37. Emily
“ Y ou’re gonna be a doctor ?” Annie’s eyes went wide as she sipped the milk tea she’d made herself.
As for me, I was slowly working on the ginger-honey tea Bray had brewed, and while he was still being the consummate host, I was still suspicious. The way he looked at me was too intense, and the whole thing with Tayen felt like a setup.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t just run for it. Like it or not, I was meeting with the head of the Black Hawk Pack. I supposed the situation could’ve been worse, but something told me that there were pieces in play I couldn’t see, and I needed to keep my guard up.
At least now I knew Bray wasn’t connected to traffickers in any way. No, the people who stole me weren’t from a local pack, but just because they weren’t going to abscond me over state lines still didn’t mean I was safe. Caleb warned me that being a newly minted shifter did make me a little bit prone to suggestibility. That, and knowing nothing about shifter culture or my abilities, was a heady cocktail for trouble.
“I’d like to be,” I said, trying not to give in to the uncertainty in my mind. “It’s what I’m working towards.”
The young girl opened her mouth as if she had more to say, because of course she did. If there was one thing I missed about my youth, it was the boundless curiosity of my adolescence, combined with an unparalleled enthusiasm for finding answers. Annie, however, got interrupted by the sound of a car screeching to a stop outside.
It had to be Tayen, but neither Bray nor I were able to say anything before Annie was up and out of her seat, racing over to the window and pulling aside the curtain. Bray chuckled and followed her.
“Hey, that’s not?—”
“Go upstairs,” Bray said firmly, cutting her off.
“But!”
“ Annie. ”
His tone wasn’t lost on me. Who on earth could’ve just pulled up and gotten that reaction? Annie hurried upstairs as I strode towards the window. I didn’t even need to get there halfway before a familiar scent hit me.
Mate.
It was strange—I hadn’t seen Caleb since my full shift, and yet my wolf and I knew without a doubt that he was approaching. I strode to the window as if drawn in, only for Bray to close the curtain. I gave him a look, because what was that going to do? I couldn’t think of anything more anticlimactic to the past couple of days.
Resignation crossed over my temporary host’s features as he recognized the futility. He stepped to the side as I pulled the curtain back.
There was Caleb. I wasn’t prepared for the visceral reaction my body had, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as if I’d phase right through the window just to be closer to him. I was so caught up in all that he was—in his scent, the cut of his jaw, the dark circles under his eyes, the way his hair was mussed—that I didn’t notice several other people accompanied him.
But of course, my life was never that simple. Caleb was halfway across the lawn when another car roared up and skidded to a stop, one of the tires coming up onto the curb. Immediately, four men rushed out of the car, and both groups turned to face the other.
It looked like the line-up of a comic book cover, two opposing forces about to throw down in an epic fight. When I took a deep breath, something in my brain told me these four men were distinctive, but at the same time, they somehow smelled similar to Bray.
They had to all be in the same pack, didn’t they?
Did that mean that my own scent was now similar to Caleb’s? I hadn’t picked up on that myself. Either I was still too new, or shifters were bad at discerning their own scents.
The tension was already ramping up before my eyes. The whole thing was incongruent: seven strapping men, housing incredibly dangerous mythical beasts within them, were squaring up against each other on a suburban lawn. Everywhere around them were manicured grasses and carefully kept gardens, but if the men let loose, any civility would go right out the window.
“You should—” Bray began, but I was already walking towards the door.
“If you think there’s anything you could say to make me stay here, you’re delusional.”
“But he abandoned you!”
“I never said that,” I countered. “My situation is… complicated. I do need an explanation for things, but I need to talk to my…”
My what? What was I about to say? My mate? That was the word my brain first supplied when I saw Caleb walking up to the front yard, but I knew that wasn’t quite right. Caleb and I weren’t even dating. He’d help me experience something I wanted before I turned, and we had a couple… sessions, but that didn’t mean we were mates.
“My pack,” I finished.
“I thought you didn’t have a pack.”
“I don’t, not officially at least. I suppose I better talk to everyone and figure things out.”
I could tell Bray was upset with the idea of me leaving his house, but I shot him a silent glare. As I’d expected, he didn’t challenge me. He had his own agenda, or his pack’s, but he wouldn’t stoop so low as to force me into anything I didn’t want.
Not a knight in shining armor, but at least he didn’t have to be my enemy. Unless he made some rather poor choices.
I walked out just as two men stepped forward from each group and began speaking. If I had to guess, I was looking at the alphas.
“It’s come to my attention that one of my pack members is being held here,” the shifter on Caleb’s side said, his voice calm but like iron. Not a guy I’d want to cross.
“It has come to our attention that a packless shifter was left completely alone in an incredibly dangerous situation, and one of our pack members found her before she hurt herself or others.” The opposing alpha’s voice rumbled, less calm but still with an air of civility.
I was stepping into a messy situation. Just my luck.
“I know your pack is incredibly insular,” the man continued, “but surely you haven’t forgotten how important a new shifter’s first transformation is.”
“Make no mistake, we are incredibly grateful for one of your pack acting as a Good Samaritan. There’ve been tensions between our packs for several generations, so I don’t take lightly the generosity you extended to us.”
I watched with detached curiosity. I was sure everyone and their mother could feel the tension rising between the two groups, and I knew it was important, as one was my pack and the other was making a play for me to join theirs. Still, it was all far too grandiose. I was just a girl who’d only shifted into wolf form once and got coached through it during a panic attack. It made me feel more adjacent to everything instead of actively involved.
But that changed once I met Caleb’s eyes. He was looking at me with a mix of desire, lust, concern, worry, and relief so potent that I could hardly breathe. He was looking at me like I was Odysseus, long thought dead, yet returned from the sea.
Part of me didn’t understand his feelings. After all, we hardly knew each other, and while he was my first, and my second—even my third, depending on how one counted—I was no doubt merely one of many. Caleb was a gifted lover who clearly knew what he was doing and had no problem helping me relax and open myself to all the incredible pleasures my body could experience. One didn’t get that way off a porn subscription and solo play with his hand.
“Hey,” I murmured, taking a step towards him like a moth to a flame, so caught up in his orbit that I didn’t even realize I’d moved until I took another step.
But then I felt seven pairs of eyes on me.
“—think?”
“Pardon?” I blinked as I realized the man on Caleb’s side was talking to me. Thankfully, no one was offended that I needed a repeat.
“I apologize that this is how we’re being introduced,” he said after clearing his throat. “But we have an impasse here. By all rights, you are a member of Lincoln Hills by birthright. But Tayen here states you were all but abandoned. You should have the choice to abdicate and stay with the pack that cared for you.”
The other alpha nodded, his eyes a deep black that felt like they could see right through me. His face was placid, but there was steel underneath. He wasn’t taking anything about the situation lightly.
“You’d receive housing and sponsorship, so you can take whatever time you need to recover and adjust to your new reality,” the alpha beside Caleb continued. “We understand nothing is easy for new shifters. Since you do not have a guardian, we’d have a team to help monitor things until you feel you’ve built a bond with a pack member, or you have full control of your wolf. We only wish you safety and prosperity. There is a reason Bray found you, and I do not believe in ignoring such signs.”
I caused a stir everywhere I went, didn’t I?
“But I do have a guardian,” I said, pointing at Caleb. “He’s right there.”
“A guardian who left you alone to die of a rejected wolf!” Bray shouted bitterly from behind me, making me nearly jump out of my skin. Since when had he even been outside? Had Caleb so distracted me that I hadn’t even heard the door open?
“That was against my will,” Caleb snapped.
My eyes stayed on his face, observing everything, and though he was struggling to keep his expression steady, I saw so much anguish spread across the planes of his features. I’d missed some things in the time we were separated, and that was all but confirmed verbally now.
“Coincidentally, the police officers who apprehended me were extremely specific about their orders to keep me overnight,” Caleb continued. “ Shifter police officers , equipped with wolfsbane weaponry. As I’m sure you already know, they were not members of my pack.”
At this, Tayen drew himself up straighter, which was impressive as he was already six and a half feet tall. “Are you accusing us of purposely putting a new shifter in danger for our own gain?”
Caleb whirled around, the first time he’d torn his eyes away from me since I stepped out the door. “What I’m saying is someone purposefully kept me away from my charge and put her in danger. Someone without righteous machinations.”
Even though he wasn’t facing me, I could hear the way his fangs were clipping his words, creating a staccato rhythm that only emphasized how pissed he was.
Of course, that wasn’t the most diplomatically sound move to make, and the seven men all hunkered down lower, like they were bracing for a fight to start at any moment.
A beat or so later, I noticed something in the air. It was spicy, musky, and turned on the alarm bells in the back of my head.
Danger! Anger! Fight!
Were those the pheromones Caleb had told me about during what seemed like an entirely different life? Was I detecting the aggression and tension in the air?
Fascinating, but also distracting. If the men could stink up the lawn that quickly, I couldn’t imagine how it felt in an enclosed room. Would I grow more used to it as time passed?
“Stand down,” Caleb’s leader said, holding up both his hands. “Tayen, we’re not accusing you or your pack of anything. But we need to be frank— someone is interfering with not just our pack, but the tenuous balance we’ve kept.”
The other alpha—Tayen—also straightened up, and I smelled something entirely different in the air. It was calming, assuring even. Caleb mentioned the ability to send out calming pheromones just as readily as aggressive ones. Was that what the head alpha was doing?
“For far too long, there’s been this divide between us,” Caleb’s leader continued, “and I believe the tension is a detriment to us both. This is a sign that we should reevaluate the divide that happened long before any of us were born.”
“What are you saying, Zach?” Tayen asked.
“Nothing that can be explained while standing in the middle of a lawn in broad daylight. What I ask is you allow my men to investigate who set this up, without any interference and the full cooperation of your pack.”
“If we refuse?”
“Then we take custody of our pack member here and return home, and the tension continues unabated between us. Nothing changes.”
Tayen didn’t speak for a moment. “If we agree?”
“Together, we find out who put our packmate in danger, and if they mean all of us harm or just targeted a specific person. Then you and your chosen representatives will be welcome to our council to decide what to do about it.”
At that, I saw the shock in all of the Black Hawk shifters. Clearly, that was a big deal.
“You’d allow us into your territory?” Tayen asked.
“Yes,” Zach answered. “And I hope if we move forward gracefully through this, we could revisit how our relationship works.”
Ah, so this was huge , but Zach’s words had my mind abuzz. Caleb was jailed, and specifically to keep me away? Who’d do that? Also, who would know how ? I was just as intrigued as anybody else.
“You realize,” Tayen said slowly, “if this is a trap, then we will retaliate tenfold.”
“I am aware. That’s why I ask you assign two of your most trusted men to our investigation.”
Tayen paused. “Why are you doing this?”
Now it was Zach’s turn to widen his eyes. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting that. Quite a few reasons.”
“Give one.”
“Frankly, I think the divide between us is ridiculous. I understand that my ancestors came here and fought with you for territory, and I understand your ancestors fought fiercely for their rightful land. I am more than willing to apologize for the past, and even make some concessions, but none of that can happen while we’re at each other’s throats.”
Zach extended his hand, and I swore there was a solid minute of silence as Tayen stared at it. But then, when the entire negotiation seemed about to snap, Tayen reached out and took Zach’s hand.
“Deal,” Tayen said. “Tentatively.”
“That’s all we can ask for.” Zach looked at me, and I found myself surprised by the kindness in his eyes. “Hello. I’ve heard an awful lot about you, miss.”
“You can call me Emily,” I said, not sure how formally to conduct myself. The man was, however, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, so I figured I didn’t need too many honorifics. “I’m afraid I don’t know what to call you.”
To my relief, he laughed at that and nodded. “We have a lot to catch you up on, from what I understand, but for now, would you like to come with us?”
I recognized his offer for exactly what it was. All of the previous conversations were largely over my head or about me, but he was giving me agency. Did I want to go with him, or was the rift of going through my first shift solo insurmountable?
“I’d like that,” I said firmly.
I could instantly smell the relief from Caleb, and the deep rumble emanating from his chest. I knew I didn’t imagine that last part because Zach looked over to my guardian with a chuckle.
“Keep it in your pants.”
“Sorry,” came Caleb’s terse reply, but when he spoke to me, his tone was anything but that. He extended his hand to me, not particularly distinct from how Zach had offered his to Tayen, yet it was entirely different at the same time. “It’s good to see you,” he told me.
“It’s good to see you, too.”
I took his hand, letting him guide me towards the car. I still had a maelstrom of emotions within, some hurt that needed working through and an entire encyclopedia of questions to ask. But I knew now Caleb hadn’t purposely abandoned me, and that sure did a whole lot to ease the trauma of the past day or two.
We had a lot to talk about, but that was okay. We’d get the chance without any timer or a doomsday clock right above our heads.
“Alright, then,” Zach said, clapping his hands together. “Tayen, we’ll be in touch about that investigation team. Just want to get everyone home for right now.”
“You have my number,” Tayen said. “Be sure to use it.”