“But Slade and Jill are here. I think they are taking Janna to the hospital so he wants—” Steve being Steve didn’t take the hint to shut the fuck up and walk away.
Turning, Hunter glared at Steve. “Stay and die, or leave and do what the fuck I told you to do. Your choice.”
“Okay, okay!” Steve held his hands up, backing away. “Geez, just doing what I’m told and once again, a no-win situation for Stevo!”
“Why is Janna going to the hospital?” Emily frowned, concerned.
Hunter ignored her questions, pulling her toward the back of the feed mill. Taking her bags out of her hands, he set them on the back steps without letting go of her hand and led her into the woods without saying a word.
“Hunter, why are they taking Janna to the hospital?” Emily let him pull her deeper into the woods. “Oh, my God. The baby?” Worry and panic filled her.
“Yes, and she’s being taken care of.” Hunter finally stopped and turned toward her. “I’m sorry.”
Emily was a little taken back by the quick change of subject. “What?”
“I shouldn’t have listened to old crazy-eyed Mable. Instead, I should have listened to my wolf,” Hunter stated, staring down at her.
“Don’t call her that,” Emily scolded. She then tilted her head. “And listened to your wolf?”
Hunter sighed. “Shifters have mates, Emily, and their wolf always knows their mate before they do. In my case I’ve fought it, and been a total bastard ignoring what my wolf has known all along.”
“I’m not sure I’m following you, Hunter, and honestly, I really don’t think I want to.” Emily tried to pull away, but he held tight. “Listen, you don’t have to apologize. I’ve smacked you. I feel better. It’s over,” she lied. She didn’t feel better at all. If anything, guilt settled in her chest for hitting him, and that pissed her off because he deserved it.
Hunter actually gave her a small smile. “No, you listen. Did you not hear me? My wolf knows you are my mate.”
“Wait. What?” Emily’s head snapped back. “Your wolf knows. What in the hell does that mean? You don’t?”
“No,” Hunter said, then backtracked. “I mean, yeah I—”
“Just stop.” Emily held her hand up. “I don’t hate you, Hunter. You’ve apologized. There’s been slapping so it’s all good. Let’s just leave it at that and go our separate ways, ’kay?” Emily had to get the hell out of the woods and away from Hunter before she had a major meltdown. He was a dumbass. His wolf wanted to be mated to her. What the hell did that even mean?
Knowing she had to bolt and soon, she took his silence for acceptance and turned to flee. She got about five steps before his words stopped her.
“Why did you cry after giving Max to Sam?” Hunter’s question stumped her. How did he know that?
Emily didn’t turn to face him, but she did remain where she was. “How did you know that?”
“Answer me, Emily. Why?” She could tell he had moved a little closer.
“I don’t know. It just made me sad I guess.” Emily knew exactly why, though there was no way in hell she would confide in him. She had no desire for him to feel sorrier for her. “But I knew it was the right thing to do. Max and Sam belong together.”
“You cried because you were lonely.” Hunter’s voice was strong yet gentle. “I know that feeling, Emily.”
Emily’s laugh was full of sarcasm. “How in the hell can you, Hunter Foster, be lonely when any woman who crosses your path ends up in your bed. Give me a break.”
“Never heard of being lonely in a room full of people?” Hunter’s voice was now right next to her ear. “You are mine, Emily. It just took me a while to accept it, and now that I have, nothing will stop me from having you.”
The words she had always wanted to hear left his lips, but she felt empty. They rang untrue, yet her heart raced, her knees shaking with want. Her mind though screamed to run away from the hurt that would surely come her way if she even thought of believing him.
“Why now?” came from her mouth making her cringe. Did she really want to know the answer to that question?
“Because the boy who said things about you didn’t know… understand what he wanted.” He turned her to face him. “But the man standing in front of you knows exactly what he wants and will go to the ends of the earth to get it.”
Emily searched his eyes trying to find answers, searching for truth. Though, she honestly couldn’t trust herself where Hunter was concerned. She had loved and wanted him for so long. He was before her, ready for her taking, but something felt off. A loud howl filled the air breaking off her thoughts.
“Dammit!” Hunter cursed, looking around. “Come on. I have to get back to the house.”
Relief and disappointment warred within her, but she followed. If Janna had to go to the hospital, she knew Leda and Sam would be upset, and she wanted to be there for them.
“Hey!” her sister yelled from the front of the feed mill. “Where have you been? I need some help in here.”
“It’s my day off,” Emily called back, her hand still clasped in Hunter’s. She knew that would be all over town tomorrow, but she was past caring what others thought about her. She was used to the gossip.
“Good for you,” Hunter said without looking at her. “Smacking people and putting them in their place, you’re turning into a little badass.”
Emily cocked her eyebrow at the praise but remained silent. She wasn’t sure how to react with the new Hunter, and it scared her to death.
******
Hunter realized what kind of life Emily must have endured under her sister’s bitchy watch and his own shitty treatment of her. He despised himself for being a bastard to her. What a fucking idiot he had been, but he was going to make it up to her whenever the hell they stopped getting interrupted.
Opening the door to his brother’s house, he led Emily into the kitchen. His smile grew when he saw Jill. “Who in the hell let you into my town, punk?" Hunter grabbed her in a hug with one arm while still keeping his hand tightly entwined with Emily’s.
“Who you calling punk, wolf boy?” Jill hugged him back, her eyes going to Emily. Letting go of Hunter, she smiled. “I’m Jill.”
“This is Emily,” Hunter introduced. “This is Jill, the one I got in trouble for.”
“Nice to meet you.” Emily smiled back.
“Yeah, how did that go?” Jill looked back to Hunter with concern. “Your brother chew you a new one?”
“Surprisingly, no, he didn’t. The rest of the pack was ready to lynch me.” Hunter frowned. “It’s just opened up a pathway for other unorganized packs to come in and challenge Garrett for the alpha position, which is putting a lot of stress on Janna.”
“Well, Slade is with her now.” Jill nodded with confidence. “He’ll make sure she’s taken care of.”
Hunter glanced over at Steve, who sat in silence. He knew something was up with that. Steve was never quiet, but before he could say anything, Slade came downstairs with Garrett.
“How is she?” Hunter asked, shaking Slade’s hand in greeting.
Slade extended his hand to Emily with a nod. “Slade Buchanan.”
Hunter wanted to roll his eyes because sure as shit Emily blushed taking Slade’s hand. Steve was right. Slade had a certain effect on women, which Jill took in good stride.
After shaking Emily’s hand, Slade looked at Hunter and frowned. “As I said to your brother, and being totally honest, I’m not sure what’s going on. I want to take her in for a sonogram. She hasn’t felt much movement and she should be by now, but the hospital is small and can’t accommodate until tomorrow. So for now, she will stay in bed.”
“Oh, I’m sure she’s really happy about that.” Hunter snorted when Garrett shook his head.
Hunter noticed Emily’s hand shaking and looked at her. Her face was still flushed and she had a funny faraway look in her eyes. “Em?” Hunter clipped her face up to his, and sure enough, her eyes were unfocused. “Emily!
”
Emily slurred an unintelligible word before sinking to the floor. Hunter’s strong grip eased her way.
Slade knelt next to her. “Are you diabetic?”
Emily could only nod, her eyes closed as her breathing became labored.
Hunter’s eyes opened wide, impressed that Slade had nailed it. Steve was right; he was one hell of a doctor.
“I’m okay.” Emily had to fight to get the words out of her mouth. “Need my insulin and some crackers.”
“Where is it?” While reluctant to leave her, Hunter was ready to get what she needed.
“In the bag you put on the back steps.” Emily reached up to swipe hair out of her face that was slick with sweat.
“I’ll go.” Steve took off. “I know where it is.”
Chapter 12
Emily was so embarrassed as she sat there on the floor waiting for Steve to bring her insulin. She hadn’t eaten lunch even knowing that was a big no-no, but she hadn’t been hungry and figured she would be okay. How wrong she was. The stress lately played a big role in her reaction to ignoring her health.
“Hey, you okay?” Hunter was on the floor with her, tilting his head low to stare up at her.
She only nodded. All she needed was her insulin and some crackers. Then she could eat a decent meal. Her main concern was preventing a diabetic coma and those few steps usually did the trick. She just hoped it wasn’t too late. Her eyesight grew blurry with that tunnel vision view that she hated so much because it warned her she was about to pass out.
Steve entered, handing her the bag. Her hands shook so badly that Hunter pulled out the container. Slade grabbed it, knelt down and lifted Emily’s shirt. Quickly, he administered the shot into her stomach.
“Have you ever gone into a diabetic coma?” Slade asked, handing her a cracker and some orange juice Garrett had grabbed from the kitchen.
Emily nodded but held up one finger. She felt too weak to talk.
“Does this usually work for you?” Slade asked. While his tone was level, his eyes looked concerned.
Emily drank the juice like a woman dying of thirst. Some dribbled down her chin. Lowering the glass, she wiped her chin and closed her eyes. “Yes.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Worry laced Hunter’s words.
Slade ignored him but Emily opened her eyes. “I’ll be fine. Just need a minute,” she replied, her words coming easier.
“How long since you’ve eaten?” Slade asked.
“This morning,” Emily answered, knowing by his expression that was the wrong answer.
“Obviously by the look on your face you know that’s not good for someone who is diabetic,” Slade lectured as he loomed over her, the frown on his face unmistakable.
Emily nodded, relieved her vision was slowly coming back to focus. “Yes, I do know, and I’m usually really good about eating and taking my medicine. I’m sorry.” She looked up at Garrett, who was surely worried about Janna. Guilt rode her hard knowing she was taking over the doctor’s time. “I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Emily.” Garrett smiled down at her. “Just make sure you take care of yourself. Janna is sleeping right now and doing fine. Leda is up there with her.”
She knew he was being nice. Sitting up straighter, she wondered if she should try to stand yet. Her sugar was regulating somewhat, but not even close to where it needed to be. At least she didn’t feel like she was going to pass out anymore.
“I’m fine.” She nodded to Slade. Turning her gaze to Hunter, she frowned. He stared at her with a weird expression on his face. “I think I can stand.”
“I think you still need a minute or two,” Slade suggested when Jill brought her more orange juice.
The back door opened and in rushed Sam with Marcus and Dell following. Max ran immediately to her almost knocking her over. Hunter removed the puppy off her, holding her close so Emily could pet her.
“Hey, girl.” Emily rubbed her ears. “You having fun, Max?”
“It’s not Max anymore.” Sam slid on his knees to sit next to Emily. Leave it to kids to think adults sitting on the kitchen floor was nothing. “It’s P-pe-pepper.”
“Pepper?” Emily said, then chuckled when the puppy’s ears stood straight up at the sound of her name.
“She likes it,” Sam said proudly.
Realizing he was right, Emily knew she had made a smart move giving Max, or rather Pepper to Sam. “Well, so do I.”
“What’s going on?” Marcus frowned at Hunter and Emily on the floor with everyone staring down at them.
“Are you okay, Emily?” Dell’s deep voice filled the room. “Do you need your insulin?”
“I’m fine. Just didn’t pay attention and paid for it,” she answered, looking up at Dell, warmed by his concern. She then jerked her head toward Hunter, who stared hard at Dell, a low growl coming from his lips. She attempted to push herself off the ground when four strong hands helped her to her feet.
“Back the fuck off.” Hunter used one hand to push Dell back. Dell hardly budged.
Jill pulled Sam out of the way as Steve swooped up Pepper. Garrett, on the other hand, grabbed both Hunter and Dell, pushing them toward the door, while Slade ushered Emily to a chair.
“We’ll be right back, folks,” Marcus said before quickly following Garrett, Hunter, and Dell to the backyard.
“Don’t let them fight,” Emily called out to Marcus. A frown dipped her brow when she heard him chuckle. She knew she was still in a fog, but was really confused since she knew they were friends, but something must have happened between them because that was totally not friendly.
Steve craned his neck trying to see outside. Giving up, he looked at Emily with a shrug and ran out the door.
“Wait for me!” Sam called out, running after Steve with the newly named Pepper following Sam’s every move.
“They’re going to fight, aren’t they?” Emily sighed. Standing from the chair, she felt a bit stronger. Heading toward the back door, she was stopped by Slade.
“Probably.” Slade smiled down at her.
Emily let him turn her and usher her back to the chair.
“You know, you get used to it. The Warriors fight all the time, but after that they’re good.” Jill rolled her eyes. “It’s a man thing.”
“But what do Hunter and Dell have to fight about?” Emily frowned, not understanding what the hell was going on. Her brain was still a little slow from her attack and putting two and two together wasn’t working well with her.
“You.” Jill laughed at the shock on Emily’s face.
******
Hunter allowed Garrett to push him out the door because he was ready to get this shit settled with Dell once and for fucking all.
“Touch her again and I will kick your ass!” He pointed at Dell with stabbing motions.
“Fuck you, Hunter,” Dell spat, surprising Garrett and Marcus, who looked at each other with wide eyes. “So what, you decide all of a sudden you want her, and we all have to step aside and watch you break her again? Not fucking happening.”
“You don’t know shit, asshole.” Hunter tightened his fist, never wanting to hit anyone more than he wanted to hit this big son of a bitch. His wolf fought hard to free himself, but Hunter wanted Dell himself. His wolf would have to wait.
Seeing Dell touch Emily was enough to piss him off, but if he were totally honest, it was discovering that Dell knew about Emily’s illness and knew what to do. Yeah, that hurt his fucking pride. Even though it was his own damn fault, he was still pissed and needed someone to take it out on. Maybe that was immature, but he’d always been hot-tempered. He might as well live up to it and get the fight he was itching to have.
Hunter saw Sam run out with Steve. “Sam, go inside,” he ordered, not wanting Sam to see this.
“Ah, come on.” Sam frowned, kicking a rock. “That’s n-no-not fair.”
“Get inside now, Sam,” Garrett ordered. “Take the dog with you.”
“Her name is P
epper, no-not d-do-dog!” Sam huffed but listened and went back inside.
“You can’t stop me from caring about her,” Dell hissed. His hands also fisted, ready for war. “She has no one to look after her.”
“Yes, she does.” Hunter pointed to himself. “Me.”
“Been doing a piss-poor job so far,” Dell responded, spitting on the ground.
Having enough of Dell’s mouth, Hunter made his move and got damn lucky landing a punch to Dell’s jaw. Though Hunter was not fast enough to dodge Dell’s counterpunch. It hit him in the temple, damn near knocking his ass out. Jesus, he hit like a damn truck. For the next few minutes, Dell and Hunter traded punches and curses before Garrett and Marcus stepped in.
“Enough!” Garrett ordered, but when they continued, Garrett’s head fell back, and he let out a howl that would wake the dead. “I said, ENOUGH!”
Hunter and Dell immediately stopped, both breathing hard. Dell was bent over catching his breath. Hunter was working his jaw back and forth between spitting out blood.
“This is the last fucking time I want to see this between the two of you,” Garrett ordered. “Is that understood?”
Both men nodded, but the look in their eyes said neither really agreed.
“I have enough on my plate without worrying about this shit with two of my high-ranking pack members. Neither one of you know how fucking close I am to taking Janna and walking away, and this bullshit is making that decision even easier to make.” Garrett growled. “Get this shit taken care of now because once we leave this backyard, it’s done.”
Hunter spat again, his eyes narrowed on Dell. “She’s my mate and you will back down.”
“Holy shit.” Marcus laughed and then caught himself, but laughed again. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Hunter growled at his brother. “And fuck you!”
“Sorry, just never thought I’d ever hear that come out of your mouth.” Marcus raised his hands as if saying he was backing off at Hunter’s narrowed eyes. “Dude, come on. You have to admit after everything, to hear you say that about Emily or any woman is a complete shocker.”
Forbidden Seduction (Lee County Wolves Series) Book #2 Page 8