Page 21 of Hunting for her Heart
“America,” I say, the name sounding foreign on my tongue. “I’m afraid I don’t know it.” She doesn’t respond, so Iprod her for more answers. “Did it take you long to travel here?”
She still doesn’t respond, and Bo, watching her face, lowers himself in the water to be closer to her height. He steps right in front of her and slowly grabs her hands. “What’s wrong? You don’t want us to know where your village is?” he asks in confusion. I feel a small pain in my chest. Is she still scared of us? Is she planning on running and doesn’t want us to know where she lives?
“It’s not that,” she says nervously. “It’s just that.. Um.. Well. I don’t think you’ll believe me.”
I frown down at the back of her head as I continue combing her hair. “Tell us anyway?” Bo asks. “I promise we’re pretty open-minded.”
“Well. I, uh… Yesterday, I sort of came through a portal into your world.” That has me freezing mid-stroke.
“You’re not of this world?” Hawk asks from the nearby shore, where he’s been listening intently.
“No. I sort of switched places with a woman who looked just like me, but cleaner,” she adds on at the end.
I continue combing her hair as I try to understand what this means. There are two Willows? Are we certain that this one is our fated mate?
I shake my head the second that question pops into my mind. I know she is mine. I feel the pull to her, even now. Suddenly, a new worry has me frowning.If she just came here yesterday…
“Did you sign up for the Mating Hunt?” I ask, worry filling me.
And when she shakes her head, a pit starts to form in my stomach. She didn’t sign herself up to be hunted. She might not even fully understand what it is. No wonder she’s beenlooking at us with fear and apprehension instead of excitement and anticipation.
To her, the three of us are just men who hunted her through the forest. And now that we’ve caught her, she must be terrified about what will happen next. No wonder she broke down earlier. She must be so confused and think we're a bunch of barbarians.
Chapter Nine
Willow
Ronan finishes combing my hair in silence as Bo stares at me, still holding my hands. His blue eyes bore so deeply into mine that I have to keep my gaze averted. That look brings up strange feelings in my body.
At least he’s not looking at me like I’m crazy, but when several minutes pass without any of them speaking, I find myself asking, “Do you believe me?”
“Of course, you wouldn’t lie to us,” Bo says with a confidence I don’t understand.
“I wouldn’t,” I tell them, unsure what any of this means. When he continues to stare, I decide to start asking some questions of my own to help me navigate the situation, even though I’m still scared of saying too much. It’s at times like this that I wish my sister, Izzy, was here with me. She’d know what to do. She’s the smartest person I know.
I want to ask more about what’s going on here, but I’ve always been told that women are not to question men. That if we need to know something, we will be told. But nothingabout this situation is normal, and these men haven’t gotten angry at any of the questions I’ve asked so far.
“Can you tell me more about the Mating Hunt?” I finally ask. “The other women told me a few things, but not much.”
Ronan scoops me up again and starts to carry me out of the pond as he speaks. “It’s an archaic tradition the mainlanders believe will help women find their ideal mates.”
There’s a lot to unpack in that sentence. “You sound like you don’t agree with it?” I ask, deciding to address his thoughts on the whole thing first.
He passes me over to Hawk, making me gasp in surprise as he cradles me in his large arms. I stare up at him with wide eyes until he gently sets me on my feet and starts to wipe me down with a pile of those soft leaves Bo had given me earlier.
“You are staring at me like I make you nervous,” he says from his knees in front of me. “But I know you’re not scared of me.”
“H-how do you know that?” I ask, unsure exactly how I feel about the man who killed others so easily in the night.
“When Bo startled you earlier, you came to me for protection.” I frown as I think back to the incident he’s talking about. Hawk had helped me down from the tree, and when Bo jumped down behind me, startling me, Ihadthrown myself against Hawk, instinct driving me into his arms.
I decide not to respond as I don’t know why I did that, but also knowing he’s right. I’m not scared he’ll hurt me. Which doesn’t make sense since he’s clearly a killer.
“To answer your question,” Ronan says as he moves to stand behind Hawk. “We don’t agree with the Mating Hunt.”
I hesitate before asking, “Why?”
“Because finding a woman first in the woods doesn't automatically make men the best protectors or the best fit,” Ronan explains.
