Marked in a Vision

by Mary Goldberger

  “The bond has barely formed although you have known for some time, you have distanced yourself from her so the bond is weak until you mark her,” Jay explained as he sped off to the pack house.

  A few minutes later, they pulled up to the pack house as the door opened and Dillon ran out followed by some of the other pack members.

  “He is gone, too,” Dillon stated through clenched teeth.

  Emily heard him although she was looking around until she saw what she had seen in her vision.

  “He went that way,” she pointed out.

  “Are you sure, Emily?” Jay asked looking where she pointed.

  Turning to Dillon, she asked, “Is that the only tree with the blue ribbon around it?”

  Dillon was frowning, but he nodded as he said, “It is in remembrance of a pack member we lost three months ago.”

  “Then there is the direction he went,” Emily confirmed looking at Jay.

  Jay nodded his head as he asked, “Is there anything in that direction?”

  Dillon shook his head, but his mate gasped, “There is a cabin back there. It is run down and he said that he would find someone to get rid of it. I thought he told Dillon about it so I did not bother to say anything.”

  Garrett’s face went hard as Dillon muttered, “He had a backup plan just in case.”

  “We need to go,” Garrett said before shifting and take off as the others followed.

  Dillon and Jay were the last, and Jay looked over at Emily who nodded her head.

  Be careful, Jay, for he is not thinking with a clear head at the moment she cautioned.

  I will. I love you he said shifting and running after the others.

  Emily stood there with Dillon’s mate hoping that they could get to her in time, and frustrated that she could not go with them. She may not be a normal human being since her coma and Jay marking her, but in this instance, she would be more in the way if she went with them.

  “We just have to wait,” Dillon’s mate muttered.

  “I hate waiting,” Emily mumbled back and his mate laughed as she hooked an arm through hers and led her into the house.

  Chapter 23

  It was almost three hours later before they returned. By that time, Emily was scared to death until she heard Jay we are coming back.

  She had collapsed on the couch and jumped back up again when they heard the noise outside.

  She rushed to the door beating Dillon’s mate by a few seconds to fling open the door to Garrett carrying a sobbing Celeste followed by the rest of the pack who wore grim faces. Dillon and Jay were the last to enter.

  “Call the pack doctor,” Dillon told his mate who nodded her head and walked to the phone.

  Emily hugged Jay as he pulled her into him and buried his face into her neck.

  “Was it bad?” she whispered so softly that only he heard her and he nodded in her neck.

  “We will explain everything after the doctor looks over Celeste. The rest of you can go clean up and thank you for your help although I know that you did not like what we had to do,’ Dillon grimaced and his face showed his pain.

  The pack members nodded as they headed upstairs to their rooms.

  “Jay you can use the guest bedroom, last one on the right,” Dillon said as he turned to his mate.

  “The doctor will be here in a few minutes,” she said wrapping her arms around him.

  Emily and Jay went upstairs to give them some privacy. After they entered the room, Emily said, “He was Dillon’s friend, but I am guessing he did not give you guys any choice.”

  Jay shook his head as he stripped out of his clothes and went into the small bathroom that the room had. Emily sat on the bed as he took his shower and when there was a knock on the door; Emily opened it to see Dillon.

  “A change of clothes for Jay,” he said giving her the clothes. Before he turned away, Emily said “I am sorry, Alpha. He was your friend.”

  Dillon looked back at her, “Yes he was, but Celeste is my cousin more like a sister ever since she lost her parents and twin.” He walked away and Emily closed the door as his footsteps echoed down the hall.

  Jay came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Emily turned to him and she felt a blush stain her cheeks as she handed him the clothes, “Here. Dillon gave them to you.”

  Jay noticed the blush on her cheeks and he laughed quietly as he took the clothes and giving her a quick kiss.

  “Thank you,” he said as he took the towel off and began getting dressed.

  Emily shook her head at him, but she stood there checking him out as he got dressed.

  Once done, he wrapped his arms around her and just held her for a few minutes.

  “Let us go see how Celeste is doing,” Emily suggested and he nodded turning them towards the door.

  A few doors down, they knocked on a door and heard “come in”.

  When they opened the door, they saw Garrett sitting on the bed next to Celeste who was holding his hand, and Dillon and his mate were standing next to the dresser.

  “Come in,” Celeste said her eyes red from crying. After they closed the door, she said, “I feel like such a weak fool. For a witch and a werewolf, I was pathetic.”

  Emily shook her head, “You were scared. Also, you never really thought he would hurt you.”

  Celeste nodded her head, “I thought once he realized I had a mate and that I was not my sister, but he believed that since he lost my sister then I would be her replacement.”

  “I never knew it ate him up like that,” Dillon said sadly.

  Emily hesitated for a moment before she said softly,” Maybe you would have if it wasn’t for the fact that she had a twin. In his mind, they were one and the same so as long as one was alive, then his mate was still alive.”

  Celeste closed her eyes as she said, “It makes sense although I wish it did not end like it did.”

  There was silence at these words, and then Dillon said, “Well, I need to appoint a new Beta although I am going to wait a few days, but Garrett I am offering you the position if you would like it?”

  Garrett’s eyes widened in surprise, but he said firmly, “I will accept only if most of the pack approves it.” Dillon nodded his head for it was a wise decision to make.

  “I have some things I need to do,” Dillon said and they left the room as Jay and Emily stepped towards the bed.

  Emily bit her lip as Jay asked, “So you are feeling better, Celeste?”

  “Yes, although I will be sore for a few days,” she said. Garrett slid onto the bed to hold her as he explained so Emily would know, “She shifted when we surrounded him. It had surprised him because he believed he had a little more time.”

  Emily nodded her head at his explanation, and then she said, “Garrett, we would like to finish the conversation from earlier, but we can do it tomorrow.”

  Garrett nodded his head although Emily knew he had not paid attention to her words.

  “We leave you two to rest,” Jay said grabbing Emily’s hand and walking out of the room. They went back to the room that Dillon said they could use and lay down on the bed just holding each other close.

  The next day, Celeste was sore but no more permanent physical damage. The pack was taking it heard because they liked and respected him, and none of them knew how much the lost of his mate had changed him.

  Emily and Jay had to leave that evening so they caught up with Garrett in Celeste’s room during the afternoon.

  “Hi Emily, Jay,” he said with a smile as they entered the room. Celeste smiled, too, from her bed as she said, “I will be able to get out of bed tomorrow.”

  Emily smiled for she understood her excitement.

  Garrett looked at them and he frowned, “You have to leave today, don’t you?”

  Jay nodded his head as he said, “My brother’s ce
remony is in four days and there is a few things we need to do before then.”

  “Garrett,” Emily began, “the day Celeste was taken you were talking about your brother.”

  Garrett’s face hardened, “Yeah, I was telling you about his mate. I really thought she was happy with him.”

  “Everyone did,” Celeste affirmed.

  “Yeah,” Garrett said, “She had everyone fooled. A few weeks before her 16th birthday, my brother came down seriously ill. The pack doctor could not identify it or understand it because as werewolves, we rarely become sick. On the day of her first shift, my brother died and she left the pack. A few weeks later, it was discovered that he was poisoned and not a normal one that he could fight off. There was no proof, but I always suspected his mate, Victoria.”

  Jay and Emily looked at each other before Jay asked, “Why did you expect her?”

  “The whole time he was sick, she never visited him although I called her myself to let her know that he was asking for her,” Garrett said with a scowl, “then she disappeared a few hours after he died.”

  Celeste intervened here, “Although we learned later that she had joined another pack, and she had told the Alpha that she had been abandoned.”

  “She is a manipulator,” Garrett said harshly, “We heard rumors that her mother dabbled in the black magic, but we thought it was merely rumors.” Looking at Celeste, he said slowly, “I wonder if she was a witch.”

  Celeste shook her head, “No, my mom was a witch; it is where my sister and I had gotten the gene from. She knew most of the witches in the area and the pack, and I never heard her mention Victoria mother’s name.”

  Garrett sighed as he grabbed her hand, and he turned his eyes to them, “Why are you asking about my brother and his mate?”

  Jay took a deep breath and began to explain about his own run in with Victoria.

  Celeste shook her head as her eyes reflected her horror, “She is messing with something she should not be.”

  “It is unstable because she is not a natural, or a true witch,” Emily came to the conclusion.

  “Yes, but also we have mates for a reason and it seems like she does not understand that,” Celeste said.

  A few hours later, Jay and Emily left heading home. They had dinner with Garrett and Celeste in her room, and Emily knew that they had made real friends. She looked over at Jay and saw him concentrating on the road.

  “Jay,” she said softly.

  “Yes,” he said reaching out and intertwining their fingers.

  “Why would Victoria do that to her own mate?” she asked and Jay tightened his fingers.

  “You know the answer to that question just as I do,” Jay said quietly.

  Emily sighed as she stared down at their interlocked hands, “I do, but I cannot get past the fact of what she did because she wants something more. Wouldn’t a rejection have done the job?”

  “It would have, but I don’t think Victoria was thinking rationally when she decided to kill her own mate,” Jay remarked quietly. Emily sighed as she put their interlocked hands in her lap and looked out the window.

  Without looking at him, she asked, “When do Mark and Sasha accept the positions of Alpha and Alpha Female?”

  “In four days,” Jay reminded her.

  She smiled as she said softly, “I think that they would make great leaders for the pack although I think you would have made a great leader yourself.”

  Jay chuckled as he threw her a wicked look, “Of course” and she laughed at the confidence in his tone. She would worry about Victoria when she faced her for now she was going to enjoy there return home to their family.

  They arrived in the middle of the night and the only person awake was Jay’s father. He was just going to bed when they walked silently into the house.

  “Dad,” Jay said with a smile as they approached him.

  “Welcome back, Jay, Emily,” he said giving them both a hug. Seeing Emily yawn as Jay put an arm around her shoulder, he said with a small smile, “Go to bed. We can catch up in the morning.”

  “Okay,” Jay said as Emily nodded her head. She mumbled “goodnight” as they headed to their room where they stripped down to their underwear and fell into bed. Jay wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled tight against him, and they fell asleep letting their worries drift away until later.

  Chapter 24

  The next morning, Emily and Jay walked into the kitchen to see everyone sitting around the table. Stan looked up and smiled as he said teasingly, “I didn’t think you two would get up so early.”

  There was silence as everyone turned around to see who he was talking to and then Jay and Emily were bombarded with hugs.

  “I missed you, Emily,” Sasha said wrapping her into a hug and with her new enhanced smell, she frowned.

  “Sasha, you smell different,” she said confused then she shook her head as she laughed. “It is probably just my new senses getting use to the clearer things are.”

  She noticed the blush on Sasha’s face and her frown deepened as Jay looked at her with narrowed eyes. His eyes widened as he noticed the ring her finger and he glanced over at Mark who had a satisfied smile on his face.

  “I thought you were going to wait until the ceremony before you asked,” he said. Mark nodded his head as he explained, “I was until Sasha and I discovered she was pregnant.”

  Emily let a cry as she looked at Sasha, “You are pregnant? I am going to have another niece?” Everyone heard what she said, and Jay smiled as Michaela looked at her with wide eyes. Emily turned to her and winked before she turned back to Sasha demanding, “So am I?”

  “Yes,” Sasha laughed before Emily pulled her into a hug.

  “We need to go shopping,” Emily said, and everyone looked at her in disbelief.

  “Emily, you hate shopping,” Sasha said in amazement.

  “Sure,” Emily said patiently, “for my self, but we are not shopping for me. We are shopping for the baby and besides, I think a little something for Michaela would not hurt.”

  “Emily, I am only a couple weeks along,” Sasha said gently.

  “Sasha,” Emily said just as gently, “I never said we had to buy anything, but looking around will give us an idea of what you want and will need when the time comes.”

  “Actually, sweetie,” Stacy said, “That is a good idea.”

  “I agree,” Cass added as she put down the breakfast plates.

  “So is it decided that we are going out today,” Emily said as she sat down next to Jay and they began their breakfast.

  “Mom, Aunt Cass,” Sasha said with a slight frown.

  “I am game. Besides, I have not spent any of your father’s money in the last few weeks,” Stacy teased and Jacob groaned as he put his coffee cup down on the table.

  They all laughed as Cass added, “Michaela is out of school and I am free for the day.”

  “It is settled,” Emily pronounced in excitement.

  “Baby,” Jay said laughing, “Calm down and eat your breakfast first.”

  Emily sent him a pout before she ate her food.

  Jay ate his breakfast listening to their family catching them up what was going on, but his mind was on something else. He was thinking about Emily being pregnant with his child and he heard his wolf growl in agreement for they both would like that very much. He was pulled out of that thought when Victoria’s name was mentioned.

  “I am so glad that you two are home,” Sasha said as she rolled her eyes. “Victoria comes by everyday although we told her that Jay was not here.”

  Emily looked up and asked, “Does she know that Jay is not going to be Alpha?”

  Cass shook her head, “We have not told her bluntly but we have been leaving hints. She is ignoring them although she made a comment the other day that Jay had wanted the Alpha position more than anything.”

  Jay’s shocked face had them
all laughing and he said in understanding, “She never really knew me at all.”

  Emily looked over at him and she smiled as she laid her hand on his arm which he covered with his.

  “So,” Emily said leaving her hand where it was, “When should we leave?”

  They all looked at each other and Sasha starting to get excited said, “How about after breakfast?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Cass said as Stacy and Emily nodded their head in agreement, and Michaela jumped up from her seat running upstairs to get changed.

  “While the women are gone, I need to speak with you dad,” Jay said seriously, “including Jacob and Mark.”

  They all looked at him as Emily nodded her head at his look and she smiled at the others.

  An hour later, the women left the house heading to the mall where they were going to spend the day hanging out and baby browsing.

  As soon as they left, the men went into Stan’s office to talk. Jay settled near the window against the small table there while Mark and Jacob sat down on the small couch in the room and Stan settled behind his desk.

  Before Stan could ask Jay why he wanted to talk with them, Mark said, “You had two phone calls while you were away.”

  Jay looked at him and at the question in his eyes, Mark said, “A jewelry store called and said that they had the ring you had ordered.”

  Jay’s face lit up with excitement as Jacob growled, “What ring?”

  Jay tensed as he looked at Emily’s father and he said honestly, “I would like to have your permission to ask Emily to marry me.”

  Jacob looked at him with narrowed eyes although his eyes were filled with humor, “You ask me now but you had already ordered the ring.” He threw Mark a look and Mark had the sense to look uncomfortable before Jacob went on, “You two are definitely brothers.”

  Stan laughed as Jacob shook his head at them, but Jay knew that he had just got Jacob’s permission to ask Emily to marry him.

  Mark and Jay looked at each other in amusement before Stan said, “Jay, what is that you want to talk about with us?”