35

Emma

I tapped my fingers against my desk, unsure about what I should do. My teeth picked at my lower lip and my eyes scrunched together. Does Soran deserve a chance? He was willing to risk his life for me to try and rescue me. He would do anything to keep me safe. He'd protect me and he seems like he would be one to treat me as an equal.

I envisioned the two of us defending his pack together. Side by side as a team. Could we really obtain that? Is it possible for us?

My fingers drummed harder and faster on the desk. There has to be a catch. There has to be something that would snag at what we could be and rip it to shreds. Anything could happen. I could find out he was cheating on me.

My heart ached at that thought.

What if... one of us died. My fingers stopped dead in their tracks as my other hand balled into a fist. I felt physical pain at that.

I glanced over to his seat, which was now occupied by someone else. He'd gone home a few day ago to help watch over his pack until I was ready to move in with him. Before he left, I did everything I could to avoid him. I didn't want any part of him. It sounds selfish, but the more time he spent with me, the more he'd never want to leave. I was doing it for his sake. I was doing it for the pack.

I was pulled from my thoughts when I felt my phone go off in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out and hid it behind my books.

Kathrine: Is there anyway you can get home sooner?

Me: y? what's wrong?? I bit my lip as I waited for her to reply. What's going on? Is she hurt? Did he find her?

Kathrine: Nothing. I'm just bored

I smacked my forehead. And here I thought something serious was happening. I replied by saying I had to finish a couple more classes before I could head home. She came back with a bunch of complaints about how bored she was and that there was nothing to do. I rolled my eyes and focused back to the lesson I had completely missed.

When class ended, I hurried to my next class so I could get it over with faster. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to. The second class started, I laid my head down and slept the class away. I awoke to the bell and was out of the classroom before anyone else could move.

I was almost to the school entrance when someone called my name. "Man, you move fast!" I turned to see my lunch group rush to catch up with me.

"I just want to get home," I said to Linda. "Kathrine's bored."

Gaven chuckled. "Poor girl. It must suck being home schooled."

I shrugged. "She doesn't mind it. She just doesn't like being alone."

"Understandable." Kester nodded. "Hey, uh, do you think I'd be able to ask her out soon?"

I stopped dead in my tracks and faced Kester. "Where would you take her? You know she can't go anywhere near her hometown, or the towns that are within close proximity."

"It wouldn't be near there!" He held up his hands in defense. "I swear we'll stay far away from there!"

"You better." I thought about when a good time for her would be. "I'd say ask her out on Friday. She has a small school load and I know she'll need something to do after being bored all day."

"Friday..." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright, I can do that. Should I ask her tonight, or the night of? Do I ask Thursday? Emma, what do I do?"

"I don't know." I turned away from him and continued home. "Figure it out yourself. You're supposed to have this planned before you even think about asking a girl out. I mean, she will be your mate at some point."

"Emma, wait please!" Kester called after me. "I don't even know what she likes! You have to help me!"

"How?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Get information about her!"

Linda scoffed. "Like that'll work. She'll know something's up by the third question."

"It's better than nothing!" Kester whined. "Emma, please!"

"Just go with the flow," Emily chimed in. "It's how Gaven got with me. He didn't rely on others to help him. He did it all by himself."

"But..." Kester rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know how to deal with things in that situation. I've never had a girlfriend before, so I don't know what to do about a mate." Kester and I shared an awkward glance.

"Just think of something." I said. "I'll try and see what I can find out about her favorite food."

"That'll help more than you'd believe." Kester sighed in relief. "Thanks, Ems."

"Yeah, whatever." I waved him off. "But from now on, if you want to get her to accept you, it's all on you."

"Understood." And so the group fell into soft chatter about school and pack stuff. I just stuffed my hands in my pockets and stared off into space, my mind on other things.

I mainly thought about how Soran and how his pack might be doing. Are they settling well? Can they really go so long without me? Can I really wait that long to join the pack? I mean, if I left, I'd have to join the local school there. I want to finish my high school years. I don't want to drop out so I could run a pack, and from the looks of it, this pack takes all of your time.

I sighed to myself and stared at the sidewalk. There's just too much to think about to make a decision. Too many factors and too many life choices. The different outcomes are growing exponentially with each passing day. I literally have a million ways my life could go.

I hardly focused on the conversation my friends were having. My mind was occupied with all the millions of ways my life could go just by altering one tiny little detail. I couldn't settle my mind on one thing; it kept bouncing around too much and it was starting to give me a headache.

I glanced up and noticed we were almost to the pack house. Maybe I'll ditch my bag with Gaven and have him deliver it to my place so I can go for a run. No. I'll have Kester do it. He might see Kathrine and might make his move.

I grinned and tossed my stuff at Kester. "Bye, guys!"

"Hey, wait!" I didn't stop at Kester's protests as I ran into the bushes, stripped, and shifted, letting my Wolf form stretch. I ducked and weaved around fallen and twisted trees and leaped over rocks and shrubs. It felt nice to run and feel free; to feel the wind bristle my fur and catch the many scents the forest had to offer.

After a while of running, I slid to a stop and flopped onto the cool dirt, rolling around it and stretching as far as my body could. I gave a happy sigh as I relaxed and laid on the ground, listening to the birds and wind in the trees. It helped calm my mind and allow me to forget about everything plaguing me. I grinned and sighed once more. This is nice.

I stayed there for what felt like hours, enjoying nature and the world around me. When I opened my eyes, the sun was starting to set. I best get home. I wonder why dad hadn't tried to call me home via mind link? I shrugged it off and sprinted home.

At the edge of the tree line surrounding the clearing for the house, I came to a stop and sniffed around to see if anyone left some clothes nearby. A few paces from where I stopped I found the clothes I had worn earlier today. I grabbed them with my teeth and pulled them a little farther into the shadows of the trees and shifted back so I could change into them.

Once dressed, I fixed my hair and dusted off dirt from my arms and face. Satisfied, I straightened my shirt and headed for the house. I stepped inside and noticed all the lights were off and it was too quiet. Cautious and curious, I crept through the house, trying to find any traces of life. All the downstairs rooms were empty. Slowly, I headed for the upstairs. I checked all the rooms but mine, finding them empty as well.

My heart began to pound audibly ad I turned to head for my room. My hand trembled as I reached for the knob. I took a deep breath to steady myself and prepare for an attack. I gripped the knob and twisted it, the door opening smoothly without a sound.

The only source of light I could see was the lamp on my night stand. After glancing around my room and in the upstairs hall once more, I stepped inside and shut my door. I scanned my room. My bag was on my bed, resting against the pillows. I headed for it and peered inside, seeing everything was where I had left it. I zipped the bag back up and gazed around my room once more, my eyes landing on something on my desk. I paced over to my desk and found a piece of paper folded up under Kathrine's notebook.

I picked it up and read it.

"Emma,

Your family and I went up to the main house. Apparently something big is happening and we all need to be here. None of us could contact you, so I left a note in case you came back. Your mom wanted me to make sure you left the living room light on and turned the porch light on so we wouldn't be coming home to a dark house."

I sighed in relief and relaxed. At least I know that nothing happened to them. I headed for the bathroom and washed up a bit to remove more dirt off me I didn't get the first time. Once done, I brushed my hair out and jogged down the stairs. I flicked on the lights for the living room and porch and closed the front door behind me.

To get to the pack house faster, I ran most of the way. When I got close to the house, I slowed to a walk so I could steady my breathing and walk up calmly to the house.

Linda was waiting for me. "There you are!" She rushed over to me and dragged me by my hand inside. "Everyone is waiting for you! Why did you take so long to get back?"

I shrugged. "I was enjoying nature."

Linda shook her head. "Whatever. Anyway, I was told to wait for you out here so I could bring you inside. So let's go!"

"What's this all about anyway?" I asked as we stepped into the house.

"Something's happened at Soran's pack house." I froze in my tracks. "From what I overheard, it's big."

"Where's Kathrine?" I asked, my body on edge.

"She's with the pups and a few other adults at the other end of the house," She explained. "We're needed upstairs as soon as possible." We raced up the stairs and went straight for Gaven's office.

We entered without knocking. Everyone looked up at us, falling silent.

"There you are!" Gaven frowned. "Do you have any idea how long we've tried to contact you?! We were worried sick!"

I scrunched my eyes up a bit. "What do you mean?I never blocked anyone out. No on ever tried to contact me."

"That doesn't matter right now." He shook his head. "What does matter is what we're going to do about this attack. Soran contacted me a few hours ago saying that one of his lesser packs he's watching over is planning to revolt against him. They've got the help of a few other packs in their area and they've formed a massive army."

"Holy shit." I breathed out.

"That's exactly what we all said," My dad shook his head. "None of us know what to do. Yes, we're allies now, but that doesn't mean we can drop everything here to go to war with other packs. It's off our land and basically out of our hands. We wanted to get your opinion about this."

I bit my lower lip and walked to the desk, picking up the paper with the notes on it. Gaven really stepped up and took advice from his dad if he kept this organized.

Wait a minute, I know that name. I read over it a few times before my eyes widened. "I know who's started this war."

"What?!" Gaven leapt to his feet. Nyl placed a hand on his shoulder to calm Gaven. "What do you mean you know who's behind it?"

I shook my head. "This crazy Wolf decided to start beef with me when I was healing at Soran's. She was an ex fling of his and claimed she was going to be the Luna of the pack. When I told her who I was, she denied it and we fought. The pack came to a decision to banish her to a lesser pack. I guess she must have gotten under the skin of the Alpha of that pack, claiming she was the victim of it all."

"We have to tell Soran." Gaven picked up the phone and dialed a number. He put it on speaker.

He answered on the second ring. "Soran speaking."

"It's Gaven," He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you happen to remember a pack member you banished by the name of... Katie?" I showed Gaven the name.

A low growl sounded. "I had a feeling she might have been behind this. We turned her away twice already because she was trying to come back. We told her that if she came back a third time, she would be imprisoned and killed for her crime against Emma."

"Stupid bitch..." I muttered. "So now she's got a whole bunch of people behind her now?"

"Yes, Emma." He said. "Turns out the pack we gave her to, their Alpha is her mate, and he took her side instantly."

"Fuck!" I cried out and ran my hands through my hair. "This just gets better and better!"

"We need your help." Soran said slowly. "Not just yours, Emma, but your pack, too. We may only have a few lesser packs under us, but they're strong in numbers. They have just barely more than we do and it just may be our detriment. In this fight, we're not letting the children fight, so it cuts us down even more."

"What do you think, Emma?" Gaven asked and everyone in the room looked to me. Soran was silent on the other end as he waited for my response.

I took a deep breath. "We have to help. They helped us in our time of need. Without them, I would be dead and Victoria would still be on the loose. We can't leave an ally who needs us."

"Very well," Gaven nodded. "I will lead the Warriors into battle. Our parents will stay behind and watch over the rest of the pack. We will also gather up anyone else who would like to fight and we will be there by day break."

"I'll send word for the jet." With that, Soran hung up.

I turned and left the room. There's one thing I have to do before I go. "Kester, with me." He quickly caught up with me.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"We have to get something cleared up before we go." I replied. I ignored him as he asked what I meant and pestered me.

We eventually reached the room where Kathrine sat with the many pups and other adults. She looked up when she heard the door open. "Oh, Emma!" She excused herself and got up. "Where were you earlier?"

I waved for her to follow me. "That's not important right now. We need to speak with you." I lead both of them outside and a little way into the forest.

We came to a stop and I took a deep breath. "Kathrine, Kester and I are not what you think."

"Emma-"

"What do you mean?" Kathrine cut him off.

"We have been hiding something from you." I said softly. "Something you should know."

"Emma, don't-"

"Kester," He fell silent. "Kathrine, we are, in a way, part of a Mafia of sorts, but not like what you think. I'll let Kester explain that part, since you two have something... special."

"What-"

"Kathrine," I spoke over her. "You won't be seeing me for a few days. Hell, most of this family will be gone. We have to go help others like us in a small war."

"War?!" She gasped. "Emma! You can't go! Who will protect me?!"

"There will be others here." I nodded. "You won't be alone. My parents will still be here to watch over you. I just thought I should let you know so you don't panic when you didn't see me the next day. I will be leaving with most of the people here some time tonight."

"Tonight?!"

"I will leave the rest to Kester." I walked past him and gave his arm a firm squeeze. "You have thirty minutes, then you need to come back inside so we can prepare everything." With that, I headed back into the pack house to leave those two to talk.

Hopefully all goes well.