by Bethany Shaw
The phone clicked and the dial tone bleated loudly in his ear. Emmett screened all of the calls they made on their pack cell phones, which is why they had come out to call Quinn. His ex-pack mate, and one of the only survivors of his original pack, had left shortly after the attack on Emily three years ago. He’d opted to join a pack in Louisiana because he didn’t approve of Emmett’s rules.
The phone rang three times. “Hello?”
“Quinn, it’s Marcus,” he greeted.
“Marcus,” Quinn said slowly. “How are you?”
“I’ve been better,” he admitted.
“It's been a while.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wish I were calling for better reasons, but I need to ask you a few things. We are having a bit of a situation with some packs up here in Oklahoma,” Marcus started.
“You too?”
“Yeah. There’s a lot of anarchy. There have been more attacks from both packs and lone wolves lately. I was just curious how things were going where you are?”
Quinn sighed heavily into the phone, causing it to crackle in Marcus’ ear. “I wish I could tell you things were good. But we’ve been having a lot of trouble with one pack in particular. It sounds like it’s the same pack from what you’re describing.”
“Which pack?” Marcus frowned.
“The Gulf Packs. They send in what you’re supposed to think is a lone wolf or a group pretending to be a pack. In reality, they are Juarez’s own men. Their job is to abduct any females, if possible, and to stir up trouble with your pack—make you uneasy. Then their leader Juarez shows up or calls and offers protection in exchange for fertile females. It’s all a ploy. If you refuse him, then he’ll attack your pack relentlessly until you fold—or die. You don’t have much of a choice when it comes down to it. You either fold and he takes your women, or you fight it out and he won’t stop coming until he takes your females. It’s all to get the female wolves. They are breeding them in New Mexico. It’s their solution to the lady problems we have,” Quinn explained.
Marcus gritted his teeth as anger surged through him. “I see.”
“Try to resist him if you can. The way he treats his females is horrendous. I know you were kind of sweet on the alpha’s daughter. What was her name again?”
“Emily,” Marcus breathed. All this was a gimmick and Emmett was walking them right into it. Knowingly or not.
Chapter Five
Emily gnawed on her fingernails as she peeked out the window. Lighting flashed in the distance, and a large splat of water landed on the windowpane. The weather matched her mood. Any second now, the car carrying Fernando Juarez would be making its way down the drive. Her life was going to change, whether she wanted it to or not.
Marcus isn’t going to let that happen! He’ll figure something out—we’ll figure this out.
She stiffened, hearing the crunch of tires of the gravel drive before the car came into view. Emily closed her eyes and sighed, willing this all to be some horrible nightmare. She opened her eyes praying for sunny skies, but was met with rain.
Thunder rolled overhead as a bright burst of light flickered. A silver car emerged from the trees and she leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the occupants. The hairs on her arm raised and a chill shot down her spine.
Emily jumped as a light knock sounded on her door. She spun around and met Daniel’s eyes as he shoved the door open.
“Dad wants you downstairs now.”
Emily huffed, crossed her arms over her chest, and marched forward.
“Remember to behave, Em,” he warned. “This is important.”
“So is my life,” she mumbled under her breath.
“So is our pack. It’s not just your hide on the line. You don’t know what is going on out there. The Gulf Packs aren’t to be trifled with. If you speak out of turn, Marcus will die and you’ll wish for death. Please, Em.”
“How can you be okay with all this?” Emily demanded, studying her older brother. They’d never been close, but he’d always helped her when she needed it.
Something flickered over Daniel’s face and he looked away. “Dad’s waiting for us.”
Her heart clenched painfully; he wasn’t going to help her. At least there was still her mother—hopefully.
Emily gulped as her father’s gaze fell on her. Refusing to meet his eyes, she turned her attention to her mother and instantly felt her body begin to relax.
Claire McKinley gave her a warm smile, her hazel eyes expressing several emotions as she reached her hand out and took Emily’s in her own. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she replied, looking down at her floral sundress.
Claire pushed the hair out of Emily’s face and tucked a lock behind her ear. “Everything’s going to be okay,” she whispered, pulling Emily firmly against her side.
Emily rested her head in the crook of her mother’s neck.
Three loud, crisp rasps on the door caused her to jolt upright. She gritted her teeth and took in a shaky breath. Her mother rubbed her hand up and down Emily’s arm as Emmett strode forward and opened the door.
“Emmett McKinley?” a man said, his bronzed arm reaching in to take her father’s. “I’m Fernando Juarez and this is my son Luis. It’s nice to meet you in person.”
Fernando Juarez instantly gave her the creeps. He looked smugly around the room at them as he entered. An air of power radiated off him and Emily could tell by the predatory glint in his eyes, he wasn’t a man who took objections well.
“Likewise. Welcome to our home, please come in,” Emmett greeted.
Emily held her breath and swallowed down the thick lump in her throat as the two men entered her home.
“Please allow me to introduce my darling wife, Claire, and our eldest son, Daniel, and of course our lovely daughter, Emily,” Emmett said smoothly.
“It is a pleasure to meet all of you,” Fernando said, his eyes bounding to each person as Emmett introduced them. When his gaze stopped on Emily, her breath caught in her throat. “I must say, the pictures your father sent of you do not do you justice. I can see you must get your looks from your mother.” At this he snapped his scrutinizing gaze to Claire.
Emily shuddered as goose flesh rose up on her arms. The voices around her became muted and her head swam. Blackness tugged at her consciousness and she blinked her eyes rapidly in an attempt to focus. She snapped out of her haze when Daniel tugged on her arm.
“Come on,” he hissed. “Dad’s office.”
Emily nodded, heat creeping across her face as all eyes fell on her again.
Their footsteps thudded against the hardwood and Emily inhaled a deep breath, trying to control her breathing. Her hands shook, and Daniel placed a firm hand on her back in an effort to support her.
“Calm down, Em. It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.
Emily shot him a glare as she ground her teeth. She closed her eyes and forced her body to relax. He was right, the other wolves could smell her fear, and that was not the image of herself she wanted to project.
Her father held the door open for them as they entered his office. Fernando and Luis took the two chairs positioned in front of Emmett’s desk while Emily sat on the couch between her brother and mother.
“I do appreciate you meeting with me so quickly,” Fernando began. “We have been having trouble with another pack in the Louisiana Bayous for some time, and I must make my way up there to oversee proceedings. It should only take me a week or two, and then I will be back here to collect Emily and deliver my granddaughter, Natalia.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Emmett questioned, taking a seat in his chair.
Fernando smiled. “I have the men and the resources; this pack is just being a particularly large thorn in my side. I was hoping that you wouldn’t mind setting up a training camp here for younger wolves. I have heard great things about the training you give to your pack.”
“Of course, I would love to help train your men,” Emmett
nodded.
“We will be allowed to visit her in New Mexico, won’t we?” Claire spoke up.
“I would never keep a family away from their daughter. You may visit anytime you wish,” Fernando assured.
“And which of your grandsons will my Emily be mating with?” Claire asked, squeezing Emily’s hand.
Emily flinched. She doesn’t know!
Fernando folded his hands and placed them in his lap before staring directly at Claire. “As you know, our species is in a dire situation. Only a decade ago, one girl was born out of every five pregnancies. Now, one girl is born with every ten pregnancies. Not to mention, it seems to be taking a long time for women to conceive. I don’t have the exact numbers, but I believe it takes anywhere between eighteen months and two years to conceive.”
“I’m well aware of the statistics. My son, Devon, has looked into them. What does this have to do with Emily?” Claire asked.
“She won’t be with just one of my grandsons she will be with several of them until she conceives,” Fernando replied.
Emily winced as her mother’s grip tightened painfully around her wrist. Claire opened her mouth to speak up, but Emmett spoke first.
“Times are different now, my love. I have seen projections for the outlook of our species. At this rate, werewolves will be extinct within the next century—possibly sooner.”
“I understand that,” Claire started. “But it has always been my thought that a man and woman in love would conceive faster and raise healthier, happier children.”
“I understand your reservations completely,” Fernando said quietly. “If it helps, two of my granddaughters are doing the same thing. I understand that love is important. However, the survival of our species cannot be left up to love alone.”
“Once Emily has conceived, she will be mated to the father of her child,” Emmett reasoned. “It will only last until a good breeding partner is found.”
Breeding partner? Bile rose up in Emily’s throat at the thought. She wanted to hurl at the horror and injustice of it all.
“The other two girls here, are they of breeding age?” Fernando asked.
“No, Maddie and Amelia have not started their heat cycles yet,” Claire spoke up.
“They are fifteen and sixteen,” Emmett explained.
“Do you plan to take them?” Claire asked, her voice cracking slightly.
“I see no reason not to leave them in your charge until they come of age. May I ask how you happened upon them?” Fernando inquired.
Emmett leaned forward on his desk. “The two young girls came to us about three-and-a-half years ago. We received a distress call from a neighboring pack about an hour away. By the time we got there, there wasn’t much we could do. The men who lived aren’t fighters; from what I’ve gathered, the pack was quite docile in nature. Regardless, they have all become intricate members of our pack, and we have found jobs for each of them.”
“Tragic,” Luis muttered. “We are seeing more and more attacks recently. There are some packs where there are no female wolves at all. It is causing a lot of tension.”
“And you think forcing women to breed is going to calm the packs?” Claire asked.
“Claire, darling,” Emmett said, standing up. “Why don’t you and Emily set to work on supper, and leave the talks to us.”
Claire growled low in her throat. Emily snapped her head, watching her mother closely. She held her breath. Surely her mother would say something—object to this ridiculousness. Her parents stared at each other for a long moment before her mother rose from the couch, pulling her up too.
“Come along, Emily,” she murmured.
Emily gaped at her mother for a moment before allowing herself to be pulled from the room. She had a feeling that her mother and father would be revisiting the conversation later. The only thing left to do now was pray that her mother could talk some common sense into Emmett. If not, then she didn’t want to think about the consequences.
***
Marcus fisted his hands at his sides as he paced Vincent’s bedroom floor. “I can’t believe Emmett agreed to this,” he snarled.
“I can,” Devon said as he pulled the monitor up through the heating ductwork.
“But mom?” Vincent started, collapsing on the bed. “She didn’t even fight it—not really. Do you think she is okay with this?”
“I think we’re going to have to assume she is going to side with Emmett on this,” Devon sighed, turning the monitor off, sticking in a box, and shoving back under the bed.
“I don’t care about them. What are we going to do about Emily? I know she doesn’t want this—and her being passed around is unacceptable,” Marcus growled. “We can worry about everything else later. How are we going to help get her out of this.”
Devon sank down onto the bed and ran a hand over his face. “I wish we could listen to the entire conversation.”
“I didn’t know the batteries were going bad, or I would have replaced them,” Vincent grumbled.
“I don’t even want to know why you have that to begin with,” Devon sighed, balling and un-balling his hands.
“It comes in handy,” Vincent smirked.
“This isn’t helping, Em,” Marcus snapped. Heat crept across his face as his anger boiled over. He grimaced as his nails dug into his palms, sending tiny rivulets of blood to the floor.
“You’re partially shifting,” Vincent noted, staring at Marcus’ hands.
“I could tear him apart.”
“He’d kill you. You don’t have the skill to fight him,” Devon replied.
“I don’t care. I’ll distract him, you two get Em away from here,” Marcus seethed.
“Run away?” Vincent questioned.
“We can’t just run away,” Devon said. “We need to plan it out. Leave when no one will notice and get as far away from here as possible before they even know we are gone.”
“Are we really doing this? Is this really what we are thinking? Where would we go?” Vincent asked, his emerald eyes darting between Marcus and Devon.
“I’m only here because this was the closest pack, and I thought it was safe. It isn’t anymore. I have no qualms about leaving, especially after what we learned from Quinn,” Marcus stated. “The sooner we leave the better.”
“But this is our home,” Vincent stated, turning to his brother.
Devon stood up. “Only in name. This place hasn’t felt like home in years—at least not for me. If it weren’t for you and Em, I’d have left long ago.”
“What about Mom and Daniel?” Vincent stuttered.
“They stay behind. I’m not entirely sure we can trust Mom and I know we can’t trust Daniel.”
“When do we leave?” Marcus growled, continuing his frantic pace across the floorboards.
“Give me some time. Fernando doesn’t plan to take Em for a few weeks. Let’s think this through, plan it out,” Devon explained. “I don’t want this to happen to her any more than you do. But if we’re going to run, we are going to do it right.”
Marcus opened his mouth to argue.
“If we rush, we stand a greater chance at failing, and at least two of us will be dead. If we take a minute and plan it out, I think we can pull this off. I know it’s hard, Marcus, but be patient. Give me a few days to come up with a plan,” Devon explained.
“You know you could always challenge him, Dev,” Vincent spoke up. “Claim your-”
“No!”
“It might not be a bad idea. There are men here who would follow you,” Marcus spoke up. “We wouldn’t have to leave.”
“No. I’ll figure this out. Give me a day,” Devon said, trudging toward the door. He turned back to them. “In the meantime, don’t do anything stupid. Keep your cool,” he ordered. He gave them a pointed look before exiting the room.
Marcus turned to Vincent. “It’s too bad he doesn’t try to claim his title.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I can’t just sit around and wait,” Mar
cus said, putting his head in his hands. “How can I just do nothing?”
Vincent patted him on the back. “Dev might not be willing to take his place as alpha, but I have every confidence that he will lead us out of here and into a better life.” He shrugged, a grin slipping over his face. “Well, it’s not like it could be any worse.”
Marcus opened his mouth to chastise the younger wolf for always cracking a joke but thought better of it. He was right. It couldn’t get any worse. Hopefully, it would get better.
***
Emmett walked into his bedroom, undoing the buttons on his polo as he entered. Claire sat perched on the bed with a book in her hand, but he could tell from the glazed-over look on her face she wasn’t reading it.
“What is it?” he questioned, skipping straight to the point.
Claire sighed heavily. “You can’t honestly plan on sending Emily there. If it were just one of his grandsons, that would be one thing. But to send her off to be passed around like a...” she trailed off and met his eyes.
“Do you have another option in mind, Claire?” he asked, annoyed.
She looked away, and he gritted his teeth.
“Our home has been attacked three times in the past few months. Eleven times in the last three years. Two of our neighboring packs are gone—obliterated from existence. Juarez offers us protection. We won’t have to live in fear anymore. Other wolves tried to kidnap Emily a few years ago. More continue to come. With Juarez’s protection, we will have the men and resources to keep our daughter safe—as well as Maddie and Amelia.”
“At what cost? We don’t need his protection from these renegades, who we’ve already fought off successfully,” Claire scoffed.
“It’s not just about the security, Claire. Think of the power our pack will have. We are not going to be some lowly pack in the food chain. We will train his men. We will be on the inside. At some point in the future, we will have the power to overthrow him. Claire,” he grasped her elbows, pulling her to him as he smiled wickedly. “We could be in charge of everyone.”
