Chapter 13

13

EMMA

It's been two very long days. The night Hunter moved in, we didn't speak at all. We were both processing what had happened. We are living in unison for the most part, but there are questions. I plan on asking tonight over dinner.

I took a half-day at the clinic to be home first, feeling more in control. I hear his truck shut off outside, and Hunter pushes in the front door moments later.

His sharp blue eyes scan the room for me, finding me and immediately softening. “Hey, sweet girl.”

The nickname is new, and the words send a thrill through my body each time he says it. “Hey, I made dinner.” I gesture awkwardly toward the table.

“Sounds good.” Hunter leaves his stuff in a pile on the corner chair—his makeshift closet.

I turn toward the table and sit down. “So, how was your day?” I ask over my shoulder.

“It was good. We’re starting to get a better routine in place to keep everyone safe. Jackson’s taken over as Alpha has helped me enforce the procedures.” He continues talking, but this is exactly why we need this talk. I feel so confused by what he's saying.

“Hunter, we need to talk about this.”

His face visibly falls.

“Oh god, no, not like that…just come sit.” I cover my face with my hands in embarrassment. How can I navigate patients and bedside manners, but this relationship leaves me awkward and uncomfortable?

A small voice adds maybe because you weren't allowed to think in your last relationship.

He slides into the seat next to me, filling our plates. “Hunter, I don't understand half the stuff you say.” My eyes catch on his and that tiny thread hooks me again, pulling me in.

“What do you mean?” He seems genuinely confused.

“Who is the pack? Who is Jackson? What safety things? What is a mate bond? Why does your wolf look like the one I saw as a child?” I tick off each one on my finger as I think of more.

“O-okay,” he says, taking a deep breath and sitting back in his chair. “The pack is the entire town, so when I refer to the pack, I am talking about the whole of Solaris Village.”

Okay, maybe we did talk about that one. Nodding, I ask, “Are there other packs?”

“Yes, there are eight in the greater community, which refers to all shifters in southern Alaska. There may be more, but we are only in contact with eight.”

“Alright and what are the safety things? I feel so out of the loop and Holly had mentioned something earlier about not being able to go camping…”

He takes a bite of food and nods with each chew and swallow. I’m mesmerized as the tendons in his throat flex and move. “These are harder to explain. We have reason to believe humans are dumping animal bodies in the forest. Our top priority is to the pack, so add in the disappearances and deaths…”

My mind is trying to wrap around everything he just said. “What deaths?”

He sets his fork down, inhaling and looking up at the ceiling. “Have you read any of the articles about mass animal burial sites found?”

I nod. “Yes, I’ve seen them but I'm unsure what the articles were about.”

His pause is weighted as he catches my eyes, and then his jaw clenches tightly as he says, “Well, the articles talk about a grave site filled with large wolves and bears.”

I nod because I’ve seen the tag lines.

Hunter drags his hand over his hair, “Well they aren’t animals. They’re shifters.”

My hand flies to my mouth. “Oh god, they were people? All of them?”

He nods solemnly while his eyes fall to the table. “Yeah. Our pack has lost six so far. There is a pattern that the wolves who fall sick shift to a wolf form and wander off. Out of the six we have lost, four of them had family members who reported symptoms similar to Holly’s before their disappearance.” His eyes pull back up to meet mine. There’s a hint of anger in their depths. “I can’t let that happen to my sister, and it's why Jackson came home and took over the pack.”

I hold my hand up to pause him. “Why does Jackson have to take over the pack?”

He lets out a huff. “Man, you came in swinging today.”

We both let a soft laugh out.

Hunter continues, “Jackson is the rightful Alpha now that he’s of age. You need an Alpha, a Beta, and a Matriarch or Luna in a pack. Those three provide a balance of power that helps keep the pack safe. My dad was the Alpha but no longer assisted in pack procedures and relied on me to create and enforce the rules. It is too much for me as a beta—my role is to provide protection and comfort to the pack and the Alpha. When this happened, I called you in against the Alpha’s wishes because he was no longer putting the pack first. He was so stuck in the old ways of thinking.” His words fall off as his hand sweeps over his head, cupping his neck.

“Old ways of thinking?” My heart sinks as I realize what this could mean.

Hunter's eyes are pleading with me, as if to apologize for whatever he’s about to say. “My dad does not believe in having humans know about us, and thinks we don’t need a doctor or a healer.” His sigh is weighted. “But, we’ve lost six pack members. Four were sick. We needed help. We still need help. So, I went over the Alpha’s head and set up the clinic. That should have been a decision we made as a pack. Instead, I carried the weight of it. ”

Every piece of the puzzle clicks into place. They face something much larger than a poison, but that leaves one thing. “Okay, so why does your wolf look familiar?”

He looked down at his food and then back up to me. “Let's finish eating and go sit on the back deck, and I’ll explain all of that to you as well.”

Even though it's well into the evening, soft sun rays still shine through the trees as night air wraps around me. I inhale the faint smell of pine and rain. A June bloom is in full effect. The fields are sprouting beautiful wildflowers. Hunter pulls an Adirondack chair over for us and sets it near a small propane fire pit. He grabs a blanket from the house and hands it to me as we sit.

The stillness and silence of the night are calming. My eyes drift over the strong yet soft man across from me. A smile pulls at his lips as his head turns, and our eyes meet. “Emma, the wolf from your childhood was me.”

My mouth falls open. “How's that possible?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know. The night I first saw you out by the lake with your father, my wolf left a piece of our soul with you. He didn’t tell me what he knew, and that omission caused a rift between us, which has only begun to heal.”

“So, you think I’m your soulmate?”

“Emma, you are so much more than a soulmate.” He moves to his knees before me. “Emma, you are fated for me. You and I will know each other better than anyone else.” He slowly moves to take my hands and I look into his pale blue eyes. “It's how I know you need time to heal, to feel safe. It's also how I found you in the woods the other night or in the gully on your way into town.” He squeezes my hands. “Have you heard of Orion’s belt?”

I give a small nod, wondering where he is going with this.

“Well, the galaxy is made up of three stars: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka. Mintaka is the star located at our celestial center, where Alnilam and Alnitak are two blue supergiants that rival our sun in brightness. You probably want to know how this relates to you?”

I nod and smile as a blush fills my cheeks.

“Emma, you are my own Orion's belt, my center, my sun; you compare to galaxies, tethered together through time and space; a soulmate doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel for you.”

I squeeze his hands, trying to process what he says. “So that pull I feel?”

He nods. “Yeah, sweet girl.” He says gently, “That's our fate, our bond, and as we nourish it, the connection will grow stronger.”

Fear ripples through me as I think about Cole, his part in all of this, that he thinks he owns me. I don’t want to ask but the words tumble out of their own volition, “What about Cole?”

Hunter holds my hand tighter as he presses to his feet, gently kissing my forehead. “That's why I’m here. He won’t touch, hurt, or be near you again.” His last words fall off into a growl.

The possession and passion in each word should scare me, should have me running. But Hunter is so different from Cole. He has given me all the power. He listens to me, compliments me, encourages me.

“I have something for you.” Hunter leaves me to sit in the quiet of the night as the sun finally dips below the horizon. He turns the patio lights on low, and the dim lighting gives the space a warm color.

I watch him walk through the doorway—he ducks slightly with only a few inches to spare. His dark black button-down pulls tightly over his chest as he slides his chair closer to mine.

“Emma, I want you to have this.” He presents me with a small white box. The top is pressed with the gold-foil word Aurora.

My eyes widen, and I drag up to meet his as I take the box. “Isn’t it a little too soon for gifts? We’ve only known each other for a few weeks.”

He shakes his head. “We can take this slow date and play by any rules you want, but you're it for me, Emma Jean. You're my girl, and I want you to have something special.”

I slide the boxes apart, revealing a gold origami wolf. The lines intersect like constellations in the sky, connecting perfectly to form a wolf.

My eyes pull up to Hunter’s. “Hunter?”

“It's my wolf. You have been a part of him for a long time, and now, we want you to have a piece of us, too. May I?”

I give him a nod and shift in my chair, pulling my springing hair to the side. His body heat surrounds me as he presses close, draping the necklace around my neck. The clasp slides shut, and his hands run lightly along the top of my shoulders, the feeling sending a surge of heat to my center. I slowly turn to catch his eyes while I slide my hands down to the necklace on my neck.

His large hand sweeps up my jaw as his thumb gently strokes my cheek.

“Sweet girl, I’m going to kiss you now.” He doesn't ask if he can. He just runs that thumb along my lips and I open for him. His breath tickles my cheek as his lips graze mine. I grab his shirt as we finally connect. The pale yellow porch lights flicker as our mouths collide. His hands hold me in place. My moan is soft against him, fueling the flames of passion that ignite in our wake.

As we pull apart, my eyes move quickly between his, feeling everything—the weight of this moment, the necklace around my neck. Suddenly, my heart is racing, and not from the kiss. It’s from the underlying feelings of not being free, the fear that this will be just like Cole, that he is too perfect. This is too perfect.

As Hunter's hands slide under my chin, I roll my lips into my mouth.

“Emma, look at me.”

I try not to, but he doesn't let me go.

He softens his voice. “Sweet girl, please.”

I finally oblige, tremors of fear filtering through my body.

“Emma, I’m never going to hurt you. I’m never going to be him. ” His eyes are sincere, and his voice is soothing. My racing heart soaks up his calmness.

“I’m just so scared,” I whisper.

He pulls me in close so our foreheads are touching. “We’re going to take all of this slowly, okay?”

I nod against him and he lets out a breath, releasing his hold and kissing my head.

“Let's get you to bed, sweet girl.”

“Stay with me?”

Hunter lets out a low moan, and leads me to my room. I slide into the bed under the covers and notice he gets in on the other side on top of the sheets. “Emma, there is so much you need to know. I want to stay with you. But…” His words fall off.

“It’s okay. Just hold me, and we can work through the rest.”

I feel his strong arms pull me into his chest. Surrounded by a man, I have never felt so safe or complete.