8. Leander

Chapter 8

"I'm trusting you with this, Leander. Don't fuck it up, and don't disappoint me."

"Never, Alpha." It's my first task as his beta. There's no way that I'm going to screw this up.

He looks me up and down. "This is my daughter we're talking about. I want to see her safely home with me. So when you find her, don't let her get away. Convince her to come back to Florida with you."

"Sir, I'm not exactly persuasive…"

"I don't give a fuck. I've lived my whole life without her. Get her back to me, or don't come back at all."

My eyes snap open, and guilt spirals through my stomach.

Holy shit. I remember everything.

Ember isn't next to me, and I can hear sounds coming from the kitchen, which means she's probably making us some breakfast. I want nothing more than to get in there with her and laugh, make coffee, and figure out how to start our day together.

But I can't. I fucking know everything.

My alpha is a nice guy. He's getting up there in age, though, and he had a mate, but they never had any children. When his mate passed away three months ago, he found a letter. It was addressed to him, but his mate had clearly been keeping it from him while she was alive.

The letter was from Ember's mother.

After finding the letter, which just happened to coincide with him promoting me to the Fort Meyers pack beta, the alpha figured everything out.

I breathe as I remember him calling me into his office to tell me everything. I had been an enforcer, along with my dad, for quite some time already. When my alpha, or James, as he kept asking me to call him, promoted me to beta, it was a big deal for me.

I didn't realize that it wouldn't just come with more pack duties, though.

The look on the alpha's face when he told me the story? It had been heartbreaking. My chest still aches thinking of it. He held the letter in his hands like it was made of glass, and the tenderness of that gesture rings through me like a bell as I remember everything he told me.

He and Ember's mother had been on one date together. A great date, as far as dates went. He held the picture out to me of him and a beautiful young woman who looked just like Ember, one of those photo booth pictures that come in a long strip. The picture that I kept with me during my drive.

He shared that he and Ember's mother had a one-night stand twenty-six years ago when she was in Florida for Spring Break. Ember was the product of that. Ember's mom and aunt were from the Oakwood pack, although that wasn't the name of the pack when they were in Alaska, which is where Ember was born.

In the letter, Ember's mom told him that she was living with her sister while the baby was born, and she asked if James wanted a relationship with his daughter.

The letter never got to him.

She died when Ember was a baby, but James didn't know that. He tried to write back, but when he got no response, he didn't know where to look.

Everything is snapping into place, and it makes my head swim slightly.

My alpha didn't know about Ember until he found the letter her mother wrote to him. His current mate had hidden it from him this whole time, presumably because she was unhappy about the situation… and about Ember.

James never knew she existed. Then, as soon as he found out…

He did try to find her first, then he sent me. He didn't get a response when he tried to write back, and he couldn't exactly track her down, so he appointed me, his new beta, to do it.

I went to Alaska. I found the aunt. I followed the trail to Oakwood. I was coming to talk to the Oakwood alpha about Ember when…

It gets a little fuzzy from there. Presumably, from the tree. But it doesn't change the fact that now I know what I know. I also know what I need to do now.

I sit straight up. Ember needs to come back with me.

Her dad wants to acknowledge her as his child. He was hopeful that whoever her mate is could take over the pack as alpha, because he's been ready to retire for a while…

I snort. Ember will be a better alpha than anyone she's mated to.

In my heart, I know that my alpha will see that, too.

I can't confirm it, of course. Her dad will have to acknowledge it, but I know he will. She's strong. She can shake off authority, and she can command it as well. She can easily defeat any challenge that comes her way, and she's smart as hell.

She has everything that a good alpha needs to have. Our pack needs her, because while our alpha is great, he's old. He wants to retire. And Ember deserves to know him. She deserves the chance to be his kid. More than anything, she deserves the chance to be an alpha.

I have to get her back to Florida. But first, I need to let my alpha know that I found her, and that she's going to come home with me.

I rush out of bed, throwing on some of the clothes that Ember procured for me. I stumble in to the kitchen and find her humming to herself as she makes bacon.

"Hi, handsome." She smiles at me. "Breakfast?"

I look over at the phone, which is sitting next to me on the table. I need to get down to where there's signal. And I need to do it now.

I stand up and move forward, kissing Ember on the back of her neck. "I'd love some. I'm going to go for a run first," I murmur against her neck.

"But I already?—"

"I'll be right back. Just feeling antsy," I whisper as I breathe against her neck. She shudders and shuts her eyes.

And I grab her phone.

"See you soon." I kiss her again, and she rolls her eyes.

"Whatever. See you, I guess."

With the phone securely in my pocket, I jog out of the door. I know that I need to make it at least somewhat convincing, so I don't shift. Instead, I run toward town.

The crunch of my feet on the gravel road is the only sound I hear.

When I get to the very edge of a cell signal, I open up her phone and dial the alpha's number. The phone rings, and each one feels like it's an absolute eternity.

Finally, though, he picks up. "Alpha James Rodoff."

"Alpha. It's me."

"Leander?" His voice softens. "Shit, I haven't heard from you in weeks. Your mom said that you were okay, but damn. What happened?"

"Long story. I told you that I went to the aunt's house and didn't find her?"

"Yeah," he says, his voice deepening. I can tell that there's still grief there, because he didn't know Ember's mother had died until I found out and told him. "Is something wrong with my daughter, Payne?"

"No, sir. She's in Colorado, as the aunt told us. She is still with the same pack, but they relocated to Oakwood after leaving Alaska."

He curses softly. "If I had known, she wouldn't have been raised by her aunt."

"The pack seems pretty solid," I say, thinking of how chill Alpha Thorne was with me yesterday. "But the most important thing, sir... I found her."

There's silence coming from the phone.

"That's great news," he says finally.

I've seen Alpha James do a lot of things over the years. I've seen him facilitate mating, parties, and carry out justice.

I've never heard his throat sound this tight.

"Great news," he repeats. "So. What's next?"

"I'm going to get her home. And sir, she's…" I swallow.

It occurs to me that I've spent the past week or so fucking my alpha's daughter.

Shit.

"Payne?"

"She's incredible, sir," I say finally. "She's strong as hell, smart, and she doesn't let anyone tell her what to do."

"Anyone?" The question feels loaded. But I know what he's asking.

"Yeah. Anyone."

"Well. I guess that's something," he murmurs. "How soon can you have her back?"

"Sir, I just have to…"

I don't get to finish that sentence. A body slams into mine, taking my breath away, and the phone flies from my hand. I'm definitely caught off guard, but long years of training take over. I manage to worm away from my attacker, and when I do, a familiar smell crosses my nose.

It's Ember.

She's not in her wolf form, but when she comes at me again, it's all I can do to dodge her and get out of the way.

"What the hell, Leander!" she yells at me.

Oh. Oh, fuck. I don't know what she heard, but I know that it's not good.

"Ember, stop," I try, dodging her again as she tries to tackle me. "It's not what you think."

"Explain to me again what it is!" she cries. There's pain in her voice.

Fucking hell. I need to get her to listen.

This is going to hurt.

This time, when she runs at me, I'm ready for her. I'm a big guy, and Ember's size is pretty small, despite the fact that she's hella strong. I have to use that to my advantage.

When she throws herself at me, I dodge slightly and throw out my arms. I catch her around her waist. While she's slightly disoriented from the move, I slam her on the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

Fuck.

"I'm sorry," I say as she pants. I grab her hands and pin them above her head, then put my knees over her legs. She kicks at me, landing a foot on my shin, and I groan. That's going to bruise.

"Ember. I'm sorry. Please listen to me."

"Why would I listen to you?" she says. There are tears in her tone.

"Because I was on the phone with your dad!"

The statement has just enough shock value to stop her from moving. Eyes wide, she looks up at me. Good.

"Ember. I'm sorry. Please just listen. Your dad is my alpha. He had a mate who passed away, and she kept a letter from your mom to my alpha a secret. Your mom wrote to him, your dad, to tell him about you. She wanted to know if he wanted to be part of your life. He never found it," I add quickly. "His mate hid it from him."

"How did?—"

"I think he found it when she died. I don't know. When he found it, he sent me to find you. He wants you to come home," I say.

Her chest is heaving. I can see confusion in her eyes, and her features look slack with shock. "What?"

"I know. It sounds crazy, but it's true. I drove to your aunt's house in Alaska. She's a real bitch, by the way," I add.

Ember doesn't laugh, despite my terrible attempt to relieve the tension, but I keep going.

"I found you. I drove to fucking Alaska. Drove to Colorado?—"

"You know there is such thing as a plane, right?"

Oh, thank all the powers that be. She's talking to me instead of trying to kill me, and that has to be a good thing.

I slowly let my knees off of her legs. Her hands, I keep pinned. Just in case.

"I drove to Colorado," I finish softly. "Because I'm supposed to bring you back to your dad."

She shakes her head. "Were you going to, like, kidnap me?"

"No. Of course not. I was going to convince you by telling you everything." I mean, the kidnapping had crossed my mind when I was driving across the entire continent, but I never would have done that. And if I had tried, she would have kicked my ass.

Ember bites her lip and looks away. "How long have you… remembered?"

Her voice carries so much pain, and I realize that this is a problem.

She thinks I lied to her or hid this from her. Ah.

"I remembered a little bit of it a few days ago. Your dad showed me a picture of your mom so that I'd be able to recognize you."

"Picture…" She breathes. She shuts her eyes. "What does the picture look like?"

"It's like one you'd get from a photo booth. The bottom edge is torn off, like someone took the other one in the set."

She gulps. "I have one, too. Mine is torn at the top."

"My alpha—" I'm not sure if I should say ‘your dad,' because that seems like something we're still working on. "He said they went to the fair together. While she was visiting. They had a date before they, ah… it was a good date," I finish.

She shakes her head slightly. "Good enough to go to a photo booth, I guess."

"Yeah. That's what I thought, too."

"The picture…" She gulps. "I've never shown anyone. And mine is kind of creased, so I can't see the guy in it. I always thought he might be my dad, but I never really knew."

"He is," I affirm softly. "And they both look so happy in the one I had."

Ember looks at me with wide eyes. "That's why you said I looked like her."

I nod. "Yeah. That's why."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Guilt twists through me. "I got hit in the head by a tree, Ember. I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. I didn't remember everything right away. I didn't remember that he was your dad, and I didn't know… I didn't want to be here for… a bad reason," I confess.

She tilts her head, and I look away. "If I was sent here to hurt you or something, I couldn't live with myself," I whisper.

Ember sighs. "I have so many questions, Leander."

"I know. I'll answer them. But I swear, I didn't want to tell you until I knew something that was for real. And I should have told you before I called him."

She snorts. "Yeah. You can say that again."

I need to tell her how I feel. I can't lose Ember over this. "Besides," I say, "I didn't really want to remember everything."

"What?"

"I like this, Ember. I like being here with you. I like you, and I didn't want to remember something that would make all of this end," I say quietly. I take a huge breath. This part feels like jumping off a cliff, but I have to tell her. "The only thing that I knew, and that I still know, is that I think…" I pause.

She turns her head quickly, her eyes locking with mine.

"I think I'm falling in love with you. You're smart. Strong. You're the coolest woman I've ever met, and honestly, I'm supposed to convince you to come back to Fort Myers because of your dad, but Ember…"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to come back to be with me," I tell her. "I want you to come because I want us to be there together. Not because he's your dad or because he'll probably fire me as his beta if I don't bring you back. But because I want to show you what my life is like, too."

"I'm not sure… I mean, this is a lot," Ember says.

"I know. And I love staying in this little cabin with you. I love working out with you in the morning and eating bacon. This is great. And I also want you to meet my mom and my dad, and when you're there to meet your dad for the first time, I want to be there with you. I want to drink beer watching the sunset and spend all night with you because you're the most amazing person I've ever met, and…"

I don't finish. Ember moves her head up, swiftly kissing the rest of my ramblings away.

I release her hands and moan as she slowly runs her nails along my scalp. She tugs my head closer, and I deepen the kiss. When we break apart, she's looking at me with eyes that are huge. "You're falling in love with me?"

"Yeah," I say with a little curl of my lips. "I think I'd like to fully fall in love, if that's okay with you."

Ember nods. She stands up, and she pulls me up, too.

"I…"

She pauses.

I look down as, between us, something happens.