Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-eight
Phoenix – Two weeks later.
“I have to leave.”
Emery looked over at me. He was reading.
“So soon?” he teased, wriggling his toes, and I obediently sat and pulled them onto my lap.
I’d discovered that Em was easily reduced to a puddle of goo by having his feet rubbed.
His eyes narrowed when I didn’t answer. “Why doesn’t this sound like you’re just doing a perimeter check? ”
Ever since the silver-skins had come into our territory, I’d tightened security, and especially with the Nicholas debacle, Em understood not only did I have to do my job, but I had to be seen doing it, as well. Last thing at night, I always walked around the camp and spoke to those on duty.
What I hadn’t told him was that as soon as Isla called me, I’d called Kaylan, and he was on his way over. We were both worried.
“What is it?”
I heard a knock on the door that I knew was just for Emery’s benefit, as I’d smelled Kaylan already.
My perimeter check had included warning the gammas Kaylan was on his way.
Kaylan opened the door and stepped through when I called out, quickly followed by Isla and Matthew.
Simeon and my dad had been warned, but they were in charge of safeguarding the pack.
“What’s going on?” Emery asked and sat up.
“Nothing to wor—”
“Barnacles,” Em snapped out. “Don’t treat me like I’m incompetent.”
“Barnacles?” Matthew repeated in confusion.
Em waved the question off.
“He’s trying out kid-friendly cuss words,” Isla explained dryly.
“Yes, and I’m going to be resorting to not-so-friendly ones if someone doesn’t tell me what’s going on.”
“I don’t know yet,” I said, knowing Emery was right, and while I’d tried to tone down my overprotective nature, all it took was a sniff of danger, and God help anyone that even looked at my mate the wrong way.
“Isla got a message an hour ago about Bayer, so I called Kaylan. Now you know as much as I do.”
Em turned worried eyes to Isla. “What’s wrong?”
Isla sighed. “I have a friend in the pack. She’s…
well, she looked after us as kids.” I glanced at Emery.
I wasn’t sure he knew Bayer’s mom had died or how, and I knew he wouldn’t know Bayer’s dad had mated a second time.
That was a story for another day. “Thing is, she says no one’s seen Bayer for three weeks. ”
“He left?” Emery asked innocently.
I closed my eyes. I shouldn’t be able to feel the space where Bayer was. He wasn’t pack or even a wolf, but I could.
I opened them to see everyone looking at me. “He’s alive.” I knew he was. Isla let out a shuddering breath. Emery glanced around.
“You thought there was a chance he wasn’t?”
“Maya says my father’s been getting increasingly volatile. The hunting is scarce, and he’s blaming Bayer. Says he isn’t looking after the pack.”
“Aren’t bears vegetarians?” Emery asked.
“No.” I half-smiled. It was a common misconception.
“But in our animal form, seventy percent of food is from other sources,” Isla explained.
“Fish, berries, grain. The problem is that when you’re confined to one area, food sources have to be sustainable.
Bayer’s the youngest bear in our pack by ten years, and that means the pack population has not only decreased but has aged.
For a good portion of the year, the young hunters used to roam into the greater forest to hunt game so our lands could rest and repopulate for the winter.
But because we don’t have enough hunters, all food has had to be sourced close to home.
Basically, the pack will soon starve, and Maya told me there are another four families that left. ”
“I thought bears didn’t have packs,” Emery said.
“Not in the wild,” Matthew answered. “In the wild, they’re generally family groups, but bear shifters have to stick together.”
“And my dad is ignoring it and just blaming Bayer. Maya said a lot of the older alphas are buying into what he’s selling.”
“So where do we think he is?” Kaylan asked.
“She doesn’t know,” Isla said. “There’s a small chance he’s gone hunting, but three weeks?”
Emery tipped his head up to look at Isla. “How would anyone be able to get Bayer to do something he didn’t want, though? He’s not exactly small.”
“Because our father has spent the last twenty-five years blaming him for Mom’s death,” Isla said, and Emery gasped. “He’s perfected guilting Bayer into doing anything.”
“Then you must go get him,” Emery said fiercely, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss him stupid, but it would have to wait.
I glanced at Kaylan, and he nodded imperceptibly.
“Isla, I’m sorry, but I need you with us.
” She tipped her chin, looking relieved, and I could understand she might be worried I would make her stay here to guard the pack.
“Matthew, I need you to coordinate with my dad and Simeon to protect the pack.”
Matthew didn’t look happy, but he nodded.
“Wait,” Emery said. “You’re going on your own?”
“With Kaylan and Isla. I’m taking the risk they won’t scent Isla as a threat.”
Isla scoffed. “I doubt they’d scent you.” I glanced over at her. “Well, I can’t.”
I frowned. “You—”
“Actually, she’s not wrong,” Matthew said. “I can smell the memory of you, if that makes any sense. I don’t question it, but I actually can’t scent you at all.”
Isla looked between us. “This isn’t the norm for a blood-bonded alpha? I assumed it was, and that’s why I didn’t question anything.”
Kaylan inhaled, then eyed me suspiciously. “I could always scent you, but now?” He shook his head.
“Dad said I would get other gifts, and my own sense of smell is much stronger, but he didn’t know what else there would be.”
“This is really good,” Matthew said in awe.
I nodded slowly. It certainly gave me an advantage.
“So you’re all going to see what you can find out? See if Bayer is there?” Emery asked, bringing us back to the job at hand.
I turned to him apologetically. “We have a better chance at night.”
“Unlike your mate, I’m afraid my dad thinks nights are for booze and sleeping,” Isla said.
“Which helps us,” Kaylan said.
The others trooped out, and I was left with Emery. “Please stay inside,” I begged, drawing him close and inhaling his own amazing scent.
“Only if you promise to be careful.”
I gazed at him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him close.
Em had been trying really hard with the pack.
He’d involved himself in just about every aspect of their lives, but the trouble was, we both knew that he wasn’t doing what he loved.
Teaching kids. And for the life of me, I couldn’t see a way around it.
He still wasn’t showing, or rather, he had a slight curve to his belly only I noticed.
And while he would be busy once the pup was born, I was worried it wouldn’t be enough.
I didn’t know what else to suggest, though.
He’d met Gemma and Danny another time, and we could probably get away with another month, but that still left at least four when he would be absent, and neither of us had worked out what excuse we could give.
“I love you,” I whispered, still not a hundred percent certain he believed me and at a complete loss as to how to show him.
I still felt like I’d trapped him, and it was like I was waiting for him to hate me for it.
“It could be a couple of days,” I warned him. “We don’t know what we’ll find yet.”
He slid his hands up to my face and cupped either side. “You didn’t promise me you’ll be careful.”
I bent down. “I promise I’ll do my job.” And I took his lips in mine.
A few moments later, I shifted with the other two, and we ran from the camp.
Emery
I heard the knock on the door and smiled as Esther came in. “Are you going to bed?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ve done nothing but nap for three weeks.”
“Because you’re tired?” Esther asked, coming in and closing the door.
“No, because I’m bored,” I said, throwing myself a touch dramatically down on the sofa.
In ninth grade, the drama club had done a modern-day retelling of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, and of course, I got the part of Oliver.
I could do the lower lip wobble as I held the bowl out like no one else in the history of cinema.
I even toyed with studying drama at college, but by then, I’d decided I wanted to live in a small town, and Hollywood wasn’t exactly that.
Esther hummed. “I know you’ve been getting involved. A lot of the she-wolves are huge Emery fans.”
“And I can do all that,” I said, leaning forward. “The parents loved me. The teachers loved me. I put on the best Christmas pageant the school ever saw.” I stood up, and for some reason, my feet took me to the huge room on the other side of the house. The one that had been the nursery or daycare.
“But there aren’t any teachers or after-school clubs or homework that needs explaining because there aren’t any kids,” Esther finished for me.
“And I can’t tell anyone that because I’m going to be the only person that’s going to have a baby in this pack for over twenty years. It sounds entitled and cruel.”
“How’s it going with Phoenix?” Esther asked, then gently steered me to the kitchen and put the kettle on while I perched on a stool.
“He’s walking on eggshells,” I grumbled.
“Because he’s frightened it’s going to be too much for you, and you’ll run.”
I must have rolled my eyes so hard they could probably be seen from the Hubble.
“I don’t run.” Well. Okay, so I’d done it once, but under the circumstances, I thought that was pretty reasonable.
And I’d come back just in time to save his ass.
“I looked at online schooling, and I’m not confident the signal’s going to be good enough out here.
Besides which, I miss actually being with them. ”
“How are you feeling otherwise?”
I raised my eyebrows. We were not having a conversation about my sensitive nipples. Esther chuckled.
“Any pregnancy symptoms? Apart from mood swings, that is,” she added.
I stuck my tongue out at her, then we both collapsed into giggles.
“Actually, do you remember I said I was going to find out how you give birth?”
I sobered immediately.
“You have a hole.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Please tell me it doesn’t come out of there.”
Esther tried to stifle a laugh. “Nope. I mean another one, but one that doesn’t form until you go into labor.”
I blinked and resisted the urge to run to the bathroom to look. “There isn’t room.”
“Apparently, there is. I have a friend getting some more details, but that’s how it’s going to happen.”
I looked down and tried to imagine and failed miserably. I sighed and glanced over at her from under my lashes.
“What is it?”
“What if something goes wrong?” I blurted out. “I can hardly go the ER, can I? I can’t shift.” I swept a hand down my body.
“You know,” Esther said, tapping her lips. “I’m pretty sure the Khaleel is a dai.”
I waited.
“The alpha equivalent of the jaguars is the Khali. His mate is the Khaleel, but I’m certain Samira is a midwife or dai.”
“Really?” I said, trying to muster enthusiasm for someone I’d never met, and as ridiculous as it sounded, a female someone.
Esther nodded. “I’ll contact them. I’m sure she’d love to help. In fact—” But her words cut off as the piercing shriek of the intruder alarm started blaring out.
The warning that the silver-skins or vampires had crossed into our lands.
I met Esther’s horrified gaze, and my stomach dropped because I doubted the alarms were sounding a second time because of a confused teenager.
I had an awful feeling this was so much more.