Hunter waited, his eyes touching on every shifter in the group. “I did what I had to do. My purpose was not to put my brother, our alpha, or any of you in danger. In fact, working with the Vampire Council Warriors, it became clear to me our little secret was not going to remain so for much longer. Not that I am using that as an excuse for shifting in front of humans. I own what I did, and I’m standing before you to say this pack is my priority. The choice I made that day with saving, not just a woman, but a VC Warrior will be a benefit to us.”
“How can you say that we were your priority when in fact, you did not think of us before shifting in front of humans?” Willis Hardy, who’d always had a hard-on for Hunter, stood. His ragged face red with anger. “The law states—”
Hunter glanced beside Willis to see his daughter, Sue, staring up at him, a dreamy smile on her face. Yeah, Willis wanted his ass gone. “I know exactly what the law states, Willis,” Hunter responded cutting him off. “And even knowing that outdated law, especially in light of the vampires coming out, I would have done the same exact thing. The only danger we have in this whole situation is other wanna-be alphas coming in and challenging our alpha.”
“But how do you know that? The human government could come in and—” someone else that Hunter didn’t see asked, but he stopped them quickly.
“Because Sloan Murphy, who is a high-ranking Vampire Council Member is going to work with us and other packs to make sure we have the same rights as they do in the human government,” Hunter responded, his eyes once again searching each shifter. “Listen, all of this will be worked out. But I do not want to see our alpha suffer because of my actions. Every single one of you in the pack knows how this works. If anyone sees anything for a sign of weakness, they think a pack is up for grabs. I’m telling you right now this pack is not up for grabs, will not be up for grabs for a long time, and if anyone says different, they will have to deal with me. My brother has been more than fair to every single one of you, and I know some of you old-timers know exactly how much that matters. Not all alphas play fair with their packs.”
There was a lot of muttering going on. Hunter glanced at Emily only to see her staring wide-eyed at him, but he blocked that out. He needed to focus on this first.
“Now, any other shifter have an issue with this?” Hunter asked, knowing it was his doing so he needed to answer up to anyone with a problem.
No one said anything, most giving him nods of approval.
Garrett also gave him a proud nod before looking back over the crowd. “Now that’s settled, you all know the drill for when other broken packs come trying to take over. That has not changed. We all need to be vigilant. Our young and old need to be protected at all times. I have already started shifts with scouts. We are also in talks with other packs to join with us because in all honesty we are too small. And though we like what we have, we need to build for situations like this to keep us safe.
Hunter saw movement and was surprised to see old crazy-eye trying to stand with Emily’s help. Once she stood, her eyes went straight to him with an approving gleam in her wise eyes, before turning to Garrett. “I just wanted to say that when I saw that young man up there protecting that young woman, I felt proud to be a part of this town. I may be old as dirt, but I’ve been around these parts longer than any of you young guns, and anything I can do to help just let me know. I’ve got a few spells up my sleeve if needed.” She gave Hunter a wink before turning toward the crowd behind her. “And anyone wanting Hunter Foster gone for saving a woman will have to deal with me.”
A grin spread across Hunter’s face. “Thank you, Ms… Mable.” Hell, he didn’t even know her last name.
“There is no Ms. It’s just Mable, young man.” The old woman flipped her bony hand out.
“Yes, ma’am.” Hunter chuckled, his eyes sliding toward Willis, who stared wide-eyed at the back of Mable’s head. He then looked at Emily, who attempted to hide a smile behind her hand.
Hunter hung back watching everyone leave the church. Garrett was talking to some of the younger shifters in their pack. They had always been a small pack by choice, but it seemed like times were changing.
Barely listening to what Garrett was saying to the younger shifters, since he already knew the drill, Hunter’s eyes followed Emily. He frowned when Dell walked up to her.
“Emily’s looking mighty fine these days.” Marcus laughed, his eyes following where Hunter was looking. “Too bad it looks like she’s moved past you, brother.”
“Dell been hanging around much?” Hunter asked, ignoring his comments.
“Ah, yeah,” Marcus replied, shooting Hunter an innocent look. “He’s part of the pack. He lives here.”
“You know what the fuck I mean, dumbass.” Hunter growled, his eyes still watching them.
Marcus laughed again. “Now that you mention it, yeah, I guess he has been hanging around the feed store more the past couple of weeks that Emily’s been home.”
At that moment, Emily glanced at him, looking away before walking toward the door with Mable. Dell made his move toward her and Hunter didn’t like it. Actually, it pissed him the fuck off.
Chapter 5
Emily walked Mable to the door with Blaine, giving her a hug good-bye and a promise to come visit soon. She turned to see Dell standing behind her.
“Hey, Dell.” She smiled up at him. “Those parts you ordered still haven’t come in yet.”
“That’s okay,” he replied with a grin. “It’s for Misty Newton’s car, and honestly, her dad wants to prolong her not driving as long as possible.”
“That bad, huh.” Emily grimaced. Misty was a sweet girl, but a little flighty. This was her third accident, nothing serious, but she had only had her license for a month.
“I think we’re all afraid for her or anyone on the road near her.” Dell chuckled, shaking his head. His dark hair fell in his eyes. “She’s already backed into Willis’s mailbox twice now.”
“Oh, I bet he’s been having a fit.” Emily grinned and wished it could be Dell she was attracted to. He was so nice and damn handsome. He was a gentle giant, who always stopped to talk to her, no matter what he was doing. She never knew what she would get from Hunter Foster; he was either nice, standoffish, or just a plain jackass.
“I think he put the third mailbox in with concrete,” Dell said, then gave her a look as Willis walked past them.
Emily put her hand to her mouth and snickered. “Guess you better go ahead and put a standing order in for parts.”
Dell gave a wink and a nod. “Exactly.”
Feeling as if she were being stared at, Emily glanced behind her. Scanning the area, her gaze landed on Hunter. Sure enough, he was staring straight at her with a scowl. Looking away from him, she decided it was time to go. “Well, I guess I better let Max out.” She sighed. “I’ll call you as soon as those parts come in.”
Emily watched as Dell also looked toward Hunter, a grin tipping his mouth before he looked back down at her.
“So how is the puppy training going?” Dell opened the door for her continuing their conversation.
“Honestly, I really haven’t decided which of us is actually being trained.” Emily laughed, shaking her head as they stood outside the church. She had always been comfortable with Dell. He was friendly and seemed to be there when she needed help.
“Keep at it, she’ll learn,” Dell said before bidding her a goodnight.
Emily headed to the feed store. The street was empty, everyone already in for the night. Glancing around, she saw Dell watching her. Hurrying to the front door, she unlocked it then turned and waved to Dell, who she knew was ensuring she got in safe, which was very sweet. Closing the door behind her, she turned to the darkness. In order to switch on the lights, she had to go to the back of the store, and she hated it. Emily ran to the back of the building, her heart practically beating out of her chest. She really needed to find a damn apartment. Flipping on the lights, she hurried to the crate she kept in the back storer
oom since she couldn’t even imagine getting it upstairs. The only time Max was in her crate was when Emily wasn’t home. Otherwise, she carried the pup upstairs with her. She didn’t know what she was going to do when Max got bigger because there was no way she could carry her, and Max couldn’t climb the old ladder. Oh, well, she’d worry about that when the time came.
“Come, girl.” Emily opened the crate and snapped her fingers. “Let’s go pee.”
Max stared up at her, her tail and butt wagging a mile a minute. Laughing, Emily snapped her fingers again and started walking with Max, who nipped her ankles all the way to the back door.
“Max, will you please stop biting my ankles?” Bending down, Emily gently removed the puppy’s teeth from her jeans, turned Max and then gave her a little push on the butt out the back door. There were more places for her to pee out back of the feed store than the front. “Go pee.”
Having a moment to breathe, Emily looked up and sighed. The stars were thick covering the inky black night sky, the moon almost full, and the smell of the air was clean. The nights were turning cooler, but it was refreshing from the late August heat and humidity of the day. She loved Kentucky, loved everything about it and missed it terribly while she was away at college in Texas. She belonged here. Taking another deep breath, she dropped her head but didn’t see Max.
“Max. Here, Max. Come on, let’s get a treat.” When Max didn’t make an appearance at the word treat, she started to panic, looking around frantically. “Max!”
“Lose something?” Hunter appeared out of the darkness holding a content-looking Max, the traitor. Anytime she tried to hold the little stinker, sharp puppy teeth snapped at her.
Emily frowned, taking Max from him. “She was here a second ago.”
“Why in the hell did you name her Max?” Hunter glanced at the puppy, who wiggled like crazy in her arms. “She’s not really happy with the name.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t name her. My ex did and she’s used to it now. Trying to get her to pee outside and to stop biting my ankles is about all I can handle at this point. Changing her name, which she finally knows, is out of the question.” Emily put Max down before she could jump out of her arms.
“Your ex?” Hunter’s eyes narrowed.
Emily looked up from Max. “Yeah, my ex.” Then she gave a sarcastic laugh. “Not every man needs to have their manhood threatened to go out with me.” Feeling a weird sense of satisfaction when he looked away from her with an uncomfortable shuffle of his feet, Emily turned to head back to the feed store.
“Where you going? I wanted to talk to you.” Hunter’s voice still had the power to send chills dancing across her skin.
“I have nothing to say to you that I haven’t already said. Come on, Max,” Emily replied, trying to grab Max, who had finally peed, but wasn’t ready to come in yet. “I swear I’m going to send you to training school,” she said under her breath as Max once again used her ankle as a chew toy.
“Stop!” Hunter snapped his fingers. Max stopped immediately, sat and stared up at Hunter with a tilt of her head as if she worshiped the ground he walked on.
“Okay, that was impressive,” Emily admitted, even though she silently screamed traitor at the pup. “But then again you are part… dog.”
The barb wasn’t lost on Hunter. “Wolf not dog, and I know females.” A grin crooked the corner of his sexy mouth.
Emily rolled her eyes at his “I know females” remark. Confused as to why he was even standing here talking to her, pissed her off. Well, actually it was the way her heart sped up at the sound of his voice, the way her body responded to his gaze, yeah that was what truly pissed her off, and the fact that he seemed to need to be threatened to be around her.
“Why are you here, Hunter? Did Mable threaten you again?” Yeah, she felt better even though it made her sound like a bitter woman and honestly, she was a little bitter.
“We used to be friends, Em,” Hunter responded, his stare still intense, even more so when he tilted his head as if trying to really see inside her mind.
“It’s Emily, not Em.” Emily grunted as she reached down to pick up Max. “And I’ve changed.”
“You sure have.” Hunter’s flirty voice reached her, and she instantly saw red at his tone, the tone he probably used with every woman he came across.
Turning quickly, she pointed at him. “You need to grow up, Hunter Foster.” Emily tried, she really did, to keep the pain out of her voice. “All you see is the outside. That’s why you surround yourself with Sadies and Lindas and God only knows what else. Do you know the reason why I don’t have my glasses anymore?”
Hunter’s face went from a flirty grin to a full-out frown.
“No, of course you don’t.” Emily snorted at herself, wondering why in the hell she was telling him anything instead of just going inside where it was safe. “It’s because I finally got insurance and can afford contacts. Yeah, that’s it. Wow, right? I didn’t do it to improve my looks because honestly if someone doesn’t like me for who I am, not what I look like, I want nothing to do with that person. And I did it because my glasses caused me migraines. A real friend would know that.”
“I liked your glasses,” Hunter said with a growl, his eyes narrowing.
“Oh, and I hate liars,” Emily added, more pissed. “Now let’s move on to my weight, shall we? Surprise, but I didn’t lose weight so I could hopefully have a non-pity date with you or anyone else. No, ass, it was because of health reasons. I’m diabetic and have been since I was young. I can control it better with healthy eating and weight control.”
“I didn’t know—”
“And why would you? Hmmm?” Emily actually laughed, shaking her head. “Listen, you’re off the hook. I knew that one date years ago wasn’t a pledge of undying love. I’m a smart girl now and was a smart girl then. I know your type, which isn’t me, and that’s cool. I just thought you were being nice, so I got to go to my senior prom. Never in a million years did I think you or anyone else for that matter would have to be threatened to take me out. I’m actually a pretty nice person who’s fun to be around.”
Staring at her, Hunter remained silent. Though, he looked really uncomfortable and seemed to shake a little.
“You know, I was really excited to see you, Hunter.” Emily held Max, who had thankfully calmed down, close to her chest. It was really embarrassing to be standing in front of the man she had crushed on hard for years knowing he had only taken her out because of a threat. It was a blow to her confidence, but she’d never let him know how much it actually hurt her. Shaking her head, she turned to leave, but not before adding, “It’s really sad because I could have been one of the best friends you’d ever had.” She knew that just a friendship with him would never have been enough, but she kept that to herself. With that, she walked the short distance to the back door, stepped inside and closed it softly, all without looking back at Hunter. She’s said her piece. It was done, and she was absolutely heartbroken. Damn him.
******
Hunter watched Emily disappear. His wolf urged and fought him to follow her, but Hunter was too shocked to move. Okay, maybe he wasn’t shocked. He was more disgusted with himself because everything she’d said was pretty much true. He would never have taken her to the dance if crazy-eyed Mable hadn’t threatened his dick, but it wasn’t for the reasons she was thinking.
A deep growl rumbled in his chest, working its way to his throat, but he stopped it from escaping. Instead, he turned and punched the nearest tree before turning and walking away. He headed to the front of the feed mill, his wolf urging him to turn and pound his way through the door to seek her out. Instead, he let his eyes roam the street. There was activity still near the church. Movement made his head turn and coming toward him was Sadie.
With a grunt, he spun in the opposite direction and took off at a jog toward the woods that surrounded their town. Sadie Johnson was the last person he wanted to see. What the fuck was wrong with him? Sadie was fucking hot as hel
l and wanted him, had always wanted him. He had taken advantage of that fact quite a few times, but something was always missing. It seemed like since coming to this town many years ago and seeing Emily Snodgrass, there was always something missing. Feeling trapped, he broke out into a run.
Once he knew he was no longer visible to anyone, he let his wolf take control. The tremble in his body soon developed into electric waves making his body shake. In the blink of the eye, he shifted into his wolf form without breaking stride.
As with most shifters, he could think clearer while in form. Letting his wolf take the lead, he could think, and think he did. The more he thought, the more pissed he became so it was a good thing he trusted his wolf to know where to go. Emily made him sound like a total asshole. And she was right. To her, he had been a total asshole.
His wolf stopped, panting hard. Seeing through his wolf’s eyes made everything sharper and clearer; even his mind was clearer, and he knew exactly why he had said mean shit about Emily Snodgrass that day in town. His wolf growled at the memory. Hunter and his wolf were never at odds, except for her. His wolf wanted her, had always wanted her, but the man did not. Though he wasn’t quite sure of how honest he was with himself anymore. It had nothing to do with the way she looked. So when he had seen her in town that day years ago, and his wolf had stirred to the point of driving him in-fucking–sane, the man had snapped, and unfortunately, Emily was his target. He wasn’t proud of the moment. He had never been disrespectful toward a woman until that day, and old crazy-eyed Mable called him on it.
Frustration radiated through his wolf form, which wanted to turn back to the feed mill. Hunter, even in wolf form, was strong-willed enough to force the wolf where he wanted it to go, and that was far away from town and his own buried desires.
Chapter 6
Emily was still shaken from her little run-in with Hunter from the night before. Had she really talked to him about her glasses, insurance, and weight, as well as her diabetes? Holy shit. He made her insane. Totally distracted, her irritability was high, that was until little Sam ran into the store. Little Sam could brighten her darkest days.
Forbidden Seduction (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #2 Page 4