EMMA I idly fiddled with an app on my phone until deep bass notes thumped softly throughout the truck. The steady beat washed through me, filling me with a steadiness of my own. Music always helped give me something to focus on so that my mind could filter the rest through the background. It split my attention so that I could compartmentalize without losing my shit. This tactic had been useful so far in life. My mind was often a mess and more so right now. It was filled with a million unanswered questions, so I needed all the help that I could get. Hearing my wolf’s voice and guidance filled me with excitement that not even the Devon situation could extinguish. I spent so many years thinking they had killed her, that I would never be whole. For shifters, the wolf was just as much part of us as we were – two halves that fit together to make one whole. After our first shift, they became part of us forever. They shared a mind with us and provided a special type of companionship. I rea

EMMA Xander leaned up against the wall and held me in his lap. His fingers ran through my hair, comforting and soothing me. I felt gross from all the sweat on me, but his touch brought both physical and emotional relief. My head was leaning against his shoulder, and I looked up at him with a smile. I finally shifted, and he helped me through it. I was glad to have shared the experience with Xander and Kai despite how painful and weird it was. I should not be surprised whenever weird things happened to me because the odd and unexplained always seemed to follow me around. “My wolf’s name is Phoenix. Well, she’s the wolf spirit. She said that I was different because I’m both the human and the wolf,” I tried to explain, my brows furrowing. Was it possible for your wolf to be crazy? That would explain quite a bit. ‘Far from crazy,’ she snorted in my head. “Obviously, you must be crazy, Phoenix,” I muttered. I saw Xander’s amused smirk and realized I spoke out loud. That would take som

EMMA The three of us spent time together throughout the day. We just talked and hung out. We even spent a couple of hours in the gym to allow me to work out some of my nerves and stress. They took turns training me, and I started sweating in no time. Xander had great pointers for hand-to-hand. He gave me a few new pointers on the best pressure points in human form. I nearly had him pinned before Kai shifted and threw me off-balance. Kai had me pinned underneath him when Xander shifted and began tickling the hell out of my sides. Then they were both asses who took turns tickling me by switching control. I called a truce before we tried to catch our breath between laughs. It was exactly what we needed. My mates were amazing. Despite this being hard on them too, they did what they could to make me more comfortable. I truly did not deserve them. “Food!” Ethan hollered from the hallway. Food sounded great. It was an early supper today because doing this rescue mission on a full stomach

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 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