“Hi, Evan. I’m fine. Everything is fine. I need to take a few days away from the pack. I just need to get my head on straight. You’ll need to complete the deal with Alpha Haden. Just get him to sign the paperwork and keep Annabelle from making anyone else’s lives miserable.” James disconnected his call. He’d been lucky and got Evan’s message machine. That was perfect. He wouldn’t need to answer any prying questions for now. They could leave messages on his phone.
He leaned over and looked at Emily’s sleeping form in the passenger seat of his vehicle. Now he just needed to get them settled in the old packhouse and then they could finally talk about this. James wasn’t sure what he’d say yet. All he knew was that whatever he felt about her leaving, it felt wrong. It hurt as bad as or possibly worse than when Rebecca died. He’d almost lost both that night. He’d ripped apart that mad wolf only to discover that wolf bit several members of their pack, including Rebecca, his soon-to-be mate, and Emily, his childhood friend.
They’d all be part of a close-knit group of friends. But that night ended. Their group fell apart, never to come back together as they’d once been. Emily stayed with him, probably because she’d been fighting for her life and her recovery took so long. Rebecca didn’t survive that night. The night that should have been the night they mated. Eva left for medical school and later to veterinary school. The pack used to joke about James and his harem. But the three girls were best of friends too. Little wonder that Emily became his beta. Eva made it her mission to find a cure or treatment for the virus. James wasn’t exactly sure what she talked about, but he’d support it if it would stop the death and disability.
James couldn’t think about that now. Later, when they were up at the old packhouse. Maybe Emily would have an explanation for his confusion. If anyone understood him, it was Emily, and when she’s done explaining this, she could explain the hurtful things she’d said to him earlier.
James couldn’t stop thinking about Rebecca and the last time he saw her alive. She was everything opposite to Emily. Rebecca was strong and full of life. She was always right there, ready to take on a challenge. She was a fighter through and through. Emily was quieter, the one that picked up the pieces behind everyone. She’d always been there by his side after Rebecca died. Emily was always James’ right hand. She was the one there who handed him whatever he needed to do, whatever he wanted. If he went drinking, she was there to drive him home. Emily was the one to make sure he studied.
James couldn’t lose another one. Eva would come back soon. But it wouldn’t be the same. The close bond he’d once felt wasn’t there anymore. Rebecca was the one he kissed and held. Emily was the one who there went things went south. His mother never disapproved of Rebecca outright, but she’d made it clear to James she felt he’d chosen the wrong female.
After Rebecca died, she’d let the subject go until they were sure Emily would survive. Then once she’d healed and got back to doing most of the things they did, his mother dropped hints maybe he should look for another mate. That an excellent mate might be closer at hand than he expected. Both he and Emily balked at that idea. They avoided speaking of it, and even now, James wanted to avoid thinking about it.
He needed to concentrate on driving up this old road. No one came up here anymore. They did not use anymore the old packhouse as the pack outgrew it decades ago and the land around the building wasn’t something they could build on anymore. A rather bad series of storms hit and washed out a good chunk of land, leaving the packhouse overlooking a cliff.
The pack made sure the build didn’t fall into disrepair and vagrants didn’t take up residence. It would be hard to explain the extremely large wolves in the area.
Once there, he carried Emily into the house and laid her on a bed upstairs. Then he left, closing and locking the door. James made sure he took the key with him. After that, he brought in the supplies he took from the lake house.
James looked about the main floor of the old house. Sheets lay over what little furniture still survived, which surprised him at how much didn’t end up being reused elsewhere in the pack’s territory.
So, he pulled sheets from furniture and mopped up the dust from the floor. It’s taken days to get the dust from the air. The windows in this place wouldn’t open. After years of paint and the shifting land, none of the windows would open and the air smelt dusty and a little stale.
Once he revealed everything in the room, James needed to step out for a bit. So, he moved on to the old kitchen. They didn’t have electricity here, so he’d need to find the generator and see if it still worked. He could see the old fire pit from the window in the back door. At least that looked like it was functional.
He tucked away the canned goods he’d brought with them. Surprised to find cans already in the cupboards. Someone stocked this place already because the dates were good on the cans.
Once done there, he went to open another bedroom for himself. James stopped outside the door to Emily’s room, and he heard nothing on the other side of the door. He assumed that meant he’d bought himself a little more time to get settled into the house. He still needed to deal with the bathroom. See if he could get the water running, too.
Emily woke slowly. Her eyelids were heavy and hard to keep open. Groaning, she shifted. When did she go to bed? Her blurry sight came into focus. That’s when she realized nothing was familiar. Dust clung to everything. Whoever owned this place covered the furniture in drop cloths. The air felt stale and not pleasant to breathe. Where was she? Sitting up, Emily pondered her next move. She felt like she should go back to sleep, but her brain registered that this wasn’t a safe place to sleep. She needed to get out of this building so she could breathe. Stumbling to her feet, she found the door in the gloomy room. Her feet felt sluggish and weighted. But she made it to the door to find out that it's locked. The door handle and lock were old, and she couldn’t see the key anywhere.&n
Evan entered the office looking for James and he didn’t find him anywhere. He assumed James went for a morning run to check up on things around the territory. Which, by Emily’s notes, he often checked on things first thing in the morning. Evan decided he’d start the day by recovering the phone messages and checking email. The email went easily, and he’d got all the documents printed for the day. So, he started in on the phone messages. Nice, simple, call this person back about that. Nothing important or rushed. Until he found a message from James. His voice sounded distracted. What did Evan do now? Their guests were still here. They’d not concluded their business yet. This was a disaster in the making. He tried calling Emily, but she wasn’t answering h
“James, this is insane. What did you do? Where are we?” Emily couldn’t believe he wasn’t a victim. She was the victim. James kidnapped her, but she didn’t understand why he’d done this. “What do we have to talk about that we haven’t talked about a million times? I need to get back soon because I need to close up the cottage before I leave for the airport.” “Rebecca. Never mind about closing up your cottage.” James said simply as he watched Emily and any telltale response, she might miss and betray herself true feelings with. “We’ve never talked about what happened.” He tried to approach her but hesitated. “What’s there to say? We lost many people that night. R
It stunned Emily when James’ lips came down in an insistent, no demanding kiss. Ever since he’d found Rebecca, she’d shied away from any thought of James like this. Gods, she could feel the heat of his body as he pulled her against him. He’d caught her arms between them and now his hands roamed her back for the first time. Feeling her body for the first time. With surprise on his side, she clung there, feeling him, and the inexplicable response to his kiss, his body, even his demands. Time felt like it stood still, and Emily’s mind struggled to make sense of this new turn of events. Finally, she broke the kiss and hid her face in his chest. Breathlessly, Emily demanded. “What was that? That was wrong on so many levels. No, this can’t be happening and it can’t happen again.”
Emily’s eyes popped open to see the dusty ceiling about her. What just happened? Gods, they had sex. James just blew her mind. She knew he would. That’s why she’d avoided it. Yeah, she may have known that Rebecca didn’t plan to go through mating with James. She still felt like she was betraying her friends, and she’d never tell James about the hurtful actions Rebecca would have done if she’d lived. Oh, this complicated everything. Damon expected her to be at the airport catching a redeye to Montana. He planned to meet her at the airport, and he’d take her back to his territory. Then they’d get her settled into his territory, sign the documents, and make her joining official along with their mating. She’d made agreements, promises even to do this. Emily felt grateful to have this
Janine couldn’t figure out what her son was thinking, let alone where he’d gone. The boy infuriated her for some days. Though she was more concerned about Emily. They found the girl’s phone at the lake house amid a mess. She prayed they were together, wherever they were. Janine was thankful that they found no blood at the scene. Alpha Haden, thank heavens, was a man who kept a finger on the pulse of his pack. That meant every morning he checked in with his Beta for news, and to deal with their private business. This meant Janine needed to do something while she waited for him. So when he finished with his things, he found her pacing and demanding that they continue their search. Embarrassed that he overheard most of the situation from o
Damon’s phone rang, waking him up. “What? Talk to me.” He looked at the clock. Phone calls at three in the morning were never a good thing. “Sir, it’s Tommy. I’ve been here for three hours. The plane landed, and she wasn’t on the plane. I’ve checked she didn’t reschedule her flight. I tried her cell phone and there was no response. I tried contacting her several times over the last hour. I’m not sure how you want me to proceed.” Damon sighed in exhaustion, though he felt concerned too. Emily seemed so interested in this arrangement. Something must have happened. He’d need to call her and if she didn’t respond, he’d call her previous alpha. Someone must know what’s going on.&nbs
“What do you mean, everything’s settled? James, you’re screwing with my life here. You’re abusing your power as an alpha. This could start a war, for fuck’s sake. When will you ever listen to me? I won’t be able to fix this disaster this time because I’m involved in the mess.” Emily searched around for her clothes. She couldn’t believe now what they’d just done, and it paled considering his words. Emily couldn’t get her mind wrapped around it all. Usually, she could work out what his intentions were, but not this time. She’d been completely and utterly sideswiped. “We need to talk.” That was all James had to say before he pulled her back to him and away from their clothing on the floor.&nb