Chapter 16

16

EMMA

I try to keep my breathing even as Hunter answers the phone. Hearing his brother speak through the other line, I know that whatever they found about the man at my house last night isn’t good. Although I’m glad that Kyler was safe and found my house, I worry about why that man was in the woods and who he could have been.

Hunter pulls my back tightly against his chest and kisses my head. The small act eases some of the bubbling anxiety that maybe last night wasn’t a mistake. I know that for Hunter, this is real, he is all in, but my heart is still stuttering from the relationship that left me so raw.

I’m still naked, and his hands slowly graze my stomach to my hip.

“Emma, sweet girl?” His voice is muffled from my hair as he squeezes my hip. “We have to get up.”

I nod, not ready to speak after what I said last night. I have never been so undone, I’ve never begged to be fucked, and yet he had me begging him to give me more. I feel my entire body heat from the scenes replaying in my mind.

Hunter pulls my body into his so my face is in his chest. I rub my nose against his bare, smooth skin. He has very little chest hair. I slowly drag a nail from one side of his chest to the other, enjoying feeling warm and safe tucked into his large body.

“Sweet girl, are you okay?” His voice has a slight thread of worry as he tilts my chin to meet his eyes.

I don't know.

Last night was beautiful, almost like two souls rekindling a flame that's been smoldering for too long. And yet I worry this is a trap, like I’ve fallen into a pit of quicksand, and each comfort and touch has lulled me into a submissive hold, one I will never be able to return from. Without my permission, the tears begin to flow down my cheeks.

“Talk to me, Emma. Tell me what's going on in that pretty head.” Hunter’s voice has dropped to the octave that my body can’t ignore as he pulls me tighter.

“Hunter, I’m so scared this isn’t real.” I shift my body out of his embrace

His arms give me the space my body is screaming for. I roll so I’m facing the ceiling, unable to pull away from his warmth and security.

“I’m so sorry. You have a mate who’s so broken. I’m sorry I can’t be what you need.” These last words are pulled from a deep well of sadness that has been growing over the last two years: that I’ll never truly be good enough.

The entire time with Cole, I was never enough, and the fear that I can’t be the mate Hunter deserves has a ripple of inadequacy bubbling like a volcano on the brink of eruption.

Hunter's large body is propped on the bed, filling my field of vision as he surrounds me. “Emma,” his voice a soft rasp. “Look at me, sweet girl.”

My eyes shift up to meet his. The mate bond connection pulses between us as the stars glint in his blue eyes, like constellations twinkling with the threat of tears.

He says, “There is no other woman more worthy..”

My hand reaches up to sweep across his sharp cheekbone as he continues, “I have never been a religious man, but I can’t deny the fates, this feeling that pulses in our bond. Each time we connect, it grows stronger.”

My voice is hoarse. “I don’t deserve you.”

“You deserve to be loved so deeply that it erases every doubt and fear.”

His eyes flick between mine as I pull his lips to meet mine. Words can’t fully encompass all the feelings, but the tendrils of fate wrap around us in this moment as our lips connect. Despite every reservation, I want him. I want this. I want to feel this every day.

He breaks the long, slow kiss and looks between my eyes once more. “I want to stay here and hold you all day, but we need to get to the Lodge.”

I nod in understanding as he presses up from the bed. Immediately feeling the loss of his strength. The pout that pulls my lips down disappears as I head to the bathroom and rush through my morning routine before going to the kitchen.

“Would you mind eating at the Lodge? I'm sure Keelie has made a big breakfast spread.”

The mention of another girl's name on his lips has the hair on my neck bristling. “Keelie?”

He must sense my jealousy. His laughter is soft. “Keelie is a sixty-year-old woman who has worked in the kitchen at the Lodge since I was a child. She always cooks big meals for everyone staying there.” The smirk that pulls at his lips annoys me.

“Alright, we can go there to eat.”

“Good.” He gestures towards the door, and we make our way to his truck. The quick ride to the Lodge makes me nervous about what we’ll learn.

The building was elegant and beautiful last night, but during the day, it looks like a modern-day castle built into the stone wall of the mountain. My breath catches as I take in the gray brick exterior. The windows are large, showing people hurrying around inside. Hunter smiles at me as he slips from the truck towards my door.

“Hunter, this place is beautiful. I can't believe you called this home.”

His smile grows wide as I slide from his truck into his embrace.

“The Lodge is a home for everyone in the pack. I’m excited to introduce you to the rest of my family.”

The last phrase has my throat tightening. M aybe I should tell him now. “Hunter, about that. I don’t know how it happened, but?—”

My words are cut off as Jackson strides from the large porch down the steep staircase to this garden parking lot.

“Hunter. Emma. I’m so glad you guys could come so early.” He pulls his brother in for a hug. Jackson's eyes slip to me, softening slightly with a knowing look. “Emma, it's nice to finally meet you formally.” His words are innocent, but Hunter's body stiffens and shifts closer to mine.

“Brother, what do you mean?”

Jackson's eyes take in the shift in posture, and his stoic mask slips into place. “Let's discuss this inside.”

My throat feels tight while I follow Jackson through a maze of corridors. Hunter's body is close to my back, sandwiching me between the two strong men. I didn’t have time to take in the ornate beauty of the building, the ceilings stretching far above my head with large chandeliers of black metal and old yellow lights. No one notices my presence between the two large males, though many bow and whisper, “Alpha, Beta,” as Jackson and Hunter maneuver me through the Lodge.

Finally, I find myself in a large office. An oak desk stretches well over six feet along one wall. The accents in the room are rich amber colors with pops of deep red. The fireplace is crackling behind the desk, and the setup is similar to my office in the clinic but with a dark color scheme.

“Please, sit.” Jackson motioned to the two chairs opposite the desk while he slides into the large red wingback chair on the other side. “Hunter, I’ve met Emma before.”

I watch Hunter's head dip. The motion has the knot in my throat growing tighter. I slide my hands down my pants while I steel myself to tell Hunter what happened the day I left for Solaris.

“Hunter, Jackson was there the day I left to come here, the day Cole assaulted me. Jackson saved me from something far worse than a few bruises.”

Hunter pushes up from his chair. The anger is a red wave pulsing off of him like an angry star. I flinch away, and he doesn’t miss the motion. He swears and kneels before me, taking my hands in his. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I'm just mad that that happened. Not at you.”

Jackson stays quiet but watches Hunter speak to me. Then Jackson cuts the tension in the room. “Hunter, your mate was in Anchorage, and the draw I had for her confused me. I never should've followed her, but I don’t regret it. I could feel you with her and needed answers.”

Hunter pulls the other chair closer to mine, not releasing my hand as he sits to face his brother. I swallow as I feel tears prick in my eyes.

Jackson continues, “The man. Cole, correct?”

I nod.

“Well, Cole had Emma pressed against the car, demanding her submission. I would've stepped in even if the mate bond you share wasn’t pulsing out of her body. ” Jackson stands and approaches his brother.

“Hunter, I…” Jackson's voice falters for the first time. “I’m sorry. I let him touch her. If I knew who she was, I would’ve personally escorted her back to you.”

Hunter nods. His eyes flick between the two of us. “I have no idea how the mate bond works, but when Emma…” Hunter squeezes my hand once more and looks my way with sheer adoration. “When I saw her as a young girl, I was a wolf. I left a part of my soul with her that day.” Hunter pauses, looking up at his brother. “She must’ve carried me with her all these years, and I’m glad you could help her when she needed it. I'm glad you could sense me with her.”

My tears are soft waves flowing down my cheeks at the thought that Hunter’s always been with me, protecting me. He had sacrificed a piece of himself for thirteen years, waiting for me to return to him. I sniffle loudly as I let that kind of love fill me. I slide from my chair and wrap my arms around his neck as I sit on his lap, holding him, feeling the bond.

Jackson’s throat clearing punctuates the long moment. “As much as I love this for both of you, I need to discuss some things with Hunter.”

I pull slightly out of Hunter's embrace and allow that tendril of fate to tie us together again in this giant room of emotion. My phone rings, and the clinic number flashes on the top.

“Hold on,” I say to the two men while answering the phone. “Amy, what's going on?”

Her voice is shaky. “Emma, can you come to the clinic?” I look at the two men and realize they can hear her.

I say, “Yeah, I’m just at the Lodge. I can be there in five. Is everything okay?”

Her voice grows a tiny bit stronger. “Yes, just the monitor in the lab keeps going off…”

“Okay, I’m on my way.” I hang up the phone and slide out of Hunter's lap. His eyes are pinched with worry. I ask, “Can I borrow your truck?”

“Yeah, maybe I should come with you?”

“No, I’m sure it’s fine. The blood labs are probably finished,” I say. “Plus Jackson needs to talk to you still.”

“Okay, will you call me when you get there?”

“Of course.” The urge to kiss him overwhelms me as I step back into his embrace.

He must feel it, too, as he tips my head and whispers, “Sweet mate,” on my lips.

The drive to the clinic is short. I probably could’ve walked, but it's raining lightly, and the fog that rolled in makes the forest look eerie and menacing.

I slide from the oversized truck before walking in the front door. A soft chime fills the space. I call out for Amy, but she doesn’t respond.

The feeling in the clinic reflects the weather outside. The space has an evil feeling as I slowly walk down the white hall. “Amy?” I call out again. I finally reach the lab, but nothing seems out of place. “Amy?”

I enter the break room.

Amy is slumped over in a chair, blood seeping from a wound on her head. The back door sits ajar. A bouquet of purple bell-shaped flowers lies on the table. Wrapped in a ribbon.

I run to help her, putting pressure on the head wound with a towel I grab off the counter.

“Amy? Can you hear me?”

She lets out a soft moan.

The door across from us bangs shut as the wind howls outside. The rain pelts the windows in a staccato rhythm that fills the quiet.

I tremble as Amy’s words fill the room. “He’s coming for you, Emma. He wanted me to tell you the flowers are a gift.”