Chapter 11

Emilia

I 'm still in awe that my vision has completely returned. When I called the doctor the next morning, he had me come in and every possible test that can be done on a person's eyes was done, with the conclusion being that whatever was previously blocking me from seeing had disappeared. It's been a month now, and every morning when I wake up, I'm still somewhat surprised that I can clearly see everything.

I think it was Zane. While I'm not a shifter by any stretch of the imagination, I think when we bonded after his bite that it let my body know that I was always going to be protected. Because since the accident, I haven't felt safe. How could I when we were doing nothing wrong that day, yet death still showed up for the three of us? Even though my parents provided a protected environment, the initial damage was done the day my friends died.

Regardless, my family is ecstatic, not only that I can see again, but with the fact that Zane and I are a couple. That part kind of stuns me simply because it's not like I had broken up with Paul months prior, no, our relationship ended when he shoved me down in the woods after starting the fire.

Speaking of the fire, it's finally been put out, so now Zane and his crew, as well as the others that work for the company, along with crews from all around the country, are busy working the soil to remove the burned trees and undergrowth, so that soil can be brought in and then trees can be replanted. I go into the office every morning to help Mr. Stephens field all the incoming calls, as well as set up the deliveries of both trees and logs that need to be cut down.

Today I'm cleaning my house, something I am finding I enjoy. For the time being, since my tiny home is bigger than the small cabin Zane has, we're living here, but Mom and Dad are deeding over some land so that we can build a house. Zane offered to pay for the land, but my parents put their foot down, saying that they had saved money in the event I had to live in a group home environment once my family was gone, and they'd use some of that to get the legalities taken care of, then give us the rest to build something. Mom is already mentioning grandchildren, which has me rolling my eyes. I have a lot I want to do before that happens, like get my driver's license then buy a vehicle, spend time with Zane so we can strengthen the bond even further, and get to know his family.

None of them are blood related, but that's okay. While I'm blessed to have a good family, not everyone does. I even got to meet the two little rascals, as Zane calls them, when their parents held a cookout to celebrate the fact that Zane found his mate.

Colby and Cora are mischievous and cute as a button, regardless of what form they're in. Zane says until they reach the age of five, they'll shift arbitrarily, which is one of the reasons Misty and Alistair don't take them into town that often. Zane says because they think he's their alpha, he could probably compel them to stay in one form or the other, but that's not their way. Still, I've told them both that I was glad they helped me that day, because otherwise, I'd have missed out on so much beauty.

Hearing a knock on my door, I yell out "come in" since Bonita said she was coming by to help me do the deep clean I'm planning on doing.

"It's about time you were by yourself," Paul says, startling me.

I turn toward him, swaying a little from his impromptu appearance, not letting on that I can see, because I feel as though it could be to my advantage if he doesn't know.

"What are you doing here?" I question, my head tilted in his direction. "You're not welcome, Paul, your actions the last time we were together let me know how you felt about me."

He sneers and the ugly expression that crosses his face almost has me stepping back, but then he'd know I could see. Instead, I stand there waiting, like I used to, my stomach churning at the distaste he doesn't hide. "Heard you lived, and also know they're looking for me, so I know you told them what happened. You need to pay for that, Emilia."

"Why?" I blurt, trying to think of a way to buy me some time to come up with a way to escape him.

I'm trying to stall, since I know Bonita should arrive at any time. If nothing else, the two of us should be able to do something. Right now, I wish Uncle Bud hadn't gone into town to get some chickens since I mentioned I'd love to raise them. Because his double-barrel shotgun would stop this jerk in his tracks!

"Because I said so, that's why!" he screeches.

Many may think he's an attractive man, and I remember the girls at the office saying that same thing, but his attitude makes him ugly to me. It's as though I can see the evil that emanates from him, and I briefly wonder if that's something I got from Zane. He's a great judge of character, as though his mountain lion side has abilities that enable him to see who is good and who is not.

"Paul, you said that what you did was sending a message to Mr. Stephens. What message?" I question.

"This company should be mine, too!" he seethes. "We have the same grandfather, yet the golden one, the legitimate one is who was given the company!"

"So, you're related to Mr. Stephens?" My mind's going a mile a minute trying to put the pieces together, because Paul is younger than Mr. Stephens, who is my parents' age.

"The old man had a mistress late in life, who gave birth to my mother. He didn't acknowledge my mother as his daughter, then when she had me, he wouldn't recognize me as his grandson, despite the DNA my mother had done to prove it. When he died, he had five granddaughters and two grandsons, not just one in Stephens! This land is as much mine as it is his, and that was my message!"

"But what you did injured a lot of people and it's shut everything down here. The crews who work this land are trying to replant trees, but it'll be years before they can do any deforestation again. Most will have to move to different sites which is going to cost the company a lot of money. You practically ruined Stephens Holdings, Paul!" I chide.

My heightened senses that have grown even more pronounced since mating with Zane hear the crunch of wheels on the gravel.

Emi? Zane's voice pops in my head, scaring the shit out of me.

Zane? Why can I hear you? I ask back, hoping my face remains impassive.

Your heart is beating a mile a minute, what's going on?

Paul's here .

I'm calling Ashton, you do whatever you can to stay safe, sweetheart. His rumbly growl sends warmth coursing through me. I know if it wasn't daylight, he'd have already shifted and been on his way, but because shifters live on the downlow, he's going to have to drive here.

I have that pointy thing that Bonita still insists I carry, but don't know where to use it .

"Emi? I'm here!" Bonita calls out.

I watch in horror as Paul turns, now holding a gun. He pulls the trigger and I see my best friend jerk backwards, blood now blooming across her shoulder.

"What did you do?" I ask, knowing full well he just shot my friend. I slip my fingers into the thing Bonita has me carry; it's similar to a pair of brass knuckles I guess, but it has pointed ends.

"Took care of one problem, now it's time to take care of another," he hisses, stomping toward me.

I wait, my heart rate speeding up so much I feel slightly faint, until he grabs my upper arm and tries to drag me across the living room and out the door. When he turns his head, I react, jabbing my weapon into the side of his neck, which causes him to drop the gun and grab onto his neck where blood is pouring out between his fingers.

"Emilia, what have you done?" he asks, dropping to his knees.

"Saved myself, you jerk," I reply, before kicking him in the side. Rushing to where my phone is sitting, I grab it up and quickly dial 9-1-1, only to hang up when I hear sirens fast approaching.

Since I don't think he's any danger to me now, as he's clutching his throat and gasping for air, I rush to where Bonita is lying across the threshold. "Bonita, I'm here, help's coming," I say, as tears pour down my face.

This feels familiar, far too familiar and I have to fight to keep the memories from swamping my brain. She's not going to die, she's not Stacy. I strip off my t-shirt and press it against the wound, eliciting a cry of pain from her. "I'm sorry, so sorry," I murmur over and over again while I wait for the police who have pulled in to make their way to me.

As they approach, guns drawn, I holler out, "He shot her, then I stabbed him with my cat ears, it's like brass knuckles but with pointed ends like ears."

"We've got her ma'am," another voice says, causing me to look up and see two paramedics standing there with big medical bags. I back away and they quickly crouch on either side of Bonita. One is assessing her wound while the other starts checking her vitals.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see that there's another paramedic inside next to Paul. He's put some kind of bandage on the wound I caused, while Paul lies there on his stomach, his hands in handcuffs while the cops look around.

"Ma'am, can you tell us what happened?" the taller officer asks.

I quickly tell him everything that occurred, including the fact that the police have been actively looking for Paul because he started the wildfire. Once I'm done, they return to Paul's side and the shorter of the two cops reads him his rights before moving him out of my house and into one of the squad cars sitting in my driveway.

"Ma'am, we're going to take this into evidence," Tall Cop says, holding my weapon in a clear plastic back marked ‘Evidence', "but in all honesty, it looks like a clear case of self-defense."

"Can I…" I start only to hear Zane bellow out, "Emilia! Sweetheart, where are you?"

Pushing through the remaining officer, I'm glad to see they're putting Bonita in the ambulance that apparently showed up after the cops, because I practically launch myself down the stairs and into Zane's arms.

"God, God , Emi, I thought I lost you, sweetheart," he whispers in my ear, my head buried against his shoulder. "So fucking proud of you for helping yourself, baby."

"It's because of Bonita," I reply. "She's the one who got it for me, and she insisted that I always carry it with me just in case."

"Well, it came in handy today for sure. Are you… are you going to be okay still staying here since he was here?"

I pull back and look at him. "Why wouldn't I be? Yeah, we're going to have to clean up, of course, but I'll be in your arms, safe and protected."

"Absolutely," he growls. "But if you weren't fine with it, we'd stay at my place."

"I don't want to uproot Phantom and Shadow until absolutely necessary. They're terrible when they have to ride in a carrier in the car. They meow loudly as though they're being tortured or something, so if I can keep from stressing them out, I will."

"Let me check and see what has to be cleaned and how long before I can get it done," he says, putting me down after a long, lingering kiss. "Worst case scenario, they stay here, and we'll stay at my place until the mess is cleaned up."

I stand there while he goes over and talks to the cops. From his stance, I realize we might not be staying here and then it dawns on me from all the podcasts I've listened to on various true crime stories, that right now, my house is a fricking crime scene. Ugh. I love my little house, but I know the cops have processes and procedures they have to follow.

When Zane returns to my side, I ask, "Can we at least pack a back with some clothes and stuff?"

"Yeah, sweetheart. Gonna have to take the cats too since they want forensics to go over the house where Paul was at, and they don't want to be responsible for them getting out."

"Fine, fine. We'll manage," I mutter, walking back into the house, avoiding the two bloodstained areas.

"What are you and the guys going to do now?" I ask later that night.

We've already been to the hospital, where Bonita had surgery to remove the bullet. Seeing her face had me breaking down in tears as I told her how sorry I was that she got caught in the middle of everything. For her part, she couldn't stop laughing when she found out I ‘stuck the pointy ends' into Paul's neck because it was the closest place I could reach since I'm so short. The nurse finally made us leave so Bonita could get some rest, but I told her I'd return the next day to visit if she wanted.

"We still have about two hundred acres that have to be replanted here once we've cleared off the burned trees, plus there's another five hundred acres to go through and cull. Once that's done, Stephens will send us offsite to other land he owns."

"Will I stay here?" I question.

"I plan to see if he'll let you come with us. I'm sure there's something you'd be able to do for the company no matter where we're located, sweetheart."

"Zane, it was weird talking to you in my head. Is that because of the mate bond?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would work with a human," he muses. "Guess we'll find out what else our bond holds in store for us."

"I'm looking forward to it," I murmur. "Knowing I can reach out like that is a good thing, because what if I have something to tell you that I don't want anyone else hearing?"

He chuckles and pulls me close, and I revel in how we fit together. While I never thought I'd be the type of person who'd be okay being naked in bed, somehow, I can't find myself wanting to put pajamas back on after we make love. It's as though it'll break our connection, which is probably silly to think, but that's how my mind works.

"I love you, Emilia, and I'm so glad we found each other," he whispers against my ear.

His hot breath stirs my desire once again, and I turn to face him fully before replying, "I love you, too."