by J. L. Wilder
He nodded, a small smile making its way onto his face. A moment later, Hazel felt that sense of perfect fullness again. She had been aching for this for a long time, she thought, craving this feeling. It was just that she had never quite known what she was missing until now.
How much of her hunger for his body came from the fact that they were alpha and omega, and how much of it was just the fact that they were Emmett and Hazel? She knew their natures called to each other, that her body had been built for his in this way. But what about all the other things between them, the things that weren’t physical? What about the lightness she felt in her chest when he teased her, and what about the way he seemed almost willing to sacrifice his entire life to protect her? Those things weren’t biological.
I might be falling in love, she thought, planting her feet on the earth, lifting her hips to take him more deeply inside of her, crying out with pleasure as he hit a spot that made her see stars.
Somehow, they managed to pace themselves. Somehow, they managed to resist the overwhelming compulsion to move faster, to come together harder, to reach out for more and more and more of each other. Hazel thought Emmett deserved most of the credit. More than once, she tried to reach for him, to pull him closer, and he smiled and bent to kiss her and kept to his infuriatingly slow pace. She had never felt such a hunger in her life, had never wanted anything so purely and desperately.
Now, his hands were moving over her body, and every inch of her skin felt so sensitive that she thought the slightest touch might set her ablaze. He trailed his fingers up the sides of her torso, dipped his thumb in the hollow of her clavicle, traced the shell of her ear, and she gasped with every touch. When his hands found her breasts, her eyes rolled back in her head and she thought she was going to die of pure bliss. When they moved on, she let out a moan that could probably be heard for miles around.
His hand slipped between them, down between her legs, and brushed against her there.
She cried out.
He brought his thumb up and licked it slowly, his eyes holding hers captive, and then returned it to that spot.
“Emmett—” she moaned, tossing her head back and forth on the ground. “Emmett—”
Then he was fucking her furiously, hard, panting as though something inside him had snapped, his hand still working between their bodies, and she was grinding her hips into him as hard as she could, and as waves of pleasure crashed over her, she forgot where she was, forgot they were in a cornfield, forgot they were outdoors and might be heard, and she screamed his name to the heavens.
When she came back to herself, he was lying on the ground behind her, one arm wrapped around her, one hand combing gently through her hair. “Emmett,” she breathed.
He nodded. “That was intense.”
“I can’t give you up,” she said quietly. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to give you up.”
“We’re just going to have to,” he said. “You know that.”
“I don’t know how we’re ever going to be happy with anyone else.”
He didn’t answer, just pressed a kiss into her shoulder blade.
“I’m glad you gave us one more night,” she said. “It’s better than nothing.”
“It’s better than most things,” he said, somewhat hoarsely.
A smile passed across Hazel’s face, but it didn’t linger. She was finding it hard to hold onto happiness. What if that was their last time? What if nobody ever made her feel like that again? And how could anybody else make her feel the way Emmett did?
“Would it be better if we’d never done it?” he asked her. “Would it be better if you could be mated to one of your packmates without knowing there was...more?”
“No,” she said. It wasn’t even a question in her mind. “I’m glad I know. I’m glad I got to have it. Even if I can’t keep it.”
He kissed her shoulder again.
“I’m really going to miss you,” she said quietly. “And not just, you know, because of this.”
“The sex?”
“Right. I’m also going to miss talking to you.” She took a deep breath. “I really like you, Emmett.”
“I like you too,” he said quietly.
“Maybe more than I like anyone. I’m not close to the people in my pack. I kind of didn’t know people could...connect the way we have.”
“That is about the sex,” he said with a little laugh.
She reached back to swat him. “It’s not just that. I haven’t met anybody new in at least ten years. I didn’t realize I could make a friend who wasn’t already part of my family.”
He held her a little tighter. “I didn’t realize I could...have feelings for a woman. It’s never been like this. It’s always been just sexual. But with you...I don’t want you to leave.”
Then, because there was nothing more to say or do that they hadn’t said and done already, she turned to face him, kissed him deeply one last time, and closed her eyes, trying to sleep.
Before long, she felt his breathing become deep and even. But Hazel lay awake. Tomorrow, she would have to return to her family. There was no more putting it off. Emmett would become a part of her past, a secret she would have to keep from her alpha and from her soon to be assigned mate. And because she would never be able to talk about him, eventually, he would become a distant memory. She would lose all but the rough outline of the man who currently lay in her arms. It was almost too tragic to be borne.
Eventually, sleep crept up on her. The day had been long, and the exhaustion of her body overcame the activity of her mind. But just before she succumbed, the uncomfortable thought occurred to her that there was something—something of vital importance—she had forgotten.
She was asleep before she could figure out what it was.
Chapter Twelve
EMMETT
He awoke with a cold pit of dread in his stomach.
Emmett was used to trusting his instincts, which had usually been good. Now, he rolled onto his stomach and pressed his toes and fingers into the earth, ready to come up fighting at the first sign of danger. Whatever had spooked him was bound to make itself known in a matter of moments.
But nothing happened. The corn around them waved gently in the late afternoon breeze, but otherwise, it was perfectly still. Peering through the stalks, he could see the low sun glinting off the metal of the back of his bike. So that was still there. The only sound was that of a few birds far overhead, calling out their annoyance to one another.
What had woken him?
He looked over at Hazel. She was still asleep, her hair haloed around her head. She looked peaceful enough. Her eyes moved slightly, as if in a dream, and her cheeks were ever so slightly flushed. His gaze wandered to her breasts. Something about the way she was lying on her side, he guessed, made them appear even more full than usual, and he felt himself wake up a little more.
He was going to have to take her home today. There could be no more putting it off. It had to be done, and the longer he delayed, the harder it would be. The more questions her pack would have, and his own pack too.
Satisfied that they were in no immediate danger, he rolled over and sat up. He still felt edgy and uncomfortable, even though he was certain there was no threat. Something felt like it was looming over him. Something was wrong.
It’s just the thought of letting Hazel go, he told himself firmly. You’re just dreading doing that. But that didn’t feel right, somehow. Yes, he was dreading it, but that dread occupied a different place in his gut than this nameless anxiety. They were two different feelings.
Don’t dwell on it. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you do.
One of the birds overhead swooped low, and Emmett decided he wanted to hunt. It would be safe, he thought, as long as he stayed nearby. The corn would reveal any movement if anyone came near where Hazel slept. He slipped out of his clothes and shifted, welcoming in the familiar sensations that came with being in animal form. It had been too long, he thought, stretching his canine
body and preparing to go to battle. Only a few days, really. But too long.
He hunkered low and crept along the ground, ears laid back against his skull, eyes glued to the birds above him. There was a pattern to their flight. Circle, circle, circle, dive. They were dumb, he knew. They got themselves into flight patterns and then they just repeated them until something happened to distract them. Hunting birds was easy.
Circle, circle, circle, dive.
He waited until the next time the bird above him dove, then sprang into the air to meet it, catching it neatly in his teeth. The rest of the birds scattered, squawking angrily, and Emmett landed gently and laid his quarry on the ground. He resumed his human form and padded through the corn and back to Hazel’s side.
She was sitting up and rubbing at her eyes. “What’s that?”
“Bird.” He grabbed his pants and hauled them on. “Breakfast. Or dinner. whatever.”
“Did you just find a dead bird on the ground?” She looked sick.
“Of course not,” he said. “It was flying. I hunted it.”
“You killed it?”
“Yeah.” He watched her to see if that bothered her.
It didn’t seem to. He set about plucking the feathers from the bird, and she watched and shredded a fallen leaf from a cornstalk between her fingers. “You’re not going to eat it raw, are you?”
“No, we can make a little fire in between the rows of corn as long as we’re careful not to let it catch and spread. And there’s enough meat on this thing for both of us.”
She looked doubtful. “I don’t know. I’ve never eaten bird before.”
“Of course, you have. Haven’t you ever had chicken?”
“That’s different. Chickens are...for eating. They come from farms.”
“How very human of you.” He grinned toothily and began to clear a space for their fire.
“Is that supposed to be an insult?” she asked. “Calling me a human?”
“You’re just not very in touch with your animal side,” he said. “You’re human, but you’re wolf too, right? Where’s that side of you? Where’s your wild side?”
“I’m plenty wild,” she snapped.
“Sure, you are. Then share this bird with me.”
He spitted the thing on a stick and turned it carefully over the flames. Hazel watched him work, hugging her knees to her chest. When it was cooked all the way through, he removed it from the fire and broke it in half with his hands, passing a piece to her. “Be careful of bones,” he said. “They’ll be little in an animal this size.”
“Not your first time, I see.”
“Of course not,” he said. “This is how we eat half the time.”
“So, this is your life, really,” she said. “Not going from motel to motel and eating omelets in diners, but sleeping in cornfields and hunting birds for your breakfast.”
“Still want in?” he asked.
She sighed. “Yeah.”
He was surprised. “Even though you wouldn’t have a roof over your head half the time?”
“I’d be with you, though,” she said quietly.
Emmett rubbed a hand over his face. The truth was that he felt the same thing she did, the same compulsion to be together. But it didn’t make sense. They hardly knew each other. They’d met only a few days ago. Why did it feel as though Hazel had been a part of his life forever? Why did he feel like letting her go would break him in a fundamental way?
“I’d live in a house to be with you,” was all he said.
She laughed. “Big sacrifice.”
“For me, it is.”
They sat quietly for several minutes, eating the bird, neither of them knowing what to say. A huge part of Emmett wanted to take Hazel in his arms and make love to her again, right here in the corn. But he forced himself not to. He had to start separating from her. The longer he waited, the harder it would be.
Finally, the bird was finished. He got to his feet. “Come on,” he said. “We’d better hit the road. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover yet.”
“We’re really going back now, aren’t we?” she asked quietly.
“We have to,” he said, unable to look at her.
“I know.”
But once they were on the motorcycle and making their way down the highway, Emmett found himself driving more slowly than usual. Every moment seemed precious, and yet, they kept slipping through his fingers. He tried to focus on the feeling of Hazel’s arms wrapped around him, but invasive and unwelcome thoughts kept creeping in. Soon, they would be saying goodbye. He would drop her off at that massive, cold looking house, and he would have to turn and drive away. He would never see her again. Tomorrow morning, when he woke up, she wouldn’t be beside him.
After being with her, he was sure, sex would be ruined for him. It would always be cold, always a pale imitation of what he knew it could be. He couldn’t believe there was another woman out there who could make him feel the way she had. No one would ever drive the thoughts of Hazel out of his mind, and no matter who he was with in the future, he would be thinking of her. He was sure of it.
And what about the rest of the pack? Would they know what he had done? He could never tell them, he decided. He had put their mission in jeopardy by sleeping with the woman they had been assigned to find and return. Hadn’t Matthew Lang specifically said that he’d wanted her back untouched? Well, Emmett knew exactly what Matthew Lang would think of what he’d done with Hazel. If he knew, he definitely wouldn’t pay Emmett the reward money he’d promised. Which meant that Emmett’s actions had put his pack at risk of losing their reward.
They’d fought the Savage Rangers so that he and Hazel would be clear to run away together. And in return, he’d slept with her. It felt like an ultimate betrayal of his brothers.
All this added up to one undeniable truth—he would never be able to talk to them about Hazel. He wouldn’t be able to tell anyone that he was missing her. Once he rode away from her house, he would have to put her out of his mind. Forever.
He could feel her shaking against him on the back of the bike. He wondered whether she was crying.
After a few hours’ drive, he pulled off the road at a small town, hoping to find a convenience store where he could use the restroom and buy something to drink. It was the middle of the night and the place was completely dead, the few people who lived here having turned off their lights for the night, and as a consequence, the twenty-four-hour drugstore in the middle of town shone as brightly as a beacon. Emmett made his way to it and parked his bike in the lot.
“Do you need anything here?” he asked.
“Emmett,” she said quietly.
He turned to look at her. She was standing under a parking lamp and tears were glistening on her cheeks. He hurried to her side and took her in his arms, and for a long moment, they held each other, neither of them speaking.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said finally, quietly, even though nothing in the world felt okay.
But she shook her head. “We never got me that plan B pill,” she said.
He felt as if he’d slammed into a concrete wall going full speed. She was right. He’d been so distracted by the miracle of her existence that he’d completely forgotten to follow up on that. “How long has it been?” he asked, already doing the math in his head. “I think we can still do it.”
“No,” she said.
“No?”
“No, I don’t think we can.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Emmett, I think I’m already pregnant.”
“You can’t be,” he said. “It was just a couple of days ago.”
“I’m an omega,” she reminded him. “Things are different. My body wants to be pregnant.”
God, he’d been stupid. He’d known that. He should have taken that into account, but he’d ignored it. “Even if you are,” he said, grasping at straws, “there’s no way you could know it already. It’s much too soon.”
“I do know, though,” she said. “I know
it doesn’t make any sense, and I can’t tell you exactly how I know. I just have this...this feeling. I can’t explain it. I’ve had it since last night, and it’s been growing stronger all day. I feel different. I feel...fulfilled, somehow. At first, I thought it must be that I was excited to be going home. But that can’t be it. I’m not happy about that at all.”
“That still doesn’t mean you’re pregnant,” he said. But suddenly, he was remembering the sight of her lying on the ground before he’d gone off to hunt and the idea he’d had that her breasts were fuller. In a normal pregnancy, of course, that shouldn’t have happened this quickly. It didn’t make any sense. But Hazel was right. She wasn’t normal. She was an omega. The usual rules didn’t apply in her case.
“We have to get a test,” he said, feeling dizzy and hollowed out.
“A test?”
“A pregnancy test. You have to take a pregnancy test. We have to know for sure.”
He led the way into the drugstore, Hazel trailing behind him. He had never purchased a pregnancy test before and had no idea which one was the best, so he chose the most expensive one, figuring there had to be a reason for the price tag. Emmett wasn’t accustomed to choosing the most expensive version of anything, but this wasn’t a place where one wanted to cut corners. He went to the counter, paid for the test, and then handed it to Hazel.
“Do you know what to do?” he asked.
She nodded hesitantly. “I think so.”
“There are instructions in the box, I think,” he said. “In case you get stuck. Or you can come out and get me.”
She nodded, looking frightened. “Emmett...if I am pregnant...”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said. “We’ll deal with it when we know for sure. Let’s just take one thing at a time, okay?”
She nodded and went into the bathroom.
Emmett could feel the eyes of the store clerk who had sold them the test on him. He wondered how often this happened at the drugstore—people buying pregnancy tests and taking them right there on the spot. He was sure the clerk was wondering what outcome Emmett and Hazel were hoping for.