by A J Manney
Emma couldn’t help but be nervous as they climbed into the waiting cars. Garrett opened the front passenger door for Emma and assisted her in. Kyle and Emma got in the back while Garret slid in the driver’s seat. The drive didn’t take long. They stopped at a large building that looked somewhat like a YMCA. Garrett snagged her hand again as they walked towards the front door. He stopped her for just a moment and looked down at her. “Do you want to be introduced as Emersyn or Emma?”
Emma thought about it for a moment. “I think Emma. It’s who I am now. Emersyn feels a part of my past.” Garrett nodded, and they started walking again.
She could hear voices coming from inside. Surrounded by enforcers, they made their way inside. Emma had known a lot of people would be there, but she was still surprised by the number. Garrett led her towards the front of the room. A hush settled over the crowd, and Emma felt every eye on her. Garrett climbed up the three steps to the stage with Emma right behind him.
When they stood up front, Emma fought the urge to throw up. She took several calming breaths, looking for faces she recognized in the crowd. Liam gave her a big smile from the front row, and Madison gave her a thumbs up from the back. “I’m sorry for the late notice for our pack meeting tonight, but due to recent events, I needed to update you and didn’t think it could wait. First off, let me officially introduce you to my mate. Pack, this is Emma. Emma, this is the Northwoods Pack.” A raucous cheer went up as everybody clapped and cheered and whistled. Garrett turned towards her and pulled her closer to him.
Emma stared at him with big eyes and panicked when he wrapped his arms around her. What is he doing? Before she knew what was happening, Garrett’s lips were on hers. This wasn’t like any other kiss so far, though. This was deep and passionate. He was staking his claim in front of his pack. The place erupted, but Emma was lost in the moment. When he pulled back, he stared down at her for a moment; Emma was sure her face showed shock. He kissed her one more time on the lips, then turned back to the crowd. “In case there was any doubt, Emma is mine,” he said in a low voice, staking his claim on her. “Don’t test me on that,” he warned. “Now, I have something to tell you that doesn’t leave this room. It does not get out to any other pack. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Alpha,” they called out, and heads nodded all around. Garrett took a deep breath and pulled her into his side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Emma is a finder. For those who don’t know what that is, it means that she can see who your mate is from touch.” Sounds erupted around the room. Garrett gave them a minute before calming everyone down. “I don’t think I have to tell you how important it is that we keep this secret until we know how to deal with other packs. You can understand how valuable Emma is to this pack, not just because she is your alpha’s mate, but because of who she is. I’ve already told our enforcers this, but I’m telling you now. Emma is to be protected at all costs. Guard her life as you do mine. She is invaluable for the survival of this pack and of our species and will be protected as such. Understood?” Shouts of agreement thundered through the room. “Another thing we need to discuss is the betrayal of one of our own.” Emma looked around the room. She could see confusion on most people’s faces. “Levi Brander betrayed us. He helped kidnap Emma and was going to start selling her to other packs to help their wolves find mates.” Angry protests and growls filled the room. Garrett raised his hands to silence them. “They are no longer a threat.” Cheers went around the room. It didn’t seem that anybody was sad at the loss of Levi. They were more filled with disgust at his betrayal. Emma hoped they never turned on her like that. “I’ve already had the alpha of the Chicago pack and the alpha from the St. Louis pack come to try to challenge me for Emma.” Fierce growls filled the room once again. “I killed both of them,” Garrett shouted over the noise. Once again, cheers and whistles and hoots and hollers filled the room. “And I will continue to do so to any other wolf that comes and tries to lay claim to my mate, soon to be our pack mother, and our finder.” The pack was on its feet now, stomping and carrying on. Emma felt overwhelmed by their support. It was obvious how much they loved and respected Garrett, and she in turn was on the receiving end of all that.
Once it quieted a little, Garrett continued. “We will figure out a system of getting through the pack. I know each of you is anxious to find your mate. We don’t know a lot about how this works yet. It’s not as simple as just making the connection with the finder. She only sees glimpses of the mate, sometimes nothing concrete to go on. So, it’s going to take some time. We ask that you be patient with us, with her. As your alpha, outside of Emma, nothing is as important to me as the survival of this pack. We will figure this out; but you’re going to have to exercise patience. With that said,” his voice changed, going deeper and lower, and more authoritative, “If anyone threatens Emma or tries to get her help before it is your turn, or does anything to her without my approval, the consequences will be your death. I will not tolerate it. There has to be order or this won’t ever work. She is new to our pack and new to our way of life. You will respect her and protect her. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Alpha,” they responded.
“When’s the mating ceremony?” someone shouted out.
Emma stiffened next to Garrett. He ran his hand up and down her arm in a soothing manner. “We’ll let you know,” he said easily. “Now, it’s late. If there are any concerns, stick around after the meeting and come talk to Liam or myself. Otherwise, you are dismissed. Enforcers, stick around and wait for your assignments,” he ordered. He dropped his hold on her shoulder and reached out his hand for hers. Then he led her to the back door. She noticed everyone stayed in their seats until they were at the back door. She understood the purpose for this a moment later as people began filing out. They all congratulated her and Garrett as they walked past. Emma’s cheeks hurt from smiling by the time everyone had gone out of the building. Soon, it was just the enforcers left. Max came into the building then. “Enforcers,” he called out. The enforcers all moved towards the front to meet with Max. He started giving orders.
Garrett led her outside towards the car. Kyle and Madison followed. They kept the same seating arrangements as before. When they were settled, Madison reached her hand up and patted Emma’s shoulder. “You did great up there.”
Emma laughed. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t pass out or throw up, so that’s a win,” Madison said enthusiastically. Emma laughed again. She saw Garrett give a small smile. They waited a few more minutes until Max came out with the enforcers. Once they were loaded up, they began the drive back to Garrett’s house. When they got there and climbed out of the vehicles, Max was already barking out orders to enforcers. Emma followed the others inside.
“I’m going to go get changed,” Emma said.
“I’ll go with you,” Madison said. She put her arm through Emma’s as they walked to her room. “I wasn’t kidding. You did good up there tonight hanging on to your composure, especially when Garrett kissed you like that,” she said with a huge grin.
Emma felt herself blush as she remembered his kiss in front of all those people. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t feeling composed,” she said as they walked into her room. Emma grabbed her clothes and changed quickly in the bathroom. When she came back out, Madison was sitting on her bed.
“Tomorrow morning at six for training?” she asked.
“Definitely,” Emma responded.
“Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?” Madison asked in concern.
Emma nodded. “I’ll be fine. You get back to Kyle.” They gave each other a quick hug and said good night.
Emma thought about going down to say goodnight to Garrett, but she thought that might be awkward. She finished getting ready for bed instead. She had just laid down in bed when she heard a soft knock at the door. She sat up in bed. “Come in,” she called out. The door opened and she saw Garrett’s broad form slip inside. He walked towards her bed, and she sli
d over so he could sit down.
“I just wanted to check on you before you went to sleep. I know today was a lot. How are you handling everything?” he asked gently.
“It was a ridiculous day,” Emma said with a sigh. She hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you think more challengers will come?”
Garrett was quiet for a moment. “I do,” he finally said.
Emma cringed. “Will they always come? Will we never get peace as long as I’m part of your pack?”
“Things will settle once we complete the mating bond,” he said in his deep voice. Emma was quiet. Maybe they just needed to move forward with it. Garrett reached out and took her hand. “I can tell where your mind is going. There’s nothing to worry about. I will deal with as many challenges as I need to; we’re not going to rush this. We’ll wait until you’re ready.”
“You’re ready?” Emma asked.
Garrett chuckled softly. “Yeah, baby. I was ready the first time I ever laid eyes on you. But that’s because I've waited my entire life for you. You’ve just been thrown into this life. It will take some time for you to adjust to all of it and for you to be able to give your heart to me. That’s okay. I’ll work for it.”
Emma wasn’t sure what to say to this incredible man. “Thank you,” she finally settled on. She sat up and hugged him. Feeling brave, she turned her head towards his. He eagerly met her halfway. He took control of the kiss right away. He pulled her towards him, eventually picking her up and pulling her onto his lap. She sat straddling him as the intensity of the kiss increased. He put his hand under her shirt in the back and traced his hand up and down her spine. Emma shivered from his touch. He finally pulled back slightly. Emma stared up at him, trying to control the racing of her heart. She put her hand around the back of his head and moved her hand through his hair. “You’re a good man, Garrett. I could see how much your pack respects you tonight. You’re a good leader to them.”
“I hope so,” he said and Emma heard the uncertainty in his voice. It was strange because he was always so confident, so in control.
“You are,” Emma said confidently.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’d better let you get to bed,” he said reluctantly.
Emma climbed off his lap and back under the covers. He stood up and bent over her, kissing her gently on the lips. “Sleep well, beautiful,” he said in a low voice. A moment later, he was gone. Emma missed him immediately. For as big of a man as he was and as intense as he could be, he had the ability to make her feel so calm and at peace. Those feelings stayed with Emma as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 39
It wasn’t long, though, before her sleeping became interrupted and disjointed. She kept having dreams of wolf attacks and being kidnapped. Thankfully, none of them made her wake up screaming; but it was a long night anyway. She was thankful to get up early so she could workout with Madison.
She quickly got dressed and headed to the basement. Thankfully, Garrett and the other guys were nowhere to be seen. When she got to the basement, she was surprised to see Kyle there with Madison.
“I’ve got a proposition for you,” Madison said.
“What is it?” Emma asked.
“Well, every month, the pack hosts a fight night on the last Friday of the month. That’s next Friday night. I think you should participate,” she said.
Emma just looked at her. “Who fights?” she asked.
Madison shrugged. “Anybody that wants to. Everybody shows up at six p.m. If you want to fight for the night, you sign up. Garrett then assigns fights based on size, build, and ability. It ends for the night with the best fight of the night. It always ends with somebody facing off with Garrett. The regular contenders are Max and Liam or one of the other enforcers, but sometimes they forfeit their spot and let somebody else try. Kyle’s done it several times. I got to do it once,” she said with a grin.
“How’d you do?” Emma asked, curious.
Madison laughed. “He let me get a couple swings in then pinned me in like five seconds flat, but at least I got the chance to try.”
Emma smiled. “It sounds fun. Wait, you don’t fight in your wolf form, right?”
“No. You immediately forfeit if you shift. We actually have training for fighting in our wolf forms too, but that’s not what fight night is for,” she explained.
“I don’t know,” Emma said. “I’ve never gone against anybody but you before.”
“I know,” Madison said. “That’s why I brought Kyle today. You’re going to spar with him for the next few days to get you ready for next Friday night.”
Emma looked at Kyle; he grinned at her. “He’s going to decimate me, isn’t he?” she asked Madison with a grimace.
“Yep, but it will be good for you,” Madison said without skipping a beat.
“Oh boy. Whenever somebody says something is good for you, it means it’s going to be terrible,” Emma said, cringing. Madison just laughed.
They didn’t waste any time. Madison started her going through her warmups; then it was time to face Kyle. Kyle spent the next two hours working with her and training her. When they were done, Emma was beat for the day.
After lunch, Emma finally decided to see if she could get ahold of Amy and see how she and Olivia were doing. She had been wanting to for a while, but hadn’t. She scrolled through her phone and found Amy’s number. When she didn’t answer, Emma left a message.
“Hey, Amy, it’s Emma. I’m sorry I’ve been such a terrible friend. I basically disappeared from your lives. I’m really sorry about that. Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you and see how you and Olivia were doing. I’d love to meet up maybe sometime in the near future, if that would be okay with you. Anyway, I would love to hear from you. Bye.” Emma hung up and put the phone down. She hoped Amy wouldn't resent her for how she had just cut out of their lives. Hopefully, she could redeem herself and continue their friendship.
Amy called her back a few hours later. “Hey, Amy,” Emma said, a little hesitant.
“Emma, it’s so good to hear your voice. Please don’t apologize. Life happens. I get it. Olivia and I are doing really well. Garrett helped us get settled into an amazing apartment. He got childcare for Oliva taken care of and offered me a job as a secretary at his firm. I can’t believe all he’s done for us,” she said. Emma could hear the tears in her voice.
“He’s pretty amazing,” Emma said sincerely.
“Well, enough about us. How are you doing?” Amy asked. “Have you married him yet?”
Emma choked out a laugh. “Uh, no, not yet.”
Amy laughed. “Well, I want an invite to the wedding.”
Emma smiled. They talked for a little while longer and ended with the promise to try to meet up for lunch sometime soon. Emma would have to talk Garrett into that. Maybe he would agree if he accompanied her. She would suggest it next time she saw him, if she ever saw him again. She sighed. She missed him; she admitted it. She pulled out her phone and texted him before she could talk herself out of it.
Emma: Thank you for helping Amy and Olivia. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. You’re a good man, Garrett.
His response came almost immediately.
Garrett: You’re welcome.
The rest of the day passed quickly. After resting for a little while, Emma went to the kitchen and helped Madison prepare supper. Then they went to bed at a good time, so they could get up early the next morning and train once again.
The next several days flew by in like fashion. Her body healed nicely, and she was getting stronger every day fighting Kyle. She hadn’t heard from or seen Garrett in all that time. Actually, she hadn’t seen Liam or Max in that long either. She figured they were busy trying to deal with pack business with everything that had happened.
Friday morning was her last training session with Kyle and Madison before the big night. Emma was still unsure about the whole thing. “I don’t know about tonight,” she said when they finished for the day.
&nbs
p; “Tell her she can do it, Kyle,” Madison said.
Kyle came and sat next to them. “You’re more than ready, Emma; and it would be good for you, but...”
Madison turned to glare at him while Emma asked, “But what?”
Kyle shrugged. “Just not sure how Garrett’s going to take it. He might lose it.”
“Why would you say that?” Madison asked. “He lets all the females fight.”
“Yeah, but the women that fight are all shifters with shifter speed and strength. Emma’s human. And you’ve seen how protective of her he is,” Kyle said.
“All the more reason to do it then,” Emma said, making her mind up. Kyle and Madison turned to look at her. “I don’t want him worried about me all the time. I want him to know I can handle myself in a fight. Maybe it’s time to show him that.”
Madison let out a whoop. “Yeah, girl. That’s the spirit!” Emma laughed and Kyle pulled Madison close to him with a smile. “Tonight!” Madison said.
“Tonight,” Emma repeated with confidence. The time seemed to crawl by all day, until suddenly it was Friday evening. Madison knocked on her door at five thirty. “You ready?” she called out through the closed door.
Emma flung it open. “I don’t know what to wear!” she said.
Madison stepped inside. “Okay, take a deep breath and relax. We’re going to fight night not the prom. Just wear what you usually wear when we work out together.”
“My sports bra and yoga pants?” Emma asked, incredulous.
Madison looked at her funny. “That’s what you always wear, isn’t it?”
“Well yeah, because It's just you and me and sometimes your husband. Tonight, the whole pack is going to be there, and Garret. I can’t show up in my sports bra in front of everybody,” Emma explained.
Madison shrugged. “Well, that’s what I wear.”
“Do the other females wear that?” Emma asked.
Madison took a deep breath. “Emma, we are going to fight night so we can prove you are a fighter. This, whatever it is, is not helping to put you in the right headspace. I don’t care what you wear. But you need to pull yourself together and get ready to fight.”
