10

Completed, words: 1986

A/N I love reading your comments so keep commenting telling me what you like/don't like/what you would like to see in the future for Isabella & Hunter :) x

Considering they were in a deep dark forest that most people would be terrified of, Hunter finds drifting off to sleep incredibly easy, on the other hand, Isabella was scared out of her wits, every single noise whether that be a branch snap or an owl hooting made her practically jump out of her skin. Isabella's neck was getting sore at it snapping in the direction of every noise, she wasn't sure if this was because she expected Tobias to suddenly appear or a giant bear.

Are there giant bears in these woods? I should've asked if there are giant bears

Isabella thinks to herself looking down at his relaxed form, he seemed so settled, he also looked much younger when he was asleep just like he did when he smiled. Isabella so wanted to reach out and touch his face but even she knew that would probably be creepy if it woke him up so decided against it and decided to rest her head against the tree she was leant up against.

Isabella takes a deep breath and closes her eyes trying to relax and push all scary thoughts out of her head, sure she was technically a werewolf but she knew she would probably be useless if faced with real danger, good job Hunter was here. Isabella took a moment to make a wish, pleading for anyone who would listen to return her beloved cat, she knew nobody understood it, most of all Hunter but that cat was her best friend. Tobias had always been there, the person who listened to her cry and comforted her the way nobody else had been willing to do since before Alpha Jax had died.

Hunter's head lolled on Isabella's shoulder making her jump slightly, she almost reached to push his head away but instinct and maybe the mating bond already forming caused her to stay still. The contact, no matter how small was somewhat comforting to Isabella, something that she had also not experienced since Alpha Jax, particularly around men, they had been demonised to her in the past few years but she could already see that being around Hunter and even the little contact with Jackson that not all men were the same. It allowed her to believe that maybe one day she could be confident around men again.

Isabella is pulled out of her deep thoughts by another rustling sound making her head turn to her left, she watches with narrowed eyes as the rustling gets louder. Seconds pass in bated breath and Isabella feeling a newfound confidence inches away from Hunter but as the noise gets louder she starts to feel terrified and is ready to shake Hunter awake when a familiar ginger cat pops his head from around the bushes.

Without thinking, Isabella jumps to her feet with tears in her eyes causing Hunter to fall flat on his face on the floor. His eyes flutter open with a groan as he rubs his now aching head. Isabella heads towards to Tobias ready to pick him but at the last second, he turns on his heel and runs in the direction he came from. Isabella starts to chase close behind, Hunter jumps to his feet to follow.

"Bloody cat" he grumbles angrily.

-

The chase continues until Tobias reaches a fallen tree, he nimbly climbs straight onto it with confidence. Isabella weighs up her options, the tree is surrounding with thick, dark mud but the longer she stands at the base of the tree the further Tobias gets, she simply can't lose him!

Shakily, Isabella climbs onto the tree and starts to try to walk across, halfway across the tree, Tobias sits down patiently waiting for his owner to reach him, he somehow has a hilarious look on his face, Isabella could have sworn he was smiling at her but now was not the time to think about that as every extra step Isabella took the shakier she became on her feet. Werewolves often have incredible balance but a lack of training or practise meant this skipped Isabella, she was the complete opposite, she usually fell over her own feet let along trying to balance on a tree trunk.

It wasn't long before Hunter caught up with Isabella, he watched her with an amused look in his eyes. There was some concern but he was pretty confident that even if Isabella fell from the tree, apart from being very muddy she wouldn't come to any harm. There was absolutely no chance Hunter was going to climb onto the tree himself, he told himself that he wasn't going to do it because one of them needed to be on dry land if Isabella happened to fall into the mud.

Hunter watched on in confusion at how shaky Isabella was, it was basic training that most pack members did for balance, you built the basic foundations after shifting for the first time (usually 13/14) but it was something you were supposed to dedicate time to for the rest of your life to ensure something like this didn't happen.

As much as it was endearing to watch Isabella, he had never seen someone with so little grace when doing such a simple task, even some of the youngest werewolves would have already managed to reach Tobias by now.

As Isabella gets closer, Tobias stands ready to turn around and go further back along the tree trunk.

"No Tobias!" Isabella yells in a panic "Stay where you are!" she begs waving her arms around to show Tobias to stay still but mainly to help with her balance.

"Be careful Isabella" Hunter shouts biting the inside of his cheek nervously.

On her next step, Isabella completely loses her balance, one leg goes up and her arms flail around before she crashes down to the side falling spectacularly into the mud with a SPLAT. A small scream leaves Isabella's mouth, this time Hunter has to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing, she wasn't hurt and honestly, she just looked adorable.

When Isabella managed to resurface from the mud she has a smile on her face before breaking into laugher which is music to Hunter's ears. Hunter lets out a laugh too as she struggles her way trying to get out of the mud.

Tobias decides he has worried her enough and makes his way across the trunk towards Hunter with ease, he sits at Hunter's feet with a look of 'Hurry up, what is taking so long?' to Isabella as she squelches her way out of the mud. Hunter finally takes pity on her and reaches his arm out for her to grab onto, misjudging his strength, Hunters pulls too hard causing not only Isabella to come flying out of the mud but she lands right against his chest leaving an Isabella shaped mud patch over him leaving them both laughing again.

-

Heavy with mud(apart from Tobias of course), the three of them head back to the huge packhouse/castle, now wide awake and happy Isabella finally can appreciate the beauty of her new home. A cold shiver spreads across her body not only from the mud but also because of the thought that THIS was her new home. Hunter pulls Isabella closer to him to share his body heat, he was like a permanent hot water bottle.

Isabella and Hunter take their shoes off at the door but it is almost futile as they still manage to leave a muddy trail in their wake. Isabella glances over shoulder and winces at the mud covering the floor, she starts to turn around to clean it up but Hunter grabs onto her hand and pulls her towards him gently.

"Someone will sort it" Hunter shrugs, Isabella feels uneasy and although she doesn't say anything it is written all over her face for Hunter to see "Look Isabella, I'm Alpha and you're their future Luna, we need to focus on cleaning ourselves not the floor, they will sort it"

Isabella winces again, she wasn't sure she would ever get used to having so much freedom and control but the one thing she knew for sure was that she would ensure that she or nobody around her ever treated someone the way she was for as long as she lived.

-

The happy mood didn't end, Isabella barely registered that Hunter had started to peel the now drying muddy clothes off of her body. Hunter had only pure intentions of getting Isabella clean, dry and warm, he could even tell that she was relaxed which he knew was unusual so was enjoying the moment while it lasted.

Despite her relaxation, Hunter ensured he told Isabella every step of the way what he was going to do next giving her time to protest or stop him, he also made sure that for every piece of clothing he took off of her body he did for himself to show they were on a level playing field.

Hunter leads Isabella into the shower and watches as the mud starts to slide away from her pale skin, as if realising what was going on, Isabella wraps her arms around herself awkwardly, in silence, Hunter reaches over and looking into Isabella's eyes to watch for her reaction he gently takes her arms from around her body, to ensure she doesn't feel exposed, he pulls her against his chest, he runs his nose along the length of hers letting the water cascade over them both before he washes them both with soap.

"You move quick" Isabella whispers with a small smile on her face, although this was moving quicker than she had ever expected it didn't feel wrong or bad to her and she welcomed it.

"Only as quick as you want baby" Hunter replies planting a soft kiss on her lips but pulls away to make sure he doesn't cross the line. It was hard to know where the line was with someone as secretive as Isabella but Hunter was dedicated to making sure she felt happy and safe.

Smile cover both Isabella's and Hunter's face until Hunter separates himself from Isabella to reach over for the shampoo to clean her hair, he looks down and his eyes linger on numerous scars, too many to count. Some scars had a faded, healed look while others look as fresh as a week ago, despite werewolf healing any injuries that caused scars took much longer to leave the body.

Hunter feels a pain in his chest that he never had before almost as if a knife was plunging into it, he drops to his knees and wraps his arms around her waist, he didn't truly know what he was doing, he had never been faced with this before.

As if clicking back into reality from her happy place moments before, Isabella rips herself out of his grasp and looks at him in horror, how was it possible to not even realise that he would see them, how could he have such an effect on her that she could barely think of anything other than him?

Isabella quickly turns on her heel to escape the enclosed shower that suddenly seemed far too small making her panic. As she walks away it gives Hunter the chance to see the scratches and cuts on her back which make him feel nauseous and furious at the thought of hurting someone so pure as Isabella.

"Who did that to you?" she hears Hunter yell over the roaring water above his head, Isabella said nothing and did not turn around, if she had she would've seen the pure red eyes on Hunter as the anger was flooding his veins making him shake.