Chapter 27

SAMANTHA

“How is Luke? Is he okay?”

Those were Dad’s first words after he woke up from his surgery.

Dr. Martin peered at me over her glasses. “Your family is tough, I’ll give you that.”

I reached over and took my dad’s hand in mine. “He’s fine, Dad, he’s just fine. Just a few small cuts on the neck. They won’t even scar.”

“Werewolves don’t scar,” Dr. Martin murmured as she puttered around the room. “Well, ~rarely~ anyway.”

I chuckled at her bluntness despite the circumstances.

“And Emilia? Is she…?”

I laughed back my tears. “She’s okay, too, Dad. When she stabbed your wolf, his full weight fell on top of her, and she was pinned.

“Emerick restrained her and took her to her home, which is now her prison. She’ll be in there for as long as I decide is suitable.”

He relaxed as he let out a long sigh and started sinking into the pillows. “Dammit,” he muttered begrudgingly.

“Hey! We weren’t supposed to kill her. Her sentence was imprisonment.”

Dad rolled his eyes. “Yeah, for the challenge. I think breaking loose and trying to behead my favorite grandson constitutes death, Sam.”

I poked his ribs playfully without thinking.

“Careful!” Dr. Martin cried.

“Ow!” Dad reached for his wound.

“Sorry!” I bit my lip, and when Dad started laughing, I joined in.

Dr. Martin rolled her eyes. “I’ll leave you two to it. Everyone else is outside. Want me to send them in?”

“Yes, go on—”

I held up a hand. “Give us a few minutes first? I need to talk to my dad.”

Dr. Martin lifted her chin in acknowledgment before disappearing out of the room.

Before I could even turn my head back in Dad’s direction, everything had gone blurry from the tears in my eyes. I lifted his hand to my cheek and felt the warmth in his fingers.

“Hey, hey, kiddo, it’s all right. I’m okay, see? It takes a lot more than a little knife to stop your old man.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of what he said. Sure, werewolves were strong, but it was no small knife Emilia had been holding to my son’s throat.

“Thank you for protecting him.”

He released his hand from my grip and ran a thumb over my cheek, mopping up the tears as he went. “That’s my job, Sam.”

His voice grew sterner. “Although, I find it hard to believe you knew we were in position. What were you thinking? Handing yourself over to that devil-woman?”

I shrugged even as the vivid, fear-filled memories played on repeat in my mind. “I guess I was doing what I had to do to protect my son. It’s my job too.”

He looked at me for a long moment.

“You guys…” His voice wavered, and he coughed to find his strength again. “You guys are my world. I would be lost without you.”

I looked deep into his eyes as he looked back at mine, and I saw the man I’d known my whole life. Not a werewolf, not a stranger. But my father. My protector.

“Dad…I—”

He raised his finger to his lips. “Not another word, Sam. You have nothing you need to say to me. You were right. I should have told you. I should have told you everything.”

He leaned in closer, wincing a little. “And Ayisha, I’m sorry to you as well. I had no right to keep you two from each other. Thank you for being so strong for Sam when I couldn’t be with her.”

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, there was a knock at the door. I turned to see Mom and Luke and waved them inside.

Luke gave me a quick squeeze before rushing over to wrap his pops in a bear hug. I couldn’t help but laugh a little when he hit the same spot I had just done.

Mom pulled me aside. “There’s a strapping young man waiting for you outside. Might I suggest you go chat with him?”

“In a minute,” I said. “Dad and I are just—”

“He knows, Sam,” she said, smiling gently. “He’s always known.”

My chest tightened as I glanced at my father and Luke recounting the “epic” standoff.

I knew my mom was right. Even when I couldn’t see it, my dad knew how much I loved him, how much I needed him.

“Go, talk to Emerick,” she urged me. “He’s the one who told your dad where to find you.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Mom.” I started toward the door, stopping to look over my shoulder. “Hey, Dad? When Dr. Martin lets you leave, bring your things to Alpha Residence, will you?”

Mom beamed at me, while Dad did his best to keep his lip from quivering.

“There’s a cottage out back with your names on it.”

***

“Sam? Hey, are you okay? How’s your dad?” Em asked as soon as he saw me.

I found him sitting on the grass outside the front of the pack house, staring up at the stars.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. He’s going to be okay.” I laughed as I said the last word, not for anything funny, but my body was releasing all the built-up tension with it.

Em’s eyes turned sad. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me these last two days. You…you didn’t deserve the way I treated you.”

“No, I don’t think I did. But I’m sorry too.” I shook my head and frowned. “There’s so much I still don’t really understand about werewolves. I suppose we both need to be better at listening.”

I sat down next to Emerick and leaned my head on his shoulder.

“It’s more than that, Sam,” he said. “I let my jealousy get the better of me. When Zef started losing control hearing about the alphas, I let his rage keep me from fulfilling my duties.

“It’s my fault Emilia found Luke.”

“Fine, it’s your fault.” I shrugged and felt him deflate slightly. “But what about my mistake?”

He looked down at me quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“I made the decision to put Emilia under house arrest. You suggested I execute her.

“We could go round and round arguing the pros and cons, but were it not for my decision to show mercy, Luke would never have been in danger.”

“But that’s—”

I put my fingers on his lips. Sparks flew through my skin.

“The point is, neither of us is perfect, and we shouldn’t pretend to be otherwise.

“Two weeks ago, I didn’t know werewolves even existed. Now I’m an alpha. I’m going to make mistakes, and I imagine, so are you. All we can do is move forward with the best of intentions.

“At the end of the day, I know your heart, and I know you would stand by me and my family. But if this is going to work, you have to trust me and my ability to make my own decisions.”

Em dropped his head. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been such an idiot. I sort of had an epiphany when I saw you…you know…”—his voice grew thick—“handing yourself over to Emilia.”

“Hmm?”

“We’ve been in very different stages of our lives. I was living this bachelor’s life, not really caring about anyone other than myself.

“I wasn’t a bad person, I just… I didn’t realize how meaningless it all was.

“At the same time, you’ve been this incredible wife and mother. You put your life back together after your husband died and started your own business.

“Then when the call fell to you, you gave up everything you’d worked for to save your son the burden.

“Truthfully, deep down, I thought you were just being noble. In my world, most people would jump at the chance to be an alpha.”

He laughed humorlessly and stared up into the night sky.

“When you told me love is sacrifice, it finally clicked. I had to stand there and face the reality that I might lose the one thing I’ve ever truly cared about.

“In that moment, I realized just how fucking stupid I’ve been, Sam.

“Going forward, my outlook needs to shift.

“I understand now that you needing time with your family is not you putting me second. Nor is you fulfilling your duties to the pack. Your life, your purpose is so much bigger than just us.”

I hesitated a moment. “We just need to find a way to balance everything or…”

“Or this isn’t going to work,” Em finished for me.

“Right.”

“I love you, Sam,” he said.

I sighed. “I love you, too, Em. Which is why I want to work on it. I don’t like feeling guilty that I can’t give you every piece of my attention.”

“I don’t want you to feel that way,” he said quickly. “I acted like a jackass, but I will make it up to you.”

I leaned back to get a good look at him. “Oh, yeah? How?”

He smiled. “Right now, you need to be with your family. Take them home, get them settled, and have a good night’s sleep. When you wake up in the morning, I’ll be there with breakfast for everyone.”

“Mm.” I mimed rubbing my belly. “Breakfast sounds great.”

“Yeah?”

“French toast?”

“You want French toast?”

“Fun fact: French toast is my favorite breakfast.”

Emerick chuckled. “That is a fun fact. French toast it is.”

“Yes!” I cheered and giggled. Then I yawned.

“All right, Sam,” he said. “Take them home and get some sleep.”

“Okay,” I smiled up at him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I’ll see you in the morning, babe.” He leaned in.

“Goodnight, Em. I love you.” I pressed my lips to his.

~God, I’ve missed this.~

“I love you too. Always.”

He helped me to my feet, and I turned to walk back inside the pack house.

“Oh, and Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“Sleep well. From tomorrow morning, I vow to be the man you deserve.”

***.

True to his word, Emerick arrived at my new home before the sun had even broken the horizon, so I opened my eyes to a house smelling of maple syrup and coffee.

After Luke’s ordeal with Emilia, he wasn’t in any hurry to get out of the house that morning either, and he entertained us all as we ate together.

As my dad and Luke exchanged playful insults, I felt Emerick’s fingers trail along my thigh under the table.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him fiddling with his phone with his other hand. As his fingers started trailing to my core, my phone lit up on the table, and I saw I had a text from him.

Emerick

Meet me tonight?

I gave him the smallest of nods, trying to keep hold of my composure. He squeezed my upper thigh slightly before pulling his hand away to write another text.

Emerick

Pick you up after bedtime?

I shook my head slightly before picking up my phone to reply.

Samantha

Dad will hear the engine. Have Zef meet me at the end of the drive.

Now Emerick nodded, and I spied the smallest hint of a grin.

***

Once the house was quiet, I tiptoed down the stairs. I was only in sweats and a sweatshirt since I wouldn’t be needing my clothes anyway. I just needed a release.

I felt like a teenager sneaking out all over again and chastised myself for feeling like there was something to hide.

I stripped quickly when I got outside the front door, shifted in a blink, and padded down the gravel drive.

At the gate, Zef paced, panting, until he caught sight of me. He let out a small yip and bounced on his back legs.

I smiled to myself at the sight of him. It felt like a lifetime had passed since we last ran together.

I sprinted the final ten yards and soared over the fence. Landing on the other side, I continued on and tore away from the property and into the woods. Zef howled as he gave chase.

~“Let him lead,”~ I told Ayisha.

She huffed but conceded.

Zef caught up and nipped at my flank. Ayisha signaled with her head for him to guide us, and he pulled in front.

We ran through the woods, the moonlight shining brightly through the trees. The full moon was approaching, and I could feel how it filled my muscles with a delightful energy.

Ahead, I saw a clearing, and Zef slowed. I expected him to turn toward his cabin. Instead, he shifted, and Emerick stood before me in all his glory, clearly aroused.

I took back control and shifted midstride. The momentum carried me into Emerick, and we came crashing onto the ground, our bodies entwined, our lips finding each other.

I straddled Emerick’s hips and ground myself against him. He growled at my warmth, thrusting against me. He grasped my breasts, tweaking my nipples, and I gasped while reaching for his length.

“Slow down, baby,” he whispered in my ear.

“I need you. Now.”

It was enough to break his restraint.

He flipped me onto my back, and I yelped. In the next moment, he was on me, thrusting his way in as I moaned. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he gave me a moment to adjust to his size.

He started moving, hitting every nerve with each deep thrust exactly as I needed.

He kissed his way down my collarbone and up to my ear, sending shivers down my spine as a tightness built up from my core.

I moaned again as I felt him adjust his angle so that each thrust allowed him to grind against my clit.

I reached between us and trailed my nails down his chest and then his abs. He quickened his pace, throwing me over the edge into pure bliss.

I felt him stiffen as his orgasm followed shortly thereafter.

We both fell back onto the grass, panting as we stared up at the night sky.

I turned to face Emerick and took in his profile. His strong jawline was highlighted in the glow of the moon, and sweat glistened on his chest and brow.

He turned to look at me, and we both smiled before starting to giggle like teenagers.

“I needed that,” I told him, still laughing.

“Me too.”

I snuggled into his chest, listening to his heartbeat as his fingers trailed circles on my bare skin. We stayed that way for a long while before I felt sleep start to beckon me.

Reluctantly, I started to rise. “I should probably get back.”

He let out a soft sigh. “I figured I’d run home with you.”

“Thank you for tonight,” I whispered as I wrapped him in an embrace.

He reached down and kissed me gently. “When the ceremony is over, am I allowed to ask for more alone time with you?”

“You’d better,” I teased. “Or I might demand it.”

He smiled down at me before we parted and shifted, then Zef and Ayisha raced through the woods back to my home.

At the gate, Zef licked my cheek lightly and rubbed under my chin. Ayisha returned his embrace before once again clearing the fence and trotting up the driveway.