EMMA He bent down and let me climb on his back. I absolutely loved running with him, and I was thankful he ever proposed the idea in the first place. He took me on another run, but this time he ran deeper into the mountains. He was careful with which paths he chose, deliberately making sure I was comfortable. I laughed with the exhilaration of it all. Nothing compared to running with him. “Let’s see how fast you can run,” I said loudly enough for him to hear me over the whipping wind. He let out a long howl of delight in response and shot off like a bullet. Okay, yeah, I was not expecting him to be quite that fast, especially with me on his back. I lowered my body and held on tightly. He jumped over fallen logs and wove in between trees without so much as getting a scratch on either of us. His speed and agility were absolutely incredible. I whooped and laughed because I felt like I was legitimately flying, and I enjoyed every second of it. A fallen tree was laying at an incline,

XANDER “A custody arrangement? Please elaborate,” I said, amused and curious to see what she had in mind. She always found ways to surprise me. Knowing her, it could be a number of things. “You get Handsome, and so do I. He’s grown on me and helps me. He makes it to where I don’t feel as much of a risk to others. I don’t know what it is about him, but I feel more in control of myself around him. However, far more importantly, he’s a pretty epic wolf. Spending time with him is a blast and running with him has easily become my favorite activity. I thoroughly enjoy our outings, and he makes me very happy. Plus, he’s going to be my date to the pack run.” I looked at her in awe of this she-wolf. She never did what I expected. If Kai and I were not already infatuated with her, that sincere request would have made it so. Both of us wanted to learn every side of her. We wanted to know everything about her. He was jumping at the bit for me to agree. I had no doubt that he would permanently

XANDER “It doesn’t matter.” Oh yes, little wolf. It did matter. I stepped closer to her and wound an arm around her waist, thoroughly enjoying the feel of her body pressed to mine. She fit so perfectly against me. She was made for me. “What did he say, Emma?” I asked, my voice noticeably softer. She relaxed into me, and for a moment I forgot about everything else except for her. Why the hell did she affect me so damn much? Perhaps Ethan was right after all. Perhaps somewhere along the way I began falling for her without realizing it. Emma’s body was no longer rigid or tense. Her eyes fluttered before she looked up at me with those doe eyes of hers. “He said that it was hot watching me in the tournament. Watching me take down Lyle with my body wrapped around his leg made him wonder what it would feel like to have me wrapped around his dick,” she whispered. In that moment, it was unclear who wanted to kill him more. Kai would torture him until he died. A slow death, sure, but one

XANDER “Yeah, that money definitely goes to Emma,” Ethan declared with pride, bumping into her shoulder. There were snorts and chuckles from the entire squad. They all eyed Emma curiously because she just accomplished something that nobody else had before. Hell, even I was not expecting that level of skill. She looked similarly shocked too though. She apparently had not realized she could do that either. She certainly refrained from holding back, and I could see how much she appreciated that opportunity. “So, while you were beating the living shit out of our dear Alpha, the guys and I were observing your skills. We also discussed your skills outside of the ring as well, and we would like to officially extend you an offer to join Squad One.” Emma’s slightly bruised jaw went slack. This was an unexpected outcome, but I could not be happier that they saw her merit. She needed to believe in herself the way that we believed in her. She was capable and determined. She had the mind and th

EMMA I was momentarily taken aback with his words. It had been years since I heard anyone speak positively about Papa. Instead of seeing someone look at me with pity or revulsion, I saw pride associated with Papa’s memory. “Thanks,” I told him sincerely. I cleared my throat and clenched my fist in my lap to keep my emotions in check. There were only a few things that made me cry, but Papa was one of those. Xander placed his hand over mine, and his warmth and the sparks helped me relax. I looked up at him and smiled. I appreciated him being here with me and choosing me. It overjoyed me that someone besides me respected Papa. Ezekiel and Heath tried everything they could to tarnish his memory, so I was glad that they failed. Papa deserved to be remembered for the amazing leader that he was because there was none like him. “I heard that he was supposed to take up as Blacktree’s Alpha, right?” Kurtis asked. I nodded and took another sip of my drink. “Yeah, but unfortunately our pack