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.
EMMA Both Kai and Xander had their arms around me, taking a few last moments to just be together. I wished we could always be like this. Do not get me wrong. I was appreciative for my boys in any way that I could have them, but I wished for this even though it was not possible. At least, I did not think that it was. Then again, all of this was making me realize that many things were indeed possible. Kai got up to get a washcloth and cleaned me up. His touch was so gentle, as if he was revering me. Goddess, I loved him. He could destroy his enemies with ease, but he always touched me with a gentleness that was completely different. He leaned over and kissed my lips softly before kissing my forehead. I went to the closet to grab a shirt for me and boxers for them. A smile graced my lips as I looked at them both. It was hard for me to wrap my head around that these two were mine for life. I would always be beside them and them beside me. “You’re bleeding,” Kai said smugly as he pulle
EMMA A loud knock on the door woke us up not much later than we fell asleep. I groaned and snuggled further into Xander’s side. I was exhausted. The emotional rollercoaster from the information we learned, the very intense sexual activities, and utilizing the fire really drained me. I peeked at the clock which said that it was only 3:00 A.M. The knocking continued, and I growled. The world better be burning or else I would kill whoever was at the door. “What?” I yelled. Ethan peeked in the room and looked around shocked. I followed his gaze and realized what he meant. There were dents, things thrown across the room, and even the smell of blood was heavy. Perhaps we got a little carried away. Ha, even the smell of sex hung like a thick cloud. Ah, that sex was really great. No way I would ever forget a single moment of it. “What the fuck happened in here?” he asked, his mouth wide open. “This is the wicked side I knew you couldn’t handle.” I shrugged and snuggled back into Xander’
EMMA He slipped the earbuds from my ears and leaned patiently against the wall. The anger radiating through him told me that he saw my memories. I had not intended on that, but I could not change it now. Hearing about a few things and seeing what he just witnessed were two very different things. He clung to me like I was his life preserve, and I clung to him because he was mine. I did not know how long we stayed like that. Eventually, my tears subsided. Neither of us spoke for a little while after that. We just allowed one another’s presence to soothe us. He pulled my forehead to his and looked into my eyes. There was a sheen in his copper orbs, and it made my heart hurt that it was there at all. “Love, I wish that you could see how important you are to us and to this pack. You strengthen our pack already. Kai and I are better Alphas and better people in general because of you. You love us despite our faults, our ghosts, and our responsibilities. You have every right to want to tuc