Convincing Emily [Wolff Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

“Cole? Cole!” Blinking open his eyes, he looked at his Alpha, Gabe Wolff. “Are you all right, man? You don’t look so good.”

“Emily…we claimed her.” He could hear the panic in his own voice.

“I’d say congratulations, but you don’t look that happy.”

“She’s a bear. We’re wolves. She could be pregnant right now. Wait…can she get pregnant? What if our cubs aren’t accepted? We haven’t even introduced her to the pack. What if the pack doesn’t welcome her? Will she feel like an outsider forever? Oh, God, should we have stayed with her clan?” All the questions in his mind seemed to roll out at once, and before he knew it, he was pacing back and forth in front of the door, talking out loud.

He had never felt so unsure of himself or a situation in his life. Emily. Pictures of her flashed through his mind, and he started to see things from her point of view. It made sense now, all of her fears and that fact that she didn’t want to come to North Ridge. Wait. He stopped himself.
Why am I having these thoughts? Are these even my thoughts or do they belong to Emily?

“What!” Charlie pushed Cole to the side and stepped into the Alpha’s home. “Ignore him, Alpha. We’re here to report.”

“Cole.” He jerked his head up and again met their Alpha’s eyes. “She’s your mate. Fate chose a bear shifter for you and Charlie. I’m sure this isn’t the first time that different shifter species have mated. It’ll be fine. Come inside, and we can talk in my office.”

Nodding, Cole didn’t say a word. Instead, he stepped inside his Alpha’s home and followed him down the hallway, toward his office. He needed to give the report on David and then he planned to head home and talk with Emily. The thoughts running through his mind had to belong to her. That’s the only thing that made any sense. He hadn’t been worried, not one bit until now. The only thing that changed was the fact that he and Charlie had marked and claimed her. Pushing any negative thoughts out of his mind, Cole focused on the moment.

“Take a seat and tell me what happened with David. The bear Alpha, Adam Novikov, filled me in, but I want to hear your story.” Gabe gestured to the two chairs in front of his large wooden desk before taking his own seat.

“We stayed on David’s trail, following him to Alaska. We were close, but not fast enough. He’d already taken the bear’s mate, Emma, when we found him in bear territory. He was planning to kill her. The bears attacked David and killed him.” Cole gave him the facts, wanting to quickly get this conversation done with.

“Do you think that David really planned on killing her?” Gabe’s voice was calm.

Did their Alpha really think that David wanted to live without his mate? Cole wouldn’t be able to survive without Emily. That thought caught him by surprise, and Cole realized in that moment how deep his feelings really were for her.

“Yeah. He had a knife to her throat and openly admitted that he was going to kill her and die in the process, so he could be with his mate. He knew it was a suicide mission. We tried to get to him in time, but failed.” Charlie finished for him.

“You didn’t fail. He wouldn’t have lasted long here with the pack. He would’ve gone rogue at some point, and we would’ve had to put him down ourselves,” Gabe said, leaning back in his chair.

“That’s true. We can’t live long without our mates.” Josh added as he walked into the office and stood next to his brother. “I wouldn’t want to live if anything happened to our Nicole.”

“Yeah.” That’s the only thing Cole could say.

His mind was focused on Emily, and he wanted to get back to her. Maybe if he could talk to her, they would be able to put her fears behind them. She was everything to him, to them. Didn’t she realize that yet? Didn’t she know that mates were forever?
Do shifters get headaches?
Cole shoved his fingers through his hair and rubbed his temples. This shouldn’t be this stressful.

“The annual run is coming up. The other packs are going to be coming to our territory within the next week or two. We need to make sure that there is plenty of food on hand, all the guest houses and cabins are fully stocked, and the events are planned so that everything flows perfectly. Addison and Nicole have been going to each house to make sure that everything is in order. They’ve made a list of different things that need your attention. I’m going to reassign some of the other projects though. You two should probably spend some quality time with your mate.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Cole relaxed a bit, relieved that some of their responsibilities could be given to someone else.

“Why don’t you both head on home and figure things out with Emily,” Josh suggested.

Cole got up, heading out of the office. He didn’t need to be told twice. He wanted to get to Emily.

* * * *

Emily made it to town after a really long walk.
Jeez…had the house been this far away from town?
It hadn’t felt like it when they were driving in the truck. It would’ve been a hell of a lot easier to shift and run through the woods, but showing up naked in town wouldn’t be a good idea. Oh well, she’d finally made it. Cracking her neck, she stretched before making her way down Main Street.

She looked into the windows of each store, making a mental note of where she wanted to shop. A few people walked past her and craned their necks, staring. Pulling her thin jacket tighter, Emily looked at her reflection in one of the windows nearby, wondering what they were looking at. She brushed her fingers through her hair and wiped her face, hoping that she looked okay. Shrugging, she kept strolling down the road until she noticed a grocery store and decided to go inside. She needed a few items and hoped that, like most stores, they would have a small personal massager she could purchase.

Feeling giddy, she opened the door. A small bell tinkled, alerting her presence, and she grinned toward the woman standing behind the counter. She nodded back in response, and Emily headed toward the aisle that shelved various toiletries. She searched for the massager, skimming her eyes up and down each shelf.
Tampons, Kotex, condoms, lubricant…there it is!
Emily grabbed the massager and did a little happy dance right there in the aisle.

“What are you doing?” Emily jerked her head over and stared at her brother, Thomas. His eyebrow rose, and he leaned against the aisle, crossing his arms over his chest.
This is awkward.

“Nothing…I just found what I was looking for. That’s all.” Emily immediately put her hands behind her back, hiding the prize she’d found.

“Sure.” He arched a brow. “Do your mates know you’re here?”

“Of course. They both went to see their Alpha, so I came here.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

“Looks like they claimed you.” His eyes focused on her throat, and Emily moved her shoulders, trying to cover their marks without revealing her new toy.

“Well, I’m gonna head out.” Emily palmed her toy, trying to hide it before walking past him.

When she got closer, she pushed it into her pocket for safe-keeping. She needed him to leave the store before she could make her purchase. There was no way in hell she was going to let Thomas in on her little secret. That would be too damn embarrassing. When they reached the checkout counter, she looked at the magazines and grabbed one, thumbing through it.

“Do you want me to take you back to your mates? My car is right outside.”

“Nope. I’d prefer to walk. You can head on out.”

“Naw…I think I’ll hang out a bit.” Thomas’s voice sounded distant and Emily looked up from her magazine.

Emily followed his line of vision and noticed that he was checking out the woman behind the cash register. She seemed to be watching them just as intently as Thomas was. Looking back at her brother, Emily wondered what thoughts were running through his mind. She’d never seen her brother act this way before. His body was tight and he looked ready to pounce.
Huh? That’s interesting. Is it pent-up sexual frustration or did Thomas just find his mate?
She wanted to laugh, but resisted.

A tap on her shoulder got her attention and Emily spun around and came face to face with an older gentleman. She sniffed and knew right away that he was a wolf. Instinctually, she took a step back, needing some space, but the man followed her, putting her on edge.

“What can I do for you?” Emily asked, stepping back once more.
What the hell? Had this man never heard of personal space?

“You’re a thief. Do you know what we do to
bears
who steal from our pack?” He spit, crowding her, and Emily could barely think.

She was in shock. Who the hell was this guy accusing her of stealing? She hadn’t done a damn thing. She would’ve pushed him back, would’ve defended herself, but before she could utter a single word, Thomas stepped in.

“You better watch how you talk to my sister. We’re both welcome here. She didn’t steal anything.” Thomas growled and Emily stepped back further, only stopping when the magazine rack was against her back.

All of her fears came rushing back in that moment. She had almost forgotten that she was a bear mated to two wolves. She’d almost been happy to start over in North Ridge. That was before this horrid man got in her face and accused her of a crime. Before he sneered the word
bear
, she’d been just a woman. Now, she just wanted to get the hell out of this place and back to where she felt safe and secure.
Fuck, I shouldn’t have let my guard down.

“I saw her put something in her pocket! She’s a thief! All you damn bears have sticky paws.” He growled at her, pushing against Thomas and trying to get to her.

In that moment it dawned on her. She had slipped the small personal massager in her pocket. Not to steal it, but to hide it from her brother. She didn’t want him to see what she was purchasing. Closing her eyes, she wished that a giant hole would open up now.
Crap, this is bad.
She just knew that this whole situation was going to become a whole lot worse.

“Don’t accuse my sister of anything.” Thomas pushed the man back, using only a small portion of the force he held within himself. “I don’t particularly like the way you say
bears
either. It’s wolves like you that give shifters a bad name. Cole and Charlie Ward are her
mates
. We’re welcome here.”

“Let me search her. I’ll prove it!” The wolf tried to move around Thomas.

“You won’t touch her!” Cole yelled as he charged into the store, Charlie closely following. “What the hell is wrong with you, Ben? I can’t believe you’re treating my mate with such obvious disrespect.”

“She stole from our pack. I saw her put something in her pocket,” Ben said, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

“Are you kidding me?” Charlie added, shaking his head.

Emily bit her lip. Yep, she’d been right. Things definitely did get worse. It was nice to have her mates rush in to rescue her, but she really wished that they hadn’t. The small massager in her pocket felt heavy now. The men seemed to go back and forth arguing while Emily stood frozen. She wasn’t sure what to do at this point. Would her men believe her story? Would she be viewed as a thief, even though that hadn’t been her intention?

“Emily.” Her head jerked up and she stared into Cole’s eyes. “I’m so sorry that I have to ask you to do this.” He shoved his fingers through his thick mass of hair, looking frustrated. “Would you please just empty your pockets so we can get the hell out of here?”

Leaning into him, she placed her mouth by his ear, not wanting everyone to hear what she had to say. “I did put something in my pocket.” The muscles in his body flexed and he stood rigid. “I wasn’t going to steal anything. It’s just…Thomas scared me and I panicked. I didn’t want him to see what I was buying.”

Cole didn’t say anything. She stood in front of him, biting her lip and feeling sick to her stomach. She stared into his beautiful brown eyes, hoping he would see the truth. Before, he had looked at her with such love and adoration. Now, he looked bleak. No emotion showed at all and Emily could feel his disappointment. That realization cut deeper than she would ever admit.

“Yeah…right,” he grumbled, arching his brow.

Steeling herself, Emily grabbed the massager out of her pocket and threw it in his face before storming out of the store. With each step, her heart broke a bit more, but she didn’t stop, she couldn’t.

When she was beyond town and the tree line, she quickly stripped out of her clothes and shifted. She started to run, letting the bear take over. She no longer wanted to think or feel. Those few moments in the grocery store, the look in Cole’s eyes had fractured her heart. The pain was almost unbearable. She ran and ran until she was out of breath, and even then, she kept moving, trying to get as far away from North Ridge and her mates as possible. She wanted to run all the way back to her home in Alaska.

The small package hit him in the face and Cole stood frozen in place, letting Emily leave. He needed to get his anger under control before he could deal with her. How was the pack supposed to accept her when she did something as foolish as trying to steal? He’d received a phone call from Harper, who worked at the store, and she’d told him his mate needed him. He’d broken quite a few laws to rescue her.