We never got to see the battle at Safe Haven until now. I hope you liked the crossover.
I desperately wanted to talk to Quinn this morning. After running off and listening to my wolf berate me for hours, I knew I had to come clean. I had to tell her that I have absolutely no control over my body when I'm with her. If that's what she wants from me, then so be it. My need to talk to her was only reinforced when she avoided me this morning and I saw the regret in her eyes. Clovis is right, she thinks I rejected her. She couldn't be farther from the truth.But before I can even begin to tell her how sorry I am for my massive freak out last night, we get the call that the war has started. My mate, my strong, fearless mate, doesn’t hesitate. She leaps and is running to the battle, willing to take on the entire field of warriors on her own. But I won’t let that happen. Clovis is shifting and racing to keep up with our speedy mate a moment before I begin sending out orders.‘Emerson, do you think it’s a good idea for me to stay here?’ my father questions me.‘Yes. Don’t argue,’ I
I come awake slowly, feeling the pain in my side.‘Minka?’‘I’m healing us. Now that the bullet is out, I’m healing, but the bones will take some time.’‘How many bones broken?’ I ask her.‘Two ribs, multiple fractures in them. They cracked every time we took a hit, but we’re okay. I just struggled to heal us around the bullet and try to keep our ribs from puncturing our lungs.’‘You’re amazing, Minka!’‘You’re pretty amazing too, Quinn.’I open my eyes and I’m disappointed to see Aunt Grace and Riley, but not Emerson.“Hey! There she is!” Riley says, coming over.“How do you feel?” Aunt Grace asks me.“Sore, but Minka says she’s healing us. She said they got the bullet out?”“Yep. The doc said Minka was healing their incisions faster than they could stitch you up,” Riley says.“It’s good to be a Guardian,” I say, sitting up gingerly as pain shoots up my side. “What happened at Shadow Falls? Is everyone ok?” I ask, suddenly remembering my family.“Yes. Emlyn apparently did some incredi
“I think I should lead the ceremony, Emerson. I was the Alpha for many years. These are my people too,” my father says.“Yes, they were your pack, but I’m the Alpha now. They need to hear from me,” I say. I’m already stressed because of Quinn’s injury. She’s healed and she’s here, but the thought of losing her had me feeling out of control again. Now, I’m trying to keep myself together to bury the dead in our pack and rather than supporting me, my father is here still trying to insert himself as Alpha.“This isn’t the time for pride, son. This is the time to do what’s best for the pack,” he says.I’m about to respond when Quinn steps in. “What do you think is best for the pack, Uncle Eli?”“They need to know that their leaders support them, that their Alphas support them and are here for them,” he says.Once again, I’m about to say something, something I would probably regret, but my mate inserts herself. I’m not sure if this is a mate thing, a Guardian thing, or a Quinn thing, but I h
“Lady Luna Quinn!”“Lady Luna Quinn!”“Lady Luna Quinn!”Three distinct voices call out to me.“Yes, Little Lady Sprites,” I say without thinking. I haven’t even looked up when I hear them gasp.I quickly look over to see their eyes are wide and their mouths are open looking like big ‘O’s. I’m on the verge of apologizing when they start speaking again.“Did you hear what she called us?”“It’s like she knows us.”“Like she SEES us.”“She called us little, and we are little.”“She called us lady and we are ladies,”“She called us sprites and we are sprites.”“It’s perfect!”“More than perfect.”“It’s incredible!”The begin to flit away as I sigh in relief that I didn’t hurt their feelings with such an unconscious response to them asking for me.“Wait. Did you want to talk to me?” I ask them.“Oh no!”“Not now!’“Now we have to go tell everyone.”“They’ll be so jealous.”“They’ll want to be seen.”“And heard,” they say, flitting away.I chuckle and turn, seeing Emerson watching the sprite
“I’m so excited that you’re here mom. I’ve missed you so much. Tell me everything that’s going on in the pack,” I say.“Sweetheart, why don’t you go get a shower and then maybe you and I can have lunch together, spend some girl time. Your father wanted to talk to Emerson while we’re here anyway and we can get caught up. I want to hear all about what you’re doing as well.”I race upstairs to get showered, not wanting to miss a moment with my parents. They’re only staying one night and soon they’ll be going on vacation for a month. It’ll be the first vacation that they’ve taken that Malin and I didn’t go.I have a moment of sadness for that. It’s just another reminder of how my life has changed. I wonder if Emerson has ever considered going on a vacation.I race out of my room and run smack dab into the man himself.“Oof!” I say, bouncing off his chest. He’s just finished his shower too and he smells delicious, so earthy and masculine. Minka sends a vivid image of me licking my way up Em
Damn my mate is sexy. And strong. It’s smart to never forget just how strong a Guardian is, and to never underestimate one. I don’t usually go at Quinn with my full strength, unwilling to hurt her in any way, but she couldn’t focus this morning, and she needed a challenge. Joke’s on me, she’s been holding out on me too.Landing on your back hard, getting the wind knocked out you, and having that moment of being unable to breathe while your mate pins you to the ground and claims her victory over you in front of your entire pack is equal parts thrilling and humbling. I’m going to have to start pushing Quinn harder in our sparring sessions so she can push me harder. I need to up my game if I’m going to be worthy of having Quinn as a mate.I do feel better when Uncle Liam lets me know that not only he, but all of Quinn’s brothers, have fallen to her with that move. Now I know to watch out for it. But it makes me wonder, if she’s never used that move on me, what else is she holding back on.
The next morning, when we say goodbye to her parents, Quinn’s much more tearful than I expected. She and her mother hug for a long time, and I can see Aunt Angel whispering in Quinn’s ear, something I can't hear. Whatever it was, Quinn nods and then she hugs her father as I hug Aunt Angel.“Take care of yourself, Emerson, and take care of my daughter,” she says, kissing my cheek. My parents come out to say goodbye to them as well and when they're gone, I look at Quinn.“Are you alright?” I ask.She nods, wiping the tears from her face. I think about what Uncle Liam said and I step up, cupping her face in my hands and wiping her tears with my thumbs.“I don’t like seeing you cry,” I say, honestly.Her hands come to mine, holding them against her face. “I don’t do it very often.”“No, you don’t. I hope you know that I’m always here for you, Quinn. If ever, whenever, you need me.”She smiles, but it doesn’t spread to her eyes. “I know,” she says pulling away from me and walking inside. I
It’s been over a week since my parents were here. I’ve been trying to get the courage to do what my mother said, to demand what I want from Emerson when we’re alone, and I think I’ve done it a bit. I’ve noticed that he touches me more often, especially when we’re alone. He’ll stroke my hand, sometimes my cheek and lately he’s started kissing me goodnight. Each time, the kiss seems to get deeper and I can feel him responding to me, but he’s still not willing to go any further.I’m in my office one morning when my twin calls to invite me to Cohen’s birthday party. It’s so good to hear from her and as usual, she realizes immediately that something is wrong. I had told her of my epic fail on trying to seduce Emerson.“I wouldn’t call it a failure. For Emerson, those were huge strides, but perhaps he needs to go slower. Going from total control to no control couldn’t have been easy for your stuffy Alpha.”From anyone else, I would have probably growled or put them in their place, but this i