Gifted

Chapter 34 - Hunter

Waking up disorientated in the dark I couldn't remember where the hell I was. I reached for my phone. "Fuck!" It was already four in the morning. I'd been out at least six hours.

Rubbing my hand over my stubbled face, the fogginess lifted as I remembered where I was. My brothers.

Dragging my arse to the edge of the sofa I bent over, scrubbing my hands through my hair. First up Shower. Then find Sage.

Gunner!

I checked my messages; he'd found her. The relief was immense, swiftly followed by dread as yesterday's events replayed.

Was this Sylar her mate?

Would it make a difference if he was?

No, it wouldn't. I would fight for her with my last breath.

Forty-five minutes later I'd showered and was drinking a mug of strong coffee as Zander walked in, rubbing the heel of his palm into his closed eye. "Gunner found her; I'm heading out. I'm taking your car."

"Hold on, slow down Hunter. You're not going anywhere without me, yeah?" He gave his best 'dad' frown. "How's your head anyway, and how long have you been having headaches like that? You were babbling some crazy shit." He moved towards the cupboard, grabbed a mug, poured himself a coffee, and sat opposite me.

They'd only started since I'd met Sage, and they were getting worse the longer I went without seeing her. That, and the ongoing battle with my wolf who seemed to think it would be better if he was in charge of finding our mate.

And the cherry on top—I was hardly sleeping. "Rarely," I replied.

He raised an eyebrow, not buying my bullshit.

"Had to drag your heavy arse from the car, forced you to take some Syndol and then left you to sleep on the sofa. There was no way I could get you upstairs; you were out of it. Plus, I think you've put on some weight from what I remember."

He laughed, clearly fucking amused.

Cheeky bastard.

"All muscle princess, try working out sometime, don't think I haven't noticed that stomach of yours." I winked at him.

He laughed again, muttering before lifting his mug to his mouth.

I took a swig of my coffee, the thick bitterness biting the back of my throat. "Apart from the insults. Thanks, appreciate it."

"After this, I'll grab a quick shower and then we can talk. Yeah?" he said.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time. I didn't have time to sit on my backside waiting for him. "You get your shit together and follow me. I want to check in with Gunner and scope the place."

Zander let out a frustrated sigh. "I've already spoken with Gunner last night; he's done the recon. She's hiding out at a farmhouse, in the middle of nowhere. And nobody else has come and gone since he got there. There's no rush Hunter, it's the crack of dawn and we need a plan of how to attack this. See if we can find out some more about the shit that went down yesterday."

I had no intention of waiting, but he didn't need to know that.

>>>

Fifteen minutes later I was cursing at every driver on the road. It was the start of fucking rush hour traffic —the last thing I needed.

But at least it would hold Zander back too. In another half hour, it would be ten times worse than this.

Another twenty minutes later my phone buzzed. Glancing, my brother's name flashed up. I swiped and sent it to voicemail.