Kelly shrugged. “People were never really something I was much into. Being alone sounds perfectly fine to me.” She took a deep breath of the forest air. “No one to tell you what to do or dictate how to act. No bosses, no leaders, no annoying brothers.”
“You mentioned that already,” Adam chimed in, but Kelly ignored his interruption.
“Just the trees and the dirt, and the scurrying of little woodland creatures as you tear through the forest as a million pound bear!” she finished with a grin. “That sounds like the ultimate freedom!”
It was Emily’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know, Kells, I kind of like the idea of a pack, sometimes.” She didn’t want to muddy Kelly’s giddiness at the prospect of being left in solitude, but something in Emily always feared being alone. She was dangerously close to loneliness after her parents were taken from her so suddenly, but just when she’d begun to lose all hope, David took her in. She didn’t ever want to see isolation so nearby like that again.
Kelly wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Pack life is bullshit, Ems.” She sniffed, looking back out deep into the trees. “I know you probably don’t feel the same, having lost your family and all, but it honestly is. I know you think we’re all you have left in this world, but there’s so much more.”
She smiled over at Emily. “What we have isn’t freedom. It’s not peace. It’s stagnation. This pack, these trees… this is all just the beginning. There’s an entire world out there to explore.”
“Worry about exploration adventures later then, Kelly,” Adam finally spoke again. He was giving his sister a carefully blank stare, almost too different from the arrogant smirk he usually reserved for her. “We’ve got work to do here.”
Kelly looked back at Adam with a look of mild confusion on her face. His own expression didn’t change, but instead of questioning him like Emily thought Kelly would, she only shrugged again. “You’re right, big bro. Business first. Then I’m kissing this shitty farm life goodbye once and for all.”
She turned to walk away, glancing back at Emily before she went. “When you figure out what your real ideal paradise is supposed to look like, let me know. We can find it together.” She almost seemed to skip out of the forest, leaving Emily and Adam alone under the cover of the trees.
A moment of silence passed between them, the tension slowly beginning to build uncomfortably between them until Adam sighed. “Does she take anything seriously?” he muttered softly.
Emily smiled. “When’s the last time we’ve made it off the farm for more than a few hours?”
“Far too long,” Adam replied without skipping a beat.
“Exactly,” she confirmed. “Kelly feels the same way. She’s just excited that we’re getting to see and do something new. So what if she gets a little more hopeful for the future than we do? I honestly can’t say I blame her.”
Adam glared at the break in the trees where Kelly had departed. “This isn’t just some romp around an amusement park, though, Emily. This is serious business. There’re talks of territorial battles, and even all-out war. We have to be ready to fight at a moment’s notice.” He sighed again. “I just don’t think she understands that.”
“We all understand that, Adam,” Emily reassured. “And I’m sure Kelly’s up for the task. But there’s no harm in fantasizing about having a huge forest all to yourself from time to time. For now, let her have that happiness.”
Silence formed around them once more, but this time, Emily felt safe within it. Deep in the forest, she could hear the squeaking of small creatures and for a moment, she allowed herself to see the appeal in Kelly’s fabled utopia. Maybe there was some way to find peace in a forest like this, but even still, she wouldn’t want to do so alone.
“Very well,” Adam spoke, breaking the quiet between them. “But I expect you to snap her back to reality when the going starts getting tough.” He looked down at her with a heavy weight in his gaze, as if he was worried about things to come. “I won’t pretend to know or understand all of what’s going on here, but it has the potential to get really bad and really quickly.” He gave her a small, sad smile. “I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”
“That’s why we all came here together, right?” Emily asked with a smile of her own, hoping the dimness of the overhead trees kept him from seeing how she blushed in reaction to his compassion.
“I suppose so,” Adam answered, a bit of tension loosening in his shoulders. He stretched his long arms high.
“Not that you have anything to worry about, Ems,” he declared, turning to make his way back to the mechanics shop. “You’re one of the strongest shifters I know. You’ll be more than fine against whatever this enemy pack throws our way.”
Emily stared after him, the echoes of his compliment ringing in her ears as if he’d just shouted the words into the forest beyond. She’d always assumed that he saw her as nothing more than the crying teen that’d stumbled onto their doorstep years ago, but maybe that wasn’t true anymore. Maybe this was his way of acknowledging that she was more than just someone who needed protecting. Did this mean he accepted her as a bear? Did this mean he could possibly accept her as a woman? She didn’t know, but the thought of the possibility made her heart race.
“You coming?” Adam called back, beckoning Emily with one hand from the tree line.
“Oh, yeah,” she called back, taking one last glimpse out into the quiet forest before catching up with Adam. A small hint of Kelly’s utopia peeked out from the darkness of the trees, before fading to quick nothingness. Maybe there was peace worth finding here in Woodhaven, and though she didn’t know where to start, right here with Adam, as they exited the forest on a fresh adventure to conquer, it was a start.
Chapter Two
Adam entered the office area of the mechanic’s shop with a guarded expression on his face. He wasn’t exactly sure what to expect of the Forest Haven pack, home to two alphas like his own, the Silent Meadows pack. His father had only good things to say about this pack, but they were all old stories from when Adam was a cub and earlier. Now there was no telling what kind of pack these brothers had created so long after the death of their father. As a fellow alpha and future leader of his own pack someday, Adam knew he had to be prepared for anything.
David was already in deep conversation with a tall man, grinning ear to ear in a way he only did when he was speaking of the past. Already, Adam could feel the alpha energy wafting off of the pair in waves, and figured the man his father was talking to must be Nick Brewer, leader of the Forest Haven pack. Though Adam couldn’t tell much else about the pack leader, there was no doubting that he was strong.
Kelly had entered sometime before him, and was already chatting animatedly with another woman about her age. She had kind eyes and a welcoming smile, and by the way his sister clasped at the woman’s hands and gestured excitedly while she spoke, Adam assumed that this must be the alpha’s human mate, Jo Barrowman. For someone who found pack life so distasteful, he couldn’t imagine Kelly reacting in such a way to a fellow shifter.
He sighed inwardly. Her outburst in the forest was something he would have to address soon, but for now, more important plans were on the horizon. She seemed perfectly content entertaining the human for the time being, anyway.
“I know meeting Nick for the first time may seem daunting, but he’s definitely nicer than what he lets on,” a larger man spoke, walking up beside him. “He’s laying it on a little thick, but this is the first time I’ve ever witnessed the meeting of two alphas. Is this a normal thing for you guys?”
Adam shrugged. It was his first time seeing two alphas meet, too. “Beats me. I wouldn’t be surprised though.” He turned to the man beside him, lifting his chin and squaring his shoulders. He was an alpha, too, after all. “I’m Adam. Adam Bradley,” he introduced, holding out a hand.
The man grinned, taking Adam’s hand into a strong grip. “I figured. Something tells me that girl over there shaking Jo’s hand too many times isn’t the yo
ung son of an old ally.”
Despite his wariness, Adam smiled. “That’s my sister Kelly.” He gestured to Emily. “Emily Chevalier.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Emily added, taking the man’s hand in a welcoming shake.
“Dan Hart,” the man greeted heartily. “We’re happy to have you.” He turned back to where the two alphas were talking. “I’m sure you know by now, but that’s Nick Brewer over there with your dad. Tom, the other alpha, is around here somewhere as well.”
“That’s Jo Barrowman the human over there with Kelly, isn’t it?” Emily asked innocently. Adam shot her an alarmed look. Of all people, he didn’t expect her to slip up so easily. She shrugged nonchalantly with a smile.
Dan barked an easy laugh. “It is, but we generally just call her Jo around these parts.”
“I am going to go introduce myself,” Emily replied, tossing a quick wave at Adam before departing. “It was nice meeting you, Dan!”
Dan waved back as she left to join Kelly and the human. Adam watched as Emily shook Jo’s hand with a grin, and sighed. “Sorry about that. She’s usually not so… insensitive,” Adam said.
Chuckling, Dan waved the apology away. “It’s expected. Both Nick and Jo know what they signed up for.”
“But still, Emily’s usually better about handling sensitive situations with more subtlety,” Adam chastised. “Blurting out things like that is something I’d expect more from my sister, if we’re being honest.”
“She is quite the free spirit, from what I’ve seen,” Dan agreed. “But maybe your mate has more sides to her that might be worth exploring in the future.”
Adam’s head snapped back to Dan. “My mate? You mean Emily?” He was already shaking his head fervently in denial. “We’re just pack mates. And friends. Nothing more.”
Dan held up his hands conciliatorily. “My apologies. I shouldn’t have assumed,” he replied, but there was a sly glint in his eyes that Adam couldn’t quite decipher.
Adam didn’t see how there was anything worth assuming. Of course, he admired her strength as a girl with a tragic past, and her willingness to overcome it. She didn’t let her loss define her, never succumbing to the sadness that he knew plagued her. Instead, she’d proven herself a valued new member of the pack, forging a good working relationship with his father on the farm, and what appeared to be a solid friendship with his sister. He could respect that about her. Otherwise, he treated her as any other member of the pack. Like family.
Yet, as two other women entered the office area, Adam watched as Emily shook their hands and turned towards him and Dan, a slight pink flushing over her cheeks as Jo grinned knowingly at her. She was presumably introducing Adam to them now, but what had they been talking about beforehand to make her look so… cute?
“That’s Savannah and Lucy,” Dan said. “Lucy’s my mate, Savannah is Tom’s mate.” As he spoke, another large man that looked similar to Nick, but slightly younger appeared from a side entrance. “And speak of the devil, there’s Tom.” He grinned. “Looks like the gang’s all here.”
“Adam, boy. Come on over here and introduce yourself to the pack leader,” David called from where he stood with Nick and now, Tom, too.
With a nod, Dan stepped away. “That’s your cue. You know, I had my doubts about how effective an alliance between two small packs would be against the likes of the Northern Wind, but actually witnessing all four alphas in one room together…” Dan shook his head in awe. “This might just work.” Without another word, he slipped over to where the girls were talking.
With no one left to keep him company, Adam had no choice but to obey his father’s beckoning. He took a deep breath, holding it in his chest as he walked over to the group of alphas. Even as one himself, he could kind of sympathize with the expression on Dan’s face before he departed. Alpha energy had power to it that couldn’t be duplicated by any other bear, and having four alphas in one room was beginning to be overbearing, even for him. It must’ve been stifling for the average bear.
He held out his hand stiffly as he approached the leader, Nick Brewer. “Thank you for welcoming us into your territory. I’m Adam Bradley, future pack leader of the Silent Meadows pack.”
David clapped his son on the shoulder. “My goodness, Adam, calm down.” He grinned at the alpha brothers. “He doesn’t get out often.”
Though Tom’s face remained carefully blank, Nick offered Adam an easy smile as he took the proffered hand. “No need for formalities here. We’re all friends.”
Adam nodded, instantly feeling foolish. So much for fitting in. “My apologies. As my father said, I’m not very well versed in the protocol. We don’t often leave our own territory for long.”
“There he goes again,” David chuckled.
Nick laughed. “I admire a man who’s ready to get down to business. It makes me feel like we made the right decision in asking you guys to join us.”
“”Speaking of,” Tom chimed in, “we should probably get started on this meeting. The sooner we get everyone up to speed, the sooner we can prepare.” He tossed a belatedly apologetic look at Adam and David. “Sorry, but it’s been two weeks since the last attack, and the Northern Wind didn’t suffer much damage then. They could be gearing up for another try at any moment, and I’d rather not be chatting about friendship when they choose to make their move.”
“See, Adam, you’re not alone when it comes to a stiff sense of productivity and custom,” Nick joked, patting his brother on the arm. “Meet Tom.” Tom only scowled begrudgingly in reply.
“But stick in the mud or not, he does have a point,” Nick continued. “Now that we’re all finally together, we should probably get the ball rolling.” He beckoned Jo over to them, asking if she’d put on coffee while the woman named Lucy offered to grab some refreshments out of a back room.
Adam watched as Nick and Dan doted on their mates as they did their parts to make this meeting go as cordially as it could, and for a moment, Adam thought back to when Dan had mistakenly called Emily his mate. There wasn’t even a comparison to be made between his relationship with Emily and the way these men treated their actual mates.
He turned to glance at her, seeing that she and Kelly were still deep in conversation with Savannah, Tom’s mate. Noticing he was watching, Emily flashed Adam an encouraging smile with a small thumbs up, her cheeks tinged with a fresh wash of pink. He couldn’t help but smile back in return.
As Lucy re-entered the room with various snacks, everyone settled down in seats throughout the office. Adam hadn’t noticed how hungry he’d gotten on the drive into town, and though his bear wanted nothing more than to take a hearty romp through the wide expanse of forest outside, the food offered a great distraction until it could finally run free for a while.
“Okay,” Nick finally began after a bite of cheese, “I want to start this off by thanking you all for answering our call. Unsurprisingly, there weren’t many old ties willing to help out a small pack on the brink of extradition in a town no one’s heard of. Who knows what our chances would be without you guys here to help.”
“Not a problem, Nick,” David replied, raising a fresh mug of coffee in salute. “Your father was a good bear, and an even better man. He helped me out of my fair share of tough spots back in the day. It’s the least I could do.”
Nick nodded appreciatively. “That’s good to hear.” Looking back out over all of the faces turned his way, he continued, “I’m sure by now you all know why you’re here, but for the sake of clarity, we’ll spell it all out for you guys one last time.”
He took a single deep breath before diving into the explanation. “We’re in a tough spot right now. There’s been a pack that outnumbers us exponentially trying to dominate our lands. Originally, their leader Lucas pressured us to join his pack, and when we declined, things turned violent very quickly. Since then, we’ve been pretty successful at keeping him in his place, but now I fear that we’ve finally reached our limit in terms of defense.” He nodded to
wards Lucy in the back of the room.
She stood as everyone turned their attention to her. “If you don’t already know, my name’s Lucy, and I’m the newest member of Forest Haven pack. I’ve officially been a part of the pack for only a month, but shortly before that happened, I’d travelled here with my brother with the intention of joining Lucas in his crusade to overthrow Nick and his place here in Woodhaven.”
She looked from face to face with a guarded expression before pressing on. “As you can see, I came to my senses, but my brother did not. He’s still plotting to destroy this pack with the Northern Wind leader, Lucas, but I believe he might go to lengths neither pack has ever seen before to make that happen. And when he’s finally succeeded in that goal, he won’t stop.” Adam watched her chew the inside of her cheek as if there was more she wanted to say, but couldn’t bring herself to go on.
“It’s okay,” Dan murmured lowly to her. “That’s more than enough for now.”
“If you’re finished for now, Lucy, may I continue on your behalf?” Nick asked sympathetically.
Lucy nodded without speaking; Dan enveloped her in an embrace as she sat.
“What Lucy speaks, is the truth,” Nick continued, drawing all attention back to him. “I truly believe that her brother, Dominic, is a breed of bear that likely no one in this room has ever encountered before.”
“Well spit it out boy,” David prompted. “Beating around the bush isn’t going to make it sound any better.”
Nick gave him a grim smile. “I suppose you’re right.” He allowed himself a beat of silence before continuing.
“Dominic craves power, vies for control. Lucy has reason to believe that, now that he’s found solace in Lucas’s pack, he has more means than ever before to get exactly that, and if he succeeds, it won’t just be my pack that suffers. It won’t just be bear shifters that suffer.”
“He’ll kill everyone,” Lucy blurted. “The shifters, the humans, everyone and everything. If it means he’ll have power, then, in his view, it’s a small price to pay.”
Crush on the Alpha Bear (Alpha Bears Book 4) Page 2