The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 104: Truly Understanding

Sophie

When Hunter left, I felt the shift in the pack. They feel safe with Hunter here. They know that they are protected. With him gone and war pending, it makes them nervous.

Kinsley and I spent the better part of the afternoon checking with pack members. We still worked on the safe rooms, but we needed to make sure the pack was calm and relaxed. Nervous wolves do spontaneous things, like start fights.

Lucas was great as I knew he would be. He was out with the patrols, making sure they saw his face, that they knew that he was in charge and was confident in that role. He's truly an incredible Beta. I put my own fear and worry aside and focus on the pack. The day goes by very quickly, but after dinner, when I go to our room alone, time begins to slow to a snail's pace. I look at the clock every five minutes, unable to sleep, worrying about my mate.

Every once in a while, I'll hear a wolf howl in the distance. Sometimes Hedda would feel the pull and other times she wouldn't. I knew that Hunter and the other Alphas were letting us, their pack and family, know that they were okay. I was glad for it, but I wanted him home.

I'm not sure when I finally fell asleep, or when I felt the warmth of my mate slide into bed behind me, but I felt a peace flow through me when he did.

Chapin M. Try Understanding

"You're home," I say, my voice heavy with sleep as start to turn to curl up with him.

Instead, he pulls my body against his, curling up around me, cocooning me in the protection of his arms and body, burying his face in my hair.

"I missed you," he mumbles and within a minute, he's sound asleep. I snuggle closer to my mate, feeling his arms tighten around me in his sleep before falling back to sleep with him.

The next morning, I wake up, still happily snuggled against my mate: As much as I just want to stay here and enjoy this moment, I know that he needs more sleep and I have work to do to get ready.

I carefully disengage myself from his arms, and quietly walk to the closet to get dressed. When I come out, he's lying on his back, rubbing his eyes. "Where are you going?" he asks, his voice thick with sleep. "I was going to let you sleep. Why are you awake?" I ask, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. I reach out and stroke his hair, cupping his cheek as he opens his eyes and looks at me.

"The bed got cold without you in it," he says, smiling up at me.

it

he unconsciously strokes

Soph. The one pack we didn't smell was Zahn's. The others seem to be

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Patios y Understated

probably Robin

the twins?" I ask, feeling a sick

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he'd want to punish her, and I have a terrible feeling that his punishment would be something along the lines of killing me and taking you as his mate. We know Aiden wants the

about Alaric?"

a problem with Owen's old

we have time to get

depends on when they attack. They still have a lot of women and children who are suffering the broken mate bonds from when they attacked us. We can't afford

they'll all attack at once?" I

they'll attack us first, and when we call Kayce and your father to come help, the second wave will attack Robin and Dutton's pack, making

Chapter 164 Truly Understanding

293 Wouchers

try and split them between us, Kayce, and Robin, so we don't overwhelm our safe rooms. But you need to plan to have close to

exclaim. Kinsley and I would have probably said we could handle twenty, but

the most. We need to look at our injured and see who might be able to fight rather than go into a safe room. Some young mothers may be willing to fight if we have a plan to

that idea, Hunter. What if something happens to them and we end

to accept that you'd be on that battlefield as well. We can't lose this fight, Soph. I know that means that we'll lose some wolves and I hate that as much as you do. But we can't go back to how things. were. We need to make a stand. We have to fight for what we believe in and that time to fight has come. There is always a price to pay for that, and it makes me sick to think that something could happen to you, but the alternative isn't the life that I promised you and like you said before, I've always kept my promises to you. We have to fight Sophie and we have to win. Our future, the

what my mate is saying, of what we have to do, falls heavily on my shoulders. I knew war was coming, I knew we'd have a battle, just like we did with Owen, but this is bigger, Chapter