked, peering at my face.

"What?"

"I just wanna know because you are positively glow- Oh!" His eyes darted between Declan and I, then he wagged his eyebrows and winked.

"What are we missing?" Xavier questioned, but his face lit up in understanding as he stared at my neck. He must've seen my mark.