Lone Wolf

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.