Gallant Luna

7. I Missed You

Though Hunter knew exactly where to find Riley so he could bring her to the Mayfield Mansion, he decided not to go there until he was certain everything would work out the way he intended.

He didn't want to make any decisions that would put her in danger.

It had been a few years since he and Vane had come face to face in battle and he didn't want it to be because of her, which was why he had taken all the necessary steps to ensure that everything would work out perfectly.

But he began to feel that the longer he stayed away from her, the more he longed to be with her to the point where he felt an unusual physical weakness.

He needed to see her again and be with her.

He was also certain that she wouldn't hesitate to come back with him to the Mayfield Mansion.

It was then that he decided he would go to her the following day, but just to be sure, he needed to speak to Nico about it one more time just to make sure everything was in place.

As Nico confirmed that they were ready for her, thanks to Cage, he seemed a bit silly and couldn't stop snickering, grabbing Hunter's attention because that was supposed to be a serious moment.

"What's funny?" Hunter asked, tilting his head to the side with narrowed eyes.

"It's nothing serious so don't mind me," Nico said, his tone dismissive.

However, Hunter didn't let it go. In fact, he even took a step forward and crossed his arms.

"You can't do something like that and then expect me not to wonder what's going on with you," Hunter said.

"It's just..." Nico trailed off, unable to contain his laughter, then continued, "Imagine you've done all this... like just imagine we've worked so hard to make sure that it's safe to bring Riley here but when you get there, she says no. What are you gonna do then?"

Hunter scoffed. "Bullshit."

"I'm just saying!"

"At this point, I have no doubts. She'll definitely want to come with me."

"Yeah? You wanna bet?"

"Let's not even bother because you're going to lose. I know she wants to come here now. I feel it. I even felt it last time when we-"

"Nope! Don't you dare start telling me about those details again! Just bring her back here so everyone can meet her. I still hope I'm not right because that would suck."

Hunter playfully smacked Nico on the shoulder, then excused himself to be alone.

Though he believed that everyone had done their best to have everything in order in terms of security, he wanted to check the entire territory on his own.

He didn't even tell Nico or Cage about it because he didn't want to make them feel like he didn't appreciate their efforts, so he just made it look like he was taking walks around their whole territory that evening.

Once he was satisfied that everything was alright, it was time to make the announcement.

After everyone gathered right outside, Nico and Cage stood by his side.

Without saying a single word, Hunter's presence alone demanded respect.

Everyone else just looked on like it was a regular day for them, except Frankie, Finn and Benji, the three boys who had just joined the pack. They were in awe at the sight of Hunter because they had only ever heard mind blowing stories about him and to finally be in front of him was an honor.