Tori's POV
I stretch my arms out across the large soft bed to the smell of cooking meat, causing my stomach to gurgle when my eyes open. I look around realizing I’m in a house, I sit up holding the blanket around me, barely remembering last night.
I remember getting pulled out of the trap, and finding Hanzo who has been helping me and protected me last night. I vaguely remember our talk and him saying I am his mate, but still don’t quite understand the significance of it.
I feel my hair and slowly untie and unweave the braid with a slight smile remembering Hanzo helping me with my hair. ‘He’s our mate, he’s kind and gentle with us. He will always protect us,’ Reika yawns in my mind, coming forward to look around the room then whimpers seeing he is not up here.
‘He is kind, but we don’t really know him. Things could change,’ I agree with my wolf, I get up and blush when I notice how large Hanzo’s shirt and shorts are on me. I quietly tip toe my way down stairs. I guardedly look around at my new surroundings still feeling unsure since I’ve lived on the run my whole life.
“Good morning,” Hanzo clears his throat making me jump and turn to see him in the kitchen. I cautiously walk through the living room when I catch the scent of someone else. ‘I only see and hear mate,’ Reika reassures as I look around the room to make sure we are alone.
“You don’t have to be afraid here, the packs know to stay away from my land,” Hanzo’s deep voice is soft as he carries two plates to a small table near a large glass door. I see the table is set with multiple glasses and a bigger container with orange juice.
“Was someone else here?” I ask then look to Hanzo hoping my senses aren’t going crazy on me. “Nope, just us,” he looks at me with a furrowed brow, I nod. ‘See we’re ok it’s probably just someone’s scent on the wind, look the kitchen window is open,’ Reika points out.
“You don’t have a pack?” My eyebrows pinch together knowing lone wolves are rare. I look down at my feet and the wooden floor before fallowing Hanzo to the table wondering how I managed to find a werewolf without a pack.
“No not for a quite a while,” Hanzo answers pulling out my chair and turns where his back is to me. My eyes widen when I notice long jagged scars under his tattoos that run down on his neck and down his back and ribs into his pant line.
“They stayed because my stepfather is an alpha and I wasn’t able to heal myself very well at the time. How long have you been alone?” Hanzo pushes in my chair as I sit.
“All my life, I had my mother till a month ago, maybe longer. I was raised in the woods away from everything and everyone. My mother kept us in abandoned cabins and ranger stations, moving us every so often. The pack from last night has been chasing me for their Alpha. They found me during a hunt a couple months ago and my mother protected me.” I explain looking down at my plate of sausage and potatoes. My throat grows tight and my anxiety grows nervous for his reaction.
“Well you are safe here, do you have any idea what you want to do now?” Hanzo begins to pour me some juice when I begin eating with my fingers like I haven’t eaten in weeks.
“I don’t know, all I know is I don’t want to be alone and Reika doesn’t want to leave you. I have lived in the forest all my life and I have only had my mother,” I confess as my stomach turns out of fear that Hanzo would grow tired of me.
‘Mate wouldn’t do that to us,’ Reika growls at my doubt in him making me shake my head. ‘You don’t know that, we barely know him,’ I whimper at the thought of him turning us away and having to be on the run again.
“Hey look at me, you don’t need to fight with your wolf. If you want to and you feel safe here you can stay, you can have one of the spare rooms if you want a space of your own,” Hanzo gently pulls my chin up so my gaze meets his.
‘See, I told you. Valko won’t let him make us leave,’ Reika rubs it in my face that I was wrong with my assumption.
“I do want to stay, thank you. Why don’t you have a pack?” I ask after a moment of silence then internally facepalm realizing something tragic could have happened and that’s why he is alone.
“You’re welcome, I’m glad you want to stay and don’t be sorry you asked, I can see the regret all over your face. I out grew the pack I was raised in, I was left with the scars on my back and side,” Hanzo answers when my eyes wander over the scars that his tattoos do a really good job of hiding.
I’m honestly surprised he mentions them so casually considering we have only just met. ‘How dumb do you have to be? He’s our mate of course he trusts us,’ Reika shakes her head at me making my brows pinch together.
“You can’t see them all that well with the tattoos, but if you run your hand down my side and back you can feel them, they’re quite extensive. Are you ok?” Hanzo watches me as my face turns bright red realizing I’m glaring at him with a really confused expression.
“Sorry, Reika just asked me how dumb am I, she’s quite fond of you and protective,” I apologize before taking a sip of my juice when Hanzo smiles with a slight chuckle.
‘Mate is beautiful, you should have checked him out more in the shower,’ Reika fawns over Hanzo making me spit my orange juice out, shocked at what she’s saying since she’s never behaved like this.
“I’m so sorry,” my eyes widen realizing I just sprayed him with juice as he blinks a few times and shakes his head.
“Don’t be, I imagine Reika managed to say something interesting to make you turn that red,” Hanzo winks making Reika purr in my head as I turn even brighter red at my wolf trying to flirt with him.
‘Kill me, why do you have to be like this? You’ve never done this before why now?’ I ask my wolf wondering why she has become so horny and needy for another person. ‘We found our other half,’ she simply states as I watch Hanzo get up and go to the sink to clean his chest off.
“She’s being a little much, so do you have any other family or children of your own?” Reika takes over asking the last bit of my question making my eyes widen, I want the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
“Just my mother and my sister, I don’t have any children, as far as I know I can’t have them,” Hanzo answers while sitting back down making my stomach drop a little hearing the sadness in his voce realizing he is lonely.
He smiles a little when I feel my tingling dancing across my fingers up my hand and wrist. I look down into my lap and blush more when I notice Reika has grabbed his hand trying to comfort him.
“I’m sorry, are you sure you want me here?” I can’t help ask nervously knowing I’m invading his privacy and he must have chosen to be alone to some extent.
“You have got to stop apologizing for everything, you’re not doing anything wrong and you’re asking perfectly reasonable questions, though I’m pretty sure that last one was Reika with the way your eyes were glowing. Trust me when I tell you I want you here, I have always wanted my mate. You are what has been missing in my life,” Hanzo reaches out and places his hand over mine.
I pull my hand away from his making Reika scold me, ‘Stop that.’ I growl internally wanting to push my wolf back as she keeps pushing me to let my guard down.
“You are ours Tori, just as we are yours. I won’t let our human screw that up,” Hanzo’s green eyes glow bright when Valko speaks through him making me smile and nod my head.
“Thank you Valko,” I softly speak. “Sorry he just wants to make sure you know how we feel,” Hanzo apologizes as he watches me grab a piece of egg with my fingers.
“What are you doing?” He chuckles lightly as I continue to eat with my fingers. “What?” I look up at him with another pinch of eggs hanging from my fingers. “You don’t want to use your fork?” He asks, I look around to see what he is talking about then shrug.
“You’ve never used silverware, have you?” He questions, grabbing the silver metal object next to my plate and holds it up. “I, no I haven’t,” I answer bashfully and look down to my lap feeling embarrassed.
“Hey it’s ok, I don’t expect you to know everything. This is a fork, you use it to scoop up food so you don’t have to use your fingers,” he explains then passes me the fork and I try figuring out the best way to hold it.
“Watch my hand, hold it like this… that way you can scoop food or stab at it depending what you’re eating,” he instructs gripping the fork between his fingers then scoops up some eggs and takes a bite.
I watch carefully then try copying the grip and movement. The first time I try I drop my food; it takes me a couple tries before I am successfully eating with the fork.
“What would you like to do after breakfast?” Hanzo asks after a moment as he reaches out and grabs his juice.
“I don’t know, normally I would be out hunting till I caught my breakfast then I would take a nap or go swimming in the lake or river depending where I caught my prey,” I shrug.
“Well come with me then,” Hanzo suggests while getting up and grabbing his plate, I grab mine and follow him to the kitchen. Hanzo places his plate in the sink then takes mine and places it with his. Taking my hand and leads me to the glass door.
Tori's POV“Here,” Hanzo pulls me through the door to a very large deck. He turns me to show me the house is on the lake. Looking out on the deck I see a large pergola covering what appears to be a bed that rests against the house sitting across from a wraparound couch with a fire pit in the middle.“This is amazing, what else is here?” I ask, looking down at my hand in Hanzo’s. It takes a lot for me not to pull away as my hand sweats from anxiety building deep in my stomach. “I’ve got some ducks and geese for eggs and meat,” Hanzo answers and points towards the side of the house.“It’s amazing,” I walk to the edge of the deck to see it is built over the water. ‘We should go swim,’ Reika suggests as I nod, looking out at the inviting lake. ‘It does look nice,’ I agree with my wolf then look up at Hanzo wondering if he would swim with me or watch.“I like it, it’s simple and there is also a garden,” he smiles and watches me as I let go of his hand and take off the tank top and boxers.
Tori's POV “Someone is here,” Hanzo lets out a deep growl, making me nervous. He grabs my hand and pulls me into the house. “What? I don’t smell anything.” I look around then up at Hanzo as he pulls me through the house and straight to the stairs. “Just wait upstairs, I’ll be right back. I’m pretty sure it’s a friend,” Hanzo reassures, letting my hand go he motions for me to head upstairs. I nod and head up the stairs when there is a knock on the door and I catch the familiar scent. Looking back when the door opens, I see Jackson one of the deputies from the sheriff’s station last night. “Jackson, what’s going on?” Hanzo questions, letting him into the house before looking up at me so I recede out of sight. “Making sure she’s here,” Jackson answers, I can feel him look up to the loft so I focus the best I can to hear them. “She’s asleep,” Hanzo lies and begins to lead their way towards the kitchen beneath me. “Someone came looking,” Jackson mentions, my heart begins to race as I
Tori's POV“What do you need?” Hanzo asks after a few minutes of me staring off into space. “I don’t know,” I answer, feeling relieved that I do have him in my corner.“If you think of anything, tell me,” he reassures, I smile down at him enjoying how much he calms me. “I will, how did you get your scars?” I ask hesitantly I trace my fingers down the scar on his hip.“Pack fight,” Hanzo answers, pulling me over him where we are now sitting up against the headboard. “Really?” I ask watching him in concern as I try to get comfortable in his lap despite feeling uneasy.“Yeah it was intense,” Hanzo answers. “How did that happen?” I question, nervous to push him too far.“I got myself into trouble,” he admits. ‘Leave it Tori, it’s a bad memory,’ Reika growls at me, already more protective of our mate than I expected. “I can only imagine the trouble you get yourself into,” I tease making light of Hanzo’s reluctance to talk about what happened.“How old are you?” I change the subject then cl
Tori's POV“What was that?” Hanzo asks watching me as my cheeks turn bright red, seeming to be very surprised. “I don’t know,” I answer apologetically, I look down feeling embarrassed I just overstepped.“Don’t, you caught me off guard,” Hanzo chuckles, pulling my chin up to look into his eyes. “Sorry,” I apologize then bite my lip wanting to kiss him again, but feeling very unsure about myself.‘He’s our mate, you’re supposed to want him, it’s ok Tori,’ Reika tries to calm my nerves as I start to spiral in my thoughts. ‘But what if he doesn’t like us kissing him,’ I whimper at the thought, looking up I feel Hanzo’s hand caress my cheek.“Don’t be sorry,” he whispers, brushing his thumb across my jaw before kissing me. My stomach flutters as I kiss him back sucking on his bottom lip. My heart quickens when I feel his other hand move down my back over my pajama pants pulling me closer as he grabs my backside.I open my mouth letting go of his lip, his tongue invades my mouth and brushe
Tori's POVAfter going for a hunt and relaxing out on the deck in the morning, Hanzo takes me to a local store to buy clothes. The first place Hanzo takes me is to the shoe department so I am able to walk around and shop the store. Once he found a pair of fitting flip flops, he leaves me on my own, while he pays for the pair I’m wearing.I walk around looking at shoes, finding a pair of boots that have a zipper and small heal. After finding the proper size I sit down and try them on, I notice someone watching me. I pull my sandal off and a different woman approaches me startling me a little.“Can I help you?” I question, uncomfortable with having someone so close. “Sorry to startle you, here you need socks to try on shoes, they have these to use,” the woman hands me a weird sock made out of a thin stretchy material.“It’s why she’s staring,” she admits pointing to the other woman as I put the sock on. “Thank you,” I smile then look up and begin to struggle pulling the boot on. “You’re
Hanzo's POV“Come on let’s go lay down upstairs,” I suggest, holding Tori’s door open after parking in the driveway. “Can we go out on the deck, I need fresh air?” She requests and I nod seeing that she is still feeling upset over how our shopping trip went.“Yeah, you really like it out here, don’t you?” I ask, watching Tori blush as she gets out of the truck. “I do, I feel like I can relax out here,” she answers, following me around the side of the house through the gate.“Good, I’m glad,” I smile proudly as she walks by me towards the deck, I close the gate behind us. “It’s hot,” she mentions, looking over her shoulder at me and I nod then look up at the sun.‘You better mark her soon,’ Valko eagerly tries pushing forward as I follow her up onto the deck. ‘I will mark her when she is ready,’ I push him back and shake my head at how badly he wants to complete our bond.“The bed will be shaded and we can close the canopy,” I suggest as she already walks towards the bed. I bite my lip
Tori's POV“Shit,” Hanzo groans when we hear two car doors, I roll over to my stomach and pull a blanket around me. “Come on, head up and take a bath, I’ll bring you up some clothes and a towel,” Hanzo suggests, getting up and grabs a pair of swim trunks that were hanging off the bottom of the bed.“Don’t worry, you don’t have to see either of them,” Hanzo reassures watching me pull the blanket all the way around me, I quickly follow him into the house. When he approaches the door, I quickly run up the stairs and into the bathroom. I hear voices when Hanzo opens the front door, so I start running my bath water.Pulling my bra off, I slowly get into the tub of still running water and enjoy the hot water kissing my already sensitive skin. I look down at my thighs and see blood, my heart races as I grab the sponge and quickly wash it away. I feel sore and it did hurt at first, but I didn’t expect blood.I shut the water off with my foot and close my eyes remembering everywhere Hanzo kiss
Tori's POVAfter a long restless night’s sleep, I find myself in the kitchen making breakfast with Hanzo. “You smell funny,” I mention when he steps close and I notice he smells like a different person.“Must be something I ate,” he answers with a shrug and I shake my head. “It’s more than that, you smell like another person,” I explain making him look over at me before he looks down at what he’s doing. “I’m not sure, I haven’t been around anyone else,” he admits.“Oh, Jackson called to check on you,” Hanzo speaks, looking down at me. I look away not wanting to talk about my supposed father.“He didn’t want me in the first place, why does he care now?” I ask, looking up at Hanzo with tears in my eyes. I never imagined having a father let alone one who didn’t want me, I always imagine he was killed or found love with another woman.‘Yeah, what did he want? To make sure we didn’t run away to become someone else’s problem,’ Reika rolls her eyes, my heart sinks at the thought of him check