Hunter didn't make a sound when he got off the chair and left Hailey alone in his bedroom. The pain medication put her to deep sleep, so he was sure that she wouldn't notice him leaving her side. Although, the last thing he wanted to do was leave his mate's side when she needed him the most, but he had to talk to Gabriel about their father. Hunter purposely waited to talk to his brother about Robert after Hailey fell asleep. He didn't want to upset her even more by bring the man who pushed her down the stairs up in front of her again.

"Where's Gabriel?" he asked the gang that was in the kitchen.

"He's in his room," Viola answered back.

Hunter nodded. "And keep it down. Hailey's asleep upstairs," he scolded them before he went back up the stairs and entered Gabriel's room.

His brother was sitting on the chair alone with River who was watching the view outside of the long windows. He closed the door behind him, so the others wouldn't hear their discussion that he was sure would dampen their moods too.

"Where did you send Robert?" he asked Gabriel.

Gabriel's jaw locked and his stern gaze lifted. "To the family farm house," he said.

Hunter tilted his head. "How'd you even convince that man so easily to leave?"

"Does it look like I gave him a choice?" gritted out Gabriel. His feral gold eyes were burning bright. Hunter could feel the tension emitting from his brother.

"He seriously did cross a line," added River. "But, I don't want him retaliating against you because of this."

Hunter clenched his teeth together. "He wouldn't dare," he bit out.

River scoffed. "We all know what Robert's like," he remarked. "I wouldn't even be surprised if he walks right back in here."

Hunter and his wolf both growled. "If he shows me his face, I swear I'll rip it off," he snapped.

Gabriel crossed his arms. "He knows damn well what'll happen if he comes my house."

River put his hands in his pockets. "I'm glad that bastard's out of your lives," he said earnestly. "He really tortured the fuck out of you all." They all laughed because they knew that there was nothing truer than that fact.

"Did you talk to Klaus?" Hunter asked Gabriel.

The little bit of joy on Gabriel's face fell away. "Yeah," he said. "Klaus is in pretty bad shape over all this."

"What are we going to do?" asked Hunter.

Gabriel raked his tousled hair like he was trying to take out all of his frustration out on his hair. "What can I do?" he asked them. "He blames himself for what happened to Hailey and mom."

"Robert got to him bad," remarked River grimly.

"It's my fault," grumbled Gabriel. "I should've protected him from Robert."

"You did," Hunter spoke up because he couldn't watch Gabriel take the blame for what they all fucked up on. "And now, he's finally gone from our lives."

Gabriel unbuttoned the cufflinks on his sleeves and rolled them up to show his strong forearms. "I know what happened to Hailey was cruel," he said, "however, I can't help but think that this incident was a blessing in disguise."

"My blessing is sleeping upstairs in my bed," mumbled Hunter.

Gabriel's lips lifted. "She almost died for one of us," he said. "I have to give it to her, she's got guts."

"Even though she looks like she couldn't even hurt a bug," remarked River

"Life didn't roughen her up, like it did for us," said Hunter. "She went through some tough shit, but she's still full of life."

"Yeah, not like us mean wolves," said River, "we can barely manage a smile for two seconds." Hunter frowned and proved River's point quite clearly.

"Hey, you three!" Viola's voice boomed from the bottom of the stairs. "Lunch is made, get down here!"

"I told that chit to keep it down," barked Hunter. He got out of his seat and stalked down the stairs, not for the food, but to box Viola's ears for being so loud whilst his mate was asleep.

-Hailey's POV-

Hailey was dead to the world and she had no idea where she was; usually that wasn't the case. Over the years, it was built into her to always stay alert of her surroundings. But not this time, she was snuggled up in Hunter's bedsheets all warm and cozy. The throbbing in her head and wrist had lessened tremendously after taking her medication and a short nap always felt wonderful.

Hailey rolled over and faced the balcony doors. The forest view was breath-taking and the crisp light of the burning sun poured through the glass; it danced on the wooden floor and bed. She stretched her legs wide and her arms over her head. She got up and laid her warm feet on the cool floor. She lazily braided her hair and secured it, before she strode into the bathroom, which was twice the size of hers. There was a stand-in glass shower and a large tub made out of white marble. The vanity was long and white, which had a clean mirror on top.

She closed the door behind her and used the sink to rinse her face. Although, that didn't wipe away the sluggishness from her limbs. She wondered if Hunter would find it intrusive if she used his shower. But then, he did use hers, twice already counting. Hailey stripped of her clothes and jumped under the hard rain of hot water- she made sure not to make her cast wet, which was a bloody mission in itself. She gladly used Hunter's body wash and rubbed it all into her skin. She felt pretty childish doing that, but she didn't care at this point because it was too late to stop with the soap already all over her body.

Hailey rinsed the suds off her body. She shut off the shower and stepped onto the small rug that was placed right outside. As the rug soaked up the water from her feet, she noticed that there was no towel to be seen anywhere in the bathroom. She instantly panicked and didn't know what to do. She would have put her clothes on if it didn't feel so uncomfortable.

Hailey approached the door. She opened it just enough for her to get the tiniest glimpse outside. And of course, her dumb luck worked like a charm. Hunter entered his room just when she thought about grabbing the robe on the chair. She closed the door a little too hard that Hunter heard her without a doubt.

"Hailey," he called out her name with that sexy deep voice. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said by trying to stay as calm as she could be in this situation. "Er- I decided to take a shower. I hope you don't mind?"

Hunter was right outside the door when he spoke again; "I could never mind with you," he said.

Hailey bit her lip to hide her smile. "Hunter," she called out.

"Hmm?"

She stayed hidden behind the door when she opened it. She peeked out and saw him positioned in front of the door like a guard. "I took a shower but-" she couldn't meet his intense gaze- "but there was no towel."

Hunter's brow raised and he gave her a haughty look.

"That's right," she said.

"I didn't say anything," Hunter said.

"You were thinking that I'm standing behind the door naked right now," she pointed out shyly.

Hunter chuckled. "Can you blame me for thinking that?"

A terribly pink blush coloured her cheeks. "No," she said. "Can you get me a towel, please?"

Hunter's eyes lowered down the sliver of space she had exposed with the open door. He got a glimpse of her bare leg- that had warm water which was quickly turning cold, running down the lean column of her knee and calf.

"Hunter," she called out for his attention again. "Focus. I need a towel. I'm freezing over here."

He left her field of view for just a second and returned with a big, fluffy white towel open and in his hands. "Here," he openly jested her.

Hailey stuck her hand out for him to give it, but he was too far away. "Come closer," she said.

"Why aren't you taking it, Hailey?" he asked. "I thought you were getting cold."

Hailey didn't fall for that innocent smile because his devilish eyes told her the truth. "Stop playing with me Hunter, and just give me the towel," she reprimanded. But Hunter didn't give in and neither did she.

Hailey was just about to close the door on his face, when she felt a strong force stop her; it was Hunter's hand.

Hunter pushed open the door and forced himself inside the bathroom. He wrapped the front of the towel around her, and then, he slammed his lips against hers. She lost her footing, but Hunter caught her. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist as he devoured her lips. They both didn't know what came over them. But the moment their lips connected, their bodies exploded and their mind blanked from any rationality.

She didn't even remember the towel, her broken wrist or the bump on her head. She could only think of his hot lips against hers, and his silken tongue that brutally caressed hers. Hailey clung onto his broad shoulders because her feet were barely on the floor, but she knew that Hunter would never let her fall. His strong arms held her body close to his. Although the towel covered her, she undoubtedly felt his heat seeping through the cotton and sinking into her skin. Her wolf clawed at her to claim her mate again. Hailey would have done it too if she wasn't so aware of all the people in the house.

Hunter released his lips from hers, and she immediately missed them. He licked down the length of her neck and stopped at the juncture between her neck and shoulder. Hailey gasped when his teeth sank into her skin and he marked her. "I'll never get tired of marking your soft skin," he growled in her ear.

Hailey sank into his arms. "All of that just to get a towel," she teased. She pulled out of his arms and took the towel with her. But her foot slipped on the tiles. Hunter was quick to act. He grabbed a hold of her before she tumbled. "That could have been bad," she chuckled in disbelief.

"See what happens when you're not close to me," he remarked.

Hailey leaned forward on her tippy-toes and laid a chaste kiss on Hunter's lips. "I need to get dressed," she said.

She surely thought that Hunter would get the message to give her the bathroom, but apparently, he didn't care. He leaned on the vanity and wordlessly let her know that he wasn't going anywhere.

"There's no need to be modest when I've seen everything there is to see," Hunter grinned, "especially your beautiful breasts."

Hailey was less embarrassed when she dropped the towel and flung it towards Hunter. He swiftly caught it though before it could cover his eyes though. She slipped on her pants and put on her shirt without her bra, because she really wasn't in the mood or condition to wear that restraining piece of clothing.

"Lunch is made," he told her.

"Where did you go earlier?" she asked. "You weren't here when I woke up."

Hunter hung the towel behind the door. "I was with Gabriel," he said.

She sensed his tension like a beacon. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he said, but she didn't really believe him.

Hailey looked at his eyes that were flickering like a golden flame. "I won't push you to tell me what's wrong," she said as she came to his side. "But I want you to know, that I'm always here if you want to talk."

Hunter's dark lashed lifted and his arcane gaze captured her soul. "If they weren't waiting for us downstairs, I would've taken you to bed and do more than just talk."

Hailey couldn't help but laugh at him. "It surprises me every time that you had this side to you," she said, "especially under all that hard exterior."

"I didn't know myself," he mumbled and he kissed her again.

Hunter wrapped his arm around her waist and they joined the others downstairs and the dining table. The light in the room had changed. It was like a weight was lifted off of the Centauri siblings' shoulders. They had easy smiles and a gaze that told each other that they would be okay. Hailey took the seat next to Hunter and enjoyed the food as much as everyone else did.

The air around them was clean and the tension from Hunter had dispersed as well. Hailey was sure it was because his siblings and friends were having such a good time. Hailey remembered that all of these people in the room where just like her. They were people who had a past they couldn't escape. But she knew now, that they tried their hardest to make a life for themselves that they were proud of. And Hailey could not be more grateful to become a part of this group of remarkable wolves.