38

Emma

I never left his side.

I never moved from my chair beside his bed.

I was filled with so much regret and pain as I held his hand tightly, the sparks of the Connection just giving off a faint current.

Tears never stopped flowing down my cheeks. It was as if I had just turned the faucet on and never twisted it off. I'd never known myself to cry this much. Is it even possible for someone to even cry this much? How can I have so much water stored away for tears?

I sniffed and pressed the back of his hand against my forehead. Why was I so mean to him? Why did I push him away so much? Why did I never hear him out and believe that he was trying to be a better person for me? Why didn't I notice he was trying to love me as a human and not just through our Connection?

Why didn't I see it?

My breath caught in my throat. I coughed to clear it, my breath shaky as more tears flowed down into a small puddle at my feet. The doctor had put a towel down to catch all my tears. I thought it was funny at first, but when I caught a glimpse at Soran, the tears fell again.

My mind wandered back to the fight. Why did he do it? Why would he sacrifice himself to save me?

I mentally smacked myself. Idiot. He's my mate. He... he loves me. He would do anything to keep me safe. He'd be willing to give up his own life just to make sure I got away. He would search to the ends of the world to bring me back home. He would stop at nothing to make sure I never got harmed.

He's proven that many times. I shook away the memory of him being there to get me out of Victoria's clutches. I pushed the memory of him being there for me as I recovered. I refused to remember when he banished one of his own pack members if it meant it would keep me safe. All those memories, I had so many doubts about him and I never wanted any part of him.

But... My body shook as my grip tightened on his hand. But I couldn't block the vivid image of him standing before me on the battle field.

I cringed as the memory hit me full force.

~~~~~~~~~~

I expected claws to dig deep into my skin. I was ready for my end. I waited for everything to be over.

I wasn't expecting my hair to suddenly be yanked at the roots. I gasped as time resumed normal speed and I fell to the ground. My eyes remained shut as the sound of flesh being torn assaulted my ears. I was expecting pain, but there was nothing. Have I already died?

I peeked an eye open and covered my mouth at what I saw. Soran was standing before me, naked. But that's not why I was staring. I watched in mute horror as the eyes of the Alpha stared deep into my soul, his jaw locked on tightly to part of Soran's neck and shoulder. Blood constantly dripped from his throat and down his back, staining his skin crimson red.

Soran coughed. "Soran...?" My lip quivered. He pulled me out of the way so he could take the blow. He let himself get injured for my sake. He... saved me.

"I-it's alright, Emma," He fought to get the words out. "I-it's all... it's all over. He didn't kill you. I... I protected my mate. I protected you."

Tears streamed down my face. "B-but Soran... Y-you... You're..."

He spoke over me. "I saved you... That's all that matters right now." He swayed unsteadily on his feet.

"But Soran!" I cried out, trying to get him to understand just how badly hurt he was. "You're bleeding! You're injured! The Alpha nearly crushed your neck! Soran!" I leaped to my feet and gasped at the extent of the damage the Alpha did. I placed my hands on Soran's back, feeling him relax at my touch. The sparks flared between us.

"That doesn't matter... right now." He shifted his weight and moved his right arm. I watched as it slid out from the Alpha's throat. I thought I was going to be sick at all the blood. Soran reached back and got the Alpha's jaw to release. With a grimace, Soran got the body off him and it fell to the ground.

I stared in horror and disbelief. He took the whole attack... just to protect me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"All that matters is that you're safe and you're not hurt." He went to turn to face me, but his feet slipped in the pool of blood around him. I gasped as I saw the vicious claw marks on his chest as he fell to the ground hard beside the body of the Alpha.

I collapsed to my knees. "SORAN!!"

~~~~~~~

Everything after that was a blur. I don't remember seeing Soran being rushed back to the pack house. I don't remember screaming and crying as someone held me in place. I don't remember begging to be let go. I don't remember standing at a large fire. I don't remember stumbling blindly to the operating room Soran was in.

I don't remember going ballistic when I saw doctors working over Soran as more blood dripped from his body. I don't remember attacking people as I was restrained. I don't remember going insane when I was locked up in a cell to calm down. I don't remember Gaven and Kester coming to check on me. I don't remember breaking down into a crying mess when they held me to comfort me.

But it happened. Gaven, Kester, and a few other people told me what had happened after Soran fell to the ground and I called for him. Nothing seemed real; like I was dreaming. I didn't know what I was doing.

All I knew was that Soran, my mate, was hurt and dying. All I knew was that I had to be right at his side to help him. I had no control over my actions. Gaven had said it was like I had lost control of my Wolf and she surfaced and took command.

He said I appeared to be acting completely on instinct.

The only thing I remember from the whole thing was leaving the cell and getting washed up. I remember crying as the water from the shower cleansed me. I remember a female from Soran's pack helping me dress after my shower.

I remember several hours after the ordeal finally being allowed to see Soran. When I was brought to the room I nearly collapsed in shock seeing wires and tubes sticking out of his body, his whole torso and neck wrapped in already soiled bandages.

The doctor who treated me when I was here pulled up a chair for me so I could sit with Soran. I've been in this spot ever since. I don't know how much time has passed, but I do know that since the whole thing, I've been fed by different pack members at least seven times now.

I don't know how my pack is doing. Are they still here? Did they fly back home? I don't know if anyone has told me because I've only been listening to the device assisting Soran's breathing and the heart monitor. Both are steady, but he's not doing anything on his own. He's helpless and in a coma.

His wounds have not closed up and started to heal yet. Only a few small spots have scabs where the stitches were, and that was about it. I've lost count as to how many bags of blood have been given to Soran. I gave up on keeping count on how many times his bandages were changed. All I wanted to do was stay by his side, no matter what.

I bit my lip and held Soran's hand tighter. "I'm sorry..." My voice cracked from crying so much. "Soran, I'm so, so sorry this happened to you. I'm sorry..."

I sniffed and coughed again. "It's my fault you got hurt so bad. If I had been paying more attention... If I had just killed her and checked the Alpha... If... if I had just finished the Alpha  off when I had the chance... you... you wouldn't have..." My whole body shook as another wave of tears overcame me.

"I'm sorry I never gave you a chance..." I barely whispered. "I'm sorry I kept pushing you away... I'm sorry I never let you prove yourself to me. I wish I had let you open up to me. I wish I had listened instead of just clouding my mind with harsh judgement. I wish I had given you a chance. I wish I could take it all back and we could start over. I want to give you the chance you deserve."

I kissed his hand softly. "I want to love you, Soran. I want to be your mate. I want to be your Luna. I want to run the pack with you. I want to be with you. I wish we could start over and try this whole thing over again. I'm so sorry we never got to experience that. I'm sorry."

"Please come back to me..." I wanted to say more but my throat closed up with more tears. All I could do was shake my head as I silently begged for him to wake up; to open his eyes and tell me everything is going to be okay.

When I was able to speak again, I said the one thing I thought would never come from my mouth. "I accept you, Soran. I accept you as my mate. I want to be with you forever. Please... please don't leave me."

The door opened slowly behind me. "Emma, it's time to change his bandages again." Reluctantly, I placed his hand back beside him on the bed and stood to help. Carefully, we were able to remove the blood covered bandages, clean the wounds, and rewrap him in new gauze and bandages.

The second we were finished, I picked Soran's hand back up. The doctor gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he went to check on the monitors.

"No change." I didn't react to the news. It's been the same every time. "Though, I did notice something. As we cleaned his wounds, they didn't begin to bleed again. Maybe his body is finally beginning to heal itself. It'll be a slow process, but his Wolf should begin to heal all the damage."

"Will he wake up soon, then?" I asked softly as a couple tears fell.

"I don't know." More tears slid down at his words. I didn't even bother trying to wipe them away. It was useless in the state I'm in.

The doctor left us alone. The room was silent, except for the machines. I just sat there, holding Soran's hand as I waited for him to wake up. He has to wake up. He has to. He has an entire pack to run. I have to be by his side through it all.

The pack needs its Alpha and Luna. They need us.

"Soran..." I hoped he could hear me. "When I stayed with you when I was recovering from what Victoria did, I was feeling weird emotions with you. I didn't know what they were called. I didn't know what to do and I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. But now that I've been with you through everything that's happened, I think I know what to call it. It took me many days to discover this. I was able to know what it was called as I watched everyone around me."

I swallowed so I could speak better. "Soran, the emotion I'm feeling is love. I... I love you. I really do believe that I love you. I think it started when I saw you when you came to rescue me from Victoria. There's no other reason."

"How long have you loved me?" I asked, halfway expecting an answer. "When did you realize you had feelings for me outside the Connection? When did you accept those feelings?"

I waited about a minute, hoping he would wake up and answer my questions. I sighed when I got no reply. I traced my thumb over the back of his hand, contemplating my next words.

"Maybe..." I took a deep breath. "Maybe you won't wake up. Maybe their efforts to save you were in vain. M-maybe you'll take a turn for the worse and die... No one knows what the future holds. No one knows what's going to happen. Hell, I don't even know if you're going to wake up again. The doctor doesn't even know!"

I gave a humorless laugh. "You and I seemed to be doomed from the start. From the moment I first saw you at school, the universe lined up in such a way that it wanted to see us fail. It lead us directly to this moment. It took us through hell and back just to see if we really could get through what seems to be the worst trials of life."

I was silent for a couple minutes. "I need to start thinking about what I need to do if in the event you don't wake up. I'll probably just go home to my pack. I'll be the Beta for my pack. I don't know what I'll do about a mate. There's such thing as Second Chance mates, right? Maybe... maybe that'll happen."

My heart ached at the thought of not being Soran's mate. "I don't know what will become of the Alpha position. Maybe your brother will take the position? Or your beta? That's what happened to Victoria's pack. When she was defeated, her Beta was officially given the title and he's now the Alpha. He at first didn't want it, but it was either that, or we lose one of the stronger packs."

I shook my head and placed Soran's hand back on the bed. "Listen to me ramble. I'm only doing this to distract my brain long enough to stop crying. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do. Do I leave and live my life without you, or... or do I wait forever for you, not knowing if you'd even wake up."

I took a deep breath and stood. "As much as I would love to live my life with you, I can't waste my life away on a possibility of you waking up. That's not what I signed up for. I need to move on."

I leaned down and gently kissed Soran's forehead. "Goodbye, Soran. I love you. May our souls meet again in our next lives." With that, I turned to leave.

I jumped when something touched my fingers. I quickly retracted them and half turned to see Soran's hand flop down and hang off the bed. "Soran...?" His fingers twitched slightly. His eyes moved under his eyelids, as if trying to see through them.

"Soran?" He reacted again. "Oh my god, Soran! Doctor! Doctor, Soran's waking up! Someone, please!" I raced for the door and threw it open, hoping someone would hear my cries.

"Soran's waking up!" I called out again. Doors opened in the hall. "Get the doctor! Soran's waking up! Hurry!"

An odd sound made me glance over my shoulder. Soran was reaching up and trying to grasp at the breathing tubes. "Soran, no! Don't take those out! Let the doctor do it! Stop! You'll hurt yourself!" I ran back to him to lower his arms from the tubes.

"Just let the doctor remove them." Our eyes met for a brief second before he shut his eyes again. The sparks between us had ignited at our touch, stronger than before. His whole body relaxed as I held on to his forearms.

A few moments later, the doctor was back in the room. "Alright, Alpha Soran.  Let's get these out of you. Just relax. Now, before I remove them, there is a chance I'll have to put them in again if you can't breathe on your own."

Soran nodded and I held his arms tighter. "Alright, nice and slow..." I looked away. Soran gagged a bit.

"And it's out." The doctor said as Soran took in a deep breath through his mouth. "How do you feel?"

Soran's voice was barely a whisper. "Thirsty... Heaven... Happy..."

"I'll be back with some water." The doctor left the room.

I sat back down in the chair. Soran and I stared at each other. A small smile touched his lips. "Em..."

"Shh..." I gently hushed him. "Don't speak. It's alright; you don't have to say anything. You heard everything I said?" He nodded.

"You didn't want me to leave," He nodded again. "That's why you managed to wake up. You didn't want me to leave you alone." I moved my hands so they were latched in his. He sighed happily, his eyes shutting once more.

I smiled at him. "I'm happy you woke up. I don't know what I would have done without you." Soran took one of his hands and lifted it so it cupped my cheek.

My grin grew even more. "Yes, I know. I love you too." His heart monitor registered a spike in his rhythm.

I giggled. "Yeah, I'm going to have to get used to that too."

~~~~~~~~~

"Doc, how many times have I told you I'm fine?" Soran growled as he removed his shirt.

"This is the last time, I swear." I still couldn't get over the rough, jagged scars that crisscrossed over Soran's whole chest and upper abdomen. That Alpha really did a number on him. My eyes scanned the scars and slowly traveled up to the bite wounds the Alpha had also left. The worst of the scars were right next to his main artery. Somehow, by some miracle, the Alpha hadn't punctured it. That's what ultimately saved his life.

"With the wounds being as severe as they were, these scars may never fade." The doctor said as he ran his fingers over Soran's chest. "The ones on your neck and shoulder might, but your front may never get rid of the scars."

Soran shrugged as he put his shirt back on. "Cool story to tell others some day. The story of how I heroically threw myself in front of the enemy to save my mate." I hid my burning cheeks, still not over officially being called his mate.

I will admit that I love it. Why did I ever doubt this? I kicked my past self.

~~~~~~~~~~

"So, how was the first shift?" I asked.

Orien groaned. "So painful! How did you even deal with it? It felt like I was being broken in half! I was never expecting that! No one ever told me it would hurt that bad."

I giggled as his voice cracked a few times. "Yes, it did hurt when I went through it, but everyone has different thresh holds for pain. Yours is just a bit low."

"Hey!" He called out as I stuck my tongue out at him. "I'm not a whimp! I handled it like a champ, dad said!"

"He said the same thing to me." I stated.

Orien dead panned. "Thanks for that..."

I grinned. "Any time! Anyway, how's your girlfriend?"

"Sh-she's not my girlfriend!" He blushed hard. "At least not yet... She's Wolf like us but she hasn't completely accepted it yet. I think it's because of how she's not officially from any of our lesser packs. I think her family is just residing here for a while."

"Give it time," I encouraged him. "Maybe just show some of your affections with maybe a small gift here and there."

"Thanks sis." He smiled. "I miss you."

I touched the screen of the computer, wishing I was actually with him and not just over Skype. "I miss you too, Ri. I promise I'll visit the second I graduate."

"You better!" He puffed his cheeks out. "Kathrine has been bugging the whole house wondering when you'll be back! Kester has actually started hiding himself from her so he doesn't have to hear it!"

I laughed and covered my mouth. "Oh man, I really wish I could see that! Anyway, tell everyone I miss them and love them. And give an extra hug and kiss to mom for me. And tell Linda happy birthday for me."

"Why can't you?" He asked.

I gave an awkward laugh. "You see, I may or may not have left my phone in my pockets when I shifted and it landed in a large puddle of water... it's fried and I may have lost everything if the rice trick doesn't work."

He rolled his eyes. "How many times have you broken your phone since your first one?"

"Hey, that's not true!" I thought for a second. "Okay, maybe you're right. But that's not the point! Just please relay the messages for me."

"Will do." He smiled. "Bye, Emma. I love you."

"I love you too." I disconnected the call and sighed to myself. I couldn't believe that graduation is only a couple weeks away. These last two years living with Soran and his pack have really flown by. It seemed like only yesterday I was moving in and getting the transfer set up so I could go to school with him and his pack.

I leaned into the chair and caught sight of the photo Soran and I took at senior prom. Our faces were smooshed together and we were making funny expressions at the camera. I never pegged him as one to let loose like that, but there we were with his phone, acting like total dorks.

I smiled and stood to get something to eat.

~~~~~~~

"Welcome back, Emma." I gave my dad a tight embrace, happy to be back home. I've missed them so much. Skype just doesn't work like we want it to. "How is everything going over there?"

I shrugged as we pulled away. "Meh, it's just a pack I have to run. Nothing special."

Dad rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Anyway, we have to make a stop before we can head back. Consider it your graduation gift."

"Really?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Can't tell." Was all he said as we loaded my bag into the car and got in. "All I'll tell you that I was supposed to give it to you on your sixteenth birthday but forgot because of all the insane shit we had to go through."

"So, it's a graduation gift and birthday gift three years late?" I tipped my head to the side.

"Something like that." He didn't say anything else about it, no matter how much I pestered him. The only time I shut up about it was when we pulled up to a bank.

"Um, why are we here?" I hesitantly got out of the car.

"Just 'cause." Jee, thanks for that vague answer. I shook my head and followed him into the bank.

"Hello, I would like access to an account." Dad greeted the bank teller.

"Of course!" She smiled. "May I ask what name it's under?"

"Emma Kutcher." Wait, what?

"Ah, the savings account." Wait, what?? "You've been saving up a lot here, Ms. Kutcher! So we'll be switching it over from a savings account to a usable checking account?"

"That is correct." Dad responded. What the hell is going on here?!

"Alright, give me one moment to get that all set up." She typed on her keyboard. "Did you want a customized card, Ms. Kutcher?"

"I-I-I, um..." I was still in shock from all of this.

"Yes," Dad answered for me. "And she'll be going for style A16."

"Perfect!" She smiled as she continued to type away. "That one is one of my personal favorites. Alright, I'll be right back with your paperwork and new card."

The second she left, I turned to my dad. "What the fuck is all this?"

He just grinned. "It's something your mom and I agreed on way back before you were born. We had opened an account for you. Reluctantly, your mom allowed me to go through with this. Once you turned sixteen, we were going to take you to the bank so you could get your card and access to the account. It's your own money to do what you please with. Just remember that it won't last forever like the pack money, so if you'd like, you can put more in there at some other point."

"I..." I held the side of my head, not comprehending all this. "I don't know what to say. Thank you.. Thank you! Oh my god this is amazing!" I attacked him in a hug, which he happily returned.

"Does Orien get one?" I asked when we pulled away.

"Yeah, he'll be getting it next year." Dad nodded. "It'll probably be about the time he's appointed as Beta."

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten you had filled in until he was of age." I scratched my head.

"It's fine," We stopped speaking when the bank teller came back with my card. I stared at it, stunned. It's a midnight scene of a wolf howling at the moon.

"It's beautiful..." I pulled my wallet from my pocket and carefully placed it in an open spot.

"Why don't you test it out to see if it works." The teller suggested. "We have an ATM just over there."

"Thank you," I nodded to her. "Have a good day."

Dad and I headed for the ATM. I stuck the card in the slot. When prompted for the pin, I turned to my dad.

"What did you set it as?" I asked.

"Uh..."

I groaned. "You forgot." So we went back to the teller to reset the pin. I set it up and went back to the ATM to test this again for real this time.

I choked on my spit when I saw how much my little plastic card held. "Holy hell..." I knew the pack and a butt load of money and funds, but this was all my personal money.

"Congratulations, baby." I removed my card and gave my dad the biggest embrace.

"You're the best."

We pulled away after a bit. "The pack is waiting for us and your brother is absolutely bouncing off the walls."

I giggled as we got back in the car.

~~~~~~~~~

I held onto my hat as a gentle breeze blew around me. Today was a beautiful day to head to the lake. It's one of those rare warm, sunny days. Soran and I were taking full advantage of it and decided to go on a romantic picnic.

"Food's ready." He called from behind me. I turned from the water's edge and walked back to our blanket.

"This is really lovely, Soran." I smiled as I took a sandwich.

He smiled warmly. "Anything for my mate."

"Are you sure it's alright, though?" I wondered allowed. "I mean, you do have that huge report to go over and plus you still have to give an answer to that Alpha if you two will become allies and split the land in half." Apparently an Alpha from farther north had to relocate down here due to a huge forest fire that pretty much destroyed all his land.

Soran waved my question off. "Relax. It'll be there when we return. This is our time, so forget we're the leaders of the pack and just pretend, for this one moment, we're completely human and enjoying a wonderful date."

I chuckled as I reached for another sandwich. "You're right. We deserve a break once in a while. Let's enjoy this day to the fullest." We soon fell into casual conversation about anything we could have thought of. Most of it was random information we had read up on, or complained about a level in a game we couldn't get past.

All in all, it was wonderful.

After a long while of talking, I stood and removed my sundress, revealing a two piece swimsuit underneath. He wasn't expect this and I grinned mischievously.

"Race you to the water!" I took off as I heard him scramble to stand and remove his clothes. I glanced back to see him catching up fast. I gave a startled scream as I ran faster to the water. I splashed in first and dove under.

"I win!" I called as I resurfaced.

"Did you?" Arms wound around me from behind and pulled me close. I laughed softly as I moved closer into his arms. It felt so right to be there; like I belonged.

Soran spun me around and held my waist as I wrapped my legs around his hips. I glanced down at his scars. Exactly as the doctor had said, the major scars on his chest have not faded at all. He's stuck with those for the rest of his life.

He's just happy he can show off proof that he protected me.

"Checking me out?" He asked playfully as he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, like you totally weren't when I removed my dress?"

"Hey, you should have expected that." He poked my nose. "I wasn't expecting you to suddenly strip down into your swim suit. That was a dirty trick to play to get a head start."

"But it worked." I giggled as I wound my arms behind his head to pull us closer. Our lips were barely touching. He moved the extra centimeter to close the gap. I moaned softly as I ran my fingers through his hair, loving the feelings he brought upon me.

We pulled back for air, panting and smiling brightly at each other.

"I love you so much, Emma." He smiled softly.

I chuckled and brushed my nose against his. "I love you too." I let go of him and slowly swam back to the shore, feeling his eyes on me the whole time. Once I reached dry land, I wrung my hair out and sighed to myself.

This is a wonderful day. Nothing could ever top this.

"Emma," I turned to see Soran coming out of the water. "I think I saw some interesting shells a bit down that way. Wanna go look at them?"

I shrugged. "Sure." I'm not much of a shell collector, but if he wants, I'll go look. I headed off in the direction he pointed. I kept my eyes glued to the sand as I used my toes to push some of the sand away to get a better look.

"I'm not seeing anything," I called back to him.

"I know they're there." He said back. "I'll be right there to help search for them." I rolled my eyes.

Once I was a distance from the picnic spot, I stopped in my tracks. I crossed my arms and turned around. "Soran, there's nothing here and- hello, I wasn't expecting you so close." I took a step back to give us a bit of distance. If I had taken a step when I turned, I would have crashed into him.

"It's fine," He smiled and brushed some of my hair from my face. "I actually like being so close. It's nice."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Just nice?"

He grinned and rolled his eyes. "It's wonderful, fantastic, and mesmerizing. I couldn't have asked for a better mate such as you. I'm so happy that we actually met. Though, I wish it was on better terms, but the way we grew as people together outweighs all that. Emma Kutcher, I love you. With all my heart. And with that, I ask..."

I gasped as he got down onto one knee and pulled out a small black box. "Will you marry me?" He opened it to reveal a simple, yet very exquisite ring with a sparkling diamond directly in the center of smaller crystals.

"Oh my god..." I nodded and laughed. "Yes! Of course I will!" Soran grinned wider than I had ever seen him do and eagerly put the ring on my finger before standing and picking me up. He spun me a couple times before kissing me gently.

Yeah, this day just got a million times better.

~~~~~~~

"I can't believe you did it again!" I shouted at Soran. "You promised you'd stop! You said it was all over! You lied to me!"

"Emma, please-"

"No!" I shoved him. "Don't even try to butter up to me! You're seriously in the dog house this time! I can't believe I trusted you! You betrayed me!"

"Come on, Emma." He shook his head. "It's just-"

"Just what?" I growled as I shoved him again. "Just what?! Has all this meant nothing to you? You promised me we would do this together, but then you've gone and pulled this five times now! I can't believe I'm even still doing this!"

He laughed and my blood boiled. "You're getting worked up over nothing."

"Nothing?!" I screeched. "You think this is nothing! Don't laugh at me, you sick bastard!"

"Come on, just calm down." I bared my teeth at him. "All this anger isn't good for the baby."

"I don't care right now!" I snapped. "You've hurt me more than words can do! I can't do this anymore. I'm done."

He grabbed my hand as I went to leave. "Come on, I promise I'll stop. Just help me beat this level and I swear it won't happen again."

I glared at him. "I don't trust you to not blow me up again with 'friendly fire'." I air quoted him. "You've done that too many times, even after promising you wouldn't."

"Come on, one last time." He held out his pinky.

I hesitated but held my ground. "You do know that way back when if you pinky promised with someone, if you broke it, the one you promised is allowed to cut off the pinky, right?"

He quickly retracted his pinky. "I'd rather not lose a finger."

"See! You were going to do it again!" I huffed. "Why did you even convince me to even play with you?"

"Because this part requires you to be playing with two people." He groaned.

"Then use a CPU." I offered.

"But they all suck!" He complained as he leaned back in his chair. "I'd rather do it with you, my sexy mate!"

I rolled my eyes. "No. Get someone else to do it."

"Ugh." He gave up. "Fine. You win. Can I at least get a kiss before you go?"

"Fine." I strode over to him and kissed him passionately. "Now, go find someone to play with."

"Okay." He looked to the screen then back to me. "Will you play with me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not even in your dreams, Alpha."

"Honey, I will always dream about you." He set his controller down and pulled me into a hug, one of his hands resting on my slightly extended stomach. "I will forever dream about our family and the love we have for each other."

I grinned and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "I like hearing that."

"I love you, Emma."

"I love you, too." We kissed again, melting into the perfect feeling of bliss.

I'm glad I said yes.

THE END

Thank you guys so much for reading this series. It saddens me that I have to bring this to a close, but it was an amazing journey. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.

I will eventually be going through the first book again to rewrite some parts and make it flow a bit better, especially the beginning. It was a bit choppy in my opinion, but I'm happy so many of you wonderful readers stuck through with me.\

Also, I do have a novella coming out. I won't spoil too much, but it will show how the other Alphas met their mates. That one has a long way from being post worthy, but I can't wait to share it with you guys.

Thanks again for reading my "Love Me Not?" series. It was a pleasure writing for you guys.

-Menagerie12