I'm just changing into my night clothes when the door opens and Hunter appears. He looks tired, no doubt from his own blood loss, and his red hair is sticking out in all directions. As I turn to him, he runs his hands through it.
"Are you all right?" I ask uncertainly.
Hunter nods, sighing. "Just tired," he replies. "I'm guessing you can relate."
I nod, sitting down on the bed and scooting over to make room for him. He drops down beside me, running a hand down his face. "Look," he says after a long pause, "I wanted to see how you were doing. I understand if you don't want to see me right now, believe me, but…" He meets my eyes with his own. "I care about you, Boots."
"I care about you, too," I tell him.
"So how are you, really?" Hunter asks.
"Alive," I respond, "but that's about all I can say, to be honest. I feel so… useless." My shoulders slump. "It's like they took part of me away."
Hunter puts his hand on my knee. The touch sends sparks of electricity up my leg, but I don't push him away. "We're going to fix this," Hunter says. "We're going to find a solution, Millie."
"What if we can't?" The words come out barely a whisper. "What if I never get my powers back? The things they did to me back there, Hunter… You can't even imagine what it was like."
"No. I can't." I can see him tense up out of the corner of my eye. The hand that isn't on my knee is bunched into a fist, and his whole body looks like he's shaking. Not with fear, though, I realise after a moment. With anger. "If I ever get my hands on that bastard," he says slowly, "I'll kill him. I don't care what it takes. He deserves to die. For what he did to Silas, for that Brody kid…" Hunter's breath hitches a little. "For what he did to you."
"Hunter…" Tentatively I reach out to touch his cheek.
He tenses up under the brush of my hand. "The thought of you getting hurt, Millie, or worse…" He shakes his head. "It kills me. Every time I think about what happened to you back there, about the part I played in it-"
"Hey, wait." I pull him towards me so I can meet his gaze. "Hunter, that wasn't your fault. None of that was your fault."
"How can you say that?" he demands, his voice full of pain. "If I hadn't let Edith get in my head— I mean, if I had just picked up on what she was planning…"
"None of us could have known," I insist. "We thought she was on our side. We couldn't have predicted she would turn on us."
"That's awfully understanding of you," Hunter replies dryly. "Considering… Well, you know." He swallows hard, taking my hand in his. "We never talked about what happened, really," he says quietly. "With Edith, I mean."
"You said it yourself," I say. "She got in your head. I think she got in mine, too."
"I shouldn't have let her," Hunter replies.
"Then why did you?" It's a question I've had for a long time, but I've only just worked up the courage to ask it.
Hunter waits for a long time before replying. "You have to understand, I've spent my whole life thinking I was a lost cause. Amelia was always the smart one, the powerful one —between her and Dad, I was starting to think there was no hope for me. And then I met you, and…" He takes an unsteady breath. "And everything changed. To have these three other guys, and don't get me wrong, they're all brilliant, but they're all top-notch, and here I am…"
"You don't think you match up to them?"
Hunter shakes his head. "And being around you, Millie… You're this beautiful, smart, talented…" He throws his hands up hopelessly. "I didn't think I was worthy of you. Sometimes I still don't." Slowly he brushes a strand of hair out of my face. "All I can say is I'm sorry, Millie. For everything."
"No harm done," I tell him, and smile. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I was jealous."
"Of Edith?" His eyes widen.
"I mean, yeah," I reply sheepishly. "I didn't think I could compete with her."
"Then I guess we're in the same boat," Hunter observes. And then he kisses me. It's light and tentative, almost scared, and before I even have time to reciprocate, he's pulling away. "I'm sorry," he says hastily. "I shouldn't have—"
But I interrupt him by pulling him back for another kiss. The relief of having put our feelings out in the open is overwhelming, and I find myself consumed by the desire for his touch, his comfort, especially in light of everything that's happened. Hunter's hands are light as they come up to rest around my waist, tightening as he pulls my body closer to his.
I can sense his barely contained excitement in spite of his efforts to be delicate. His lips move to the base of my neck (a vampire thing? I wonder), and I can feel his teeth working the skin there hard enough to leave a mark. I can feel his hands creeping under the hem of my shirt, but they stop before they can get where I really want them to go. "Don't stop," I murmur against his lips, sidling closer to him as I allow my fingers to tangle in his fiery hair.
Effectively given permission, Hunter hauls my shirt up and over my head, palming my breasts over my bra and soliciting a moan from me. My hands are on his belt buckle before I even have time to think. Before long we're discarding each other's clothes like our lives depend on it.
I move to roll over and pull him on top of me, but his hands on my hips keep me firmly in place.
"Here," he says, maneuvering me with his strong arms so I'm straddling him, "I want to see all of you."
I've never been on top before, and I move slowly as I guide him inside me so as not to hurt him. Hunter lets out a low groan, his lips meeting mine once more, and I begin to rock slowly into his lap as that familiar friction begins to heat up my whole body.
I don't know how long it lasts, that's how lost we are in each other, and I don't care. All that matters is the feeling of him inside me, soothing the anxiety and fear and pain, and by the time we come in unison it's all I can do to run my hands through his hair as he peppers my face and neck with soft kisses.
After a last moment of savouring the feeling, I pull away and crawl into bed, making room for Hunter beside me. There's the rustling of sheets, and moments later I feel a strong arm wrap around me as the vampire shifter pulls me flush against his chest.
"Thank you, Hunter," I murmur. "I needed that."
He presses a kiss to the back of my neck. "I should be the one thanking you. Are you feeling okay?"
"No worse, at least," I snark, before my tone dips back into one of disappointment. "This situation with my powers has me all messed up in the head. How am I supposed to help in this fight, how am I supposed to protect you guys when I can't even shapeshift anymore?"
"I wish I had an answer for you," Hunter replies.
"How did you do it?" I ask him, rolling over to look into his eyes. "Back before you learned how to shapeshift. How did you deal with those feelings?"