“Well, I’ll see you in a sec,” she said, beginning the walk to her discarded clothing. About half way, she noticed that Adam wasn’t leaving.
“You can go,” she assured.
He growled quietly. “No way.”
Her own chest rattled in response. “I’m not dealing with this right now, Adam.”
He growled again, louder than the first time.
“We don’t have time to bicker!” Emily snapped, hoping that it wasn’t loud enough to catch any unwanted attention.
“I agree,” Adam replied, coolly. “So hurry up.”
Her eyes flashed in anger before she could stop herself. There was no way she’d change in front of him. This attitude of his had become tiring very quickly, and she was finished entertaining it. She wanted to tackle him to the ground and roar all of her frustrations right into his face so that he could finally understand once and for all that she was done putting up with this nonsense, but they simply didn’t have the time.
She settled for turning around in a huff, snatching up her pajama top and bottoms into her jaws as she stalked away. “Do not follow me, Adam. I mean it,” she growled in finality.
To her surprise, he actually stayed behind as she ducked under the cover of some shrubs. The change came quickly, but with more pain than expected. Her anger at Adam only fuelled the bear, and she had to put in extra effort to overpower the beast and reclaim her human skin. A few moments later, she lay panting and naked in a bed of mud and soggy leaves.
She allowed herself time to catch her breath before pulling on her clothes. Fatigue had already begun to settle in as she dressed, a testament to the energy she’d spent during her run and the rough change back to her human state. As she slid the waistband of her pants over her hips to cover anything risqué, there was a rustling from just outside her shadowed cover.
“Are you decent,” Adam whispered before pulling the foliage to the side.
“Well if I wasn’t, it’d be too late to tell you now,” Emily hissed back.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” Adam muttered with a heavy sigh.
Emily didn’t waver. “I don’t need an apology, Adam. What I need is for you to stop treating my like I’m a child or a precious china doll,” she chastised. “Seriously! How many times do I need to say it before you finally understand? I wasn’t put on this earth to be protected by you.”
“I know you weren’t,” Adam replied, his voice low and solemn as if he didn’t intend to defend himself this time. “And I try to keep reminding myself of that. I keep trying to practice what I preach, but I just…” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “I just can’t,” he finished, limply.
“I can’t help it. Whenever you leave I get this crazy need to be around you again. It’s not something I can control.” His breath puffed outward, misty and grey in the in the morning air. “And I know you don’t need protection, but when I see you working so hard to prepare for battle, or running off in the middle of the night in an unknown forest where enemies are known to prowl… I just can’t take it. My bear goes crazy, and I get these visions in my head that I can’t block out. Bad, bad visions, Emily. Visions that I don’t want to see become a reality. I know that doesn’t mean anything to you, and logically, I understand that it shouldn’t mean anything to me either, but there is no logic in this. There’s no logic when I think about you.” His breath was coming quicker now on the tail end of his confession, his eyes wide as if imploring her to understand.
“I know I’m probably not making any sense to you right now,” he continued after a moment of composure. “Trust me, I didn’t make much sense to myself for a while there either. But this is how things are going for me in my head right now. I hope that you can at least understand that I’m working on it. On us.”
A rush of heat worked its way up Emily’s jaw, drying her throat as it made its transit to her cheeks. He was standing so close, soul bared and looking more helpless and out of control of his life than she’d ever seen him.
This wasn’t the Adam she knew, the Adam she’d grown to admire over five years. This was someone entirely new, someone fresh and inexperienced and woefully lost in his way. This was an Adam that they were both discovering together. All this time, Emily had thought that she was the one with something to prove to the man she’d loved for far too long. Never did she ever expect that it’d be the same for him.
She loved him even more for it.
Her skin prickled with an anticipation that she couldn’t explain, their eyes locked in a passionate embrace that she was much too overwhelmed to make physical contact. Finally, with a fair bit of effort, she gave him an almost imperceptible nod. Without a word, she turned and began the short trip back to the house, once again postponing the relationship that she’d so desperately wanted to have from the moment she laid eyes on Adam Bradley.
Her fists clenched against her will and her bear roared within her. This was her chance! Adam had apologized! He was trying! After all this time, he finally wanted everything she’d ever dreamed of, so why was she just walking away?
As if on cue, strong, warm arms slid around her shoulders. They grabbed her in a tight embrace before pulling away to spin her around. Before Emily could show her surprise, Adam was there, leaning forward as he dropped his head and kissed her.
Emily’s breath caught in her chest and she stood. Frozen in place, Adam’s lips met with hers before she knew what was happening to her. Slowly, Adam slipped his arms around her small waist. When she didn’t openly push him away, he took a step forward, angling his head so that the kiss deepened in the best possible way.
Emily was lost.
Sparks of pleasure and exhilaration seemed to sizzle and pop all around her as she wrapped her arms around Adam’s neck, holding him close as if she could make up for all of the hugs she’d never given him over the course of five years. Her body was on fire, boiling anywhere his skin touched hers, and she was sure that if she’d had the power to open her eyes, she’d see a passionate steam rising from their embrace like in a sauna.
Her fingers trailed up the nape of his neck, tangling in his hair, she gripped it to hold him even closer. He let out a small growl as he nipped her lower lips deliciously, and it sent a shock of thrill coursing through her as his body rubbed against hers. Before she could join her lips with his once more, Adam stepped away, breaking the embrace.
She’d set her jaws to complain before Adam gently tilted her chin up, locking her gaze with his. Seeing the intensity in his blazing green eyes, her words of dissent dried up almost immediately. “Trust me, I don’t want to stop either,” he whispered softly, letting his finger trail lightly down her jaw and neckline. The trail left goosebumps in its wake, making Emily shiver.
Catching the reaction, Adam’s fierce expression only deepened. “We have work to do, my love.”
Of course they did, and she knew that this could wait, but the long, drawn out growl that her bear rattled within vibrated her entire body to the tune of anticipation. Surely pack business could wait another few minutes, just long enough to see how far things could go.
Emily physically shook away the thoughts. Of all the chances she’d ever had, this was the least perfect of them to give into the will of the bear. “You’re right,” she finally breathed. “But soon?”
Adam flashed a wicked grin that lit fireworks in Emily’s belly. “If you’re still feeling the same once you cool off, sure.” He leaned down to give her one last swift kiss. “But I’m taking this one for the road, just in case you change your mind.”
As they made their way to the house to wake the others, Emily knew without a shadow of doubt that her mind would never change again.
Chapter Eleven
“Well, obviously, we have some news,” Adam began.
When he’d called ahead to alert Nick of the intrusion, Nick told him to go directly to the shop with his pack. Though sleepy and disoriented in the early hour, Nick and the others filed in quietly and with purpose not
to long after Adam had. Dan and Lucy slipped into the office from their suite in the back room just before Adam begun to speak.
The only person, who’d seemed as alert as Adam felt, was Tom. He eyed Adam kind of suspiciously, as if he were scrutinizing him for any signs of disloyalty. Adam tried not to take it to heart, though; Savannah had mentioned that her mate had a somewhat choppy relationship with trust.
“Not too long ago, Emily and I were on an early morning patrol to the lake and back since neither of us could sleep.” He glided over the lie smoothly, thankful that he didn’t stumble on the words as he spoke. “All was clear in the forest until we circled back around to the house.”
He saw the tension build up in Nick’s shoulders as he spoke. It looked almost painful. “That’s when we heard the voices.” Murmurs broke out among the tired voices of the two packs, many already assuming the worst.
“Voices, eh?” Nick repeated, voice as solemn as Adam had ever heard it. “Could you make out their faces any?”
Adam shook his head. “There was some foliage hiding them from our view. However, we were downwind, so we did catch scents and would be able to identify them for you should they show up again.”
“And about how long ago was this, you said?” Tom interjected, his voice stern.
Adam shrugged slightly before he could catch himself, silently cursing his nonchalance. “About twenty minutes between the moment we found the outsiders and the moment I contacted Nick.”
Tom’s eyes narrowed. “Twenty minutes for you to alert Nick and tell him the enemy had infiltrated our territory.” It wasn’t a question.
“Now Tom, I hope you’re not insinuating what I think you are,” David spoke up, the beginnings of anger kindling in his tone.
“I have no idea what you think I’m insinuating, David, but it doesn’t take a fool to realize that the edge of the forest on that side of town and the house you’re staying in aren’t twenty minutes apart,” Tom rebutted. “So I can’t help but ask, what kept you?”
Tom’s glare bore into Adam, right through his skin, as is seemed to stare directly into his soul. Adam knew what his father was thinking. He thought that Tom was accusing him of being a traitor of some sort, but that wasn’t the case. Tom was the only one who knew of Adam’s newfound overprotectiveness regarding Emily. He likely didn’t think that Adam was a traitor, but rather he assumed that the two of them had been romping through the woods in the middle of the night probably fairly distracted from the task at hand.
The problem was, he was absolutely right.
Adam mentally kicked himself.
He didn’t want to lie any more than necessary, but he knew that if he admitted to some impulsive tomfoolery between him and Emily and that it had played a part in the delay to alert Nick, it would most certainly set him up for some harsh consequences, possibly even damaging their relationship with Forest Haven for years to come. He decided to try for a half-truth, thankful that nothing negative truly came from his negligence.
“I admit that we had a bit of conflict in whether or not to wake you all so early,” Adam began. “They didn’t seem like an immediate threat at the time, but then we thought better of that initial decision. I accept full responsibility for this lapse in judgment.”
“It’s nothing we can change now,” Nick said. Though he didn’t sound his usual forgiving self, he didn’t seem to want to dwell it either. Adam silently sighed in relief, thanking the stars that he didn’t have to incur that wrath. “Aside from scent, were there any other defining characteristics that you can spell out for us?”
Looking over to Emily for the first time since everyone had begun filing in, they worked with one another to piece together their recollection of the short event.
Nick’s brow furrowed as they spoke, that painful tension tightening even further in his shoulders until Jo started rubbing his back in slow circles. He seemed to calm down almost immediately.
“Okay,” he sighed softly as Jo continued to comfort him. “Two men, you say?”
Adam nodded. “One obviously in a higher position than the other. A real order giving type.”
A short silence filled the room.
“That voice, right there,” Lucy asked, softly. “What exactly did it sound like?”
Adam and Emily exchanged a look, a recent memory of how Lucy had explained her brother flashing through Adam’s mind. Sympathy blossomed on Emily’s face, showing she’d come to the same conclusion.
“It was… harsh,” Emily began slowly. “Low, and cold, like he was no stranger to demanding things of those lower than him. It gave me chills in the worst possible way,” she finished quickly, shivering at the distasteful memory.
“What’s more,” Adam added, “whoever this was did get physical with his subordinate. I don’t know what hit what, but it was hard enough to echo. I don’t know if that narrows things down.” He could tell from the resigned look on Lucy’s face that she knew all she needed to know.
“It was definitely Dominic,” she said in a quiet but firm tone. “No doubt about it.”
“I’m so sorry,” Emily replied remorsefully, placing a kind hand on Lucy’s arm.
Lucy gave her a grateful smile. “I knew it was coming. It was only a matter of when. There’s no reason for you to apologize.” She sniffed slightly, fighting off the sadness as she turned towards Nick. “So, now we know that he’s here in town, not quite ready to attack, but planning something.”
Nick sat back in his chair, blowing out a long, exhausted breath. “And that Lucas isn’t involved in it,” he added.
“But in all of this information, we don’t really know much of anything at all,” Tom reminded. “We know Dominic was here about half an hour ago, but not where he was going or what he was looking for. We don’t know when the Northern Wind plans to attack, and perhaps the most important thing—we don’t know where Lucas stands in all of this.”
“Is it possible that he might’ve been overthrown, like we’d originally suspected would happen?” Jo asked, looking from bear to bear.
Savannah shook her head. “I honestly don’t see him going down without a fight.” She suppressed a shudder as memory overtook her. “Dominic is scary; there’s no denying that. But Lucas… he has his moments.”
“Who’s to say there wasn’t a fight?” Emily asked. “These two are both pretty vile shifters, right? So isn’t it a possibility that Dominic killed the old leader in an attempt to assume total control?” She looked to Lucy. “You said so yourself; he lusts for it.”
Dan shook his head. “You don’t know Lucas and the Northern Wind the way Savannah and I do,” he confuted. “Lucas pulled in young, impressionable bears from all over, and he either molded them in his image or broke them entirely. As such, it instilled a morbid form of loyalty within them; one bred from psychological fear tactics and good old brute force.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to promise that it was the perfect brainwashing—you only need to look at me and Savannah to prove otherwise—but I’m saying that if they came to blows, the pack would splinter. Dom would lose his army and his plan would fail.”
“So then that brings us back to the original question,” Tom muttered. “Where’s Lucas?”
“Wherever he is, I think that explains why they’ve waited so long to make their next move. A shift in power doesn’t happen overnight,” Nick deduced.
“Regardless of where he is or isn’t, if Dom’s not already affecting some role of leadership within the Northern Wind, he will be soon enough,” he warned. “We need to be ready for that.”
As everyone nodded their agreement and broke off into separate branches of conversation, Adam took the time to finally steal a glance at Emily. She chatted animatedly with Savannah about something he couldn’t overhear, but judging by the looks on their faces, it didn’t appear to have anything to do with war preparation. With the way Emily’s eyes lit up every time she replied to Savannah’s questions, he could not help thinking that she was talking about him.
>
He chuckled to himself, realizing instantly how ludicrous that hopefulness was. They didn’t even know what to tell each other yet, let alone what to tell others. What were they? What did they have? He wasn’t entirely sure, but as her face lit up into that wonderful shade of pink at something Savannah had said, he knew he couldn’t wait until he could find those answers together with her.
He adored Emily; that much was apparent. He loved how she offered kindness and sympathy, how she rose higher than her struggles, and even how she had the capacity to be angry when the time warranted it. Long gone was the meek girl that he’d spent his latter teen years with. She’d grown into an amazing young woman that fought the battles she thought were worth winning with everything in her heart and soul. He wasn’t exaggerating when he’d told her that he could learn a thing or two from her about living life; she seemed to have hers already figured out.
Would he ever find the resolve to believe in a cause as much as she did? As if to answer his question, Emily turned to glance at him briefly, flashing him a determined smile. As he returned an encouraging one back to her, he knew he wanted to preserve that expression of strong-minded happiness for the rest of their lives.
He’d originally agreed to fight in this battle to prove that he would make a good leader someday, but now he also would fight it for Emily. He wanted to keep her safe, keep her level, keep her… alive. Just thinking about how close she’d come to clearing those bushes and standing face to face with the worst bear he’d ever heard about... His bear rumbled angrily in his chest, agreeing with the protective rage that filled Adam.
Yet, watching her as she spoke, he noticed with a spark of realization that she looked the polar opposite of how Adam felt in that moment. She didn’t appear to be the least bit apprehensive. Her features were relaxed, lips curving into an easy smile. Her shoulders weren’t tense and she didn’t have a squint at the edges of her eyes that denoted any pent up stress. For a woman who nearly charged in alone on the vilest bear they’d ever known, she almost looked… peaceful.
Crush on the Alpha Bear Page 8
