The Finder (Wolves of the Northwoods Book 1)

by A J Manney

  “Are you up for a short walk?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Emma responded. She tightened her coat around her. He led her to a sidewalk that ran behind the restaurant and down near the fountains. They walked along the fountains. “This is beautiful,” she said softly.

  Garrett didn’t say anything beside her. “I want to show you one more thing; then we’ll head back to the car.” He led her onto a path towards the trees behind the restaurant. Emma stumbled in her heels once, and Garrett put his hand on her elbow, steadying her. He led her towards the trees.

  “Uh, this isn’t where you take me into the woods and get rid of me, right?” Emma asked nervously.

  Garrett laughed quietly. “No, I just want to show you something.” He led her to a small opening in the trees. Emma was surprised to see the path continued. They walked on the path for just a few moments before it opened into a cleared area.

  “Oh, wow,” Emma said, looking all around. There was a small pond in the middle of the clearing that was lit up just like the other fountains. Several benches lined the circular area, and a large wooden trellis hung over the area with white lights hanging from the beams. There were beautiful plants hanging from the trellis. She recognized some; others looked exotic. She walked under the trellis, looking up at the amazing beauty of the place. She turned back to Garrett. “This is so incredible,” she said in awe.

  Garrett leaned against a post. “I thought you might like it. This right here is what the restaurant is known for,” he said gesturing around them.

  “I can see why,” she said still taking everything in. She turned around to ask Garrett about the plants when she saw him sniff the air and suddenly stiffen.

  Almost immediately, he was in front of her, pushing her behind him. She stumbled for a moment before grabbing the back of his jacket to steady herself. He placed one hand on her back, holding her against him. “Don’t move,” he ordered. Emma stiffened in fear. The easy-going man she had just eaten dinner with was long gone. She was just about to ask him what was wrong when she heard it—a low growling noise.

  Chapter 27

  Every part of her froze. She had heard that sound before, right before she was attacked in the woods. Fear shot up her spine and she stepped impossibly closer to Garrett. “Emma, you will do exactly what I say,” he ordered in a low voice.

  “I’m not leaving you,” Emma said, breathless with fear.

  “I’ll be fine. Do as I say,” he snapped.

  “No,” she snapped right back at him. He didn’t respond, he just started backing them up slowly, holding her firm against his back so she didn’t trip. “Wh-where are we going?” Emma asked, hating that her voice shook.

  “Shh,” he commanded her.

  He moved quickly, taking off his suit coat. He turned and held it out to her. Emma took it, looking up at him confused. He then unbuttoned his shirt quickly. A moment later, he had it off and handed it to her. Emma took it without thinking. “Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, taking a step back from him. She stared at the huge broad expanse of chest in front of her. Her eyes skimmed the tattoos that ran along his shoulder and down his chest and arm. Her thoughts stalled out. He took off his shoes and socks next. Emma just stared at him. “Why are you taking your clothes off?” she asked, her voice trembling. She had never been scared of Garrett before, but he was starting to terrify her. She backed away slowly from him and he froze.

  “Emma, look at me,” he ordered. Emma’s eyes snapped to his. “I’m just doing this as a precaution in case I have to fight.”

  “Okay,” Emma said lamely. I mean that kind of makes sense, right? He just wants to be free to fight, she told herself trying to convince herself. But why no shoes? Maybe it’s one of those martial arts things where they fight barefoot? At least he still has his pants on. Her inner dialogue stopped a moment later when she heard growling coming from in front of them and behind them. She squeaked and launched herself at Garrett. She didn’t care that he wasn’t fully dressed.

  Garrett spun around, pinning her behind him once again. “Do you trust me?” he asked over his shoulder. Emma nodded, unable to speak.

  “I’m going to have to fight. Listen to me very carefully. When I say, go behind that big tree,” he said, nodding his head towards the huge tree to their left. “Stay there until I tell you to come out. Can you do that?” Emma didn’t respond. She was too terrified. “Emma,” he said harshly.

  “Y-yes, behind the tree, okay,” she said, breathless with fear.

  The guys are on their way,” he said. “Liam will get you out of here as soon as he gets here,” he said.

  Emma clung to his back, confused and terrified. How were the guys on their way? Had he called them and she hadn’t heard. She didn’t have a chance to think anymore. She heard sounds all around them, terrifying growls.

  “I’m sorry for this,” Garrett said. Just then, three wolves appeared in front of them. Emma screamed. Two of them leaped straight for them. Emma screamed again and fell backwards. Garrett launched forward and then the unthinkable happened. He turned into a wolf, midair. Emma crawled backwards, another scream on her lips.

  She was losing her mind! A wolf! Garrett turned into a wolf! This can’t be happening. This isn’t real. Yet, even as she sat, four wolves were fighting. She watched the biggest wolf tear into the other three. She was so engrossed in the fight, she failed to see the other wolf sneaking up on her. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a wolf prowling towards her with its teeth bared. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She couldn’t move; fear paralyzed her. As if in slow motion, she watched the wolf bend low then launch at her. She put her hand up. The wolf landed on top of her, slamming her into the ground. Not a second later, the wolf was gone. The massive black wolf tackled it into the ground, fighting and snapping its teeth at it. Emma put her hands over her ears to block out the awful fight sounds, but she couldn’t drag her eyes away from the fight.

  Emma watched in horror as two more wolves came running from the trees. One launched itself on the black wolf’s back, taking a chunk out of it, while the other one bit his leg. He fought them off, but three more wolves soon joined in. The black wolf was immensely powerful, but how many could he fight off at once? Emma watched as two more wolves came from the trees with their heads low and prowled towards her. She tried not to scream. She didn’t want to distract the black wolf and end up getting him hurt. She reached around her and found Garrett’s shoes. She threw them as hard as she could at the wolves. One missed, and the other just angered the wolf. She crawled backwards as they advanced on her, growling, fangs bared. Emma’s heart plummeted as terror took hold of her. The wolf leaped at her before she could do anything. Before he landed, the wolf was thrown from her. Suddenly, more wolves burst into the area. They immediately attacked the wolves that had attacked her and Garrett.

  Then Liam was in front of her. He reached down and picked her up. Emma whimpered. “It’s okay. I've got you. You’re safe now,” he said. He walked quickly away from the fight. Emma closed her eyes, unable to process what had just happened. A low growling sound stopped them. Liam swore under his breath, then slowly turned around. The huge black wolf was advancing on them slowly with teeth bared. Emma felt the fear flood her system again. What was going on? “It’s okay, Emma. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Liam said in a low voice. The wolf growled louder. Liam shook his head. “Emma, Garrett’s wolf doesn’t want anyone close to you right now. I’m going to put you down.”

  “What? No!” Emma shrieked at him, trying to hang on tighter. The wolf growled impossibly louder and stalked closer.

  “I’m sorry, Emma,” Liam said. A moment later, Emma was on her feet; and Liam was a good ten feet from her.

  “Liam,” she shrieked. The wolf growled and moved closer. Emma froze and looked at the wolf approaching her. She couldn’t even breathe. She felt the incredible power coming from this beast. The wolf stalked closer then stopped in front of her. It was t
hen that Emma’s legs gave out. Her body had just decided she was done. She dropped like dead weight. Somebody caught her before she hit the ground. She wasn’t even sure who.

  __________

  Emma opened her eyes. She looked at the ceiling, orienting herself for a moment. Everything came flooding back, and panic slammed into her. She threw the covers off and slid out of bed. She needed to get out of here. She didn’t know where; she just knew she had to go. She glanced at the clock. It was just after one in the morning. Everybody should be in bed. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she opened the door to her room quietly. She walked over to the stairs and stopped. Seven pairs of eyes looked up at her from where they were sitting around the table, and she froze a moment before continuing down the stairs.

  Garrett pushed back from the table and stood. He came over and stood in front of her at the bottom of the stairs. Emma stared at him. He had scratch marks on his arms and one on his face. His face was bruised. All in all, it wasn’t as bad as Emma thought he would look from what she had seen going on in that wolf fight.

  “Emma,” he started in a low tone. Emma shook her head, stopping him.

  “Please let me pass,” she said quietly.

  “Not if you’re trying to leave,” Garrett said sternly. “Please just let me explain.”

  “There’s nothing to explain,” Emma said unemotionally.

  “Will you please look at me?” he asked in a low voice.

  “I can’t. You’re a... you’re a...” Emma couldn’t finish the words.

  “A wolf,” he said.

  Emma sucked in a breath. She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she looked at the table where everyone was sitting, trying to pretend they weren’t listening. Something clicked inside her head. “You all are, aren’t you?“ she asked. Heads bobbed. Emma zeroed in on Madison. “Are you?” she whispered, almost unable to form the words. Madison nodded. Emma shook her head. “You lied to me, all of you,” she said, feeling betrayed.

  “I wanted to tell you,” Madison said sadly.

  “I wouldn’t let her,” Garrett said. “She was following my orders.”

  “Why?” Emma asked, finally looking at Garrett. “Why didn’t you all tell me?”

  “Because of this right here. I wanted to give you time to accept us. I knew your story of how you had been attacked by wolves,” he said, his jaw tightening in anger. “I couldn’t risk you finding out too soon and running away.”

  “I wouldn't have run away,” Emma said. Garrett raised an eyebrow and nodded pointedly at her bag. Emma huffed. “Okay. I probably would have,” she admitted. She looked over at the table, then back to Garrett. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered.

  Garrett reached a hand up and palmed her cheek. “Don’t run,” he said. “We can work through everything; just promise me you won’t run.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think... I can’t...” she finally stopped and looked up at Garrett. “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  Garrett swept her into his arms and held her tightly against him. “I know. I’m so sorry. That’s the last feeling in the world I ever wanted you to feel. Please just give me a chance to explain,” he said.

  He sounded so desperate, Emma finally nodded. “Okay,” she whispered. His arms tightened around her.

  “Thank you,” his low voice rumbled.

  “Thank you for protecting me tonight.” Emma whispered, emotion evident in her voice.

  “I will always protect you, Emersyn,” he said in a low voice.

  Emma pulled back, so she could see his face. “Why?” she asked, genuinely curious.

  “Because you’re mine,” he said, his eyes flashing. He stepped closer to her. His hand transferred to the back of her neck as he slowly lowered his head, leaving her plenty of time to back away. His lips met hers in a gentle kiss. Emma didn’t even have a chance to respond before he pulled away. He looked down into her eyes. “That was for earlier. It should have happened before we had our night stolen away from us,” he said quietly.

  Emma was unable to say anything. She just stared up at him. How was it even possible that this giant of a man was interested even the slightest in her?

  “Well, I need to go to bed,” Liam said loudly, causing Emma to jump. She had forgotten they had an audience. Emma felt her face heat up.

  Garrett shook his head and smirked. “I have to leave tomorrow to take care of some pack business. Please promise you will stay until I get back and we have a chance to talk. I know you have questions. I want to answer them for you, but I have to deal with tonight first.”

  “Wait, what are you going to do?” Emma asked.

  Garrett looked down at her and feathered her hair with his large hand. “Just take care of some business. Nothing to worry about. I’ll be back in a day or two.”

  “Are you going after the wolves who attacked us?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said tersely.

  “Will you be in danger?” Emma asked and placed her hand on his arm.

  He looked down at her hand on his arm then back at her. She saw his eyes flash with a different color for a moment before it went away. “Nothing I can’t handle,” he said in a deep voice.

  “Garrett,” she started, worried. “Do you have to go? Can’t you just, I don’t know let it go or something?”

  He stepped closer to her. “Those wolves attacked my m—” he paused briefly. “They attacked you; I can’t let that go,” he said in anger. “I am also trying to track down who those men in the coffee shop were working for and why they were after you.” Emma saw more color in his eyes than had been there before. She was starting to realize he did that when he was really angry or emotional.

  “Okay,” she said simply. She didn’t pretend to know anything about the world she had just fallen into. She wasn’t going to tell him what he should or shouldn’t do. “I’ll be here when you get back,” she said quietly.

  “Thank you,” he said in a deep voice, relaxing slightly.

  “I just have one question,” Emma said. He nodded. “Are you like in charge or something? Everybody calls you boss and gets their orders from you?”

  “I’m the alpha,” he said in a powerful voice.

  Chapter 28

  “Oh,” Emma said, unsure of what else to say.

  “Liam’s my beta,” Garrett continued. “My second in command.” That surprised Emma. It must have shown on her face. “I know,” Garrett said knowingly.

  “Hey, what’s all this secret talk? I’m a good beta,” Liam said as he came over to join them.

  “Max is my top enforcer and in charge of all security. Levi, Kyle, Madison, and Wyatt are some of my enforcers. You haven’t met the others yet,” Garrett said.

  “There’s more of you?” Emma asked breathlessly.

  The guys at the table laughed, and Garrett turned his scowl on them. It got quiet fast. Garrett turned back to Madison. “There are close to four hundred wolves in the Northwoods Pack,” Garrett explained.

  Emma stared at him in shock. “Yep,” Liam said, still standing next to them. “We’re the largest pack in the country.”

  Emma turned her attention to the others in the room. “So, you all,” she paused. “Turn into wolves,” she said quietly. She was having a hard time digesting all this information. They nodded. Emma suddenly felt too exhausted for all of this. “You know what, I think I’m going to go to bed. It’s late.” Without another word, she turned and made her way up the stairs. Her brain didn’t think it could handle any more tonight.

  “Emma,” Garrett called out behind her. She ignored him and fled to her room. “Emma,” Garrett said again, this time closer. If she could just get to her room... He snagged her hand and turned her to face him. “Emma.”

  “Please, Garrett, I can’t do this right now,” she said with her eyes closed.

  “Your bag,” he said.

  Emma opened her eyes to see him holding out her bag. “Oh, thank you,” she muttered before grabbing the bag and escaping into he
r room. She tossed the bag on the floor and climbed into bed. She didn’t feel like changing for bed. She had to get up in about two hours anyway.

  Emma lay staring at the ceiling, trying to comprehend what she’d seen, what they were telling her. Try as she might, she just couldn’t make it work in her mind. Two hours dragged by before she finally got out of bed and started getting ready for work. She was grateful for something to focus on.

  She braided her hair for work and slipped on jeans and a long-sleeved dark purple sweater for work. Slipping on the black converse sneakers Madison had talked her into buying, she grabbed her coat and left her room. She made her way down the stairs and was surprised to see Madison and Kyle sitting at the table. Madison stood to her feet and came towards her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said.

  Emma didn’t really want to process it all right now. “It’s okay. I understand.” Madison looked like she wanted to say more. “Why are you guys still up? You have to be exhausted.”

  Madison grinned. “Now that we’re no longer keeping our secret, I get to be part of your protection detail.”

  Emma blinked. “Oh, right because you’re a...”

  “Enforcer,” Madison said. It was then that Emma noticed what she was wearing. Gone was the girly, shopping, cooking woman she had come to know; in her place was a woman who looked every inch the part of an enforcer. She wore tight black jeans, black heeled boots, and a red V-neck shirt with a black leather jacket.

  “Wow,” Emma said.

  “Right?” Kyle said, wrapping his arms around her. “She’s one smokin’ hot enforcer. And to answer your question from earlier, we’ll be fine today. Wolves can go without sleep longer than humans can. We’d better get going or you’re going to be late.”