Wounded Bear (Whiteheart Clan Book 2)

by Chloe Peterson

  Giselle pulled back. "Wow. You really must have gone through a change. I can't believe you're letting me hug you. I fully went into that expecting to get socked in the face."

  Jade sighed. "I'm trying to make some changes, but it's not going to be easy. So please be patient with me."

  "Aww. I like this new Jade. I hope she sticks around."

  Jade nodded. "Me too."

  "Ready to get some chow?" Giselle asked heading to the kitchen. "I'm going to need a big breakfast if we're going to be digging trenches today. How big are panthers anyway?"

  "Bigger than you," Rowan said walking into the kitchen. "What was all the screaming about?"

  "Oh, that," Giselle said peering into the fridge. "I snuck up on Jade, and she freaked out."

  Jade watched Rowan's eyes widen. "You managed to sneak up on Jade? That's quite the accomplishment."

  "One which won't be happening again anytime soon," Jade said. "Hey, do you have a moment to talk? You know privately?"

  Rowan's eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"

  "Jade's gone through a change of some sort," Giselle said chomping loudly on an apple. "She's handing out apologies like Santa. So, if I were you, I'd get mine now."

  Jade pinched her lips and forced herself to take a deep breath, rather than retaliate. When she'd told Giselle to stay as she was, she hadn't meant for the wolf shifter to be herself without a filter.

  I guess that's something else I've got to work on, she thought. Patience.

  "Come on," Rowan said, shaking her head. "Let's sit on the porch."

  Jade followed silently. When she got outside, she found herself tongue-tied. Rowan sat patiently and stared out over the trees, giving her time to talk.

  Jade had fully expected her apology to Giselle to be the hardest. But now, she was finding that apologizing to Rowan, was even harder. While Jade had been so focused on keeping to herself, she hadn't realized how ungrateful she'd been.

  Rowan had invited Jade to join the Whitehearts, even though Jade acted aloof and like she didn't care. Then, Rowan had hired Jade to work for her company, splitting the profits evenly, even though she was the owner. And even when Jade had snapped at her and had the worst attitude of anyone in history, Rowan had carried on as if nothing had happened.

  Jade's throat constricted, and she drew a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, for taking you for granted, and treating you like a piece of shit."

  "I wouldn't go so far as to say a piece of shit." Rowan smiled, her gray eyes sparkling. "More like a nagging child from time to time aka Giselle."

  Jade laughed. "Are you seriously joking right now?"

  "I am." Rowan got up and bent down to give Jade a brief hug. "I know you've dealt with a lot growing up. I don't know all of it, but I know the woman you are, Jade. You don't act out unless you have a reason. Whatever it is, it must have been painful."

  Jade parted her lips, but Rowan raised a hand. "You don't have to tell me, or any of us. I have a feeling you took me up on my advice and talked to Emma. Is that right?"

  Jade smiled at the mention of her girlfriend and nodded. "She's been a great help and support."

  "Good. You need that in your life, and I don't care where you get it from. I want the best for you."

  Tears welled in Jade's eyes, and she groaned as she tilted her face, trying to force them back. "I hate all this being open stuff. It's making me too emotional."

  Rowan chuckled. "That's a good problem to have. Imagine being like Giselle, and unaware of your feelings."

  Jade snorted. "Stop. You can't make me cry, then laugh."

  "What can I say, I like to keep things interesting." Rowan wiggled her eyebrows. "Just ask Eva."

  Jade made a barfing noise. "Okay. That's a step too far."

  "I can't help it. I'm in love." Rowan looked down and mumbled, "one day soon, you'll know what that feels like."

  Rowan cleared her throat. "Anyway, the plan for today is to get all the tunnels dug up. Then, we're going to cut down a lot of branches. Panthers climb trees, and we don't need any surprise attacks from the sky. That's my thing."

  Jade nodded her head as Rowan continued to talk, but the words shot straight past her ears.

  Love, she thought. I love Emma.

  Rowan's words had resonated with something buried on the inside for Jade, and she couldn't deny the truth anymore. Jade didn't just have feelings for Emma, nor was she falling for Emma. She'd already fallen for the younger woman. IT had been fast and completely unexpected, but there were the butterflies and weightless sensation she'd only felt once before.

  Jade leaned back in her seat and smiled. "Well, would you look at that."

  "Excuse me?"

  Jade shook her head. "Nothing. Continue."

  "No point in doing that if you're not paying attention. What's—" Rowan pulled out her phone. "Hold on. It's Ben calling."

  Jade got up. "I'll be inside."

  "Stay." Rowan grinned, as she stood too. "I want you to hear just how much he sounds like Barry White. Eva doesn't believe me."

  Jade leaned a hip against the wall and grinned, Rowan's enthusiasm rubbing off on her.

  "Hello," Rowan said.

  "Hello, Rowan," a gravelly voice answered.

  Jade's frown matched Rowan's. That was no Barry White. "Who is this?"

  "I'm Derek. I'm sure we need no further introductions."

  Rowan went white as a sheet and Jade dropped her folded arms in shock. A shot of adrenaline ran through her body, and she quietly paced as she waited for Rowan to respond.

  Jade had never seen her alpha tongue-tied. It seemed that even she was entirely out of her depth. The one thing none of them had discussed is what would happen if Ben got caught. Now it appeared they were about to pay for that mistake.

  "What do you want?" Rowan spat. "Where's Ben?"

  A laugh answered her. "Now, is that any way to talk to a man that called to make peace not war?" Derek's voice turned chilly as he continued. "Ben is here with Rita and me. They'll both stay here with me until I get what I want.

  "You're playing a dangerous game, Rowan. You almost had me packing up to come to Falhurst leaving Rita unattended, but your man slipped up and helped me see the error of my ways. I've been too laissez-faire because I thought one little girl would turn up eventually. I was wrong. It seems she's friends with some no-name shifter clan in Falhurst.

  "So, this is what we're going to do. You're going to bring Emma to her mother's house within the next twenty-four hours, and I'll release Ben and Rita. Emma's the one I want. No one else needs to get involved. So, give me what I want, or I'll have to feed my beast. Starting with Rita. I already know how delicious she tastes, if you catch my drift."

  Derek hung up, leaving Rowan and Jade to stare at each other. Rowan ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Ben got caught, and now Rita's been dragged into all of this."

  Jade slumped into her seat. "It's bad."

  "What am I going to tell Emma?"

  The mention of her girlfriend's name sent a wave of anger through Jade, but this time, it was directed toward Derek. He was the one that was the cause of all their problems. Derek had murdered an innocent man, then chased down the only witness.

  He alone was to blame for all of this And, to make matters worse; he was making threats against yet another innocent. Tyler would be devastated if anything happened to Ben, and so would Emma if anything happened to Rita.

  He's probably got them in the same spot, too, Jade thought. Using Rita to keep Ben from trying to escape.

  Jade shot up and lifted her chin. "We're not going to tell Emma anything. Not until we have a plan. The last thing she needs is to start blaming herself for having followed Derek in the first place. That kind of guilt will eat her up. I can't let her go through that. Not after all she's done for me. Not as her girlfriend."

  Rowan's eyes widened in surprise, then she smiled. "Girlfriend, huh? Congratulations." Rowan pulled Jade in for a quick hug. Jade's determination and the news that E
mma was her girlfriend seemed to have given her a boost of energy because Rowan bounded onto her feet and then walked into the house. "What do you say we gather the team together and come up with a plan to show Derek that Emma's friends are not part of some no-name shifter clan?"

  Jade grinned. "I'd say that's a perfect idea."

  11

  Early the next morning, Emma sat in the backseat of Rowan's truck as they pulled into Conventon. It had been almost twenty hours since Jade had woken her up with the terrible news of Derek taking both Ben and her mother hostage. Emma had started to freak out, but Jade had quickly informed her of her plan.

  Emma had to admit the plan was ingenious. They were going to use the truth against Derek and twist his words around to achieve two goals at one time. First, they'd get Derek away from Rita and Ben.

  They were pretty sure that Derek was working alone on this because he didn't want to incur his clan's wrath over messing up. That meant that he didn't have his clan's usual enforcers working for him. He'd probably hired a group of rowdy shifters to act as muscle.

  The second objective was to make sure Derek didn't come after Emma and Rita when it was all said and done. That part of the plan is what had Emma worried, mainly because she was playing the role of the star witness.

  "Hey," Jade said, taking her hand. "You'll do great."

  Emma sighed. "You keep saying that, but how do we know that?"

  "Brooke and I will be there," Rowan said, looking at her through the rear-view mirror. "We'll do most of the talking. You'll be there to add authenticity to our story. Derek won't know what hit him when he walks in and finds you standing in front of his alpha."

  Jade nodded. "And I'll be at your mother's house with Tyler and his guys. As soon as Derek leaves to meet you guys, we'll swoop in and get them out of there. Then we'll meet up at Molly's and head home."

  "And what if they catch on to our bluff?" Emma folded her arms. When Jade first told her of their plan, she'd held on to it and believed in it because she needed to. Now that she'd had time to think about it, she could see it for the massive gamble that it was.

  Jade shook her head. "They won't. Rowan and Brooke are Dragonclaw and have been for so long. Brooke's also great at impersonating Sloane. Their sister act will be convincing. Besides, all we need is for Derek to leave the house. Once that happens, we'll get your mom and Ben out of there, and out of Coventon. If you guys have to fight your way out, you'll be fine. You'll have half of Tyler's men with you, and Rowan and Brooke can fly." Jade cupped Emma's cheek. "We thought this through, and I wouldn't let it happen if I weren't confident it would work."

  Emma nodded then turned to look outside the window. Jade had gone above and beyond to make sure Emma felt right about things. She'd even taken her out for lunch the day before, in a bid to cheer her up.

  Emma felt terrible about doubting Jade and her friends' plan, but she couldn't help but get a bad feeling about things. Nothing in Emma's life had gone according to plan, and usually, things got worse.

  But you're not alone anymore; a voice whispered in her mind. You have Jade now.

  Emma pulled her shoulders back and took a deep breath. Yes, this was all her fault. Yes, this was a gamble. But she had a powerful group of shifters and their friends on her side. More importantly, she had Jade, and although they hadn't said the words I love, Emma couldn't help but think that what she felt for the older woman, was entirely mutual.

  "Ugh," Emma said, shaking her head. "Sorry about all that paranoia. I was just getting in my head."

  Brooke turned to grin at Emma and pat her thigh. "Don't worry. We all do."

  "Mm-hmm." Rowan piped up. "We wouldn't be human otherwise. Well, part human, anyway."

  Emma laughed. "You're human where it counts and animal when you're needed."

  Jade cocked her head. "That's a beautiful way to look at it."

  "It's true." Emma wanted to pull Jade to her and kiss her soundly. Jade had come a long way since their last in-depth conversation. She was a lot more relaxed around the team and more affectionate with Emma.

  Emma wanted nothing more than to tell Jade that she'd honestly love to come back to Falhurst with her and make a go of things together. Maybe even getting a place of their own, once they'd worked out Jade's issues with sharing a room.

  What about mom? Emma asked herself. She pushed down her hopes. There was no way Emma could leave her mother alone. Especially after all the harm she'd caused the older woman.

  There was also no way Jade would leave the Whitehearts and move to Conventon. Right now, more than ever, Jade needed stability and familiarity, as she tackled her deeper issues.

  Emma smiled as she remembered Jade pulling her aside the day before to tell her that she'd set things up with a therapist for next week. Jade looked so proud of herself, and Emma's enthusiasm matched it. It seemed Jade was an all or nothing person kind of girl. When she blamed herself, she did it wholeheartedly. And when she decided she was ready to turn a new leaf, then she did the same.

  Emma turned to look at Jade's beautiful profile. She was going to miss spending every day with her girlfriend once everything settled down, and she and her mother headed back to Conventon. Emma thought of getting her mother to move to Falhurst, but she knew that would never happen.

  Her mother would never leave their family home. That was the place she and Emma's father had memories.

  "Alright," Rowan said, pulling the car to the side, behind two other trucks. "It's time to split up."

  Jade pulled a surprised Emma in for a quick kiss, then hopped out of the vehicle before Emma could respond. When Jade had come out and told everyone about their relationship, they'd been met by nothing but positivity. Giselle, of course, had made her jokes, but Jade didn't even seem fazed by them.

  "God, I'm going to miss her," she whispered.

  "You poor thing," Brooke crowed. "Conventon isn't too far away. I'm sure you two could make the drive to see each other like every weekend."

  "For sure." Rowan nodded. "We'll even make the trip with Jade sometimes."

  Emma nodded. There were no easy answers. Jade's life, clan, and work were in Falhurst. Not to mention her therapist. Emma's mother was in Conventon, and nothing would tear her apart from the home she bought with the man she loved.

  A knock sounded on the back window of the truck, and Emma turned and waved at Tyler and his men. The lion shifter had quickly come to their aid, but the neat thing was that he wasn't just eager to get his boyfriend. He was genuinely interested in helping the Whitehearts.

  "Here we go," Rowan said, pulling out onto the road. Emma watched the vehicle that Jade had entered turn in a different direction than they were headed. In that vehicle were Giselle and Mara.

  As per their plan, Giselle and Mara would search the surrounding area's vantage points for any sign of snipers. They would eliminate any they found, then join Jade, and half a dozen of Tyler's men, in infiltrating the house, and freeing Rita and Ben.

  But before they infiltrated the home, they had to see Derek leave the premises. He was the only real threat. Not only as a panther but as a highly-trained assassin. The muscle he'd hired to keep an eye on the house would probably be poorly trained.

  All that needs to happen is for me to play my part and seal the deal, Emma thought. No biggie.

  Rowan pulled into a long gravel driveway that led to a mansion.

  Brooke whistled. "We're in the wrong business, Rowan."

  "Financially," the Whiteheart alpha said. "But morally, we're right where we need to be."

  When they got to the gate, they got stopped by two shifters. Rather than pull down her window to announce herself, Rowan let Tyler and his men hop out the back of the truck and intimidate the two shifters. Emma had learned from Jade that lions were twice as big as panthers in animal form. It appeared the two guards understood that as they quickly opened the gates with sour faces.

  "You ready?" Brook asked hopping out of the car.

  Emma nodded. The two guard
s hovered around them making it impossible for her to discuss last minute details. It was now or never, and it was Emma's chance to undo a lot of the madness she'd caused.

  Brooke led the way, and Rowan followed a couple of steps back. Brooke was pretending to be Sloane, Rowan's sister, and the Dragonclaw second. It made sense for Rowan to act somewhat subservient.

  Emma followed the women with Tyler and his friends surrounding her. She almost felt like a witness about to testify against some prominent cartel leader, but in her case, Derek had no idea she was about to rat him out.

  The guards led them into a large living room. Emma had never seen something so opulent. High painted ceilings, a chandelier, expensive paintings and marble floors graced the room. There had to be at least half a million dollars worth of stuff in the tastefully decorated room.

  "Sloane and Rowan Fanan," an older woman greeted, as she glided into the room dressed in black from head to toe. "I don't take too kindly to uninvited guests, especially the kind that hire muscle to threaten my guards."

  Brooke took a step forward. "It's funny you bring that up, Ava because one of your men acted in kind, making brassy threats against my sister and me."

  The dark-haired woman's face didn't' even flinch. Emma knew she knew nothing about what they were talking about, and she admired the level of control the middle-aged woman had. Then she remembered Ava killed people for a living, and her admiration quickly faded away.

  "Why are you two here together?" The woman settled onto an ornate armchair and crossed her legs. "Didn't Rowan leave the Dragonclaw?"

  "Rowan's leaving was a strategic move on my part." Brooke scoffed. "Do you really think we'd allow the pride of an old, fat man to get in the way of true sisterhood?"

  The Eboncloak alpha's dark eyes glinted. "So, the rumors are true. You are planning a coup."

  Brooke sniffed and shrugged. Emma was digging the cocky vibes she was giving off. "That has nothing to do with my visit. I'm here on personal business. The kind you'll want to address if the Eboncloak and the Dragonclaws are to have a peaceful relationship moving forward."