6. Emma
CHAPTER SIX
emma
An Hour Later
Olivia stood in the middle of Logan’s study in Six-Mile Manor, staring at me with an incredulous look on her face. “You want to call a conclave?”
“Yeah, we’re going to rework the clans, mix them up, maybe shake some more traitors out of our numbers. Maybe breed a little trust across shifter lines. Make sure the council members know that their attendance is also demanded.”
“Demanded?” Olivia’s eyes widened. “They’re going to hate that, especially after the last rather explosive council meeting.”
“It’s my right as the multimorph.”
“I don’t disagree,” she said, “but they’re not going to let you do that without at least a little bit of fight.”
“They should save their fight for Acheron.”
“Again, I don’t disagree,” she said.
The floor creaked as a naked Logan entered the room. I kept my eyes on his face. His hair curled around the nape of his neck.
“You could have joined me in the kitchen, Emma,” he said.
Olivia snorted. “You’d have been in there for days, and Jasper and I would have dragged you out by your tails.”
“If you could have.” Logan’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “Our fate bond is still new enough to warrant focusing only on one another. You know that’s what we’re supposed to be doing right now anyway.”
“You know we can’t spare that much time,” I murmured.
His gaze cut to me, and his eyes narrowed.
I raised my hands, my palms toward him, entreating. “I’d like nothing better than to spend the next several months locked into a bedroom with you.”
Olivia cleared her throat, crossed her arms, and studied me. “Have you had a heat yet?”
“Heat?” My voice cracked. Fuck. “I’m going to have a freaking heat too?”
Logan smirked again. “Not yet.”
“Is that worse?” How could it be worse than the obsession we already had?
Olivia shrugged. “Can be. You’re driven to procreate, and there’s no set length of time before it shows up for fated mates. It just always does eventually. You can choose to avoid each other if you’re not ready to procreate, but if you think it’s bad now…”
“It gets worse? That’s…” I didn’t know what it was.
“Exciting?” Logan offered as he crossed toward his desk chair, practically swinging his damn hips as he passed in front of me.
Asshole. I pushed the accusation through the bond.
His delighted laughter echoed back. At least he was more like his normal self after the romp in the woods and the subsequent shower.
“It’s horrifying,” I countered before turning back to Olivia. “How soon can we get word out to the other clans to send their alphas back for another council?”
“Today. We have shifters here who can be sent out to all the territories. We should have answers tomorrow.”
“Good. Then I want the council meeting to be scheduled for three days from now. Meanwhile, I’ll check on everyone in Willow Creek tomorrow morning. Do some normal Emma Carter things.” I paused. “Normalish, anyway.”
Logan and Olivia talked back and forth about the state of affairs in his territory. Nothing out of the ordinary at the moment.
My mind wandered to the town that used to be my home.
This time, maybe I’d make it back from Willow Creek with my red motorcycle, the one I’d purchased not long before I’d had my first shift.
I’d planned to get a multicolor paint job and turn my social media into a feed filled with the rainbow vet on the rainbow motorcycle.
Heck, if—no, when—we beat Acheron, I’d treat myself.
Maybe the frivolity was my own futile attempt at a low-stakes goal, or maybe planning for the future. Either way, it appealed to me, and I intended to make it happen. It wasn’t like I’d ever officially moved into Logan’s house or even brought my things from town.
It was like that life ended and this one started… Never the twain shall meet.
Or however the hell that saying went.
It would also be a good time to bring a copy of my will back with me. Everything would be left to Sophia, my adoptive mother. Probate fees would be small, and Dr. Wise could help her get everything worked out. We’d already been through it all once with Dad.
I settled into one of the upholstered seats in front of Logan’s desk. Checking on my alleged uncle Marcus was on my to-do list also. His blindness must have changed his life too. However, Logan would flip his lid if I mentioned that one aloud.
Instead, during a lull in their conversation, I asked, “Which territory do I need to train with next?”
“You’re still doing that?” Olivia asked, tucking her long blonde hair behind her ear.
“Yeah. Which clan gets me next?”
“Bear Trees,” she said.
“After that?”
“Red Tail.”
“After that?”
“Nobody else reached the required five. Many had three. Several reached four.”
“Then the twenty hands at the meeting weren’t all fivers.” I leaned forward in the chair and dropped my elbows to my knees. “That’s a relief. Torbin and Flynn have both been pretty dependable in their support of me. Treachery isn’t in either of them.”
Though, I hadn’t been able to tell that Salali had turned to Acheron before I’d caught her spying for him.
“Those two are only marginally better than anyone else,” Logan growled. Then his eyes widened. “No, Torbin’s not better at all. Acheron attacked Bear Trees and sent all those shifters to Six-Mile for healing. Do you not remember that, Emma?”
Crossing my arms kept my hands from visibly shaking.
“Bear Trees is still better no matter what, and we should be glad for that. After our conclave at the Gathering Place, I’ll be headed to Bear Trees.
Tomorrow morning, I want to make a solo trip to Willow Creek.
I need to check in with everyone there.”
“Solo?” Logan snapped.
“Solo.” I turned to Olivia. “Can you get everything ready for the council meeting and conclave without me? Oh, can you also find out if my mom’s around?”
“Will do,” Olivia answered.
Logan glowered behind his desk.
Stop pouting, Logan. Using the bond between us had been getting easier with time.
I’m not used to being the third wheel in my own fucking headquarters of my own territory.
Don’t have time to soothe your ego, love. Can you be okay with it for now?
He grunted as though I’d punched him in the stomach. With a sigh, he leaned back in his squeaky desk chair and spun toward the window.
“When you send the runner to Bear Trees,” I said, “let Torbin know that I’m headed to Bear Trees, after the council meeting, in his company, if he’ll have me.”
“Understood. Need anything else?” Olivia asked.
“Not from me.”
Logan grumbled a long string of expletives. A little louder, he answered, “No.”
Olivia nodded and left the room.
“What do you plan to do now?” Logan asked softly.
“Make myself coffee,” I said.
He stood and came around his desk.
I shook my head at him and then my ass at him as I crossed the threshold. “Alone, this time. Then I’m going to find my mom.”
He howled loudly as I exited the study.
After a hot cup of coffee, I wandered through the spacious manor to find Logan still seated in the same chair in his office, multiple stacks of paperwork spread all over his desk. He looked up as I entered and eyed my T-shirt and shorts, but he didn’t say anything.
“Did Olivia say if Mom’s around?” I asked, moving around his desk to stand beside him.
And Marcus. But I kept that to myself. Too much shit hung over our heads, and it was nonstop exhausting. Another moment with my mate… That was all I needed before I could get on with life. Hopefully, he wasn’t still prickly about being the third wheel earlier.
“She said she’s off somewhere with Dr. Wise, learning more shifter lore.”
“Then I’ll catch her when she’s back around.” I nodded to the piles in front of him. “So, what are you up to?”
“Catching up on business paperwork.”
“That’s something I need to do for Willow Creek Vet Clinic. As it stands, I don’t think I’m going to open my practice again, not in any meaningful way.”
His mouth pinched. “Blackwood Construction hasn’t won any bids on any jobs lately, and we’re about to have a lull in work.
I’m thinking about having all the crews come here to build temporary housing for all the shifters you want to train.
When we operated as the infirmary after our last skirmish with Acheron, we were stacked two and three to a bed, and I’d like to avoid that if we can.
Juggling all the people got downright fucking annoying. ”
“You’re a good alpha, Logan,” I murmured. “So many needs to balance.”
He scooted back from his desk and patted his thigh. “Need a seat?”
“Yes, please.” The chair creaked as I settled in his lap. “Wasn’t sure if you were still mad at me from earlier. Telling you and your alpha ego off.”
He chuckled. “What sort of tantrum were you expecting? I’m sure I can oblige you.”
“I’d like to forgo the bruised-ego tantrum. At least for today.”
“Done.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me as close as he could, and pressed kisses to the tops of my shoulders. Resting against him eased the heaviness that had settled in my chest.
“It’s been hard on you since the big-cat attack in Magnolia State Park.” His breath warmed the back of my neck and stirred my hair.
“It’s been… life-altering.”
“For both your mother and for you,” he agreed.
“For all of us. That’s why I need to check on my mom today and on Shannon and Riley tomorrow. Maybe I’ll take them to Vixen’s for lunch and check on Sheila too.”
“That’s reasonable. Maybe not the safest option but reasonable.”
My shoulders drooped. “I’m glad I don’t have to fight with you about it.”
“Multimorph beats alpha every day of the week.”
I straightened. “Logan, I have a question.”
“What’s that?”
“Where are all the shifter children?”
He stiffened. “They’re in Willow Creek and other places.”
“All of them?”
“Since we don’t have a school on our premises and shifting doesn’t typically happen until puberty, most of the families lived in Willow Creek until a month or two ago.
With Acheron’s activity increasing, I sent them farther away, out to towns across Louisiana.
None of us knows where they all are. Our children are our future, and it seemed safest to send them away from me…
particularly since Acheron hates me with specific interest. Blood grudges and all that.
Besides, their absence makes the lack of modesty around here easier as well. ”
“That makes sense.” I chewed my bottom lip, trying to decide how to bring up what had been on my mind.
Might as well just say it. “Since my vet practice isn’t likely to open again, it’s about time I send Riley and Shannon on their way, too.
I can offer them a severance package of sorts, but I can’t afford to be in limbo indefinitely. ”
“How do you feel about that?”
“It’s what has to happen.”
He gripped my shoulders, turned me to face him, and cupped my chin. “If it’s simply a money issue, I have enough to tide you over. Six-Mile is well off, as am I. We are fated mates. What’s mine is yours. You don’t have to bury your life’s work or your dreams yet.”
My sigh seemed loud. That was what it was, wasn’t it? All the ways my life had been irrevocably altered, and I still couldn’t let my multidecade dream go. My heart squeezed in the center of my chest. It hurt too much to give up on the dream my parents had supported me through.
“Thank you,” I said. “That would be helpful.”
He reached for the drawer, grabbed a blank personal check from inside, and tossed it on his desk. “Fill in the amount. I’m good for it.”
“Will do.”
“What else?”
“Well, I own the building and the lot. Insurance is paid up, so it won’t cost anything until property taxes are due.
” I groaned as I realized what I was saying.
All the days adding up and slipping away…
It was November already, and property taxes were due by the end of December.
“Which is next month, apparently. So, who the fuck knows? Maybe I don’t even have to make a decision at all. It’s all about to fall apart.”
“Then let me cover Riley’s and Shannon’s salaries through the first quarter and whatever else you think you need. You can use whatever money you require to cover your minimal overhead, and you make a final decision in quarter one of the new year. Put it off a little longer.”
“Because Acheron may decide for me?”
He didn’t answer.
“Because I might be dead by next year.” My lips brushed his, and my eyes slid closed. A single tear rolled down my cheek. Fuck the mess of our lives.
He broke our kiss and brushed my tear away, his expression drawn, his eyes sad. “If that happens, then the money won’t matter anyway.”
“Because if I’m dead, we’ll all be dead.”