She assured Samuel that she wasn’t (she was) and that Sage was busy at the moment and that she’d tell him to call Sam as soon as she saw him again (she wasn’t).
As soon as she snuck the truck off pack lands, she sent a text message to the number that had called her and waited for instructions. It was going to be a long ride and possibly even a longer night, but against humans (despite their weapons) she was hoping that she and her father and their wolves had a fighting chance of survival. She wanted to be past this chapter of her life so badly it hurt. And to think that this was the only thing standing in her way of mating freely and with open arms with Sage, it made her want to put this issue to rest even more.
Emery wasn’t a fool—she knew they were luring her there and would probably try to kidnap (or worse) her, but they didn’t know she and her father were shifters. She had the element of surprise on her side and if she could get her father out of there, there was a chance they could remain under the radar for however long it took the Cardoza gang to forget them. Hell, Emery could even save enough money to repay them with interest if they let her.
She just needed her father to be safe. She could work out something from there—she hoped.
***
Emery knew as soon as she got out of the truck in the warehouse parking lot that she was a damn idiot.
She’d let her emotions get the best of her and acted rashly. She’d left Colorado like a thief in the night and now, as the men in the dark sedans got out of their cars and began to surround her, she realized she’d probably never see Sage and his pack ever again.
There was no street-smart solution here, she thought glumly, as she counted six men and some sort of slack-eyed ring leader. She was back up against the driver’s side door of Sage’s truck and her heart was racing.
When a heap of clothing and skin was dumped from the side of one of the closer vehicles, a strangled cry sprang from her lips when she recognized the unconscious form of her father.
“Daddy,” she whispered, unable to control the tears in her eyes. “What did they do to you?”
The leader stepped forward and kicked her father in the ribs as he approached Emery.
“He crossed us,” the man said. He was soft and fleshy, obviously not a trained warrior. In fact, all of the men here were soft when compared to the sentinels she’d trained with in Boulder. They only thing that saved them from having her wolf rip their throats out was the fact that they had high-powered weapons.
“Now, as much as I love sitting out here talking to you, Cardoza is on his way and wants to talk to you,” the man said. Emery’s mouth dropped open.
“How?”
Looking annoyed the man answered.
“We broke him out earlier this morning,” he said with a shrug. “And he asked for you as a welcome home present. So, you know, it’s night-night time.”
She’d hardly had time to frown when she heard the shot from a gun and the sting of a dart in her neck.
Whatever tranquilizer she’d been hit with, it was strong. Shit.
“Didn’t want you shifting on us, did we?” The pudgy man said with a grin. “He wants his new pet in perfect shape.”
Panic flooded through Emery. They’d known she was a shifter? Is that why her father was unconscious? They didn’t want either of them to shift. They wanted them powerless.
With a cry, Emery sank to her knees as she clawed at the dart in her neck. She couldn’t go out like this—without an ounce of fight. It was unfair. She had so much worth living for now and the choice had been taken from her.
Memorizing the man’s face who was walking toward her, Emery vowed that if she survived what was about to happen to her, she would rip his throat out first. And enjoy it.
Her eyes slid closed over her tears as the tranquilizer took effect.
***
She had dreamed about Sage. The dream started out so sweet, but as she felt the pull of consciousness yanked her from it, Sage’s face had morphed into pain and agony. Emery was forced to watch her mate suffer as she was lifted out of the darkness into the real world.
Emery blinked her eyes a few times to clear the blur. It was dark where she was. Maybe it was nighttime as well, because there was no light coming in from the windows up above her. She made to move and couldn’t, finding her body bound to a chair and her hands and ankles zip tied together.
She tried to keep her breathing and movements quiet so as not to draw attention to her for as long as she could. She needed to figure out where the hell she was and how she was going to get her father out of there.
It seemed like she was alone for now. Glancing around, Emery realized she was in the middle of a giant empty warehouse. It looked like it’d been long abandoned as there was no equipment and most of the windows up near the ceiling were broken. A wan light came from two bare bulbs hanging from the second-story metal roof.
Emery inhaled deep and felt for her wolf. Nothing. Sienna had mentioned having the same thing happen to her when she tussled with the Kodiaks in Nevada and how scared she’d been. It was a temporary thing, though, so Emery focused on not losing her shit over something that would wear off. Eventually. Her job was to stay alive and stay whole in her human form until her wolf could come out.
She pulled at the zip ties at her hands and let out a cry of frustration when they didn’t budge.
“Please!” She grit out in desperation as she felt the blood running down her wrist and hands from her fruitless struggle.
Behind her, a door slammed closed and she heard multiple sets of footsteps.
“God, I love it when women beg,” a voice purred. She recognized it immediately from the hearing she’d attended to save her father from prison. Fucking Eddie Cardoza.
She closed her eyes as he and a group of lackeys approached, schooling her features into a bored mask to avoid giving the man what he was likely after—a reaction.
Cardoza came to stand between her knees and knelt.
“Hello again, Emery,” he said in a deceptively soft voice. She didn’t miss the glint in his eye, though. There was pure malice there. “Didn’t expect to see me again so soon, did you?”
“Not really,” she deadpanned with a bored tone. “Thanks for the invite to your little welcome home soiree. Real cute.”
Cardoza, a man in his 30s with a penchant for silk shirts and an over-manicured moustache, smiled seconds before backhanding Emery across the face. Coupled with the tranquilizers in her system, the blow nearly sent her back into oblivion.
“So clever right? Such a smart girl?” He was back in her face, hissing and spitting. Emery craned her neck away from him, trying to convey her obvious disgust.
“Here’s the plan,” he continued. “I’m going to keep your system so full of this fantastic little narcotic that you’ll never shift again. And in the meantime, I’ll have my fun. My men will have their fun. Hell, we’ll make a little sport out of who can abuse you the worst and we’ll put it on the internet. How’s that sound?”
Emery drew in a short breath, trying to avoid the bait. He wanted her cry. Instead, she craned away a few more inches so he’d lean forward to crowd her space. When he fell for it, she brought her forehead forward as fast as she could, straight into the bastard’s nose and mouth.
He yelled in pain and fell backwards on his ass, clutching his now-bleeding face.
“I’ll have your balls before you lay a hand on me, motherfucker,” she spat. He wanted a victim? Fuck that.
Cardoza pushed to his feet and moved to hit her again when a wall to the left of her exploded into a cloud of dust and debris right as a giant SUV drove through. Giant wolves, some she recognized, some she didn’t, raced in behind the vehicle and immediately went on the offensive, taking down Cardoza’s men with terrifying efficiency.
Before he could truly grasp what was going on, Emery pulled her bound ankles toward her and kicked Cardoza in the stomach as hard as she could, sending him flying backwards a second time into an ungraceful heap.
>
A half second later, a familiar sable and white wolf stalked forward, his head low and his teeth out. The snarl coming from him was bone chilling and Cardoza tried to scoot away from him on his ass while the wolf stalked him down.
“Wait,” Cardoza began. “I’m a rich man! I can…”
But he never got to finish. The wolf had his teeth around his neck in a flash and that was the end for one Eddie Cardoza and the hired men he’d used to kidnap both Emery Wilkins and her father.
Chapter Eleven
Sage
He’d been so angry, he hadn’t been able to speak a word to Emery as they made their way to Tahoe Pack territory to drop Hank Wilkins off. The older man had started to regain consciousness and told his side of the story to Jai.
It checked out. He was released early, and although he didn’t recognize the man there to pick him up, he’d just assumed it was somebody that Samuel sent for him. It was only when the needle was stuck into his neck that he realized not only had Cardoza gotten ahold of him, but also that he knew he and Emery were shifters and that Emery was Cardoza’s ultimate target.
“I’m out now, though,” Hank had said to the assembled shifters in the Tahoe lodge. “I can take care of Emery now. We’ll be fine.”
He had a protective arm draped around Emery’s shoulders from the moment they entered the lodge, making it clear to every shifter in the vicinity that she was his.
“She doesn’t need to be taken care of,” Sage drawled. “She’s fairly competent not only in stealing trucks, but in making decisions about her own life.”
He’d felt the surprise in her as she jerked beside him.
“What does that mean, Blaine?”
Hank tossed the question at him, the menace in the older shifter growing.
“Well, Wilkins, it means that Emery decides where we live and what we do from this point on,” Sage said simply and didn’t meet her eyes when Emery turned to look at him.
“What?” She whispered. “What do you mean?”
Sage answered her in a low voice, though he was certain the other shifters in the room could hear him just fine.
“It means whether you want to live here or down with the Boulder Pack, it doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I go where you go.”
He looked then, and saw the tears forming in her eyes that she tried to wipe away.
“Does this mean what I think it means?” Hank asked, his voice small and his eyebrows sky high. He made a vague motion with his finger between Sage and Emery.
“Mates?” Sage asked. “Yes. She’s my mate. She hightailed it out of Colorado to rescue your ass before we could claim each other, but trust me, as soon as we’re alone, we’re rectifying that situation.”
He still had a thin thread of control over his anger, but with every minute that passed, his anger turned to relief that he’d arrived in time with the help of his own pack and Samuel’s to annihilate every single gun-wielding bastard there—effectively eliminating the threat to both Hank and Emery in one fell swoop. It wasn’t exactly the solution he’d been looking for because it’d meant that Emery had put her own safety on the line for the second time in less than two days, but it had been rather efficient in erasing all threats to Hank and Emery in record time.
“So, I guess it’s up to you, Emery,” Samuel, ever the diplomat, said. “Where would you like to live? Assuming you’re accepting Sage’s claim on you. You do accept it, don’t you?”
Reflexively, his arm tightened around his mate and his wolf bared its teeth—just in case his claim on her was challenged. Luckily for everyone in the room, it wasn’t.
“I accept him and his claim,” Emery said slowly, turning to face him finally. He couldn’t help but react to the words and his gut clenched. “And if it’s okay with you, Samuel, I want to move to the Boulder Pack with my mate.”
Sage didn’t think it was possible for such a small creature like Emery Wilkins to steal the breath from his lungs, but she’d managed with her words. He struggled with emotions rising in his chest and he promised himself that he’d be ready to forgive her for her little stunt a lot quicker than he planned to.
“Are you sure?” Hank Wilkins didn’t hide the hurt in his eyes. “I know I haven’t been much of a father lately, but what am I going to do without you?”
She started to speak, but Samuel spoke over her.
“You’re going to start by getting your shit together,” he said. “And as long as Emery’s around to cover for your ass and bail you out, you’re never going to grow up. It’s time you let her go and find her own happiness, and you find yours.”
Hank looked like his world was crashing down around him. Before Sage could react, Emery was out from under his arm and launched herself to hug her father tightly around the neck.
“Get right, Daddy,” she said. “And then come visit whenever you want.”
Sage couldn’t help but brace himself at that. He wasn’t sure he could handle too many visits from his new father-in-law.
Chapter Twelve
Emery
The ride back to Colorado had flown by, mostly because she had a lot of explaining to do—not only to Sage, but to her new Alpha and his sentinels. All of whom, Sage had said, were sick with worry over her.
They’d chewed into her ass a good while and reminded Emery just what it meant to be in a pack that functioned just like a family.
“We don’t hold secrets from each other,” Brody had said from the passenger’s seat. “And we sure as hell don’t steal trucks from the Beta!”
That’d been a particular sore spot for Sage. Turns out the truck wasn’t exactly road-worthy and he’d had to compound the worry of what she was driving towards with the fact that her ending up in a burning heap on the side of the road was also a possibility.
As a pack, they had an impromptu dinner of takeout pizza in the lodge when they’d arrived. It was a nice gesture, but both she and Sage had been on edge. Both because of what happened and because of what he promised her in the Tahoe lodge.
Tonight was the night.
Eventually, Brody and Sienna had mercy on them and said goodnight to everyone, sending the sentinels on their way and stopping Emery as she and Sage neared the door.
“I’m so happy to finally have a sister,” she beamed at Emery as she threw her arms around her for a fierce hug.
“Me too,” Emery said, and meant it.
The walk to Sage’s cabin was abnormally quiet. Emery couldn’t come up with anything to say over her nerves and Sage was lost in thought.
As his cabin came into view, he stopped her abruptly, his look dark.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“I love you, Emery Wilkins,” he said, eyes still straight ahead.
She blinked.
“You said that like it’s a bad thing,” she half-laughed.
“No,” he said, his eyes finally meeting hers. “But it’s a very, very big thing to me. I never thought I was capable of feeling something this strong. But I do. I love you with everything I am and everything I have. I just wanted to say that before I claim you. I want you to know that walking into this whole thing. I chose you from the beginning.”
She opened her mouth and closed it, like a fish gasping, unable to find air.
“I love you,” she said, instead. “Like crazy.”
He gave her a smile that warmed her from the toes up and put his hand out, offering it. She placed hers in his and allowed Sage to lead her up the stairs to the front door. Before she crossed the threshold, however, he swooped her up and carried her in.
“Forever, baby,” he said.
“Forever,” she agreed.
***
He had her naked and writhing on his flannel sheets seconds after getting her into their bedroom.
“Are you ready for me, baby?” He whispered as he ran his tongue along her slit. He’d wasted no time in working his way down to her core, insistent that she be slick and ready for when he took her. He was worried he w
ould hurt her, it being her first time and all. Emery, on the other hand, had absolutely no doubts that Sage would have her mindless with want by the time they got to that point.
“Please, Sage,” she moaned. She’d already come on that talented tongue once and was sensitive. She was ready for the next step, but Sage seemed perfectly content to keep her walking the razor’s edge of the next orgasm.
“Say that again,” he demanded as he swirled her clit with his tongue, causing her hips to jerk at the raw sensation.
She smiled, knowing exactly what he wanted, but making the predator in him work just a little harder.
In response, he reached up and tweaked one of her taut nipples between his fingers.
“Say it, Emery,” he growled.
“Please,” she purred. “Fuck me now, Sage.”
The words had sounded a little funny in her mouth, but she knew just how much her mate loved dirty talk. His reaction was swift and before she knew it, he was crawling up the sheets over her body, his clothing long since discarded.
He settled over her on his elbows to keep from crushing her with his weight and he brought his mouth down on hers, pushing his tongue in and sweeping past her defenses. Emery melted against him and the taste of her on his tongue. So naughty.
“You’re mine, Emery,” Sage growled against her lips. “Forever and always.”
She felt the tip of his arousal pushing against her folds and she sucked in a breath.
“And you’re mine, Sage,” she whispered. With that, he pushed into her with a groan and held perfectly still while she adjusted to his size.
Emery closed her eyes at the sensation of being completely filled by this gorgeous male who’d come for her twice. He loved her—crazy past, baggage, and killer right hooks and all. And she loved every bossy inch of him in return.
The slight discomfort subsided soon enough and she was helpless to not start moving her hips against the growing pressure building in her body.
“Baby,” she whimpered. “Please. I need more.”
“Whatever my mate wants,” Sage said as he picked up the tempo. She wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles behind his back, giving him full access to her, which he took advantage of fully.
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