Page 32

EMME

A fter almost dying during training, I drowned myself in the shower for an hour, got dressed in sweats, and dragged my broken, ragged ass down the stairs and into the dining room.

Hunter had already informed me that we were having a family dinner tonight, and anyone who missed it was going to be in big fucking trouble .

Now, while most of the time I chose to be in his kind of trouble, I also needed to eat and replenish all the energy I’d spent today trying not to perish, vomit, or cry.

It had been a close call on all three happening at the same time.

When I stepped into the dining room, four sets of eyes locked in on me, and damn , it was disconcerting to be at the center of all their attention.

It hadn’t happened many times before, as Finley usually avoided me and direct eye contact.

Tonight, though, his gaze was locked on the hardest, the whiskey tones of his irises light and swirling.

“Hey,” I said softly, a weird roll of nerves assaulting my stomach. “Sorry I’m late.”

Hunter waved toward the seat on his right side. “Not late, little mate. You’re right on time.”

Trying to act completely normal, I managed not to stumble as I crossed to my chair, excited to sit and rest my aching thighs. My wolf healing wasn’t fast enough to counter Slade’s barbaric training.

Before I could grasp my chair, Finley jumped to his feet and moved the wingback from the table. He was dressed nicely tonight, in jeans, a white shirt, and a red and white flannel thrown over the top that brought out the auburn in his dark brown hair.

Our eyes met as my lips parted in surprise, and Finley responded with a gentle smile.

“I’ve never seen you smile,” I whispered, blinking at him like a moron.

His grin grew and grew and fuck me dead , he had dimples. He’d been to the barber recently and I could just make out, under his thick, dark, and now well-groomed beard, gorgeous indents. In both cheeks.

When I’d been gawking for an uncomfortably long time, Kellan laughed and eased the tension. “You broke her, Fin. Nice job, bro.”

Finley’s smile never wavered, and it wasn’t just the dimples. The amber and gold were bright in his eyes, and the bear looked… happy.

“I don’t want to break her,” he replied softly, answering Kellan but staring straight at me. “I want to protect and save her from whatever the world throws our way. I will not let anyone hurt my family again, no matter what it takes.”

He leaned in even closer, and I barely breathed as he bopped me gently on the nose. “You’re my family, Ice. Now and always. Whatever happens, and whatever you choose .”

With that, he nudged me into my chair, and I remained shocked and speechless as he pushed me into the table. Hunter looked smug as he leaned back in his chair and swirled his whiskey around in his glass. “Everything in its own time. Just as I predicted.”

As Finley returned to his seat, Kellan, who was on my right, leaned over and pressed his lips to my cheek. “You look absolutely gorgeous tonight, Shortcake. I love that color on you.”

I glanced down to my plain black sweats, while remembering I’d left my hair stringy and wet from the shower. I shook my head at him. “You’re crazy, Golden. I look like crap. Slade tried to one-up Fletcher and killed me during training today.”

The joke fell flat as all four alphas scowled. “Too soon?” I said weakly, wishing they’d all get on board with me using humor to deflect from very real trauma .

“If we’re discussing anyone touching, hurting, or stealing you away from us,” Slade drawled, also twirling whiskey, though I hadn’t seen him take a drink yet, “then yes, Snow, it’s too fucking soon. There’s never going to be a time that’s not too soon in that situation.”

Fair enough.

I’d never be able to joke about Kellan almost dying, so I understood how they felt.

Reaching for the wine Florence left for me, I took a long sip of the Moscato, enjoying the cool, sweet taste on my tongue. My body relaxed as Kellan started talking about their game today, and how they’d absolutely destroyed the Silver City Cobras.

“It’s like they brought their backup players,” he said with a snort as he took a swig of beer. “I had to do random drills out there just to keep myself from zoning out.”

I hated that I’d missed the game. “I’m so sad I didn’t get to watch,” I admitted, pouting a little.

Finley smiled at me again, and goddess be damned he needed to stop doing that. It was like getting randomly electrocuted. “You really didn’t miss much today. We destroyed them eight to one. And that one was accidentally knocked in by our goalie.”

I glanced at Kellan to see if he was kidding, but apparently not. “Oh yeah, Coach almost reamed Carlson a new asshole. He was pissed, but in the end we got the W and that’s all that matters.”

“Fuck yeah it does,” Finley called as he held his beer up for Kellan to clink from across the table.

I stared at the bear shifter and shook my head. “Has anyone done a DNA test to confirm he wasn’t body snatched?” As soon as I said, I immediately regretted it. “Fuck, sorry. Ignore me and my stupid questions. So, what’s for dinner?”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Finley lean closer, and I braced myself for his response. “It’s okay, Ice,” he started softly. “I promise this is me, and this version of Finley isn’t going anywhere.”

While his promises didn’t mean much yet, I was growing rather used to him speaking in kind tones to me. There was a softness I hadn’t realized existed, deep inside the grouchy bear. “Okay,” I replied, keeping my response simple. “That’s good to hear.”

Finley nodded, as if he understood everything I hadn’t voiced out loud. “I’ll back my words with actions, don’t you worry.”

We were interrupted as Florence hurried into the room, a massive silver tray perched on her shoulder. “Dinner’s ready,” she called, beaming. “It’s pizza night.”

She dropped the tray into the middle of the table, beside the plates waiting for us to use, and then added sides of garlic bread, breaded cheese sticks, and dipping sauces.

“Gerry and I spent all afternoon handcrafting these,” she said with a hint of pride, and I took in the delicious-looking variety of toppings, steam rising up from the melted cheese. “I expect you all to eat everything. None of you have had a decent meal in days.”

My stomach chose that moment to perk up and agree by rumbling loudly. I was excited that after weeks of missing meals and running on empty, I could focus on fueling up and growing stronger.

Before the alphas got on my case about eating, I scooped up three of the pizzas, selecting the meatiest ones with lots of cheese and swirls of BBQ sauce. There was no sign of a vegetable, and I couldn’t be more pleased. I also grabbed two slices of garlic bread and a cheese stick to finish.

Food was literally spilling over the sides of my plate, and Hunter looked as satisfied as when he had his face buried in my?—

Yeah, now was definitely not the time for those thoughts.

“Good girl,” he murmured, taking another sip of his whiskey.

Ignoring him was the only mature response I could muster. I took a moment to inhale the cheese-meat aroma, already sure this was about to be a new favorite meal of mine.

It contained all the important food groups: meat, cheese, and bread.

The trifecta of nutrition.

When I took my first bite, I reminded myself that I could not moan, but damn , this pizza was about to give sex a run for its money. Okay, maybe not, but damn it was good.

“Delicious,” I rasped, closing my eyes to savor the taste. “You all need to stop staring at me like I’m sprawled naked in the middle of the table and start eating these pizzas. The world won’t end if you join me before I’m finished.”

Hunter grunted, and I opened my eyes to find his were blazing gold.

I stopped chewing as he reached out and brushed his thumb over my lip, swiping up a bit of sauce I missed.

“Keep eating pizza like that, little omega,” he rumbled, “and you will be naked in the middle of the table. We will eat our meal right from your delectable body.”

My core clenched, and when I moaned it had nothing to do with food.

Words failed me as I attempted to regulate my panting breaths, and somehow I managed to calm down enough to take another bite.

When I finished my first pizza and started on my second, the alphas began to fill their plates, leaving plenty of the meat pizza on the tray of course.

For domineering assholes, they were so considerate that it broke me a little.

“I don’t thank you all enough,” I said, trying not to reveal how emotional this moment had made me.

“I know everything is pretty fucked up, and there’s a lot of danger out there still, but I’m so blessed to have you all as a pack.

It’s a fortune I never saw coming, but I want you all to know, I’m not running from it any longer.

I don’t care about the consequences; I am choosing you all. I am choosing and claiming this pac?—”

Kellan grabbed the side of my chair and yanked me right into his side. He dropped his head into my shoulder and nuzzled along my skin. “Baby, we’re the fucking fortunate ones. You’re a gift and a blessing, and I don’t care who we have to kill, we’re going to make sure this world is safe for you.”

Hunter’s chest rumbled. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. Now stop drooling all over Emme. She needs to finish her food.” He leaned over and dragged my chair back into its spot, and while Kellan pouted, he let me go without an argument.

I spent the next ten minutes eating everything my hands touched, and by the time I was done, I was sure they’d have to roll me out of here.

“Florence has dessert still to come,” Slade said, taking a sip of his drink. “Don’t run away, Snow.”

I shook my head. “Not only are my legs dead from training today, but my pants are also too tight for me to walk… let alone run.”

Slade’s gaze slid from my face and down to where the rest of my body was hidden by the table. “You’re wearing sweats.”

“Exactly,” I said, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his expression. “That’s how much I ate. Enough to make sweats tight.”

Hunter changed the subject before Slade could get more in depth about the current sweatpants’ situation. “Okay, we need to discuss what our plans are moving forward with Fletcher, Blaine, and the witches of Termaine.”

The lighthearted atmosphere vanished quickly, leaving behind a more somber and serious air. “What about our plan for Talon?” I asked.

Hunter’s expression didn’t fill me with confidence. “Talon is a complicated situation, so for now he remains where he is. Slade’s monitoring him, and we’ll figure it out eventually. I hope he can be used to our advantage.”

“Only time will tell,” Slade added, and that was all they’d say on the matter.

With more pressing issues to deal with, I decided to let it slide. For now.

“According to Talon, Fletcher is recruiting more witches to his cause,” Slade continued, “and while we took out a chunk of his shifters during that attack in Silver City, he has many more where they came from too. He’s been planning this attack for years, and he’s a patient bastard.”

“Did we confirm Blaine’s mother was an omega?” I asked, unsure why it was important but I needed to know nonetheless.

Slade nodded. “Yeah, I think I tracked her down from a missing shifter report that was filed about a year before Blaine was born. It lines up.”

My stomach lurched, and I hoped like hell I didn’t vomit up all that delicious food. “He deliberately stole an omega from her family or pack, impregnated her, then killed her.”

How the fuck was this real life?

No one spoke for many seconds, all of us locked in the horror of what had happened. The tension had my stomach whirling once more.

“I’m so fucking glad that when the council found you, Em,” Finley finally said, his expression flat, “you were brought here to us. Imagine if that fuck got his hands on you. I can’t…”

He trailed off with a slightly green tinge to his skin now too.

“I’d have ended up like my mom and Blaine’s,” I finished for him. “Used and abused, then thrown away once my power was spent. And there will be more like them. I’m sure of it.”

Hunter slammed his glass on the table. “It will never fucking happen. We will kill them all before they touch you again. Whatever it takes.”

“When’s our meeting with the witches?” Finley asked as he leaned forward to meet Hunter’s gaze. “We need magical help. We need spells to ensure that Emme remains safe, no matter what Fletcher or the Termaine witches throw at us.”

Hunter nodded slowly, as if he couldn’t help but agree.

“Jewels is arranging for any loyal witches to join us and meet with the Alpha Council next week. In the end, unless they want to fall to the Termaine coven’s rule, they need to take our side.

In Fletcher’s new future, witches will be under his witches’ command. Goodbye freedom and unfettered power.”

“Once we have magic on our side, we can ferret out these fucks,” Kellan said, “since they’re cowards and want to hide behind a witch’s skirt. I say we take the battle to them. I’m sick of sitting back and waiting for them to come.”

I agreed with him, and hoped the loyal witches did too, so they’d help us track Fletcher’s safe house.

It was a better plan than releasing Talon and following him all the way home.

I might not trust witches and their motivations, but with a common enemy, there had to be a way we could all work together. Otherwise, we’d be crushed in this coming war.