Chapter 11
Emma
My bear flourished with exhilaration while my stomach rolled in disgust. I’d never killed a human before. And although Brandt had technically killed Joshua, my bear wanted him to know that we’d beat him too.
I stood in grizzly form watching over the crowd.
Licking the taste of blood off my lips, I stared at them all, trying to pull some of the human back to the surface.
Derrick was already stepping into the jeans he discarded nearby.
Eliza, Zane, and three other bears from Joshua’s group were in the process of shifting forms. All the wolves remained as animals, understandably feeling the need to protect their territory.
Brandt roared at the circle of humans who had betrayed them.
My bear wanted to call back, but now wasn’t the time and I pushed her to be silent.
One by one, the deceitful members of our clan bowed their heads and exposed their necks to Brandt’s grizzly.
He mouthed their skin, just one canine away from ending their lives.
Each human succumbed to his rule and pledged their allegiance through their actions.
Footsteps crunched behind me, and I turned with raised lips. Bo held up his hands and smiled. “Easy there, tiger.” He finished buttoning up his shirt and then almost tripped over the remains of Joshua when he stepped up beside me. “Holy shit, did you do this?”
His hand brushed my side when he steadied himself.
I huffed and pointed my snout toward Brandt.
Bo grinned wider. “Good job, Brandt,” he muttered.
Looking at him in question, he understood what I wanted to ask.
“I got here about ten minutes ago. My asshole brother and Derrick didn’t call me until they were already on the pack’s territory. ”
As if on cue, Brennan and Scarlett walked out onto the street, Peter hanging off their shoulders. Brennan was still naked, but Scarlett and Peter had thrown some type of cloth wrap over their body.
“Well, look at that,” Bo said in my ear, watching Brennan with curious eyes.
I snorted and turned my attention back to Brandt, who had just finished shifting. He ran over to me and my bear shivered with pride. His naked body glistened, every muscle twitching with his new role as alpha. I could sense the difference—his power had changed, increased. And my bear loved it.
Brandt rubbed his hands along the side of my giant bear face. Pressing his forehead against my snout, he whispered. “Are you okay?” I licked his cheek and he laughed. “Can you change back?”
Could I? I didn’t know. It had taken a lot of energy to shift—something I needed to do to heal from my injuries.
While I didn’t think Joshua hit my jugular, he’d torn practically everything else around my neck and shoulder.
I crouched to the ground, Brandt following me down.
His hands rested on my back, gently rubbing and encouraging me to change.
Everyone watched as I struggled. I coaxed my bear back into her cave, but she didn’t want to surrender her form.
Something was preventing her from giving in completely.
My breath came faster as I tried to force the change.
Brandt’s small, human head leaned against my ribs, soothing me with some sort of song he was humming.
I listened and relaxed. I envisioned myself as a human again.
Remembering our time together last night, I encouraged my body to change so that we could experience it together again. But nothing worked.
Brandt suddenly stiffened against me. A low growl rumbled in his throat, forcing me to look up at the person walking toward us.
The old woman we’d met just a little bit ago knelt on my other side and spoke to Brandt in her language.
I knew he didn’t understand any more than I did, but she must have shown him something that relayed her meaning.
Brandt sat back, pulling away from me just enough that his body didn’t touch mine anymore.
Although he left his hand resting on my paw and I loved him even more at that moment.
The old woman began chanting. A different chant than what we’d heard before.
Her hands roamed up and down my body just a fraction of an inch above my fur.
The repetitive song calmed me down and I swear I could feel heat everywhere she almost touched me.
Her clothes smelled like lavender, and the dried flowers in her hair must have been sage.
She continued chanting until I lost track of the time that had passed.
But slowly, I could feel my bear going to sleep and allowing my human brain to come to the surface again.
It wasn’t until the woman leaned against my head and whispered into my ear, “They are safe now,” that my body shifted easily back to human. I lay there, naked and in somewhat of a trance, wondering if I’d heard her English correctly and trying to interpret what that meant.
“Emma?” Brandt asked. “How do you feel?”
I assessed my body from my head to my toes, looking for any signs that something had been injured too badly by Joshua. But I felt good. Better than good, actually, and I looked over to the old woman.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
She smiled down at me and once again rested her hand on my stomach. With a quick nod, she stood and disappeared into one of the trailers down the road. Bo chuckled and handed Brandt my clothes. “Well, that was weird.”
Weird? Definitely. But today had been a weird day, and a lot had changed since Brandt woke me this morning. I looked up at him, still hovering over me, and lifted my arms. “Come here,” I whispered.
He smiled and bent forward, pressing his lips against mine. The warmth between us heated my core, and when I pushed my tongue into his mouth, he moaned. His hands gripped the back of my head, pulling me closer to him, our kiss deepening with each breath.
Bo cleared his throat and tossed a pair of pants onto both of us. “Okay, lovebirds. Everyone’s watching, and it's quite obvious how excited Brandt is.”
I felt his erection brush against my stomach and giggled. As much as I wanted him inside me now, Bo was right—this wasn’t the time.
“As soon as we get home,” he promised.
I sat up, not wanting to let go of him. “Sounds perfect,” I said with a smile.
We dressed quickly and walked over to Scarlett and Peter hand in hand. Brennan was no longer by their side, but someone had given Peter a plastic lawn chair to sit in. His skin looked gray and wrinkled, the change sucking the energy from his aging body.
“Thank you,” Brandt said, holding out his hand to the Tik’a pack leader.
Peter shook it and then jerked his chin toward Scarlett. “She will be handling all of the pack logistics for the next several weeks.”
I looked at Scarlett for any signs that this was a surprise to her, but she gave nothing away with her expression.
Peter continued, “You are now the alpha of the Callaghan clan, and I hope to continue our discussions soon.” He meant discussions about the pack’s rights to some of our land and the voting rights Blaze had not yet granted.
“Of course,” Brandt said with a nod. “I will be in touch very soon.”
“Is everyone okay?” I asked Scarlett. I didn’t think I needed to specify that I was talking about the members of her pack.
“Everyone is fine,” she said with a small smile.
“Good,” I muttered to myself, and Brandt wrapped his arm across my shoulder.
“Come on. I have a lot to do tonight,” he said.
While I hoped he just meant time with the two of us, I knew better than that.
Being alpha meant he had a lot of phone calls to make and loyalties to enforce.
The politics of clan business had always been a thorn in my side.
But this was the life I’d chosen, and I would be the best mate possible to Brandt for as long as we lived.
I brushed my hand over my stomach, still wondering what that old woman had sensed. Brandt saw the motion and smiled down at me. He didn’t say anything else as we walked arm and arm down the dirt road, passed by all of the bears and wolves, and climbed into his truck.
When he slammed the door shut, he turned to me and smiled. “Are you ready?”
I took his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Always.”