The One He Claimed by cooper (Sophie and Hunter) novel Chapter 184

Chapter 184

But I can’t let that distract me. Ezra seems like a good man, a really good man. I know he lost a mate and that he blames himself for that, which is probably why he’s trying so hard with me. But it’s a lost cause. I can’t give him what he wants and while I’m sad to know that what we could have had might have been able to turn into something positive over time, I won t be around to find out. I have no intention of letting Joshua live and I know that it will kill me. I may be getting stronger, but I’m not that strong, not yet and maybe not ever.

I know my ex–mate. He’ll be doing everything he can to weaken me so that he can punish me for rejecting him. I may not be able to feel him cheating on the bond, but I know that my wolf, Reyna, should be healing faster than she is. Our bond isn’t completely broken so anything he does with another woman will weaken her.

I wonder what he felt when Ezra kissed me. That, more than anything, will bring him to Hunter’s borders.

These are the thoughts running through my head as Ezra and I run across no man’s land to get to Owen’s old pack. Reyna loves the run, but I’ve realized that Ezra is right, not that I’ll tell him that. He somehow seems to know just how far to push her so that it works out the tightness in our muscles but doesn’t overwork them.

When he slows, turning his head to give me a soft woof, Reyna slows as well.

‘Reyna, what is it?‘ I ask her.

She lifts her head in the air, trying to smell what Ezra is smelling. His

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wolf, Thorin, is at full strength, so we take our lead from him. He would smell something, even if we don’t. Ezra made a point to run closer to where I told him the hiding spot is at the top of the mountain. It may take us a bit longer to get to Owen’s pack this way, but he was more worried about keeping me safe.

That’s something else that feels different between Joshua and Ezra. Ezra is very protective of me, worried about me, constantly thinking about me. In the last year, Joshua only seemed to care about one thing, that I couldn‘ t get pregnant. Little did he know, that was intentional.

Thorin sniffs around on the ground, beginning to run around, sniffing all over. Reyna lowers her head and I hear bones snapping as Ezra shifts. He kneels beside her, wrapping an arm protectively over her.

“Do you smell it, Reyna?” he asks.

We smell it, but I don’t know what we’re smelling. There are a lot of scents criss–crossing in this area. Ezra stands and turns, looking in the directions where the scents move off to, before looking back at us.

“Scouts. Do you recognize the scents?”

Reyna lowers her head and begins sniffing again. When she’s done, I shift so I can answer him.

“Some are familiar. Some from my father’s pack, some from Joshua’s, but some I don’t recognize,” I tell him.

He’s looking around, hands on his hips. It’s hard for me not to notice how magnificent his body is, tall and lean, and very muscular.

“Margot, stop thinking whatever you’re thinking,” he growls through gritted teeth before looking at me over his shoulder. His nostrils flare and I realize that I’m aroused by the sight of him, and he can smell it. That’s

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something else that never happened with Joshua. My body never responded to him, not like this.

258 Vouchers

I feel my cheeks flame with embarrassment, and I look away quickly. I hear Ezra huff before he pulls the bag that he uses to carry our clothes around to the front of his body. It’s large enough that when he shifts, fits Thorin. It’s actually very smart. I’d consider getting one, if I wasn’t planning on dying soon.

Ezra pulls out his phone and hits speed dial.

“Is everything okay, Ezra?” I hear Hunter ask.

“I found a scout trail. Margot says some of the scents are familiar to her father’s or Joshua’s pack, but not all of them.”

“Koden,” Hunter says.

“That’s

s my take.”

“I’ll send some of my warriors. Where are you?”

Ezra looks around and gives him the general idea of where we are.

“They’ll know it when they find it. It looks like this is where they are congregating and then from here, they are spreading out to the other packs, Carter’s and Kayce’s as well.”

“I’ll call them, have them send warriors to check it out too.“