by Rae Foxx
Sam chuckled, but not the ha-ha kind. “Grant would’ve been twice the Alpha you are. You run around here in short shorts expecting everyone to jump when you say so.”
Cami laughed and shook her head, taking the smallest glance at Emma. In all of their steps forward, they had managed to position themselves on either side of Sam and his gang. They were ready to take them on.
And they looked like powerhouses compared to the hungover naysayers.
I’d never noticed before how Emma had grown into her position in the pack. I was too busy pining over something that I couldn’t have.
But now I saw it. Boy, were Sam and Rich wrong about them.
“Other than my gender and my clothes, what the fuck do you have against me? I have yet to hear actual problems.”
Sam chuffed while Rich scoffed but it took them more than one pause to gather their thoughts. The truth was, other than the fact that she was female, Cami had continued the good things Luke had set up in this pack and fixed some of the things that he’d flubbed on in his search for his mate.
Rich cleared his throat. “You’ve made us all double up on perimeter guard because you’re paranoid about Grant coming back. You’re scared of him.”
“Yeah, like we don’t have a life other than to patrol for you,” Sam added on, getting a nod from Rich.
I almost laughed at them. They had no leg to stand on. They were pissed for no fucking solid reason. What a way to live your life.
“I ordered extra perimeter runs to keep a look out for Grant, to protect all of you. If you remember, we lost several pack members in the last fight. I don’t want that for my people again.”
Cami’s answer rattled Sam to the core. He began to shake in place with anger, his face reddening more and more by the second. “We are not your people! And you are not our Alpha. You will never be!”
Seventeen
Emmet
Sam charged Cami with a roar, jumping into the air as his wolf ripped out of him with a growl.
As fast as he was with shifting, he could never be faster than Cami, I wasn’t sure anyone could be. Cami shifted with a growl, jaws open and ready before Sam had landed.
Her jaw clamped around his throat and pulled him down as Emma rushed from the other side, shifting into her wolf as she went. Her growl surged out and almost made me cringe, it was that loud.
“We have to help her. I hate fighting, but this is wrong,” Lucy said, stepping out of my arms as her skin began to ripple, her eyes focused on the other wolves that had begun to shift and rush us.
“Agreed,” I said, shifting as she did, both of us emerging in our wolf form, standing side by side for the first time.
She was beautiful. Her wolf was a dark auburn, just like her human hair, but with several streaks of strawberry blonde woven through the darker hair.
I would have to tell her about that later. Right then, we had a fight to take on.
Rich shifted before Sam had hit the ground, baring his teeth and claws. He swiped at my belly and my wolf let out a yelp. I was weak already and he knew that I was going to have to be careful. I had trained with him enough over the years to know how much trouble I was in.
Rich lunged for me, but Lucy was at his flank in an instant. Her wolf was leaner than most females I’d seen, which made her damned fast. One second she was near him and the next, her teeth were buried in his fur, and blood pooled underneath his body. He hadn’t even reached me. Rich tried to turn, to bite her and rip her off him. But he couldn’t reach. The action, however, bared his front to me and I took the shot.
I wanted him away from my mate and I wanted a little revenge for what they’d done to me the night before. Lucy still had hold of him and I bit into his front leg, right at the juncture where his thigh met his body. He cried out in pain and I let go almost immediately before lunging forward and clamping my canines down on his throat.
His blood pooled on my tongue and his wolf screamed, the sound calling all of the other wolves who weren’t fighting right to us.
Wolves rushed us and both Lucy and I were forced to let go, defending ourselves from the others as Rich fell to the ground. Beyond the head of the steel grey wolf before me, I saw Sam lunge for Cami again. Emma rushed over to us, her wolf padding against the ground as she took down two of the small wolves at the back of the pack.
One after another they fell or ran, realizing that they couldn’t keep up with Emma and Lucy. I stood.
Lucy came to join me now that she and Emma had the other three wolves on the ground, whining and whimpering in pain in her wake. Cami had Sam pinned to the ground, her wolf growling for a minute before he relaxed, his wolf giving up.
“Enough!” Cami roared as she shifted back to two legs, her feet still planted on Sam’s haunches. “This is fucking enough.”
With whimpers and growls, Sam and the others fazed back to their human forms. The fear in their eyes was undeniable. They now realized the true Alpha power Cami had in her.
“Alpha?” I asked, wondering how she wanted us to proceed. They didn’t deserve a second chance to make plans against her, but from her willingness to let them live, I thought she might give them another opportunity to get their acts together.
Cami gave me a look, reading the question off my face, but shook her head.
“Stand down. They know that they’ve been beaten. Now, what’s it going to fucking be, Sam?”
Sam blew out a breath and worked his jaw back and forth. “Maybe we were wrong.”
Cami stepped forward and I could tell she was trying hard to stop a smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that. Repeat yourself, Samuel, before I rip out your fucking throat.”
Ouch. Not Sam but Samuel. Even I felt like I’d been reprimanded by my mom with that one.
“We submit to the Alpha.” He muttered the words into the dirt, his body still splayed below Cami’s foot.
“I don’t give two rat’s asses about you submitting to me. I want to know that you are going to stop plotting against my life, grow a pair, and start doing what you’re supposed to be doing instead of drinking around the bonfire and fucking talking about murdering me. Oh, yeah, I knew it the whole time. I’m not quite the dumb blonde bimbo that you fucking think I am.”
Sam reeled back like he’d been slapped. She knew. She knew the whole time.
“Yes, Alpha. I swear it is the last time. I swear it on my life.”
Cami’s eyes darted to me again, but this time there was fire there. If she knew about the meetings, she knew I was there too. I gave her a nod.
Lucy came to stand beside me and I put my arm over her shoulder. Cami exhaled, accepting my head nod before turning back to Sam. “I won’t give any of you another chance. Any of you. Are we clear? This is the last time I want to hear about any of this bullshit. Next time, I won’t stop myself from ending you. Don’t fuck with me again, old man.”
Cami released him then, the old man shuffling to his feet as fast as he could. Sam bore his neck, all of his cronies following his lead.
“Go,” Cami said, they didn’t need to be told twice.
They were gone in seconds, leaving us all standing in the dirt.
Emma dusted off her knees. “Crap on a sailboat. I hate when I get fur in my mouth. I need a fucking shower.”
Eighteen
Emmet
Cami stood her ground until Sam and the others fled like wounded animals who’d been spanked by their mother.
They kind of had.
“Thanks for having my back, guys,” Cami said, taking a big exhale as her shoulders sank. “Shit. That got the adrenaline pumping for sure. I think I’m gonna go find my mate and work some of this off.”
Emma and Cami fist-bumped as they laughed maniacally. Half movie villains, half badass women who just took on four wolves on their own.
“It’s a shower first for me. Then, I think I’m gonna find Noah,” Emma said with a grin to Lucy and me. The smile only spread as Lucy leaned into me, resting her hea
d on my shoulder. “You know, you two are really cute together,” she sighed in a swoon that made me pull Lucy closer. “Congrats you two, and don’t forget to invite us to the mating ceremony. Not like you could have one without us, but you know what I mean. Oh, and Lucy, don’t forget to tell him how you found him!”
Cami and Emma laughed at that and offered more congratulations before they walked away, already gossiping about how they kicked ass.
“They are right, you know, you did kick some ass, Lucy.” I turned to her and picked a leaf out of her hair.
“Why thank you.” She turned to me, all smiles as she leaned forward and pressed my lips to the tip of her nose. She shivered underneath me.
“So,” I said softly, kissing her nose again. “Tell me how you found me.”
Her smile twitched and she blushed head to toe, something that I could see now that we were all bare from shifting. Not that I let my eyes linger, I was happy to have her here in my arms. So close, for the first time. I didn’t want to do anything to risk that.
“I was so worried after you didn’t show up all day, so I went to the Alpha’s house to ask where you lived. We were on our way there when my wolf perked up. She knew where you were. It was like…”
She trailed off, the blush growing as her eyes darted down to where my fingers were intertwined with hers. I wanted to give her space, but I could practically taste the words she was trying to say. This time, I wouldn’t let her off the hook. “Like your wolf was searching for her mate?”
Her bright green eyes widened as she took me in, the awe of what hung between us growing. When she finally spoke, it was in little more than a whisper.
“Like I was connected to you.”
I hooked my finger under her chin and lifted her gaze, her lips pouting as though she knew what was coming.
“I want to hear you say it, Lucy,” my voice whispered against her lips as I leaned in closer to her and she shivered again.
“I found you because my wolf knew exactly where her mate was.” She paused and smiled. Now it was her that was leaning closer. “It’s you, Emmet. You’re my mate. There’s no point in denying it anymore.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face. “Just hearing that… knowing that you feel it…” I sighed and she leaned in again.
“I do.” I could tell she was trying to steal a kiss, but I pulled away far enough that she couldn’t. “But I am going to miss it,” I admitted.
“Miss what?” Now she leaned back, worry lining her face.
“You tried so hard to deny our connection. It was kind of fun to torment you.”
“Shut up. You don’t have to rub it in.” She smacked my bare chest with the back of her hand and I captured her fingers, pressing them against me as I pulled her in, finally stealing that kiss.
Her lips pressed against mine, and it was different this time. I could tell that she was giving herself over to me. All of that trepidation was gone, her wolf whimpered as her lips moved alongside mine, the taste of her nearly overwhelming.
There was no more tension between us, no more worry or fear. It was just us, bonding for the first time. Just me and Lucy.
“I did want to tell you,” I said as she pulled away, her cheeks flushed as she breathed deep. “Your wolf was incredible.” I spoke slow, my voice low, the color on her cheeks returned almost immediately and I could have sworn I heard her heartbeat in my ears. “I don’t remember ever seeing your wolf before. She was breathtaking. And the way you took Rich down. Damn, woman, that was fierce.”
The tension and nerves that were still lingering in her face relaxed and she exhaled, her lips twerking into a mischievous smile.
“We’ve shifted as a pack before, Emmet. I’m sure you’ve seen me before.” She laughed. My mate was teasing me.
Damn, it felt like I’d been waiting for this moment my entire life.
“Okay. Okay. But I noticed now, and now I will never forget.”
She giggled in a way that I had never heard from her before.
“Wanna go for a run, mate? I’m eager for you to see my wolf again and she wants to see yours when you’re not in the middle of a fight.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled, loving the free feeling of knowing that she was mine and finally accepting us. “We can do that.”
She stood and I was able to take her in for the first time. Everything about her was beautiful and perfect. She gave me one more sly smile before she shifted. Her wolf rounded on my still human form, sniffing me and nipping at my legs. I knelt and ran my hands through her fur. My mate absolutely purred for me as my fingers raked through her auburn hair and scratched at her ears.
Time for that run. I shifted and while I did, Lucy took off in a sprint.
This female wasn’t ever going to take it easy on me. Thank the Gods.
Nineteen
Lucy
‘
His voice rumbled in my mind for the first time. It both energized and paralyzed me.
I hadn’t experienced this part of the connection for months...
I shouldn’t have been surprised, the bond was getting stronger by the second. But now, it spiraled through me and infiltrated my cells.
And even though it hurt, it was also like a balm. A warm hug that took away the last of that pain.
Clint may be gone.
But Emmet was here.
Emmet was mine.
I finally accepted that’s what I wanted. Just that knowledge made my wolf jump around in joy.
Emmet had shifted, his large wolf chuffing in laughter at my prance.
‘
‘
‘
His heftier form hopped and darted around tree trunks and through the leaves of plants, making my job of following him that much harder. He weaved through trees, the flashes of his fur through the rough bark growing more inconsistent the further away from me he got. He was playing with me and my wolf loved every part of it. I could still hear him laugh in my head, however. Still feel exactly where he was going.
He couldn’t hide.
I followed the pull of his pine scent, stalking his steps through the undergrowth. He ran fast, but not faster than me.
My paws smacked the earth as the crisp wind of the morning flowed through my fur. Emmet made this a chase, but he had slowed down. I chased his scent around another grove of trees and there he was. I sped up and was on his tail, playfully biting at the backs of his legs. He barked and sped up, but there was no way I was letting him get away now. I stayed right behind him until the powerful sloshing sounds of water reached my ears and made us both come to a halt.
We had covered quite a distance. The pack lands were quite far away.
I knew these woods, I had run through them for years, but this place was unfamiliar. I turned a corner, facing a cascading waterfall that trickled over rocks and trees as though it was the train of a wedding gown.
Wait. I had been here before. On a class trip with Emmet half a lifetime ago.
“I forgot about this,” I whispered, transforming back to my human form as I stepped to the bank of the water, the surface rippling from the waterfall's impact. Emmet stepped right beside me, his hand wrapping around mine as we stood in the spray of the falls, the mist of morning retreating to reveal more and more of the beautiful portrait.
“I haven’t been here in years. How did you remember?” I asked as we stood there, side by side, taking in the beauty and the raw power that was this waterfall.
“How about a swim?” he asked, tugging on our joined hands and ignoring my question.
“Okay,” I laughed, but he had already taken off into the water, his lean figure pulling my focus for the first time.
Damn.
Emmet had grown up.
In every way possible.
I chuckled and ran after him, water sloshing around me as I tramped through the chilly waters to his side. I stepped right up to him, wanting to be close. He turned, all smiles and sincerity… until he slid his foot underneath mine and sent me falling into the pond.
“Oh, that’s it. You’ll pay for that.” I gasped as I remerged, water trickling over my face as I grabbed his ankle, and jerked once, bringing him in along with me.
He yelled out as his chiseled body plunged into the cold water but then laughed as he grabbed me, pulling me right up to him. Pressing me against him. Through the icy chill of the water, his body felt like an electric current, all warm and desirable. I couldn’t help it, I wanted to be closer. I pressed myself against him, letting my hands cling to his hips as I did so.
His hands pressed firmer against the small of my back. “This doesn’t seem like a punishment, Lucy. Damn, it feels amazing to have your body next to mine.”
I smiled but tears were welling in my eyes.
“What’s the matter, mate? Did I hurt you? Did you hurt yourself?” He pushed me away to scan my body, to see if he’d caused me any harm, but didn’t see anything.
“No, that’s not why I’m crying, Emmet.” I’d never get tired of saying his name, knowing that he was mine. I’d been given a second chance.
He swiped one fallen tear from my face with my thumb. “Then tell me what it is. I’ll fix it. Whatever it is, I’ll fix it.”
Of course--males always thought they could fix everything.
I smiled at him and him at me, melting me despite the temperature of the stream. “I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect you, Emmet. I’d made peace with being a widow for the rest of my life and intended to make the most of being content with that life. But then you came in and... you changed everything.”
His cheeks rose in a smile. Damn, it had been a long time since I felt this level of happiness. Maybe I never had. Or at least, this was a different level than with Clint. My heart stayed steady when I was with him.
