AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nico
“I need all the men to leave,” Caine says after reading a message on his phone. “Emmaleigh says he won’t shift back if there are men around.”
Hearing my mate’s name has both my wolf and I instantly perking up and paying attention.
“I am not leaving my mate or my child alone with an unstable, ginormous wolf,” Godrick argues.
“She is on her way to help sort this out,” Caine replies looking directly at me.
“Who?” I ask, not quite sure I understand what is happening right now.
“Emmaleigh is coming here to help with Thomas.”
“Hell no! She should be resting. She almost fucking died.” I run my hands through my hair in frustration. “Why would you ask her to do this?” I accuse my Alpha.
“No one asked,” a melodious voice says behind me. “I offered.”
Turning, I take in my mate. My wolf whines in the confines of my mind. She is magnificent, even with the bruises around her throat. She is short but lithe. Her legs are encased in black yoga pants paired with a red off-the-shoulder top, and her dark hair is piled on her head in a messy bun.
“I am well aware that none of you know us,” she says walking past me. “But I know Thomas. And he won’t hurt anyone.”
I watch her approach the grey mountain of wolf and it takes everything in me not to drag her away from him. She scratches behind the wolf’s ear, murmuring softly, and I watch him nuzzle into her touch. Irrational jealousy surges through me and I must fight to keep my wolf at bay. He may want to fight the other male but I know we will lose that bout. I also don’t want our mate’s first impression of us to be irrational jealousy.
She holds out a hand to Joy, who easily jumps into her arms before being passed off to Peyton.
“He won’t shift with men in the room,” Emmaleigh states not looking at us. “You’ll have to leave.”
“How do we know it’s safe to leave you alone with him?” Calum asks. “I don’t mean to be rude but he could hurt you.”
Emmaleigh smiles sadly at Calum. “Because I am the one that told him to stay in his wolf form until all the men left.”
Pain laces her words and my greatest fear comes to life before my eyes. She doesn’t trust men and has taught those around her the same thing. Getting my mate to accept me is going to be harder than I could ever imagine.
I can only hope that she will give me the chance to prove I am nothing like the bastards that hurt her.
Chapter Five
Emmaleigh
Peyton stays behind with me even though her mate, the pack Alpha I have come to learn, looks less than impressed. The man with the icy blue eyes and square jaw stares at me intently for the longest time before he follows everyone else out, even though he looks less than happy. I can feel the pull between us, the mate bond that fate has set into motion.
Yes, I would love to have a mate. Someone who can hold my hand as I wade through the darkness that has been my life for longer than I care to remember. I would love to fall into him and let him help me conquer my demons, but now isn’t the time for that.
First, I need to take care of myself and my own people. So I don’t say a word as he walks out, instead turning back to help my friend.
“It’s okay,” I murmur near his ear, gently scratching under his chin. “It’s just you, me, and my friend. You can shift back now.”
Thomas gazes at Peyton with a huff before bumping me with his nose.
“She is the pack Luna. Her name is Peyton,” I say by way of explanation. “Would you come closer?” I ask her.
Peyton, for all her credit, doesn’t blink at my request. She simply walks over and smiles.
“Hi,” she says with a little wave.
Thomas proceeds to smell her before the shift starts to fall over him. The air around him shimmers and you can feel the energy in the room change as the massive wolf disappears and in is replaced by a naked young man.
“I’m sorry,” he says immediately, tears clinging to his lashes. “I thought he wanted to hurt her and then I just couldn’t change back. And more and more strange men came in and I got scared.”
