EMMA Rachel looked torn about leaving me all alone, especially after coming to rescue her. Thankfully, she nodded and hurried away, following my instructions. I closed the door behind her softly, as to not alert them to my presence. They would not have known about the hidden entrance, but I could not take any risks in this. ‘Get to the basement. Rachel is coming down. Get out through the tunnels. I’m taking the long way home,’ I rushed out through the link. I slipped out of the pantry, hiding the way Rachel left. I darted down the corner hallway. I had only gotten halfway when loud shouts sounded from behind me. Presence known. Not the plan, but I could improvise. I needed to lure them away regardless to give my people time to make a clean getaway. I darted through the second door on the right which was the hallway bathroom. It led to my old bedroom which had its own exit. This was why I insisted on coming alone. I knew every inch of this place, and only I could accomplish this. T
EMMA The first thing I became aware of was being submerged in darkness. The last thing I remembered was Johnson carrying me across the border. We did it. We saved her. Ezra had his mate back. Not to mention that their unborn pup was also saved. “I can’t believe she did that,” Ethan hissed quietly, but anger laced his voice no matter how softly he spoke. I never heard him that pissed before, and now it was aimed at me apparently. I could not figure out why he was so pissed. We succeeded. The mission was a success. So, what was I missing? “Really, Ethan, you can’t? This is Emma. She will always run into the fire to save an innocent life. She knew the risks, she knew the rewards, and she made a choice,” Xander said, his voice ringing out with pride. He and Kai were both proud of me. I was fucking proud of myself too. Honestly, I was surprised that we were able to pull it off like we did. And without a hitch or almost without a hitch. I realized that I was not as horrible with missio
EMMA He glared at me and held up two fingers. I rolled my eyes, and his face broke out in a smile that actually met his eyes. “Pleasure doing business with you, sweets.” He laughed, finally letting himself realize that I was truly okay. He hugged me, and I stiffened in his arms the moment that he touched my back. He pulled away and apologized. “Ethan, shut up. I stiffened because of your aftershave, not because of anything else.” He smirked even though he saw right through it. “Why didn’t Phoenix heal you, love?” Xander asked, rubbing his hand over my arm. I relaxed into him further let the sparks work their wonder. I turned to Rachel and explained who Phoenix was and that we would fill her in on everything in a bit. It was a lot for someone to be introduced to, so I did not want to introduce everything to her at this exact moment because it should be about her reunion right now and nothing else. “Because she wasn’t supposed to be here yet. I should be fine for training in the
EMMA I woke up still on top of Xander, but he was wide awake and watching me sleep. I groaned and buried my head in his neck, inhaling his scent. I let it wash through me, waking me up and filling me with good vibes. “How long have you been up?” I mumbled against his neck. “Not long.” He chuckled which then vibrated through me since I was laying on his chest. It caused me to smile. I was glad to see him in this type of mood after the fucked-up night he had. “I highly doubt that,” I said, rolling my eyes. The amusement in his eyes told me that I was right. Waking up next to my mate was the most incredible feeling. Starting your day next to the most important person in your life and ending your day next to the most important person in your life was enough to erase the stress and worry from last night. I untangled my body from his and got out of bed, stretching away the soreness in my limbs. I was not in so much pain anymore, but I felt like I went two rounds with a bear-shifter and
EMMA Ethan came in and smiled widely at the food. He always looked at food as if he had been stranded on a deserted island for years without proper food. “There’s no way you had time to cook, sweets.” I pointed my finger towards Ezra and winked. “He’s talented in the kitchen. Perhaps we will now have some variety.” I ate the last bit of the stuffed French toast from my plate. French toast was my favorite breakfast food, so this was the perfect start to a promising day. I was not sure what he stuffed it with, but it was delicious. I needed this recipe. Perhaps we could bond over cooking. I would like to get to know him better, but I also wanted to get to know Rachel better as well. They were going to be in our lives from now on, so I wanted to develop a foundation with them. “This is great,” Ethan agreed, eating his entire plate quickly. He turned to me and motioned with his finger for me to turn around. He pulled up the back of my shirt and whistled. “Well fuck. Those are nice sca
EMMA The rest of training went off without a hitch. I was high on the satisfaction I got during my fight with Devon. I did not kill him, but I did beat the shit out of him and wounded his pride. Now, he had to live with the fact that a ‘wolf-less girl’ kicked his ass. We did not see him again afterwards. He hightailed it out of there for some reason. Good riddance. I sagged onto the couch with my head on Xander’s lap once we got back to the packhouse. My body was still recovering from last night, and it was exhausted. Ethan picked my feet up and sat down with them on his lap. “Whatever happened to the jealousy and possessiveness of an Alpha,” I asked, looking up at Xander. Xander and Kai allowed Ethan to be closer to me and show me more affection that most mates allowed in the same regard. I was not complaining or anything. I was just honestly curious about it. I saw Ezra run up the stairs to find Rachel, and I smiled because they finally had one another again, were safe, and had
EMMA “The name is Phoenix,” she said with a bow. I looked at her closely, surprised that she was standing next to me. She had been inside of my head since I was born apparently. Now, she was standing right next to me in her own body. I reached my hand out to her, and she watched patiently as I touched her to make sure she was real. She reminded me so much of Bellamy. Xander’s eyes widened in shock, as he took her in from head to toe. I did not feel jealous because it was Phoenix, and he was understandably curious. Hell, so was I. “Phoenix, how are you here?” Xander asked, his brows scrunching together. He was trying to think up some plausible explanations, but he would never guess this one. She nodded to Kai and said, “the smug bastard over there said he could handle my party tricks. So, I had to accept the challenge. This is not exactly a party trick per se. It is an old form of blood magic that has been passed down through the years.” Xander eyed Kai again before turning his at
EMMA This was all news to me. Did he hate me because we apparently were not fated? Did he resent our bond? I knew that something was bound to make him tuck tail and run. This was that icing on the cake that destroyed the entire cake. Phoenix looked at him, pointing a single finger directly at his face. “Yes, you oaf, she chose you. Out of every single person on this planet, in all of time, she chose you and Kai.” Great. Now, he was going to hate Phoenix and me both. Xander closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he looked back at me, his eyes were blazing with emotion and breaking through his normally controlled mask. The same emotions flooded the bond. I was slammed with pride, admiration, love, and unwavering faith in us. “You’re not mad,” I breathed out with a shaky breath. He did not hate me. He played me, but he did not hate me. I gave his thigh a firm squeeze, making sure that I missed his very obvious cock. His lips tipped into a delicious smirk, enjoying my surprise.