9 comments/ 49499 views/ 72 favorites Danger Zone Ch. 01 By: vvolfe Emma stood at the edge of the bluff and took a deep inhale of the forest air. Man it felt great to be in the mountains, and what a view! She turned away and continued on her hike, shifting the shoulder straps on her backpack as she thinks over the past few months. In the last 4 months, she bought her first home (at 24 thank you very much!), got promoted at work and finally caught the eye of the cute maintenance guy who works in her building. This was a massive shift from when she thought she was skating a razor edge at work, she had to move back home because she couldn't afford rent and she couldn't even make eye contact with a man because she was extremely self-conscious about her weight. This backpacking trip was her way of celebrating her new confidence. It's a shame her mortgage and insurance payments forced her celebratory trip to occur in the national park near her home, but Emma didn't mind. She knew the parks like the back of her hand since she had spent a summer out there working for the parks. A fact she had to remind her mom when she voiced her concern over Emma camping overnight in the backwoods all by herself. "What if you run into a bear?" her mother asked worriedly. "I will season it with bear spray before I roast it over an open fire" apparently wasn't the answer she was looking for. "What if you fall down a cliff and can't walk out?" "That's why you have to inform the rangers where you're going and when you expect to be back, even when you travel in a group. Geez mom you let me go to Nepal by myself, I'm just driving 2 hours out of town." "Well I don't like that you go on all these trips by yourself. Why don't you invite one of your friends out, or your cousins?" "My cousins? Now would that be the cousin that has 2 kids under the age of 5 or the one who thinks roughing it is a 3 star resort in the Bahamas?" "Fine what about your friends? I'm sure one of them would go." "They aren't interested. They like hiking but the idea of backpacking is a foreign concept to them." "You need new friends." "Thanks mom." Emma sighed as she recalled that conversation. Luckily her mom eased off after she agreed to get a sat phone, big heavy clunker that it was. She lightly touched the bear spray attached to her hip belt and quickly reviewed the procedure when encountering a bear. While this wasn't bear country, wildlife has a nasty habit of ignoring "migration patterns" and going wherever they want, when they want. She arrived at the campsite about an hour before the sun set. None of the other sites were in use due to it being so late in the season so she quickly set up her campsite and set off to look for a source of water where she could wash up a bit before starting dinner. She wasn't overly excited about her dinner. Somehow, chili is not the same after it's been dehydrated but she accepted it as part of the backpacking experience. The rest of the evening was an uneventful affair. She prepared and ate dinner, cleaning her dishes in the nearby stream then she hung out and star gazed for a bit until her fatigue got the best of her and she crawled into her tent to get some well-deserved rest. She woke up to the sound of something sniffing at her tent. "Oh shit, Oh Crap, Oh Shit, Oh Crap" She thought as she mentally reviewed her campsite set up. Did she hang up her food? Yep. Was it in air-tight, bear-proof containers? Yep. Did she wash all her dishes, cutlery included? Yep. Then what the hell attracted the bear to her campsite? She quietly picked up her bear spray and flashlight and debated the pro's and con's of staying in her tent and waiting until the bear moves on, risking the bear collapsing the tent and trapping her inside or getting out of the tent to scare off the bear with the heavy duty pepper spray and risk being attacked by the bear. "But surely the bear must be able to smell me so if he/she was going to attack, they would have already. Yes, it's just curious. I should stay here and leave it alone and it will go away and tomorrow I will double bag everything." She thought confidently. After waiting 5 minutes for the bear sounds to disappear, which they didn't, Emma tensed again as she heard another animal approach from the other side of the campsite, growling. "Son of a..." She thought. "Now there's going to be some crazy territory fight between the 2 animals and I'm going to be killed! Dammit!" Emma may have acted confident in her skills as an outdoors enthusiast but the truth was she was chicken shit when it came to outdoor survival situations. She quite enjoyed her nights back in the city curled up with a good book. She would have given anything at that moment to be home reading about some poor idiot who had gone hiking by themselves and was trapped in the wilderness with wild animals sniffing at their tent. "Why don't you come out here Princess? We just want to talk." She heard a man call. "Among other things..."mumbled another man. She heard the heavy thud of a fist connecting with a body then the muttered "Sorry Sir". "What about the bears?" She asked, straining to hear the sounds of the bear that she could have sworn was just at the front of her tent. "The...animals are gone now, you can come out Princess." She cautiously exited the tent, keeping a death grip on her bear spray. She came face to face with a giant that towered over her, blocking the stars from her view. She couldn't see much because it was the middle of the night so she fumbled with the flashlight in the other hand, trying to get it on so she can get a look at her rescuer. He sighed and took the flashlight, flipping it on and handing it back. "Why are you calling me princess? Who are you?" She said as she shone the light into the face of an attractive man in his early twenties with a cocky smirk and molten gold eyes. He had an elevated scar on his bottom lip that she was tempted to trace with her tongue and when he caught her staring at his lips his grin grew bigger. "See something you like?" He teased. She was startled by the blunt laugh from somewhere behind her. She spun around with the flashlight looking for the source of the harsh laugh and found a stocky man that looked about as tall as he was wide with shaggy hair and dark eyes. He raised an eyebrow and snapped his teeth at her causing her to take a step back into the tall man who took a hold of her shoulders and spun her around to face him. "That's Eddie, I'm Damon and I call you Princess because you will be my Queen once I kill my uncle." She licked her lips nervously and started to back away "I'm...really not interested. Maybe you guys should leave." Eddie laughed again, reminding Emma of a foghorn, diverting her attention away from the fact that Damon was staring at her with a predatory gleam in his eyes and was starting to stalk her. "We can't do that Princess, because you're mine, and you aren't going anywhere without me." Damon purred as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into his chest. "Crap." She thought "Think Emma. I need a plan to get the hell out of crazytown." Damon's grip on her chin pulled her from her thoughts as he moved to make eye contact with her. "Now are you going to come willingly or will I have to hurt you to make you come with me? I don't want to hurt you Princess, but I will." Emma clenched her jaw stubbornly and clenched her fists reminding her that she still held the bear spray. On impulse she held her breath, closed her eyes and released half the can into his face. The shock caused him to let go of her wrist, allowing her to turn and spray the rest of the can into the other man's face. She grinned triumphantly, feeling mildly guilty about using bear spray on a human. Unfortunately, having been so close to her intended targets, she had inhaled some of in and started to cough violently. She was glad that it hadn't gotten it in her eyes; it felt like live flames were travelling in and out of her lungs every time she took a breath. She stumbled out of the campsite with her flashlight, intending to get as far as possible from the crazy men. Her sandals were definitely not the greatest footwear to stumble through the dark with and her stubbed toes will probably be black and blue tomorrow but it would be better than the alternative of sticking around and being raped by a couple of crazies. Not 5 minutes later she heard a familiar voice "Going somewhere Princess?" She spun around, looking for the giant stalking behind her and found nothing. She turned back around, believing she was just hearing voices only to run into the rigid chest of a very livid Damon. If looks could kill, she would be Tartar. What was worse is that he didn't even seem affected by the spray whereas Emma was still struggling to take a breath and with the incidental contact with his contaminated t-shirt, the irritant was now in her eyes and causing tears to run in a constant heavy stream from her eyes. "What the..." She didn't even have time to think as his hand came down, launching her into a tree and knocking her unconscious. Danger Zone Ch. 02 5 Years Later Emma finished off washing the last of the dishes as she heard footsteps approach the door. A quick peek over her shoulder confirmed her suspicions. "What do you want Damon?" She sighed. "Awww... Don't be like that Princess. Can't we just get along?" "Are you going to let us go?" "Of course not!" Damon scoffed "Then you have your answer." Damon paused, considering his next move. "You would be my queen if I let the other girls go?" Emma studied his face carefully as she dried her hands on a towel. She averted her gaze as she replied. "Don't be ridiculous, you wouldn't let them go because they know your secret. Your version of letting them go is killing them and burying them in the forest." "Ah see you know me too well my Princess. Don't you see we'd be perfect together?" "Perfectly dysfunctional..." She rolled her eyes as she turned away to hang up the towel. She found herself pancaked to the wall as Damon pressed his hard body into hers to keep her in place. "I wasn't done speaking to you Princess. It's rude to turn your back on a person halfway through a conversation. Now apologize." "I'm sorry Dam..." She choked as his forearm pressed heavily into her neck "..Uhhh Sir" "Hmmmm... I'm still not fully convinced. Maybe we need a public punishment to enforce the lesson. But what shall it be..." Damon mused Emma stared at her toes as she waited for him to announce her punishment. She had endured pretty much everything since she has woken up in an underground cell with a headache the size of Mount Everest and bloodshot eyes that wouldn't stop tearing for days afterward. The group of men who had kidnapped her, and 30 other girls after her, were using them as guinea pigs to test different torture and interrogation techniques. Emma wasn't sure why but the sadistic fucks seem to enjoy it too. Damon was partial to starving her. Something about her having to cook and feed all of them but not be able have anything for herself gave the man a hard-on. She knew he avoided the hard physical punishments because he didn't want any permanent damage to mark her skin once she finally accepted him as her mate. It would make Damon look bad in front of the Alpha Council and Damon was all about grooming his mate to be the best arm candy fear and punishment could bring. "Eddie, bring the Little One out of her cage. It's been a while since I've played with her." Emma's shock causes her to lift her gaze to his face. Damon catches her eye and winks at her. "Yes Princess, I think listening to your friends suffer will help your lesson sink in. Now be a good little girl and go back to your cell." Damon turns to leave the kitchen to join his crew in the dungeon but is halted by one word. "Why?" "You know why. You cooperate so much better when your precious girls are threatened." He answered annoyed at the stupid question. "No not that. Why me? What is so special about me that you feel the need to torture me so? It's been years and I haven't given in. I never will. Why don't you just kill me and start over with a new girl? I know you have no trouble killing. You've killed 23 girls without even a blink of the eye. Why won't you just let me go?" Damon turned around just in time to see Emma hastily dab her eyes with her shirt sleeve and freeze. Damon hates seeing girls cry. It usually adds to the punishment. He slowly approaches her frozen form and takes hold of her face with both hands. "Because Princess, I am observant. I see how the girls look at you as their leader. I see how despite the fact that you hate the pack, you put care in the food you prepare for us..." "That's because you would beat me if I burnt the food." She mumbled "AND" He continued on, glaring at her for interrupting "I see how you are fiercely loyal and protective of those you care about almost to fault...no DEFINITELY to a fault. I may exploit it to achieve my goals, but I value it very much. " He started to stroke her cheekbones lightly, staring deeply into her watery eyes "I am also just as stubborn as you Princess. With all the fight you put up, I know your submission will be utterly sweet and all for me. You would make a perfect Alpha but I won't turn you until I know I can trust you not to kill me in my sleep." He chuckled lightly as he stepped away again. "It's not funny. I would do it." She glared at the patronizing expression of humour in his face. "Yes, Yes, and my men will kill every one of your girls in the process." Damon said dismissively, striding eagerly down the hall towards the dungeon room. "Really Princess, I don't know why we have to have this conversation every time. Besides, I know you too. You would never kill me in my sleep; it's the coward's way out. You would want to look me in the eyes as you cut off my head." Emma shrugged as she turned for the basement staircase. "Beggars can't be choosers." She mumbled, hoping he was far enough away to not hear. Emma was pulled backwards by her hair down the hallway into the dungeon room. "For that comment, you not only get the pleasure of hearing your friend take your punishment, you get to watch it too." Damon growled. "Your insubordination is tiring Princess. I will tolerate it no longer." ****** Emma, arms tied above her head and feet cuffed to the ground, watched helplessly as they dragged the petite blonde into the middle of the room. Little One, or Lil' as the other girls called her, was unceremoniously passed around the room as each man groped her body to their hearts desire. Many of them gazed lustily at Emma as they manhandled the girl, wishing it was her they held. She was the property of their Alpha and therefore was clearly in the "look but don't touch" category. While Emma was grateful, she knew it usually meant the girls took a harsher pounding in her place and therefore she felt extremely guilty that she couldn't share the burden of "entertaining" the warriors. When the girls made eye contact, Emma mouthed "Sorry" to the poor girl who would have to endure her punishment. Lil' simply smiled and shook her head, instantly absolving Emma of all sins. Lil' winced as one of the men got a little too excited and shifted slightly, digging his claws into her thigh making Emma clench her jaw. Damon put a stop to the revelry with a firm hand on the man's wrist. "Now Clint, play nicely with the toys. If you break her, it will upset my mate, which will make me very unhappy." "Sorry Sir. Its' been so long since we've punished Little One. I hope it's a bloody one tonight." Clint said with a predatory gleam in his eyes. Lil started to shake uncontrollably and Emma shuddered at the intent in his eyes capturing the attention of Damon. Damon turned and sauntered up to Emma, running a hand down her ribcage. "So Princess, since this is your punishment, what do you think the punishment should be?" With all eyes on her, Emma hesitated. Did he actually want her to give him an idea or did he want her to defer to him as her mate to choose the punishment. What answer would get her off with a lighter punishment? What game was he playing today? "Tick tock Princess..." "What exactly am I being punished for? Knowing my crimes may give me a better idea of an appropriate punishment." "Let's start with Insubordination and Lack of Proper Etiquette when addressing your mate. Quit stalling." "Since the crimes are against my mate, I think you should be the one to choose the punishment." She replied hoping that was the answer he was looking for. Her heart dropped when his mouth tightened and he didn't say anything for a few moments. Then he nodded and smiled warmly. "A wise choice mate. You will make an excellent alpha one of these days." He turned to the group and announced "20 lashes with the cat o' nine to both the front and back of the Little One for insubordination of my mate. I will personally deliver 20 blows to each cheek of my mate's delectable behind to remind her never to turn her back of me when we are speaking. Both are to be put on rations for the next 2 weeks." The men roared their approval. Throughout the whole ordeal Emma never broke eye contact with Lil' and neither made a peep despite the blood trailing on the ground towards the drain in the middle of the floor. ****** Back in her cell Emma paced. Damon was right and she hated it. If she decided to misbehave, all he had to do was threaten one of her friends and she'd fall back into line. He had no issues hurting them to hurt her. He wasn't aware of how attached she was to the other girls until he decided to start testing experimental drugs on Lil'. Emma had attacked one of his men taking advantage of the girl barely breathing on the concrete floor. In her rage she forgot herself and tried to pull him off Lil'. Reflexively he had struck out, leaving 4 bloody claw marks in her right cheek. He would have killed her if the others hadn't pulled him off her. Damon came onto the scene to find 4 men restraining the half shifted man and Emma holding the fragile blonde crying and rocking silently with blood running heavily down her cheek, staining her shirt. Once calmed the man instantly regretted striking the alpha's possession in anger but the damage was done. Emma would be permanently scarred from the incident. Damon killed the man for his actions and locked Emma in her cell with no food or water for a week in his disgust that he had to kill one of his men because of her. Lil' was treated and recovered from the ordeal. Damon still uses her to test new drugs but now he stays in the house until she recovers to prevent any further incidents. Damon then tested his theory that Emma cared for the other "toys" by dragging her to every torture and punishment session. While she tried not to react during the sessions, Damon would always receive reports that Emma was found later comforting and hovering protectively over the affected girl. It was clear she felt responsible for the others. When he confronted her about that fact, she tried to shrug it off, claiming that she doesn't risk getting too close to any others less one of the men break their "toys" by playing too rough or he kills them himself because he grows tired of them. Damon's response was to grab Peaches around the neck and slowly squeeze. He informed her that he won't let go until she admits she cares for the others and feels responsible for them. She capitulated only after she saw how the show was affecting Peaches' twin sister Cream. The smug bastard's last words echo in her head every day "Just remember: good mates are left alone to run free, bad mates get to watch their friends die slow painful tortuous deaths." She now has free reign of the house during the day but she is expected to cook and clean for the pack. Damon knows she won't run away because that would put her friends at risk. At night she is locked in her cell with the other 7 girls in the basement. They spend the night talking about insubstantial things or telling stories to chase away their fears of being kept prisoner by 15 monsters that they wished were still mythical. "You ok B?" A voice called from the cell to the left of her pulling her from her thoughts. Peaches, or Lena was kidnapped with her twin sister Alice, or Cream, when they were hiking with their boyfriends. They were looking for a quiet location for some afternoon delight when they came upon the group of men Damon calls his "recruiters". The recruiters killed the 2 men and took off with the girls when it was made obvious that the girls had no qualms about bisexuality...or incest. "Yeah Lena, I'm good. I'll be sore but it's nothing compared to Lil's injuries. Lil' how are you feeling?" "It's just blood B. I'll live so long as they don't want to play with me in the next few days and reopen the wounds." Awkward silence met that statement. They never gave the injured girls enough time to heal. That's why they've "broken" 23 toys in the past 5 years and had to replace them with new girls. This batch of girls was the fourth or fifth she had seen and Emma was proud they lasted longer than others. Most toys lasted 6 months to a year before they had to be replaced. Peaches & Cream have lasted a year and a half because of their novelty. Lil' reached the 2 year mark a couple of weeks ago. Doc, or Betty, is a necessity for the pack when they have big fights. She's a trauma surgeon who has been here for a year. Deuce and Ange have been here a year as well but they are so traumatized by their experience that they are on the verge of being replaced. The others try to talk to them but both have become so paranoid of others that they have stopped responding in general, though every so often you can hear Ange humming. They just sit in their cells staring at the wall for hours on end. Damon could leave their doors unlocked and wide open and neither girl would even notice let alone consider making a run for it. Pure and simple, they were broken and on the verge of being replaced. Suzy is only 1 month in and is still in denial. Emma's learned that its better they come out of that stage on their own, it can't be forced. The only time she intrudes is when they stick around in the anger stage. Being angry in this environment can get you killed. Emma is the only one who can get away with openly defying orders because only the alpha can order her death and most of the time he is more amused by her antics than angry or annoyed. Emma has considered endless times to run and get help; she even has an escape plan. However, she knows if she leaves them to fend for themselves, they will die. 5 years is a lot of time to perfect your interrogation techniques. Exhausted, Emma crouches down and leans against the wall. Due to her sore bottom, she can't sit to sleep. All of the girls slept propped up against the wall to avoid falling asleep in one of the stagnant pools of water in their cells. Emma learned in the beginning that it's quite easy to drown in 3 inches of water so she learned to sleep in a seated position. Crouching will be very uncomfortable and very awkward but there is no way she was going to lay down to sleep. Emma fell asleep with a plea to an unresponsive god to save them. ****** Peter lowered his infrared binoculars and cursed. After witnessing the horrifying show of what he assumed was a small child being whipped, he knew he had to do something, and fast. "Damn!" He thought. "How could I have been so ignorant of the fact that I had rogues setting up shop in my territory?" "Everyone prepare to move when the scouts return to the house at 23:20."He sent out to his warriors. While he waited for the 15 minutes to pass, he checked his ammunition and gently cleaned his knives, mentally preparing for the bloodbath that will ensue later that night. ****** Emma woke up to the sound of one of the men entering Ange's cell. This was followed by the sound of clothes rustling and a sigh of relief. The men used Ange and Deuce more or less like receptacles for their cum when they didn't want to fight with one of the others. It disgusted her that they held the girls in such low regard. She couldn't see who it was because the only way she could see outside her cell was through the food slot in the cell door. The sound of Ange's light whimpering added to Emma's guilt. She wished she could do something without endangering their lives. She leaned back against the concrete wall and reviewed her memorized list of faces and names of each of the men who were part of this pack. She had promised herself on day 1 that she was going to kill every one of them when she got free and that was one promise she wasn't going to renege on. The house shook as an explosion blew out all the windows. Even with her ears ringing, she could hear the shouts of many men enter the house and the sound of gunfire. They were saved! The man in the cell also deduced the meaning of the attack and swiftly snapped Ange's neck like a toothpick before moving onto Deuce's cell. "Oh crap he's going to kill us all!" Emma thought frantically. She heard footsteps descending the stairs and hoped they would make it in time before the man killed Deuce too. "Don't move or I'll shoot!" Cried the man at the foot of the stairs, pointing his semi-automatic at the man in the cell. With a growl the man broke Deuce's neck then leapt at the gunman, shifting into a 9 foot wolfman. Flashes of light and gunfire was all Emma could process as the wolf fell to the ground riddled with holes, eyes wide open. Emma felt grim satisfaction in seeing Eddie dying in a pool of his own blood and feces. "One down, 14 to go" was all she could think as she watched the light fade from his eyes. She looked up and made eye contact with Doc who was in the cell across from hers, seeing the horror and pity in her eyes. Doc took her Hippocratic Oath way too seriously. Eddie deserved to die a painful death after what he had put all of them through. It was his idea to test interrogation techniques on them in the first place. Her view was blocked by a pair of large muscle legs, clad in cargo pants as he fumbled with the keys to the lock. Holy crap he was bigger than Dante! She scurried back into the far corner, suddenly wary of the man's intentions. He opened the door and she could see the pity and...shame he felt as he looked at her. "My name is Peter. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm here to help. Those men are dead, you can come out, it's safe." Emma remained frozen on the other side of the room. When Peter took a step towards her, she whimpered and tried to press herself further into the wall, wincing as her bruised ass made contact with the cold concrete. Peter backed away slowly and walked out of her cell. "I'm going to let the others out. You can come out whenever you're ready." Emma was shocked and a little confused. He respected her personal space; he didn't force her to do anything. Is he for real? Are we really safe now? With that thought, Emma let a little bit of her guard down and slowly approached the open cell door, expecting Peter to slam it shut at any moment as a joke. As she looked out, she could see Peter opening their cell doors and talking softly to each girl, trying to coax them out. She could tell he was trying not to be intimidating but it was lost on the other girls due to his enormous size. ****** By the time Peter reached the last cell, others had joined him in trying to get the girls to leave their cells. When he opened her cell, he took an audible breath. She was fast asleep but still covered in blood. This must be the child they had whipped. His gasp had drawn the attention of the others and they gathered outside her door, trying to get a glimpse of the thing that had shocked their alpha. Dan caught a whiff of a heavenly scent, lilies and peanut butter, and recognized the scent of his mate. His eyes shifted and he growled "Mine!" as he tried to push through the crowd that stood around her cell. Once he saw the state that she was in he let out an agonized howl, startling Lil' awake. Seeing the large group of men crowded outside her cell she screamed and started to babble "You promised. You promised. You promised..." Dan ran up and took her in his arms "It's ok Little One, you're safe now. I won't let anybody hurt you." With the mention of her nickname, her babbling became incoherent and she started shrieking, struggling fiercely to get away out of his grasp. At Lil's screams, Emma lost it. She dropped a shoulder through the group of men, many who had backed away covering their ears to ward off the shrieking, and tackled Dan to the ground. The shock of being tackled caused Dan to let go of Lil'. "Run Lil'!" Emma yells as she tries to hold down the man on the floor. Without hesitation, Lil takes off running for the stairway only to be caught around the waist by Peter. "Dammit Dan, you idiot! Shhh it's ok....SOMEONE GET THE TRANQS....shhhh" He says as he tries to sooth the struggling girl. Danger Zone Ch. 02 Every time Dan tries to get up, Emma knocks him down with a well placed kick or punch until he's herded into a corner. He holds his hands up in surrender and tries to reason with her. "Ow...stop it...you don't understand, she's my mate, I would never hurt her." Emma went deathly still at the admission that Lil was his mate. Then she pounced on him. "You. Will. Never. Be. Her. Mate." She punctuated each word with a punch or a kick. "She. Is. INNOCENT." She continued to rain down punches on his head and neck until she went limp on top of him. Dan looked up at his Alpha's holding the syringe "Let that go on a little long don't you think?" He scowled. Peter shrugged. "Meh you deserved it for scaring the crap out of your traumatized mate. I wonder how long it will be before she lets you near her." "Who, my mate or her champion?" He says as he gently lifts the girl and carries her out to the awaiting car. "Your mate. You'll need her on your side so she can convince this one to call off the hit on you." Peter smirks as he closes the door. "Man for such an emaciated little thing, she sure packs a punch." Dan says in awe as he rubs his sore jaw. Peter laughed as they walked back to the house. As he walked issued orders to half of the team to get the girls back to the compound and treated for malnutrition and any injuries. The other half he ordered to do a ground sweep to see if they missed anyone then build a pyre to burn the bodies. Their kind doesn't leave any traces behind. Danger Zone Ch. 03 A/N: Sorry it took me so long to submit this, I was caught up in the drama that is house hunting. The good news is I found a place, the bad news is that I will be dropping off the face of the planet (again) in about a month. Hopefully I will be able to get a couple of chapters in before then. Again, sorry. I always hated when authors stop mid series, how sad I have become one of them... * Emma awoke to the sensation of her warm, comfortable queen-sized bed. "God" She groaned "what a dream." she thought groggily. "No, what a nightmare!" she amended. "And right before my camping trip. Great." Emma snuggled deeper in her covers, trying to shake off the memories of the nightmare. It seemed so real. After a dream like that she debated just rolling over and getting some real sleep instead of getting up and going on her backpacking trip. Unfortunately her bladder had other plans. With a groan, she rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, promptly shutting them when the bright morning sun got in her eyes. "Owww..." She thought "Did I forget to shut my blackout curtains last night?" She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling though slit eyelids, trying to adjust to the bright light. "Wait, my ceiling isn't blue..." She raised her head to look around her and spotted the large wooden post that led to the canopy that hung above her bed. She sat up quickly in shock, her bladder protesting loudly "I don't have a canopy bed, or a 4 post bed for that matter. What the hell?" She took a better look around the room, noting the antique looking furniture, the huge fireplace in the corner and the paintings on the wall. It was like stepping back to Victorian England. "Either I'm still dreaming or I've gone back in time." Emma thought wildly. She reached down to pinch her thigh, hard. "Yep I'm awake. Where the hell am I?" A piece of paper on her nightstand caught her attention. She opened it in hopes it will give her the answers and reads: Hello, Our names are Peter and Jane MacDougall. We are the alphas of our pack and you are in our compound. You are safe. We have eliminated all members of the rogue pack that kidnapped you and the other girls. We have no intention of harming you or forcing you into doing anything you don't want to. We thought this letter would be less intimidating than us waiting by your bedside to greet you. Your friends are also safe. They each have their own rooms in this hallway. Feel free to come and go as you please. Attached is a map of your suite and the wing to which you girls are located. We look forward to meeting you in person. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at the number listed below. P & J Emma contemplated the letter, deciding whether she was really free or if this was simply a nicer cage for them to hold her. Soon, more pressing issues arose, causing Emma to open random doors in search of her supposed en-suite bathroom, quickly bypassing the walk-in closet that seemed to be jammed pack with clothes to locate the, hallelujah, washroom. After taking care of her needs, Emma finally noticed her surroundings. "Is that supposed to be the bathtub or a small pool?" She mused, also taking in the shower in the corner that was about the size of her bathroom at home. She debated a shower vs. a bath and settled on the shower, promising herself she will luxuriate in the tub at a later date. She was anxious to check on the other girls, to make sure they were being treated fairly. She cranks the tap all the way to hot, excited for her first warm shower in 5 years. She closes her eyes and revels in the steamy air moving in and out of her lungs. As she steps into the shower, the water drenches her waist length curly hair, causing it to straighten all the way to the top of her butt cheeks. She hasn't cut her hair in 5 years and it showed in the large rats nest and split ends throughout her hair. It was tradition for all new "toys" to be shaved bald when they first enter the house, a way of determining rank (i.e. how long they've been there). She was always conscious of the looks of awe and fear that crossed the newbies faces whenever she first introduced herself. It was her duty as "alpha" to welcome all the new girls and introduce the rules. Any girl that forgot or disobeyed a rule would be reflected on Emma, because obviously she did not teach them properly. "Well maybe if I'm so free, they will let me cut my hair." Emma thought as she dumped a handful of shampoo into her hair, lathering and rinsing the grease and dirt out. There was less than expected. "Hmm...they must have bathed me when I was..." Emma realization that her so called rescuers had sedated her causes a flash of anger and pain. Anger because they had sedated her, pain because they had lied to her about her being free. If they truly wanted her free, they would have just left her there to make it back to society on her own, they wouldn't have felt the need to sedate her so they could transport her to a new location. She sighs, simply accepting this new development. She will look for an escape route soon but right now she is going to enjoy her hot shower. The ice baths the girls endured at the house will forever leave her with the fear of drowning and hypothermia. Stepping out of the bathroom, she cased her room for possible escape routes. She quickly ditches the plan off the balcony, not because they are on the 3rd floor but because there is a motion detector camera pointed at the balcony. They would know the moment she steps on the balcony. Thankfully there are no cameras mounted in the room or in the bathroom. They're not blatant perverts at least. It's a step up from their previous jailers. Reaching the door to the hallway, she places her ear to the door, trying to detect anyone waiting for her to come out in order to attack. Nothing. She opens the door a crack and peers out. No movement. She does however spot the camera at the end of the hall, pointing at their doors. Taking a risk, Emma uses her fist to pound hard on the door frame 3 times. With this signal she hopes to catch the attention of the other girls without drawing the attention of their new captors. After some tense moments, she is rewarded with the scrape of doors being gently opened and 2 sets of blue-grey eyes peering at her from across the hall and one set of bright green eyes staring kiddie corner to her door. They wait silently for the sounds of approaching feet, notifying them that her signal has been heard and her captors are on their way to stop them. Nothing. The camera must not have a microphone. "Ice and Lois is that you?" She whispers to the girls across the hall, still not wanting to risk being heard. Both girls nod their head. "Lil' is next to us and Doc is next to you." Lena responds, nodding her head in their directions. "Where's Suzy?" Emma's question is met with stony silence. "Ummm" She hears Lil's voice pipe up from her left. "She committed suicide. Jumped off the balcony when we first got here." "That's why they installed cameras on the balconies and why they don't like us going out on the balcony. You go out and within a minute, you have one of them knocking on the door asking if everything is ok." Alice adds. Emma's guilty conscience sags further under the load that another girl put under her care is now dead from senseless violence. "She didn't even have a nickname yet." She whines. Suzy didn't have a nickname yet because she hadn't been around long enough. Most of the girls gained their nicknames after the group discovered some identifying personality trait that stood out. Lena was Lois because she won't stop asking questions and she still holds hope that somebody will rescue them. Alice was Ice because she distances herself from her situation by sitting perfectly still by the lone window in the cell, living in her fantasy world. Emma was B which stood for Boss. Lil's real name is Liliana so her nickname wasn't much of a stretch. The girls always made sure they pronounced her nickname clearly so that it wouldn't be confused with "Little One". Their nicknames were kept secret from the men who kept them prisoner. The basement was their refuge from the corny pet names the men called them. Doc will never be able to hear the endearment "Darling" without having a horrendous flashback to her induction ceremony. "It's not your fault." All 4 girls chime in. "God," Mumbles Lena, "You weren't even there. You couldn't have stopped her." "I should have been." Grouses Emma. "I promised all of you that I would always be there for you." "And what would you have done when Suzy decided to take the flying leap off the balcony?" Alice asks. "Contrary to popular belief, you can't fly and we would have lost both of you. It would have caused more pain and emotional damage to lose our leader." Emma stuck her tongue out at Alice and was met by 3 tongues sticking back at her. She could only guess Doc was sticking her tongue out too, she couldn't see her. "Wait," Doc speaks up "What if they can hear us and are faking it so that they can eavesdrop on us?" All the girls sober up at the thought. Switching into their own personal sign language Emma motions the girls to come into her room to talk. She watches as Alice relays the message to Doc. Having to design their own sign language was made necessary for them to communicate with Doc. Doc's form of torture caused her to go partially deaf. The men would scream directly in her ear when she was in the process of sewing up their injuries. They apparently were teaching her how to keep focus in a loud and distracting environment. If she lost focus, they would beat her and leave her in a room with death metal on full blast. It was so loud it would shake the foundation and leave the girls in the basement covered in cement dust. Doc learned quickly never to lose focus. Nowadays, she can hear people, for the most part, when they talk at a normal volume but if they whisper she can't hear or understand them. She is learning to lip read but whispering causes the words to distort so she can't be sure she knows that they are saying. All the girls file into her room and with a last look at the hallways camera, Emma closes the door. "Ok... So how long have I been out and what's been going on?" Emma says as she settles into one of the comfy chairs in front of the fireplace. "You've been out 3 days and apart from the suicide and the camera installation they've pretty much left us alone." Lena speaks up, taking the other fireside seat. "They deliver meals 3 times a day and we can order food whenever we want." Alice adds, stepping behind her sister. "We met the alphas. They seem really nice." Lil' says as she flops onto the bed "Aww man your bed is comfier than mine." She whines. "They haven't questioned us about what happened in the house. I think they were waiting for you to come to." Doc finishes as she flops onto the bed next to Lil'. "Wait you actually eat what they serve you? What if it's drugged?" "It's not drugged. I would know." Lil' snaps, offended that Emma would think she would let the others eat drugged food. "I don't doubt you Lil', I just don't know how much we can trust these guys." Emma says, trying to soothe Lil's bruised ego. Lil bites her lower lip "I know your paranoid and everything but I don't think they are going to hurt us. They seem genuinely nice. Can't you just give them the benefit of the doubt?" Lil pleads, flashing her best puppy dog eyes at Emma. Emma hesitates, not wanting to hurt Lil's feelings again. "She really does see the good in everybody." She thinks "But I can't just throw away years of experience with these creatures because of her gut feelings". She is just about to respond that she can't trust them when someone knocks on the door. "Saved by the knock" Emma sighs internally. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Peter asks Jane telepathically, "Shouldn't we just leave them to catch up and give them the opportunity to contact us when their ready?" "No." Jane responds firmly, "First of all, I want to meet this fiery tempered girl that had big bad Dan cowed into a corner and secondly, they know that we were watching them through the cameras, if we don't fess up to it, they'll never trust us. We need to earn their trust if we expect them to make the transformation. I don't want to have to kill them after everything they've been through." She finishes with tears in her eyes. The door is opened, allowing them to see the 2 girls in the chairs by the fireplace and the 2 girls lying on the bed. The girl who answers the door stares at them with ice blue eyes. None of them say anything, waiting on the alphas to break the tense silence. "Ummm hello, I am Peter, this is Jane. We saw that you were awake and we wanted to see how you were doing." "I'm fine thank you Peter." Emma answers pleasantly. "That's good to hear. Is there anything you need?" "Need, no. I am curious, however, why I was the only one who was sedated for 3 days?" "It wasn't on purpose, you apparently don't respond well to the tranquilizers. It took 3 days for you to come out of it. We were worried you would never wake up." Jane spoke up defensively, trying to show their concern for her health. "It's true." Lil' jumps in "They kept on having to sedate me because I kept freaking out because you wouldn't wake up and you promised you'd never leave me alone but you did." She took a deep breath after her rambling sentence. Emma glances sorrowfully at Lil' "I'm sorry Lil', I'll make it up to you." She then glares stonily at the alpha pair. "And how often did you have to sedate Lil'?" The pair shifted nervously. "Geez," Mumbles Peter in Jane's head "I feel sorry for the poor sucker who gets the benefit of her glare once she accepts that she is a latent alpha. And her mate should he ever piss her off." "Lil is on the other side of the spectrum from you. She metabolizes the sedative faster than most so while we tried other tactics to calm her down we did have to sedate her a couple of times." Peter answers "How many times?" Emma repeats her question, not letting it go. "At least 3 times a day though today was only once because you woke up." Jane answers "Quantitative amount... please?" Emma grits her teeth. "8" "Thank you." "Any other questions?" "When can we go home?" Both alphas exchange looks. "You can't." Peter responds regretfully. "Ah so you are capable of a clear response. Don't worry, I expected it, I just wanted to see if you were going to try and skirt that topic too." Peter grunts in response. "Anything else?" "Not right now but thanks for stopping by. It's good to have met you in person." Emma smiles pleasantly again. "Would you like to join us for supper at 6 tonight or do you want us to bring your food up again?" Jane asks, causing the group to stiffen as they try to determine if it was an order, a request or an offer. Peter shoots her a sharp glace and immediate follow ups with "No pressure, you don't have to join us. We just thought you might want to meet some of the members of the pack. It's no problem to bring you your meals. Jane is just trying to be welcoming." "Tell me, is the food plated or buffet?" "Cafeteria style." "Oh good. I think I will be joining you for supper. I will leave it up to the girls to choose whether they are comfortable enough to eat around strangers or whether they want to eat here." The 4 other girls quickly volunteer to join them for dinner. Peter and Jane say their quick goodbyes and shut the bedroom door behind them. "Why do I feel like I just ran a marathon? I'm exhausted." Peter moans. Jane laughs "I know how you feel. I'm pretty sure my deodorant failed me multiple times over. You handled yourself well, you answered questions and now they will be coming down for supper." "Oh don't remind me, I'm going to have to remind the rest of the pack to tread carefully around them so they don't cause any further damage. I don't know if my poor frazzled nerves can handle it." "Well luckily for you I have the perfect solution for frazzled nerves. If you'll accompany me to our room, you'll find I have some pretty creative relaxation techniques." Jane smiles as she gently strokes his lower back. "I think I know what you're thinking and that will definitely not help sooth my nerves." Jane stops in the hallway and blinks innocently at him "But you always draw me a bubble bath when I'm stressed, I'm just trying to return the favour." She says as her lower lip starts to tremble and tears fill her eyes. "Aww hell babe...I meant..." "No no, you made it perfectly clear my help is not needed or wanted. I'll just enjoy the bath all by myself then." She says as she starts down the hallway. Peter's jaw drops as he finally catches onto her plot "Minx." He growls. She giggles as she walks faster down the hall. "Besides, I never liked the smell of wet dog. It would totally throw me off my meal." She teases. "Such a shame, I've always loved the smell of wet pussy. In fact I smell one right now." He grins wolfishly. She stops briefly to pull off her thong and slingshot it into Peter's face. "You know it." She winks. "You better hurry up or I'll get started without you." Peter takes a deep inhale of her underwear, his eyes flashing briefly. "Run Little Red. If I catch you, I'll eat you." Jane's eyes widen further then she takes off down the hallways giggling, her straight cinnamon hair swaying enticingly behind her. Peter follows closely in a confident stalk after his prey, frazzled nerves completely forgotten. Danger Zone Ch. 04 A/N: A thousand times sorry. Massive Writer's Block + Crazy January + Procrastination makes for a very lengthy writing process. To the anonymous reader who sent me an e-mail: THANK YOU! You got me back on track and refocused. Much appreciated. There will be many more chapters but I admit I am horrible at writing sex scenes so those are taking longer than expected. Here is what I have so far. Enjoy! * The girls arrived late for dinner due to Lil' wanting to change her outfit 3 times. Who knew there was a perfect "first dinner with a pack of wolves" outfit? As they entered the dining room, conversation stopped as all eyes descended on the 5 women. "Out of the frying pan, into the fire." Mumbles Lena. "Welcome ladies." Jane says as she stands up from her plate. "Come have a seat at our table." This statement caused a rumble in the pack. Humans eating at the alpha table, what heresy! A loud growl from Peter silenced the dissonance. Peter scowled at his pack before plastering a smile on and greeting the ladies approaching their table. As soon as they were seated, plates and cutlery were placed in front of them by the serving omegas. All 5 ladies kindly thanked the omegas causing them to pull back in shock. "What?" Ice spoke up "Did you not expect us to have manners or something?" Emma stares fearfully at the alpha pair as she realized Ice just back talked a pack member in front of the alphas. This is going to be a bad punishment. Noticing the nervous fidgeting of the other 3, she knew they had the exact same thought. They were nervous enough when Emma had chosen to question the alpha pair in private but this was blatant disrespect in public. Putting her hand gently on Ice's knee, Emma spoke directly to the Alpha pair "I apologize for Al... uh, her behaviour, we are a little on edge being surrounded by so many, uh, people. Maybe we should take our dinner up to our room and meet the pack at a later time. Ladies?" All 5 ladies stood up to leave only to be stopped by Jane's annoyed voice. "Oh do sit down. They were just surprised someone thanked them for doing their job. Clearly we haven't done a good job if the pack is surprised by people with good manners." Emma slowly sat back, followed by the other girls. Peter watched the group curiously. "Why are you purposely avoiding calling each other by name in front of other people? Shouldn't we know your names if you are soon to be part of our pack?" He asked Emma. Emma stiffened and remained silent, watching the alpha warily. She answered coolly "I don't think this is an appropriate dinner conversation. Can we continue this discussion at a later time, in private? I'm rather hungry, I thing I'll go check out the spread." Emma stood up again with her plate in hand and headed off to the food trays, glancing occasionally at the alpha pair, watching for any sign of an attack. The other ladies silently joined her at the food, Lil' sparing a glance for the guard at the doorway looking dejectedly at the floor. She vaguely remembered him from the night they were rescued from the house. She then remembered he called her "Little One" causing her to sniff and strut past him with her nose held high. Dan sighs sadly at his mate's snub. Dan doubted his mate would ever let him talk to her to explain. "Try flowers and chocolate. Women love those things" His alpha piped up in his mind. "Don't listen to my idiotic mate, they never worked on me. She's scared and surrounded by a group of strangers that can snap her in two easily. Show her your kind heart and she will come around. She just needs time to adapt. I know patience isn't your strong point but you have to reign in your wolf or she'll run." Jane interrupted. Dan ignored their advice and settled on watching her from afar filling up her plate. Well not filling it up as much as nit picking over the food set out for the pack. Dan was sure no one could survive on that little food but was hesitant to tell his petite mate that. He had a feeling his advice would not be well received. As Lil' walked back to their table, her behind was accosted by a large male hand causing her to squeak a protest and turn suddenly towards her attacker. She didn't even have time to see his face before her view was blocked by a large body. Make that a very large, very muscular body. God she would give anything to sink her teeth in that perfectly shaped ass... Lil' shook her head at the impure thought. She had been saving herself for "the one" before she was kidnapped during her youth group camping trip and was very naïve about the relationship between men and women before Damon took her virginity. She now knew what all men wanted and that they were willing to hurt her to get it. Looking up, she was stunned at the look of rage in Dan's eyes as he gripped the other man's collar. She squeaked again, this time in fear. She had seen this look on the men from the house before they shifted and she would be way too close if this big man decided to shift. Hearing the noise and smelling fear from his mate, Dan's rage was replaced by concern for his mate and he glanced down to see what had her so scared. Slowly realizing he was the reason for her fear, he dropped the creep down and with a low warning growl told the man to stay away from his mate and her friends. Softening his gaze, he turned to face the woman white-knuckling her plate. Taking a protective stance, he gently led her to the alpha table, pulled out her chair, sat her into it and put her plate in front of her. Wishing her "bon appetit" he returned to his station. Part of his punishment for losing control in the house was that he was on guard duty at meal times and was left with the leftovers after everyone else was finished. Lil' spent the rest of the meal picking at her food and sneaking peeks at the mysterious man on guard until Lena finally sighed "Will you go talk to him already?" "What?" Lil' said distractedly. "Just go talk to him. You know you want to and based on that lost puppy dog look he gives you every time you look away; he wants you to talk to him." "He called me Little One." Lil' hissed. "When?" "When they came to save us at the house." "So clearly he didn't know. Tell him not to call you that and jump his bones. Dude's a stud muffin and he's head over heels for you." Lena shrugged. "I can't jump his bones!" Lil said, alarmed at Lena's advice "And stay away from him." She added as an afterthought. "Ooooo, jealous?" "No... just..." Lil' stuttered. "I wonder why he's so enamoured." Doc piped in. "He's her mate." Snorted Emma. All 4 shocked gazes landed on Emma shovelling her food in her mouth. "Whaf?" Emma said with her mouth full as she noticed everyone staring at her. "How do you know he's her mate?" Doc asked. "He announced it in the house after he accosted her, in front of everyone." Emma said, rolling her eyes "He made it sound like that was a good thing. Like having a possessive bastard who refuses to let you do anything and uses you like his own personal sex toy is a good thing." "That's not what having a mate is like." Interrupted Peter. "I would never to that do that to my mate. Mates are two halves a whole. You can't harm one side without doing damage to the other." "Well good for you for having such a happy and healthy relationship but that was not my experience with my mate." Replied Emma bitterly. "Well then he wasn't your mate." Jane replied. "Just because he beat me, that automatically means he's not my mate?" "Yes." Both alphas replied. "So you've never seen or heard of an abusive werewolf relationship?" Emma pressed. "No. People who hurt others simply for the joy of it are considered rogues and therefore terminated." Peter replied. "So simple yet I was stuck in a household full of SADISTIC FUCKS FOR FIVE YEARS!" Emma shouted as she stood up, causing her chair to topple backwards. Taking a deep breath, she finished politely "I apologize; it seems I have lost my appetite. If you'll excuse me, I think I will take a walk." Jane nodded. "Adam and Greg will accompany you." Emma glanced nervously at the two men that stood when Jane called their names. "Men?" Her voice cracked. "None of you can leave the compound without protection. They are honorable people and should they try to force you, their lives are forfeit." Peter spoke, making eye contact with each man individually, receiving a nod from each in return. Emma hesitated briefly before nodding and turning towards the door, mumbling under her breath about "babysitters". Pausing at the door, she stopped in front of Dan and poked a slender finger into the middle of his chest. "She is a good person and deserves the best. If you break her heart, hurt her in any way I will cut off your balls and choke you with them. Capiche?" Dan slowly nodded. "Good. Consider yourself on probation. Any funny business and I will end you." She replied as she strode out the door followed by her guards. "Looks like her champion approves of the match...for now." Peter's voice filtered into his head followed by his laughter. "I'll never get women." Groused Dan. Looking over at the table after Emma's sudden departure, Dan could see Lil' openly examining him. Looking at his alpha for permission to leave his post, he approached her slowly, stopping when Lil' started to get nervous at his proximity. "Hello, my name is Daniel Alexander Larsen. I apologize for not properly introducing myself and for calling you that horrible nickname, I did not know and I feel guilty for any harm I may have caused you." Lil' licked her lips nervously, looking at the other 3 for ideas as to what to do. All 3 shrugged and glanced at the door, pointing out that Emma was ok with it. "Liliana. And that's all you're going to get. It's their choice to tell you their names." She said boldly, tilting her chin towards her friends. Dan's smile was dazzling as he finally heard her name. "Liliana, a beautiful name for a beautiful flower. May I call you Lily?" Lily, stunned, nodded mutely. Emma stomped through the forest trying to work off some of her anger as well as planning a way to lose her babysitters. She needed time to herself, away from other people, including her friends and especially the pack. She had to admit, the two men assigned to her protection took their job seriously. Their eyes were constantly scanning the forest and they were always within arm's length, in the event they need to pull her out of the path of danger. Or pull her back from making a break for it. "Don't need overzealous, beefed up nannies. I'm fine by myself, just Fine." She mumbled under her breath, not noticing the two men exchange glances over her head. "This chick is crazy man. I think it would have been kinder if Alpha MacDougall had just put her out of her misery." "No kidding bro. Did she really say she spent 5 years with those psychos? Do you think she's exaggerating?" "Nah, I think 5 years would turn any nice, sane individual into the mumbling, bipolar woman in front of us. Did you see the way she blew up at the alphas then suddenly turned around and politely excused herself? Cuckoo..." "Yeah if only she were a little saner, I'd totally seduce her. After 5 years of rape, she probably only needs to be shown a little tenderness and she'll come tumbling into bed." "Nah, she too much skin and bones for my taste. I'd be afraid to break her but go for it man. Maybe a little tenderness will bring her back from the brink. I would hate to have to clean up after another suicide." "When you guys are finished eye fucking my ass and talking about me behind my back, can you do me a favor and get lost for a bit? I need some time to think on my own." Emma called over her shoulder. "How the hell did she know what we were doing?" Greg asked Adam. Adam simply shrugged. "Sorry Sug. Our orders come from the alpha and nothing can negate them. We're here to protect you." Adam replied, openly leering at her bouncing ass. "Sug? Oh great more pet names. Let me give you some advice, Babe. Pet names are likely to get you strung up a flagpole by your underwear in my group of friends. I would avoid using them around us, especially the sugary sweet stereotypes. And tell me, what the hell are you supposed to be protecting me from? That owl?" She turned and faced the men, her arms crossed. "There are real wolves and bears in this forest." "It's the middle of summer. Wolves have better options that an emaciated human that will fight them off and bears only attack out of fear not out of hunger. So long as I don't run into mama bear with baby bear on the other side of me I'll be fine." "The other packs are looking for women to mate with." "My bet is that you guys run patrols along the border and that you've upped the frequency of the patrols not only because you are protecting a group of female humans but also because what happened to us could also have happened to your women and children. The other packs wouldn't get in without an invite." "Those sickos who took you in the first place." Emma shook her head. "Peter said they were gone and we were safe. Are you saying he lied?" "The alpha" Greg said, emphasizing the title "wouldn't lie. We got all of the wolves in the house but we can't be sure we got them all." "Well here's an easy solution, why don't you ask the 5 people who had been living there. There were 15 sadistic werewolves there and 8 of us in the cellar." Adam and Greg regarded her in silence. "You know," Adam hesitated "That mouth will get you in trouble one of these days. Sarcasm and constant argument doesn't function well in a pack." "No Shit Sherlock. Little late for that warning." Emma said as she pointed to her scarred cheek. Both men fell silent in guilt. Emma sighed. "Fine let's compromise. I would feel more alone if you guys were in your wolf forms." "You would feel safe with us sporting sharp teeth and claws after what you went through?" Greg asked. "Oh boy, she's gone off the deep end." He sent to his buddy. "No I didn't say that. I said I would feel more alone which is what I need to be in order for me to be able to sort my thoughts. Alone." Emma's condescending tone brought up the men's hackles. "Part of us protecting you is making sure you feel safe. You aren't comfortable with us in wolf form so we won't do it." Adam stated firmly. Emma rolled her eyes. "I'll be plenty comfortable so long as you don't attack me. Plus wouldn't it be better preparation if you were already in wolf form in the event we were attacked? I'm pretty sure the enemy won't wait for you to shift before they attack." Both men glance at each other and came to a decision. They started to unbutton their shirts. "WHOA WHOA WHOA! Hold your horses there cowboy. I did NOT sign up for a peep show. You two can change in the bushes and come out after you've completely shifted. Christ almighty, give a girl a heart attack why don't you?" Emma grumbled as she firmly covered her eyes with her hands. "Bark or something once you're decent." "Woof" Quipped Adam as he went behind a tree. "Ha ha, so not funny." Adam chuffed as he came out of the bushes, scenting the area for any sign of danger. As he looked around the clearing he noticed something was missing, THE GIRL! "Uh dude?" "Hold on, I'm still changing." Greg's voice rumbled as he adapted to the wolf vocals. "Yeah well we have a problem. Hurry." Adam replied as he started sniffing around, trying to locate the girl's scent, looking for a hint of which direction she went. "Ok I'm here, where's the fire? Wait, where's the girl?" Greg sauntered out of the bushes only to stop stiff legged at the latest development. "That would be the problem. She's disappeared and I can't seem to pick up her scent. I can't even recall her scent." "Well everyone has a scent, we'll find her. We would have heard her if she tried to go through the bush so she must have gone down the path. Why don't you go on ahead and I go back the way we came. She must have gone down the path in order to get her 'alone' time while we were distracted. I never thought she would have pulled a stunt like this." "Yeah well she is crazy so I wouldn't put it past her." The large blonde wolf and the slightly leaner black wolf split up, noses to the ground searching for a scent, oblivious to girl above them in the tree. "Like candy from a baby." Thought Emma. Waiting a little longer to make sure her babysitters weren't coming back, Emma relaxed back into the trunk of the tree, collecting her thoughts and processing the events of the day. Part of Emma just wanted it to end. No more being responsible for other people, no more reliving her 5 years of torture every time she closes her eyes, no more thinking or living, just peaceful rest. Another part wanted to just leave and go back to the time where werewolves are merely a myth, because this was crazy. The last part was strategizing how to make this situation work to her benefit. Unfortunately, Emma felt responsible for the 4 girls left behind with that pack of wolves and until she knew they were happy and safe, she couldn't just abandon them. She decided to play her part, act like she was accepting her new life and not going crazy (like certain members of the pack believed). She would make sure each of her friends find their niche in the werewolf community and are truly happy before she would disappear. She will make sure to go somewhere where the girls won't ever see her again. She couldn't bear to bring them down with her paranoia and negativity. They were trying to make a new life and move on and she just didn't have the heart anymore. She was too broken by her experience. But for now, she will be a good girl and do her part, mind her p's and q's and make sure the others find happiness in their new life. This meant she had some questions to be answered. "Here doggie, nice doggie." She mumbled as she followed Greg back to the compound. "So if werewolves exist, does that mean vampires do too?" The question came from behind Greg, instinctually causing him to leap at the person. He did not like people at his backside. He stopped himself before ripping out the crazy girl's throat. "God she really is out of her mind." He thought to himself. He shifted back to human form. "Have you completely lost your mind?!? I could have killed you! NEVER sneak up on a wolf!" He raged at her. Emma having noticed Greg was naked, turned beet red and lifted her sightline to the tree tops. "Well?" Greg pressed when Emma didn't answer, just looked off in the distance. "Can you ummm... put something on? You're naked" Emma whispered. "So you can run away again? I think not. Newsflash girlie, when we shift, we're naked so you're going to have to get comfortable with naked bodies. God you're such an idiot!" Greg practically screamed in her face causing Emma to start tearing up. "Oh what so now you're going to cry? Great, just GREAT! Stuck in the wilderness with a crying crazy person." "I'M NOT CRAZY! You're such a jerk! I just asked you a simple question and then you start yelling at me!" "Dude maybe you should take a moment and count to 10 or something." Adam said as he came down the path fully dressed. "I could hear you from a mile away." Greg huffed and turned his back to his buddy and the crying girl. He hated when girls cried. He especially hated it when he was the cause of the tears. Adam gently took the crying girl into his arms; prepared to let her go if she struggled or lashed out. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, sorry, it's just been too emotional today." Emma sniffed. Danger Zone Ch. 04 "I hear that." Adam said as he pulled her closer a little at a time. "So, uh, it might not be the right time to ask but where did you go when we went off to change?" "I climbed a tree. Neither of you looked up when you were looking for me. Even if you did look up I hoped I was high enough you wouldn't have seen me." "But we should have smelled you." Growled Greg, still miffed at Emma and facing away from them. Emma simply shrugged. "So did you get your alone time?" Adam asked Emma hesitated answering. "I just want to know whether we need to watch you to make sure you don't run off or whether we can have a normal walk through the forest." Adam explained. Emma nodded "Yes I've figured it out." She paused "Thank you for asking." Greg turned and rubbed his head sheepishly. "I apologize for losing my temper. I take my responsibility of protecting the pack seriously and I cannot handle you running off on your own." "Apology accepted. Now can you please get dressed? Seriously, it's just disturbing." Emma said as her gaze shifted upwards again. "Here man, you left your clothes back in the clearing." Adam said, tossing Greg a bundle of clothes. "Hate to do this, but is there something else we can call you other than girlie or Sug? I think you kind of owe it to us after you scared us both half to death." Greg asked Emma pondered for a moment the best answer that would not give her identity away. "B. You can call me B." Greg and Adam smiled simultaneously "B it is." Greg replied. "Do you think we head back incident free?" Adam asked as he started down the path. "The alphas are already going to have our ass for losing you, I don't want to add any other charges." Emma chuckled "Unfortunately, my life is full of surprises. I can't guarantee that." She teased "Great." Both men groaned. "You didn't answer my question by the way." "What question?" "If werewolves exist, does that mean vampires exist too?" Emma asked seriously Both men looked at each other then started howling with laughter as they walked back to the compound. "Wait I'm serious, do vampires exist?" Emma said, pulling on Greg's sleeve. That only caused the men to laugh harder. "Assholes." Emma pouted as she stormed back to the compound, arms crossed. So much for a 'calming' walk through the forest! Returning to the wing where she and the other girls lived, she was greeted by 4 identical looks of concern. She sighed. "Yes?" She asked with great acidity. "Are you suicidal or something?" Doc blurted "What? No! Why would you say such a thing right after what happened with Suzy." Emma exclaimed, flinching internally at the fact they weren't far from the truth. "You fucking yelled at the Alphas! They could have killed you on the spot and been justified for it." Alice stepped forward clenching her fists. Emma watched Alice's clenched fists with interest. "Planning on hitting something? Or someone Ice?" "Crossed my mind, yeah. What do you think would happen if they killed you right now? We'd never trust them and they would probably have to kill us." "Exactly." Emma stated proudly Shocked silence followed the statement until Emma sighed and explained. "It was a calculated risk, yes, but I knew they weren't going to do anything that would interfere with us joining their precious pack." Lena snorted. "You weren't thinking that at all, you just lost your temper and needed someone to yell at. Christ B, this isn't Damon who is amused by your antics. These are people who run a pack of 100 wolves and are continuously fighting to maintain their position by keeping their packs respect and trust that they are the best people for the job. They were well within their rights to punish you for back talking the alphas in order to maintain that balance." "I can't believe you're taking their side! Why would..." Emma paused in her rant. "Wait, how do you know how many pack members there are and how the alpha's work?" "When you were out, Jane took it upon herself to teach us some of the rules and the hierarchy..." Lily spoke up only to stop when Emma's fiery gaze fell on her. "And you're still mad about the whole sedation thing..." "8 doses Lil'. They knocked you out with heavy sedatives 8 times in 3 days and I'm supposed to act like that doesn't bother me?" Emma interrupted. "Yes." All 4 answered, crossing their arms "Look you've already made a bad first impression. Would it hurt to at least try to fit in?" Lily pleaded, turning the full effect of her puppy dog eyes on Emma. "Forgive them...Please?" Emma rolled her eyes. "Fine but let it be noted I am doing this under protest." "Noted." The group answered and visibly relaxed. The tension slipped out of the room as they moved into Emma's room and crawled onto her gigantic bed. Emma spoke first "So what gossip did I miss when I left?" The girls exchanged looks and started laughing. "Well Lily nearly fucked Mystery Man in the hallway." Lena said between fits of giggles. Lily turned red and hid her face her face in the bedspread. "What?" Emma said confused "Lily...as in our Lil' was fucking a man in a hallway? Are you sure it was her?" "Wait I said NEARLY fucked. It was just heavy petting really." Lena corrected. Turning her gaze on a tomato red Lily, Emma barked out one word. "Explain." "Well he was really sweet and walked us back to our rooms when we got lost..." "We got all turned around and ended up on the other side of the house." Doc interjected. "Compound." Corrected Alice "Ok well anyways, he took us to the door and the girls went in on ahead and I turned around to thank him for going out of his way to take us back..." "Cause he's a Beta and it's really an Omega's job." Explained Lena "Focus ladies. I want to how Lil' found herself NEARLY fucking a complete stranger. We can be all PC about Dog terminology and politics later." "They don't like to be called Dogs." Alice corrected. Emma growled loudly at Alice. "Zip. It." Holding her hands up in surrender, Alice mimed zipping her lips. "Lil' speak." "Woof." Lily joked with a big grin only to be confronted with a stony glare and another growl. "Ok so I turned to thank him and BANG, I run right into his chest. He was standing like RIGHT behind me and his chest is super hard. Kind of like his ass, firm and rippley..." "Lil'!" All 4 girl shout, exasperated. This conversation was going nowhere fast and tensions were rising again. "What? Oh, Oh yeah. So I smacked right into the wall of muscle and bounced backward but he caught me before I hit the ground. So there we were, me lying in his hard arms, him standing right over top of me and it just happened: he kisses me." Sighing dreamily, Lily continues "God that man can kiss... but then I remembered where I was and I tried to push him off me but he didn't notice me pushing on his chest..." "I would describe it more as a kneading motion." Lena interjected Lily glared at Lena "That was later." "Oh, my mistake, clearly we haven't arrived at the heavy breathing portion of the night. Guess we missed a lot." "Please GET to the 'heavy breathing portion' quickly, I seem to be on the verge of losing if someone doesn't talk fast." Emma said as she rubbed her temples warily. "So I tried pushing him away because even though I thought he was incredibly yummy, I wasn't sure I was ready for the pain. So I opened my mouth to..." "Wait... Pain? What pain?" Emma said looking up from her hands rubbing her temples. "You know...the pain of...doing it?" Lily said shyly in a whisper "You think sex is painful? Why would you think... Oh right... You lost your virginity to Damon and only know the 'pleasure' of the other men raping you." Emma sighed again. She seemed to be doing that a lot tonight. "Lil' sex isn't supposed to be painful. If a man knows what he's doing it can be mind blowing." "Ecstasy." Lena chimed in. "Heavenly." Doc sighed dreamily. "Euphoric." Alice finished. Lily shook her head, not believing them. "No it hurts and they hurt you and leave bruises. And then they choke you and grunt then they leave you all sticky and wet. It's disgusting." Exchanging glances, Emma gently patted Lily's hand. "They had to choke you so they could get off. They were sick men that could only find pleasure in hurting others. A real man would make sure you are ready and they would make sure you orgasm too so you can experience the same pleasure they do. Trust me, you'll find that one day and you'll know what we're talking about" "Hmmmm... ok but what about the wet and sticky part? It's really disgusting." Lily said, sticking out her tongue in disgust. Lena laughed. "Unfortunately that sex for you. Wet, sticky, sweaty and oh so very worth it." "Amen." The other 3 girls chimed in. "Speaking of real men B, when are you going to admit that a man who beats innocent people and makes it a rule that every new girl must be fucked by him first only to be tended to by his supposed mate is NOT your real mate, or worthy of breathing?" Asked Ice. "I'm coming around to the idea...more like being forced fed the idea but it makes sense." Emma snapped "But guys, Rome wasn't built in a day. I had 5 years of that hell and if it hadn't been for you guys, I would be left a shell of myself." "AWWWWW!!!!" All the girls said, coming in for a hug. "No time for touchy feely right now." Emma said, quickly backing away. "I want to hear about Lily and Mystery Man." "His name is Daniel. He's not Mystery Man, he's a nice guy. He helped me through the cafeteria and carried my plate. And he's a gentleman; he pulled out my chair for me. And when he was escorting us back, he offered me his elbow to hold onto so I wouldn't get lost." "Oh boy, this dude's got it bad." Emma groaned. "Yep" Chimed the rest of the group. "What do you mean? He was just being nice because we're new here." Lily said, oblivious to the raised eyebrows of her audience. "He didn't offer his elbow to me, Lena?" Alice spoke up. "Nope, Doc?" Lena responded. "Nope. Wasn't me dry humping him in the hallway either." Lily blushed again and then clued in. "You mean... he was only doing those things because he liked me?" "Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner." Emma smiled at her social inept friend then scowled. " Now can we please finish this story?" "What story? Oh mine... now where was I." "You were groping his chest." Volunteered Lena. "No I wasn't." Lily scowled "Ok so I tried pushing him off and he didn't budge so I opened my mouth to tell him to stop and then...it all kind of goes blank. I think my brain shut down due to sensory overload. Next thing I remember, Lena was standing over top of me scowling and telling me to get inside." "Lena?" Emma prompted. "So I thought she was right behind us and when I went back to find her I found her and lover boy rolling on the ground playing tonsil hockey. So I started yelling at him to get off her and when he didn't I kicked him in the ass." Sparing a glance at Lily she added grinning "Right in the ripple." "And that made him leave?" Emma asked surprised "I would think that would be a good way to lose a limb." "See they're not the same as Damon and his pack. These are good, nice people." Lily spoke up. Emma grimaced "You trust too easily." "And you don't trust at all." Lily shot back. "Touche." The girls spent some in awkward silence, trying to determine if this argument was going to cause a rift in their friendship. Emma finally broke the silence. "So he really just left after you kicked him?" "Yeah he kind of just came to his senses and stood up. He wished us goodnight and disappeared down the hallway. I think he was just as embarrassed from being caught acting like a horny teenager in the hallway." Lena said, just as confused as Emma. "Weird." She mused. Emma then turned and contemplated Lily until she shifted uneasily under Emma's scrutiny. "What?" She asked, breaking the silence again "Do we need to have the 'talk' young lady?" Emma asked with mock seriousness. "Oh heavens no." Lily exclaimed "So I won't have to worry about catching you rubbing up on men in the hallways cause seriously, that would ruin my image of you being this innocent soul." Emma teased. Lily's former blush deepened further. "It wasn't men, plural, just one man, Daniel. And we really didn't do anything bad" She mumbled. "Be sure you keep it that way. That goes for you ladies too. Don't get too involved until we know what kind of situation we're dealing with." "Yes Mom." The girls chimed in unison. "Damn straight." Grumbled Emma "Don't need no grand babies." They all laughed and wished each other good night as they left to go to bed. Danger Zone Ch. 05 Emma was awoken by the sound of someone entering her room. Keeping her breathing slow and even, she slowly slipped her hand under her pillow where she hid the steak knife she commandeered from dinner earlier. She was expecting the MacDougalls to betray her trust; she just wasn't expecting it so soon. "B?" Emma visibly sagged into her pillows. "Yeah Lil'?" "I can't sleep. Can I sleep here with you?" The tentative voice called out from the doorway. Emma sighed and lifted the edge of her covers. Lil' crept in and snuggled closely to Emma's warmth causing Emma to flinch. "Christ Lil' you're freezing!" "Sorry, I didn't want to wake you but it was creepy sleeping in that big room all alone after...after... you know." Lil' finished in a whisper. Emma tentatively cradled her arms around Lil'. "Yeah I know Lil'. How long were you standing out there?" "I dunno...half an hour maybe?" "Wait you've been here for 3 days. What did you do while I was sedated?" "Well the first night we were sedated too then Suzy committed suicide and they made us sleep in the same room so they could watch us...and install the cameras. Then last night we slept here because we wanted to be there when you woke up but you didn't wake up until this afternoon." "Hmmmm...they made you sleep together? Sounds great Lil'." "They asked nicely. They really are nice people. And ummm can you call me Lily from now on? Lil' is too...close." "...I'll try but given that this conversation is taking place at some god forsaken hour, you might need to remind me tomorrow morning." Lily smiled and nodded. "Good now can we go back to sleep? I'm exhausted." "That's surprising given your 3 days of beauty sleep." Lily teased. "My god. My quiet, shy Lily making jokes? The world is coming to an end." Emma grinned at the personality change in her introverted, normally withdrawn friend. Maybe this Daniel was good for her. "Now shhh, some people are trying to sleep." Raising her voice slightly, she addressed the 3 girls hovering outside her door. "In or out ladies, I want to get some shut eye." The bed sagged as the girls ran and jumped on the bed and crawled under the covers. Their breathing soon evened out and they were fast asleep. Emma sighed as resigned herself to a night wide awake, listening to the sounds of her friends sleeping. Despite her original opinions that her bed was ginormous, with 5 people snuggled into it, the bed size shrunk considerably. The 5 girls were essentially spooning each other in order to avoid Emma or Lena falling off the sides. Emma, who instinctually shies away from physical contact, would never be able to relax enough to fall asleep so after ensuring all 4 girls were soundly asleep, she slipped out of bed and made herself comfortable in the large chair by her window. Looking up at the glowing moon, she spent the next few hours reflecting on her plan to get the girls integrated into their new life and then she spent another few hours figuring out how to get away without anyone noticing. When Lily started shifting in her sleep, Emma slipped back into bed, snuggling into the small woman, trying to infuse as much comfort as she could into her embrace. The next morning, the girls entered the dining room for breakfast chatting excitedly to Emma, trying to fill her in on all they have learned in the past few days. Emma, sleep deprived and wary of all the loud noises, was barely paying attention when a heavenly smell assaulted her senses. "Omigod you have coffee?" She exclaimed as she made a beeline for one of the carafes on the buffet table. Hesitating, she looked for the alphas sitting at the head table. "May I have some?" Smiling warmly, Jane replied "Anything we have here is free for your use. Anything you need, please let us know." Emma acknowledged the statement with a bowed head and a thank you. Pouring coffee and doctoring it carefully, she cradled the mug like she was handling blown glass. She took a sip and let out a relieved sigh. "Sweet nectar of the gods, how I missed you. Did you miss me baby?" She said to her cup. With bemused smiles, Lena and Doc also poured themselves a cup and sighed deeply when the smooth flavour hit their taste buds. They have never seen their leader act this way, maybe it was a sign she was starting to relax. The sound of her friends taking out dishes to fill their plates brought Emma back to earth. Glancing around, she noticed she was being watched by half the room, most of them looking at her like she was crazy the rest looked on with pity for reacting so strongly to a cup of coffee. Stiffening her spine, she carefully put her coffee cup on her tray and filled her plate with the offering of bacon, sausage, eggs, hashbrowns and pancakes. She cackled loudly when she heard Doc mumble "You think they've ever heard of fruit?" and Alice casually reply "Why would they? Wolves are carnivores." Both ladies glanced warily at Emma, failing to see why that was so funny. Shaking her head, Emma directed them towards an open table. They were soon joined by Dan, Peter and Jane. Dan sidled up to Lily with his own plate and engaged her in a quiet conversation. Lily was so engrossed by the conversation; she failed to notice Dan moving food from his plate to hers. 'Probably in an effort to fatten her up' Emma surmised. "Good morning ladies. How did you sleep?" Inquired Peter. "Great." Replied Lena, Alice and Doc together. Emma's reply was slightly delayed. "Really?" Peter pressed, noting the bags under B's eyes. "Really." Emma replied with a glare. "Would you like us move all your bed into the same room? You seem to be more comfortable sleeping in the same area." Jane asked. "No no" Emma replied before the others could reply "We like having our own spaces, it's just been hard adapting to a new location." Thinking for a moment, she continued. "Perhaps if we had the opportunity to decorate our rooms to our liking it would make us more comfortable with our living arrangements." She suggested. Jane smiled "An excellent idea! I will send Angie and her crew up this morning with all her fabric and paint swatches. She's our resident interior designer." Emma thanked her kindly and returned to her food, thinking the conversation over. "B, how would you like a tour of the compound this afternoon?" Jane asked, grabbing Emma's attention again. Emma smiled privately. This will give her a chance to scope the compound for possible escape routes. "Love to. Thank you." "Can we come too?" Lena asked. "Yeah, we definitely should get another tour after we got lost last night." Alice said with chagrin. Doc simply nodded. Lily was too distracted to notice the rest of the table. "Of course you can." Jane replied happily. Angie turned out to be a big blond who had the ability to talk a mile without needing to take a breath. Her crew involved a tall lanky man who could create a colour palate in mere seconds and a teenage girl who was a fabric savant. Angie was one of those people who could look at you and immediately knew what you needed, even if you had no idea yourself. And god help you if you disagreed with the lady. She was stubborn to a fault. This became obvious when she was consulting on Doc's room. "But I don't want bright blue in my room, I want pastels and neutrals." "No way. You need a room that will uplift your spirits and inspire creativity and pastels and neutrals will just bring you down. You'll get totally washed out" Angie stated, crossing her arms. "Well I'm the client so you have to do what I want." Doc argued "Says who?" "Says any customer service handbook!" Doc shouted. "No. I take my orders from Madam Alpha and she said to make your room a home and pastels will only make you feel like your living in a hospital." "Exactly!" Doc said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. That answer took the designer back. "What?" "The hospital was my home...before." Doc said quietly, breaking eye contact. She didn't want to have to admit her reasons for her colour choices. "Pastels remind me of better times. It makes me calm." Angie shot her a pitying look, which Doc missed because she was looking at the floor, but Angie's expression hardened "I am NOT giving you a room just so you can live in the past." Doc glared at the buxom woman and ground through her teeth. "Yes you will." Emma, watching from the hallway stepped into the room. "She's right." Both ladies relaxed, thinking Emma agreed with them and not the other woman. "See? So just give me my pastels and we'll move on." Doc said smugly. "Ummmm... I was actually agreeing with Angie. You can't go back to your old life. Why would you want the reminder of who you used to be?" Doc sagged into the chair in her room where they had laid out all the fabric swatches. Erica shot her a disgruntled look for messing up her work. She sat silently contemplating the paint colour she still held in her hand. Emma kneeled silently beside her. "Dude this is your first step towards your new life. This is your reset button. You can become whoever or whatever you want." "I want to be a doctor. I worked all my life to be a doctor." Doc sniffed. "Ok well you can still be a doctor. I'm sure this pack has need of a doctor." Emma said as she gently rubbed Doc's arm. "We sure do." Jane said as she crouched on Doc's other side. She pretended she didn't see both ladies startle and shrink back "I'm sure Ethan would be happy for the extra hands. Especially some trained ones." Doc's mouth turned down in disgust "I'm not interested in a wolf's brand of medicine. All you guys do is tear each other apart and make us fix you up." Jane rolled her eyes "That may be the case in a rogue pack but you are in a real pack now. We have things now like pregnancies and births and pups falling out of trees. Sure there is the occasional stich needed but it's only if our warriors need to defend our pack. Or if they get a little overzealous when sparring. Men." Jane finished wryly. The room fell back into silence as Doc thought. "Neon blue is too much for a bedroom. Can we go with a warmer colour?" She asked Angie tentatively. Angie was about to insist on the colour choice until her alpha's voice entered her mind. "I don't care what your artistic vision is, compromise this once." "Sure. What about a cobalt blue or a topaz blue?" She said as she pulled out the paint chips. "We'll have to play with the colour palate a little to get the right feel but I'm sure Lou and Erica are up to the challenge." Doc's smile brightened "Awesome. That sounds great." As Lou and Erica started to pour over the options with Doc, Emma got up to leave. Angie called after her "Oh just give me one moment and I'll come by to do your room." "No need." Emma calmly called over her shoulder. "I'm very happy with my room. I don't want to make any changes." Angie chased after her to her bedroom door "But I was put in charge of making sure you all felt at home. You won't feel at home if your bedroom feels like a guest bedroom." Emma turned, blocking entry to her room. "It doesn't feel like a guest bedroom, it feels like my room and I don't want you to change it." She challenged. "What's the problem with just looking and making some suggestions?" Jane said as she witnessed the confrontation. Emma snorted "Suggestions? After what I just witnessed in there, Angie would be like a dog with a bone until she got what she wanted. No thanks" She turned towards the Alpha female, trying to instill as much respect into her next comment. "I appreciate your effort to make us feel at home Madam Alpha but I would feel much more at home if people didn't feel the need to mess with my stuff." "How about Angie tells us about her vision for you and you can decide whether you agree with the vision. No need to go into your room." Jane said, calmly stepping between the two ladies. "Fine Angie let's hear what you see when you look at me." Emma stated sarcastically as she crossed her arms. Angie looked Emma up a down, noting how she bristled at the close scrutiny. "Buttery soft leather chairs with a red area rug in front of the fireplace and a 4 poster bed with chocolate brown draping and a bright red bedspread. Maple hardwood floors. You have an en-suite correct?" Emma nodded; jaw still clenched "I see a claw footed tub and a large shower in the corner with blue...no forest green tiles. The rest of the bathroom is white so the green stands out." Angie finished, confused as to why Emma was smirking. "Well in that case, come on in." Emma said as she opened her door with great pomp and circumstance. Inside the room was designed exactly how Angie described with the exception that the chairs were suede and the shower was a midnight blue. "Oh" Angie said as she looked around the room. "Yes and I am perfectly happy with suede chairs and blue tile, matches my eyes and all that. So you can go now." Emma grinned as she took a seat in her favorite chair in front of the window, dismissing the intruders in her personal space. "Oh" Angie repeated stunned as she walked out the door, Jane trying not to smile as she followed her out. The coming weeks passed uneventfully. Somehow, Emma had convinced the alphas that the girls needed to learn how to protect themselves so they had combat lessons every morning followed by their pack chores every afternoon. As punishment for losing his temper, Greg was put in charge of teaching the 5 girls. After watching her mate struggle teaching the girls technique while handling their aversion to contact by any male pack members, Drea finally took pity on Greg and came to his rescue, offering to teach the girls weapons training. Within a week, Emma, Lena and Alice became quite proficient at hand to hand combat as well as knife training. Jane and Peter recognized their natural talent and encouraged Greg and Drea to teach more advanced skills. Doc excelled at defensive tactics but refused to learn or use any offensive tactics, stating her Hippocratic Oath when questioned. Dan was not happy about Lily being involved in combat training. Her frequent scratches and bruises that she felt proud to show off upset his wolf, putting him on edge and as a result their relationship suffered. Lily, oblivious to the tension, brought the argument to a peak when Dan informed her she was done with combat training after 2 weeks. "What do you mean I'm done with fighting?" Lily asked as they returned to her room after dinner. "This is not up for discussion Lily, you are done hurting yourself learning to fight. I will protect you in the event we are attacked." Dan said as he paced down the hallway. Lily stopped dead in the hallway and crossed her arms "In the event we are attacked? So you're some sort of psychic and know when we will be attacked? Or were you planning on crowding my space 24/7? Newsflash, I already have 4 paranoid freaks doing that. Just because I'm small does not mean I'm fragile. Why can't you just trust me?" Dan stopped and turned toward towards his mate. Noticing her defensive posture, he knew he was up for a fight. "I trust you can protect yourself after having 2 weeks of combat training. You don't need to learn to fight Lily, you have a mate. I would give my life to protect you." Lily snorted. "Great so when you die what am I supposed to do? Lie down and become another person's sex slave? I'd rather die." Dan snarled, his wolf barely contained under his skin. He growled "Don't you dare talk about dying. I will not allow it." Lily, seeing the brilliant yellow eyes and large canines that normally indicate an imminent shift, took an instinctive step back, fear permeating her scent. As the scent of her fear reached Dan, Dan reacted to his mates fear and fought his wolf down. Taking a step towards her with his arms extended he apologized for his behaviour. "Lily, I'm sorry, my wolf is just on edge seeing you all bruised and scratched up. He just went a little crazy thinking about you dying." Lily retreats another step and bared her neck to Dan, making sure to direct her gaze at the floor. "You should go. I can find my way back to my room." "Lily..." Dan took another step closer, wanting to comfort his mate. "Please don't" Lily started trembling. Dan stood mute, fighting between leaving his mate alone in the hallway and encasing her small body in his trunk like arms and never letting go until she forgave him for scaring her. "I believe the lady asked you to go." Ice's quiet voice came from behind him. Turning around, Dan spotted Ice leaning casually against the wall. Dan knew from watching her fight, she struck like a viper, without a moment's notice. Lena leaned against the other wall cleaning her nails with the tip of a dagger acquired a couple of days earlier from Drea. "Yeah we don't mind walking with Lily. Now that we've been here for a while we don't get lost anymore. We won't need your help tonight Dan. I hear the pack is going for a run, you might benefit from a nice relaxing run. You look pretty wound up." Emma said as she approached from the other end of the hallway and wrapped an arm around a shaky Lily, nonchalantly putting her body between Lily and Dan. Realizing his situation and sighing defeat, Dan made his way back towards the dining area, making sure to give Lily and B a wide berth. Before he disappeared from view he turned around and issued one last apology. "Really...sorry... I want to come talk to you tomorrow when I'm more... normal. Ok?" Squeezing Lily's shoulder, Emma whispered in her ear. "You don't have to." "No...I want to." Lily whispered back. Raising her voice "I'll see you tomorrow Dan... Enjoy the run." Flashing a brilliant smile, Dan disappeared around the corner and out of sight. Lena and Alice sagged into the wall. "Seriously Lily, can you NOT piss off the tense werewolf? I don't think we're skilled enough to deal with a full-grown, pissed off werewolf, no matter what Greg says." Lena groaned. "Yeah you should know by now not to provoke them." Alice gripped. "And you." She said, addressing Emma "What took you so long? I thought you were just getting your book from the library not browsing the inventory while you were there." Emma became enamoured with the expansive library that took up an entire wing of the compound the day of the tour and most nights could be found in the bay window, reading her latest find, a large tome about werewolf history. She would get so engrossed by the book that she would need to be reminded to eat. She bored her group constantly with historical facts. Emma blushed "I did but then I stumbled upon an entry from 1812. Did you know the Canadians used wolves in the attacks on the Americans? They were their attack dogs or something." "Really wow!" Alice said, rolling her eyes. "No it's really cool. They didn't even know that they had recruited a pack when they were making relations with the natives. They seemed so impressed that so few people could control such a large group of dogs." Emma said excitedly as they walked towards their rooms. "I soooo do not care." Alice replied causing Emma to scowl at her. Lena and Lily giggled at them. They walked in silence to their rooms. Just as Emma was closing her door she heard Doc's tentative statement from her doorway. "Uhhh talking about 'pack runs' B... you need to..." Cutting off the awkward statement Emma testily replied "Yeah I know. I'll do it tonight. Nobody come into my bedroom tonight. And lock your doors." They all shuddered as they closed their doors and threw the deadbolt. "Sir we have an intruder in our territory." Peter, happily sated and half asleep in post-coital bliss growled loudly, causing his pined mate to twitch in her sleep. Danger Zone Ch. 05 "Follow them but don't let him know you're there. I want to know what he's up to. I'll join you as soon as I can." "It's not a him, it's a her... I think." "What? Hold on I'm coming." Peter slowly tried to remove his semi-deflated knot from Jane's swollen channel but the gentle tugging woke her. "What are you doing?" Jane asked sleepily, yawning widely, displaying her sharp teeth. "We have an intruder. I need to go deal with it." "Why can't your betas deal with it?" "It's a female." "And?" "Are you kidding me?" Peter snorted. "Females rarely travel by themselves; she could be bait for an ambush. I need to be there to protect my pack." "Your pack of deadly warrior betas trained to protect other members of their pack? These are your betas on patrol mentally and physically prepared for any attack. Do you doubt their skill? Are you so incompetent that you cannot train your betas properly?" Jane's sharp tone finally broke through Peter's panic. He growled at the insinuations she was making. "My betas are adequately trained for any situation that does not mean I want them to be ambushed and outnumbered." He growled menacingly at his mate. If a wolf could roll her eyes, she just did. "One word love, delegate. Ana, Drea, be a doll and go check out the situation the patrol are dealing with right now. If the boys can't handle it, make sure you lend a helping hand." Jane said to her two closest betas, ignoring her mate whose growling was growing louder with each condescending word. Ana and Drea, wary of their growling alpha and the look he was focusing on the wolf below him, backed slowly away and once of out sight, took off like a shot towards the border of their territory. "Excellent. Now where were we?" Jane asked happily as she gently squeezed the semi-deflated cock in her channel, causing it to stir again. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I need to go." Peter hissed, torn between anger an arousal. "No you don't. You have betas for a reason Peter, use them. Besides, I'm not done with you yet." Jane said as she thrust backward on his now hard cock. "You're not done with me yet?" Peter stopped growling and stilled above her. "Na unh." Jane grunted "I'm not about to let this beautiful hard-on go to waste. I want your cock. I want your cum. Fuck. Me." She said still thrusting backward, increasing her pace. "You sure you want to go down that path little girl? I'm not exactly pleased with you." He nipped sharply at the tip of her ear. "Then let me please you... Please!" "Well since you begged so nicely..." Peter suddenly let all his weight fall on top of her, winding her and leaving her gasping for air and unable to move. With his mate effectively pined, Peter started moving slowly, very slowly, and with very shallow thrusts. Jane, who was on the verge of an orgasm when Peter landed on her, whimpered helplessly and tried to push back on him, trying to get deeper. Peter stopped moving and returned his full weight on top of her. "No no my dear, little girls who are naughty and disobey their mates don't get that. Show me you can behave and maybe I'll let you come." Jane, knowing what he wanted, immediately relaxed under his weight. She was rewarded with a hard thrust before he returned to his original rhythm, slow and shallow. Every so often he would throw in a deep hard thrust just to keep her guessing and on edge. He started to increase his pace, still keeping his strokes shallow as Jane started squirming underneath him. When she got too wild he stopped moving until with a deep despondent sigh she relaxed again. "Please..." She whimpered "What do you want?" "More..." "More what?" "So...good..." "More WHAT Jane?" "God...EVERTHING! FUCK ME!" She emphasized her request by putting a death grip on his cock with every pelvic muscle she possessed. Peter's precious control snapped with the vice grip Jane was exerting on his cock. His jaw clamped down hard on her shoulder and he threw his entire weight into his thrusts, making sure every single thrust was powerful and hit deep in her womb. His knot grew again and he was forced to reduce the depth of his thrusts so that he didn't hurt his mate but it didn't change the force her put in his thrusts. Jane's orgasm caused him to howl loudly at the pleasure-pain she was exerting on his swollen member. A few thrust later, he released one of the biggest loads he's ever had in his life. Exhausted, he sagged back on top of his mate, shifting slightly so that she could still breathe. Jane tilted her head up to lick his muzzle and nuzzled under his chin before settling down again and falling back asleep. Before following her into blissful rest, Peter sent out one last message to his betas. "Capture the stray and put her in one of the cells. If it is an ambush, kill them all without mercy. I want to question the female. No one is to speak to her or enter her cell until I get there." "Yes sir" was the last thing he heard before he succumbed to the blackness that always accompanies fantastic sex. Peter whistled cheerily as he made his way down to the basement. "How is our stray today? Has anyone checked on her yet?" "Uh no sir, you said no one was to enter the room until you got here." One of the guards stated, exchanging a confused glance with the other guard who shrugged. "And you didn't even think to peek? Hmmm... No matter, let's see what our little captive has to say for herself. Open the door will you?" The guards readily complied. Peter stopped dead at the door. There in the corner of the room huddled in a naked shivering crying little ball was B. Peter's jaw dropped in shock. He was speechless. The guards, interested in knowing what caused their normally outspoken alpha to be rendered speechless, peered curiously into the room only to be faced by a very angry alpha with glowing eyes barking orders at them. "Find me some clothes and bring the humans to me NOW!" "Here? As in the basement?" One of the guards spoke up. Peter launched across the hallway and pinned him to the wall by his neck. Getting right up in his face he asked "Are you questioning your Alpha?" "No...sir" He gasped and tilted his head upwards, exposing his neck further. Peter released the guard and barked "Clothes. Girls. NOW!" Both men turn and sprinted out to fulfil their orders. Peter turned back towards the cell and stood at the doorway. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Without thinking he blurted out "You're a wolf?" B started to tremble harder and simply nodded, sobbing out "I'm sorry" before burying her head tighter into her knees. Peter took a step closer, intending to comfort her only to have her push herself further into the wall in a move very similar to the move she made when they rescued her. Realization dawned on him and he took a step back, running his hand through his hair again. "Shit." He uttered causing B to flinch again. He sighed. "You're safe B, I'm not going to hurt you. Nobody here is going to hurt you." He spoke softly "You're angry." She whispered. "No I'm not." He said as he backed into the hall, giving her the option of an escape route. "Your eyes are glowing. His eyes only glowed when he was angry." She accused. "I'm not angry at you I'm just... I don't know what I am but I know this isn't your fault." He said as he sagged down the wall and put his face in his hands. B sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, choosing to remain quiet. Silence stretched uncomfortably until Peter broke it "How long?" "Two years." Peter startled upwards at this statement. "Two years?... you mean you were..." His jaw dropped again. "How?" "Peter what is the meaning of this?" Jane stated as she stormed down the stairs. "Why the hell are you dragging these poor girls down here of all places? Do you realize the damage you'll do to their fragile mental state?" "Jane..." Peter started. "We don't need this right now Peter, we have a crisis ourselves. B's gone missing and we have no idea..." Jane's voice drifted away as she followed the direction of Peter's pointed arm. "B?" "Is our wolf." Peter stated wryly. "What? Seriously?" Jane was taken aback. "Did you know?" Peter directed this question at the quartet that just exited the stairwell into the hallway at that point. Alice and Lena led the way followed by Doc and Lily, held protectively against Dan's side. He did not approve of being here with Lily and he showed his displeasure by maintaining a consistent low growl. A look from his alpha stopped the growl. The girls exchanged looks. "Yes" Alice finally responded "Why didn't you tell us?" Jane asked. "It's not our secret to tell." Lena answered, sparing a glance at B in the corner. "Ok then, why didn't you tell us B?" Alice spun on B, her temper starting to rise. B shrugged "I was afraid you would... kill me or something for coming from them. Or you would separate me from the others." She mumbled into her knees "Why would we do that?" Peter asked in disbelief B shrugged again "Bad DNA or something." "That's fucking bullshit!" Jane was starting to lose her composure. Peter stepped closer and rubbed his hand up and down her spine in an effort to soothe her. Jane slowly released her tension. One of the guards approached with a bundle of clothes. "Uh here are her clothes." "My clothes?" B popped up onto her feet "You went into my room?" She asked in dismay. Realizing she was completely naked, she covered herself and sank back into her seated position in embarrassment. Jane took the clothes and approached B slowly, placing the clothes on the cot. "We should take this somewhere...less intimidating. Why don't you get dressed and meet us in the...library? We'll leave you to your privacy. You ladies have a lot of explaining to do." She growled then turned and walked back up the stairs, motioning the others to follow her. Peter paced in the library. "Four and a half years Jane. How did they not know she was a wolf? Or did they know?" He directed the last question at the quartet sitting calmly on the couch. "They didn't know." Doc answered Jane paced opposite her mate. "How can you not know for 2 years?" "Good friends who have her back." Lily said fiercely, clasping Dan's hand. Peter shook his head. "Doesn't matter how good her friends are, wolves have infinitely better senses, they would've been able to smell the change." The girls remained quiet. Jane stopped pacing. "Wait! She doesn't have a scent. Remember the boys telling us when she went missing they couldn't smell her? She must have a way to hide her scent!" "Yes!" Peter hissed "But how? They were able to follow her last night by her blatant scent trail." He paused "I don't get it. Even if she found a way to mask her scent now, she wouldn't have been able during the change. Her hormones would have been off the chart and they would have smelt it." "Fear makes a great deodorant don't you know? They couldn't smell my change for the tangy ripe scent of overwhelming fear and helplessness. The house was ripe with it." Emma responded from the doorway. The room went still and quiet, no one knowing how to approach the girl who still had tear streaks down her cheeks. Emma sighed "I'm good now...or at least better now that I'm out of...that...there" She finished lamely. "Oh you poor girl!" Jane exclaimed as she crossed the room to take Emma up in a big hug. Emma stiffened and her eyes started to glow but with a menacing growl from Peter she sighed and relaxed into the hug, letting Jane squeeze her tighter. Emma awkwardly patted Jane's back to get her to let go. She stepped away and motioned for the alphas to sit. Once seated, she faced the group. "Ok ask your questions." "How did it happen?" She motioned to her scarred cheek. "I told you this was done by one of his lackeys?" They nodded "Well he was half changed or whatever you call it and I guess it was enough to transfer the venom or poison... or whatever you call it" Jane shook her head "The DNA can only be transferred through blood or saliva." "Not semen?" Doc asked "It needs direct injection into the circular system. You can't inject semen directly into the vein." Jane explained. "Hmmm..." "Well maybe the dude had a hangnail, I don't know. All I know is that I was like this after he remodelled my face." Emma interrupted "Oh, you poor thing. That must have been incredibly scary to go through it alone not knowing what to expect." "Oh I knew what to expect." Emma responded grimly "A month before I was turned or changed or whatever, one of the other idiots accidentally changed one of the other girls by biting her during sex. The sicko was fucking her as a wolf...bleh. They were just going to kill her before she made the change but then he decided it would be fun to have a sex toy that doesn't break as easily and had a little more fight in her. They locked her in a cage in the middle of the living room and watched her change over the course of a week. They had never seen a human change before and were curious what it looked like." Jane gasped. "That's horrible! Did they give her any painkillers? The change is incredibly painful." Emma raised a brow "You've been through it?" "No I was born a were. But I've witnessed it before in one of our other pack mates." "Hmmmm...Well I'm not going to go into it. With your whole shift or die law I'm not going to dissuade my friends from choosing to be changed because of my experiences. All I'm going to say is you guys better have the fucking good ass stuff that is so fucking potent it gives you hallucinations." "So how were you able to witness the change if she was in the living room and you were in the basement?" Peter asked, trying to get the conversation back on track. Emma eyed Peter warily but with a reassuring nod from her friends she continued on. "I was the first one they got and their alpha claimed I was his mate therefore making me head...girl. I was in charge of cooking and cleaning for them and if they left any leftovers from their meals, a great rarity, I was allowed to bring it down to the girls in the basement. It was my job to train the girls into their new life and I always had to be present when they killed and buried a girl. I had free rein of the house because they knew I would never run away or they would hurt one of my girls and they would catch me just so I could watch." Silence descended on the room. "I...see. Is that why you have distanced yourself from your group and the pack by hiding in the library here?" Peter asked Emma bristled "What is that supposed to mean?" "...You don't want the responsibility of taking care of others anymore. You've given up caring about other people." Emma poked a very sharp finger into Peter's shoulder "You listen here you condescending prick, those girls will always be my responsibility because I care about them. I care about their wellbeing, their happiness, their health and their interests, be it romantic or otherwise. I will always be there for them and if I ever need them, I know they will be there for me." Emma relaxed and took a step back "That being said, and correct me if I'm wrong, but we have been informed that were are free to do what we want here, what makes us happy. What makes Doc happy is looking at a big bloody gaping wound and sticking her hands into the blood and muck and stitching a person back together. What makes Lily happy is sewing pretty little dresses and making goo goo eyes at Danny Boy." Dan snorted causing Emma to smirk. "What makes the twins happy is shooting guns, throwing knives and hacking into government databases just to mess with them. And what makes me happy is sticking my nose in a book and losing myself in a fantasy world, learning how to defend myself and the ones I love from ever being taken again. I also enjoyed imagining sticking a knife into the kidneys of that bastard that wrecked my life and twisting but since you have ruined my elaborate dream that I spent 5 years perfecting, by killing the son of a bitch, that dream will never be realized." "Whoa...touch-y" Peter held his hand up in surrender "I was just making an observation that you don't socialize with the pack like the rest of the group. It's almost as if you are about to bolt at any moment." Jane nodded "Makes us a little nervous knowing that you're already a wolf." Peter nodded "Bigger chance of going rogue." "Rogue?" Lily squeaked. Dan pulled her closer into his side. "Rogue, that's when the wolf takes over and you have to kill the person." Emma answered flatly "That was the other reason I was reading so much. I was trying to learn as much as I could about my new life, my new culture." "You could have just asked us. We are more than happy to answer any questions." "...Yeah..." Emma looked sideways at a stack of books "What now?" Jane asked in exasperation "Shocker, I have trust issues. I'm more likely to believe something I read than something I'm told. At least some books have references." Emma answered sheepishly. "Hmph" Jane crossed her arms and glared "You saying we're not trustworthy?" "No I'm saying I find it hard to trust people. Anyways we were talking about the change. I witnessed the change so I knew what to expect when I first started feeling the effects." "You said you dealt with the hormone changes with fear? How did you figure that out?" "No I said I dealt with the change in scent with fear. I was so afraid they would figure it out the smell of my fear hid most of it. There were times that I was calm and they would get all paranoid, saying they smelt another wolf on me and I would get scared and they would try to get me to calm down so they could smell the wolf but that would only scare me more and eventually they would give up. He killed a couple of newbies that he suspected for touching his mate. Fine by me." "He, who's he?" "The bastard who never should have lived. Waste of perfectly good air." Emma scowled. "You never say his name. Why is that?" Jane asked curiously "Because he doesn't deserve a name." Emma growled. "Well it doesn't matter because he's dead. I made sure every wolf we found in the house was killed and burned into ash." Peter reassured the group "I wish you had taken pictures of them so we could be sure they were all dead." Emma whined "Absolutely not!" Jane interceded "It would have given us closure." Doc pointed out "My god! For people who have spent years submissive to a bunch of wolves, you sure are outspoken." Peter observed. "It's how he wanted it. We tried to be meek and docile but then he would find random reasons to punish us and the sadistic fuck took great pleasure in his punishments. We figured out that if we were a little lippy and fought a little we could anticipate the punishments and they wouldn't be as fucked up. He had less time to up the ante if we consistently spoke back. If we were good subservient sex toys it would be weeks between punishments and only when he developed something truly evil that he wanted to test out on us." Lena shuddered. "That's disgusting." Jane commented. "Yes." Alice answered simply. Peter tried to get back on topic "So you initially hid your scent with fear, how are you hiding your scent now?" Emma shrugged "It was a survival instinct. When my wolf became fully aware of the situation she realized we were outnumbered and couldn't fight all the other wolves off. She also agreed with me that we were able to better protect the girls if we stayed instead of running away and trying to find help. To be honest I had no idea who to go to and how to approach the authorities without being sent to a loony bin. She let me suppress her and her scent so we wouldn't be caught but she was always under the surface helping me out of tricky situations." She grinned "And teaching me underhanded ways to get back at the assholes without them knowing it was me." Danger Zone Ch. 05 "You've suppressed your wolf for 2 years? No wonder she rebelled last night and went for a run. I'm surprised she hadn't done it earlier." Peter remarked. "Well I've been shifting once a week actually ever since I was turned. Only at night and the girls always watched for approaching people." "Just shifting? No hunting? That's not enough for our wolves." Peter stated. "Were you scentless when you shifted too?" Jane asked at the same time. Emma nodded "We knew if we ever let our scent escape, they would find us so even as a wolf we suppressed our scent." Her next comment was addressed to Peter "My wolf understood. We spent our entire together perfecting an escape plan that would kill the most wolves and allow me to get all the girls out together. When I shifted, I sated her need by focusing on the bloodthirsty component of the plan." Peter sat back. "I'm curious, what was this great plan? You seem to be apt to make loads of plans." Emma blushed. "It doesn't matter, you were there to rescue us, which we appreciate greatly." "No I insist. I want to hear it." Emma's cheeks were practically glowing in embarrassment. "Well when the alpha was there, the group was very disciplined. Set patrol schedules, set meal times, training sessions, etc. When he's gone, it's a gong show. The men do what they want and they pay little attention to us unless they want a little something. And they're all a little volatile, fights break out for no reason except for the fact that someone is hogging the remote. I was going to exploit that by causing a mass brawl then sneaking the girls out and sending them off in one direction then shifting and releasing my scent, leading them in the opposite direction then once far enough out I would hide my scent and run back to where the girls will be hiding next to river. From there we would follow the river south. That was the direction the cars left from the house so I assumed that was the direction to the main highway where we could flag someone down." Jane's jaw dropped. "You were going to go the same direction your captors take? Did it cross your mind that you would have run into your captors before you ran into a highway?" "That's why we were going to stick off the beaten path. Plus I planned to scout ahead continuously so we didn't run into any surprises." "I'm sorry let's go back to the fact that you were going to lead 15 full grown, hereditary wolves on a chase by yourself. They would have caught you well before you go far enough to go on to step 2 of your plan." Peter interrupted Emma looked down at her hands. "I was hoping the fight would delay the chase." "There sure is a lot of hope in your plan. And what about the fact that when we found you, you were all dehydrated and malnourished? You were planning on leading a group of people who haven't eaten anything decent or drank an appropriate amount of water through rough terrain?" Peter threw his hands up in exasperation "It was a bloody good thing we found you before you could implement this hair-brained scheme. You would have all died out there!" "At least we would have died on our own terms." Lily whispered into Dan's chest where he had her clasped so tight, she was unable, and unwilling, to lift her head from his chest. You could hear Dan's teeth grinding with her comment. Lily patted the hand he had clenched in her hair and whispered something in his ear that no one else could hear. Dan's response gave them an idea of the question "Fuck that noise and the horse it rode in on, I'm not going anywhere." He turned to Emma "Finish the story. How come you didn't identify yourself to the patrol last night?" Emma shifted her weight from foot to foot. "She took over when I was asleep. She thought you guys were trustworthy enough to tell our secret to and she really wanted to go on the pack run. She was anxious to hunt and be part of a pack. I still wasn't sure so I only shifted in our room and hung around in wolf form before I forced her back down to go to bed. I guess she was tired of waiting for me to grow a pair and tell you so she took over and went for a run." "So you weren't aware of the run last night?" "Not until I woke up. I thought I was back in the house but I smelt the guards and I knew I was here but then I couldn't figure out why I was locked up until I realized you knew my secret and locked me up so you could punish me or execute me. When I started panicking, my wolf told me what happened and I freaked out even more because she had fought you. I need to go apologize to those betas for freaking out on them last night." "Well that explains why your behaviour was so odd last night when they were leading you back to the compound. You were so happy-go-lucky until they started leading you downstairs towards the cells. You kept on trying to go upstairs to your room." Peter mused Emma nodded "She thought she was just in trouble for running out of bounds and that they were escorting her home but when they wouldn't let her go to bed and brought her to the cell she went a little crazy." She grimaced "Needless to say, we both have an aversion to being locked up in a cell. We promised each other that we would do anything necessary to never be locked up again. Are they okay?" "They'll be fine. You got some good hits in. That combat training has come in handy. Sorry that we had to use a tranquilizer again." Jane answered softly. Emma waved it off "No that's fine. That was the only way I was going to stop." Silence descended on the room once more. Emma sighed. "Anything other questions?" Jane raised her hand "If you are a wolf, why don't we have an alpha bond with you?" Peter's expression darkened as he nodded "It's clear you haven't accepted us as your alphas and I will not have you challenging my mate for her position." Emma sighed and rolled her eyes "If I hadn't suppressed the bond, it would have given up the game. One sec." She closed her eyes and focused. Peter and Jane gasped and clasped their chests as Emma released her hold on the bond and it snapped into place. Emma's eyes snapped open and she grimaced at the pair "Oops sorry." She closed her eyes again and the volume of her emotions and thoughts was turned off again. "Sorry I'm a little all or nothing right now. I've never been a part of a pack before so I don't know how this mental thing works." Jane nodded "It's ok dear, we can help you control the projection of your thoughts and emotions." Peter was still rubbing his chest "We can also understand why you didn't bond with the other wolves at that house. I wouldn't have wanted to know what thoughts went through their heads." "Anything else?" Emma asked, shifting nervously. "No I think that is all." "Ok good because I really have to pee." She said as she raced out the door. "Wait, how did she get out without being caught by the camera?" Dan asked. Alice laughed. "Oh we've been meaning to tell you about that. You have a blind spot in your surveillance coverage. My guess is that since B knew, her wolf knew. They're both sneaky little bitches. Now that the wolf's out of the bag, I would watch myself." Lena giggled "And your potato chip stores." Danger Zone Ch. 06 A/N: It became a vicious cycle of feeling guilty for taking so long to post so vowing to write a longer chapter and taking so bloody long to write the chapter that I vowed to write more. I had to mentally backhand myself to stop writing. Enjoy! * "No" "Please please please..." "I said No" "C'mon B, aren't you curious?" Emma looked up from the book she was using as reason to ignore the eager faces surrounding her chair. "Curious about what? It's just another wolf pack." "That came here specifically to speak to us." Doc spoke up Emma snorted "Yeah they came here specifically to apologize for the fact that the majority of our captors were rogues from their pack. 6 months later. No. Thank. You." She lifted her book back up. "Remember a couple of weeks ago when you were regaling us all about all the traditions and procedures they have for every pack event? Don't you want to see those traditions re-enacted in person?" Emma rolled her eyes "That was a weak attempt at manipulation, even for you Lena." Lena threw her hands up in exasperation. Alice was the next to try. "Please, they're guarding the front door of our apartment and you are the only one who knows a way to get out undetected." "And you're surprised? You're the one who told them about the blind spot that is now fixed. Now you're stuck here. We're just as much prisoners here as we were there, it's just fancier digs." "Then why aren't you escaping like you planned to back at the house?" Alice challenged. Emma gave a pointed glance at Lily. "Me?" Lily was taken aback "Why would you willing stay in captivity for me?" Emma shrugged and raised her book higher. "You can't just imply something like that without answering why." Lena stood with her hands on her hips. "Because you're my only family now and family don't abandon each other." Emma mumbled behind her book. The room was silent as the other women digested that information before a collective "Awwwww..." When they went in for a group hug, Emma snapped "No touching." Causing them to pull back and settle back down in their chairs. An awkward silence hung in the air. Lena cleared her throat. "Please B, we really want to see these guys before we meet them formally. You of all people know how different people are when they are trying to charm somebody vs. how they are in real life." She was referring to Damon. "Not true, he always gave me the creeps." Emma replied calmly. "Then do it for those of us who were fooled by that asshole and are now 6 feet under." Doc answered, gently placing her hand on Emma's. Emma stared at the dark skinned hand for a long moment, tears filling her eyes. "Fine but if any of you tell Peter or Jane of this way out I will hang you off the side of the balcony by your feet. Understood?" "Yes" "Absolutely" "Perfectly" "Yes" Were the replies from the group. "Come with me and stay very quiet." Emma said as she headed for her room. Once there she shimmied up the side of her canopy bed towards the ceiling, pushing away one of the tiles. The 4 women watched amazed. "We aren't climbing through the vents are we?" Lily asked, voice wavering slightly. "I don't like dark closed in spaces." "Nobody would if they went through what we did." Emma replied as she pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and fiddled with something out of sight. With a decisive click, she threw open a door and sunlight streamed in from above. "We're going to climb across the roof and enter through the attic." Their jaws dropped. Doc sputtered. "You mean you want us to climb up a pole, traverse a sloping shingle roof on the 3rd floor then climb another 2 stories to enter through the attic on the 5th floor?" Emma nodded "Oh HELL NO!" Doc exclaimed "You're on your own." Lily nodded "I think if we tried to follow you, we'd be the opposite of quiet and covert." "Can't you just go and disable the guard so we can go out the front door." Lena said. "But don't hurt him!" Doc added. "Don't hurt the large beta werewolf capable of speaking telepathically to his alphas?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "Oh ok hurt him a little." Doc relented. "You realized what you are asking of me right?" Emma queried. "Fight a full grown werewolf just so we can have a glimpse of the visiting pack." Lena replied calmly "I know it's stupid, but we have faith in you." "And you know the penalty for being caught fighting with another pack member outside of training?" "Imprisonment or death at the worst if they fear you've gone rogue. We'll take the blame if you're caught." Lily replied "Do you know why they have us imprisoned in our apartment?" The girls hesitated "Because they think we are weak humans." Alice spoke up. Emma shook her head. "It's your scents. You weren't there when Dan found Lily but I was. They don't want the greeting ceremony to be interrupted by some horny wolf that just caught a whiff of their human mate." Lena snorted. "And the 'formal meeting' is going to be any different?" Alice shared the snort, mumbling under her breath "Meat market." "They'll be better prepared for the meeting because they'll be coached by their alphas and they won't be as fatigued and on edge. They've been driving for 10 hours straight and they are entering another wolf's territory." "How the hell do you know this?" Alice asked. Emma grinned and tapped her ears "No scent and wolf hearing. Ain't nothing private in this compound." Her grin grew as she waggled her eyebrows at Lily "Pantry closets included." Lily's face turned an interesting shade of heated red. "That doesn't explain why I'm here. I have a mate." Lily spoke, trying to change the subject. "Ah well you are here because you are still human. Dan was nervous having you there if things went south." Emma admitted. Lily's red face went from embarrassed to furious. "Ack that... that... BUM! Who does he think he is controlling where I go!" Lena and Alice busted out laughing "Bum Lily? Surely you can think of a much more expressive word." "Asshole." Lena supplied. "Overbearing bigheaded tool." Doc added. "Chest beating Neanderthal." Emma giggled. As the giggles subsided, Emma got serious again. "Are you sure?" Lena and Alice solemnly nodded. Doc looked unsure and Lily was still trying to cool her heated face. Emma sighed and disappeared out of sight. "Are we sure this is going to work? If we are here for our own protection, maybe we should wait." Doc said, wringing her hands. "Relax, we'll hide out on the stairway and B will make sure we stay downwind." Lena said as she hurried to the front door, waiting for the door to be opened. Lily gently rubbed Doc's back, soothing her fears. "B would never put us in danger. You know that." Doc cautiously nodded. They waited 10 minutes without any sign on B. Doc started to worry. "You don't think she fell or something?" Alice shook her head "No we would have heard about it." "What if she was caught?" Lily whispered. Lena shifted nervously "Surely they would have come to question us?" "Unless she took all the blame." Alice supplied "Stupid selfless bitch." Lena scowled. The door was flung open. "You know I would give you up in a heartbeat." Emma joked. "What took you so long?" "Had to go down to the medical wing and get a tranq and a blow gun. Greg was taking his guard duty very seriously so while he would not have been able to smell me he sure as hell would have seen me and alerted the alphas." They peered past her shoulder to see Greg slumped against the wall with a dart in his neck. "Nice shot." Commented Lena Doc shifted nervously. Emma sighed. "Go ahead and check. He's breathing normally and has a steady heart beat." Doc rushed over to check his vitals. "We shouldn't leave him like this. I'll go get him a blanket." Lily said as she turned to rush back to her room. She was stopped by Alice grabbing her hand. "And leave our calling card all over him?" Alice asked. Lily gestured with her free hand to Doc with her hands all over his body. "It's already all over him, might as well make sure he's warm and comfortable." She slipped her hand out of Alice's grip and ran down the hall. Emma rubbed her face and sighed. "Ok here's the story. We were sitting in my room grousing about the fact that we were being held prisoner when I heard a loud thud. When I tried to call out to Greg, he didn't respond. I could smell another person but I didn't recognize the smell so I assumed Greg shifted to a wolf to better protect us so couldn't answer me. We locked the door in fear and went to go hide back in my room which is the farthest away. I shifted into a wolf so I could talk to Greg but he still wasn't answering so I got nervous and I went back to investigate and when I opened the door, we found him slumped against our door and no one else in sight so we pulled him in. Doc checked him out and we put him on Doc's bed. We locked all the doors and shut all the blinds so no one could see inside." "Ok and what if they ask why you didn't call the alphas?" Lena said as she and Doc rolled Greg onto the blanket to be transported inside. "In all my reading it is stated that an interruption to the greeting ceremony could be seen as an insult to the visiting pack and had the potential to cause a pack war. When you guys tried to get me to call for them, that's all I could think about." "You really think they're gonna swallow that bullshit?" Alice asked as she knelt down to help them lift the deadweight. "No." Emma replied as she shooed them away and picked up Greg on her own, turning and placing him gently on the bed. "But a girl can dream. Now I haven't risked my head to turn around now. Let's do this." With one last look at the lump on the bed, they exited the apartment and made it to the top of the stairway, crouching low so no one would catch their movements. They watched as the pack betas entered first. 'God they breed them big.' Emma thought. She could see familial similarities to some of her captors in them and it made her shudder. It was the sight of the Alphas passing through the doorway and the man that stood to his right that caused them all to gasp loudly. Damon. Their outburst caught everyone's attention so no one caught Damon's glare as he brought his finger to his lips, warning them to stay quiet. 'You've got to be shitting me. Sweetie your reign of terror is over.' Emma smirked and stood up and started slowly down the stairs. "Damon! Here I was rejoicing your ashy corpse and to find you are alive and well." She shook her head "Such a disappointment." As she walked, she opened her connection to Jane and Peter, sharing her memories of her capture and the part Damon played in it. Jane growled low and made to shift into her wolf but was stopped by Peter's grip. "He has to admit to it. We can't punish an alpha's heir on heresay alone." "Based on the way the other girls reacted, they could testify to it as well." "B is their leader; they will back her up no matter what. No, it has to come out of his mouth." Jane growled again but stood down, ready to launch when needed. Damon replied smoothly "I'm sorry you must have me mistaken for someone else. I have never met you before, though I will admit you smell delicious...mate." Emma laughed dryly. "Liar, I don't have a scent." "Everyone has a scent." The visiting alpha spoke up. "Peter who is this insubordinate creature?" "One of the girls we rescued from the house." Peter growled, tensions rising. The alpha turned to Emma who had stopped at the bottom of the steps. "Clearly still dealing with mental problems if she believes she doesn't have a scent and my nephew had anything to do with that disgusting house. Warped or not, you need to watch your tone little girl when speaking to an alpha or their heir." He said with disgust and pity for the confused girl. Emma raised her eyebrows. "Permission to speak freely sir?" She asked Peter. Peter nodded and relaxed slightly, waiting for the inevitable tongue lashing B was about the release. He fell victim to her acidic tongue last week when he put his book in the wrong place in the library. He just wished he brought popcorn. "Glad you're enjoying yourself." Jane grumbled "Hush darling, when do we ever get a live drama played out in our foyer." Peter replied. Emma turned on the alpha and his nephew. "If I may ask sir, when did you finally give up on finding your mate and announce Damon as your heir?" "6 years ago." "Come now uncle, surely you are not going to amuse her crazy ranting?" Damon rolled his eyes. "Why Damon, it's that eau de paranoia I smell?" Emma said, delicately sniffing the air. "No." Damon answered quickly, too quickly. "Go ahead and rant, you won't achieve anything other than proving you're bat shit crazy." "You are probably not aware of this sir but over 5 years ago, your nephew kidnapped a lone hiker in the backcountry of Alberta." "No I'm not but I fail to see what this has to do with your accusations..." "For 5 years your nephew shared with this person his plans to usurp you, killing you and your most loyal betas and taking ownership of your pack. He then planned on turning his pack into hardened warriors and attacking neighbouring packs, enlarging his territory. His eventual plan was to be the only pack left in North America. From there he planned on exposing werewolves to the humans and taking over their government. Apparently, he believes that humans are unable to govern themselves and require werewolf overlords." Peter and Jane gasped at this news "I hope this is not an opinion he got from you Ian." Peter said. Ian waved his hands dismissively. "Of course not. This is insane. This is just the accusations of a deranged victim making up a story and projecting it on a stranger. Why the hell would someone trust the person kidnapped with that kind of information? It's like when a super villain explains their evil plot to the capture super hero only to have them escape and foil their plot. It's idiotic" "I agree, it is idiotic. But this idiot thought he had her easily cowed because he was a big bad wolf. Plus, he says mates share things with each other. He expected me to tattle on my girls in exchange for this information. Idiot." She scoffed. Everyone's eyes turned on Damon as he clenched his fists and took a menacing step forward. Ian put a cautioning hand on Damon's chest. He turned on Peter. "This is unacceptable, I refuse to stand here and have my nephew's name dragged through the mud by some silly girl. We are leaving. Consider our truce ended." He turned on his heel and started to stalk out. "Tell me, does Damon have a purple birthmark on the front of his left hip in the shape of a heart. And a large mole under his right shoulder blade?" Ian paused and turned wary eyes on the auburn haired fireball accusing his nephew. Emma turned to the female betas. "And when he climaxes, he paws at the sheets like a dog in the garden whether he is in human or wolf form?" A couple of the females nodded and giggled a little, eliciting an angry growl from Damon. Emma turned back to the Alpha at the door. "He always volunteered to do patrols on the far side on your territory, causing him to be away for a week or more. In that time, he would drive to the house and spend that time with his 'pets', beating us, raping us, torturing us. Or he would sit back and laugh as his lackeys did what they wanted to us. What you have there is the ringleader of the rogue pack." She said, pointing at Damon . The alphas eyes widened in shock "He said the longer patrols would allow him to get to know the land he would be inheriting." He turned on Damon "How could I have been so blind?" Damon, realizing he was caught, turned on the weakest link, Emma "YOU LYING WHORE!" He yelled as he launched himself at Emma, shifting in midair. Before anyone had a chance to intercede, Emma whipped out her knives from their hidden sheaths on her arms, ducking down and slicing upwards into his vulnerable underbelly as Damon leapt over top of her. Damon howled in pain turned back towards her, launching another attack. He was tackled by his uncle and forced to shift by his alpha. With his forearm across his throat, Ian growled "Tell me it's not true. Tell me this wasn't your idea." He shook him "Don't lie!" Damon, gasping for breath, said nothing. Ian howled in fury and snapped Damon's neck, almost completely decapitating him in his anger. Breathing heavily, eyes glowing yellow, he turned to the rest of the room, noting the absence of sound. Everyone was afraid to speak or breathe loudly so as to attract the attention of the feral wolf in a man's body. Once his eyes turned to their normal milk chocolate colour, he searched out the catalyst of this event, the auburn haired beauty with the strange teal eyes. "While I do not approve of your methods and believe you should be taught more self-control, it seems we have more restitution than we thought for what has happened to you and your group. Please accept my apologies miss..." he said as approached Emma and he offered his hand. Emma stared at the extended hand with wide eyed fear. She was extremely pale and had a haunted look about her. Her irises were such a light blue they were almost white, a sign her wolf was close to the surface. She blinked rapidly, pushing down her wolf. "I..." She stuttered "I need to go check on the others." She said as she backed warily towards the stairs, bloody blades dripping down at her sides. "Uh B, would you be so kind to tell me what you have done with my mate?" Drea spoke up with a menacing tone. B paused at the top of the stair. "He's fine. We didn't hurt him, he's just sleeping." Drea growled loudly. B put up her hands. "Sorry it was the only way I could take him down without permanent harm." She said as she disappeared down the hall, closely followed by Dan who was anxious to see Lily after the dramatic events of the afternoon. Peter cleared his voice nervously. "I apologize for her manners. She's not overly comfortable with the other men, or physical contact." Ian rubbed his hand absently on his jeans, staring after the mysterious human. "Not to mention I killed someone in front of her. It's no mystery she is afraid of me. Tell me, why doesn't she have a scent?" Peter shook his head. "That my friend is an interesting story. Why don't you and your entourage get settled and we can meet later to discuss the girls and other pack business." Ian nodded and signalling his pack, he and the others disappeared towards their assigned quarters to get unpacked for their 2 week stay. "B we need to discuss your punishment for this afternoon's shenanigans. Please meet us in my office." Jane sent after the retreating Emma. "Ok Madam Alpha, can I please change my clothes?" "Yes but hurry. You have 5 minutes." "Thank you." Emma ran to her room, avoiding the curious and worried looks from the others. She sank down to the floor, leaning heavily against her closed door. "What the HELL was that?" She demanded of her wolf. "First you want to kill the man for taking your kill, then you want to rub and lick all over his body." The wolf whined piteously while sending pictures of the alpha, Damon's uncle. "What's wrong with you? Why are you so fixated on this guy? He's Damon's uncle. Damon." The wolf recalled the scent of the man, dark coffee and cinnamon. "Yes he smells heavenly. And?" Letting out a loud groan, the wolf sank to the ground and laid her head on her paws, giving Emma a long look. Emma sighed. "Whatever dude, I need to get changed fast and see the alphas. They do not seem too happy with me." Danger Zone Ch. 06 Her wolf huffed, as if that was the understatement of the century. Then she sent the image of Ian naked, holding his nephew against the wall and purred. Emma squinted at her wolf "I don't get you. Maybe Jane's right, I should let you out more often. You're losing your mind being trapped in a human body." The wolf rolled her eyes and curled up to sleep while Emma changed for the meeting, sprinting down the halls to the alphas office as she was now late due to her conversation with her wolf. Arriving at the door, panting slightly she knocked lightly on the door, knowing their sensitive hearing will pick up on the light tapping. "Enter." Peter's voice boomed through the door. When she entered she saw Peter seated at his desk with Jane standing behind his right shoulder. God did they take this time to stage the most intimidating pose for me to see? Emma thought. She quickly checked her shields to see if they had heard her errant thought. They were already mad at her as it was no need to add fuel to the fire with her smartass comments. "Do you know why you stand in front of us today B?" "Wait, B can't be your real name. What is your real name?" Jane asked. Everyone was tense, waiting for the answer to her simple request. B shifted nervously. "I used to be Emma Busby but she died years ago." Jane sighed and nodded. "Thank you Emma." Peter asked Emma again "Do you know why you stand in front of us, Emma?" "I disobeyed your order to stay in my room, knocked out one of your betas, back talked a visiting alphas and his heir and sparked a fight in the lobby." Both alphas were stunned by the attempt at complete disclosure and honesty. "The last one doesn't count." Jane replied drily "That's a normal occurrence when another pack comes to visit." "That isn't your only infringement on our pack laws. You have been ordered not to hide your scent around other wolves and you only do that 50-60% of the time. You don't trust us and that shows." Peter growled. Emma wasn't sure how to reply to that but she let go of her scent and opened her mind to the alphas to avoid any further rebukes. Peter acknowledged the change with a tight nod. "We've asked you to spend more time with the other wolves, finding your own niche away from the other girls and the only time you are ever without the others is when you are in the library. Alone." Jane added "I spar with the other wolves." "Exactly! The only time you let other people touch you is if you are fighting!" Peter stated. "Nor are you alone when you go spar. The twins are always your shadows." "Isn't this a conversation that you should be having with all of us?" Emma asked, her ire rising a bit in defence to the attack on her actions. "No because despite being human those 4 girls contribute more to this pack than you do." Peter growled louder. "Doc spends majority of her day with the medical team, treating our pack members, the twins have developed our communication system and upgraded the security on our computers to the extent that the CIA wouldn't dream of hacking our network. And Lily has become a teacher to our pups. She is teaching them valuable home economic skills that will help them their entire life. You just sit in the library all day reading whatever tickles your fancy!" Emma balked then turned angry "My fancy? I'll have you know I'm reading books on pack law, histories, and pack geneologies." "Why?" Jane snapped. "Why?" Emma replied confused. "Why are you reading those things? What is your purpose for reading those documents that would help our pack?" "I wanted to learn everything I could about my new life so I could pass it on to the other girls. I know from reading the histories, this is an unusual concession you are making for us, allowing us to wait to decide to turn or not. Thank you for giving us a year to find mates in the wolf community." "But you don't want a mate." Jane stated flatly. "Moot point, I'm already a wolf." "Exactly yet you still speak with a lot of 'I's' and 'we's'. You have not integrated yourself into your new life. You avoid it by sticking your nose into a book and ignoring the world around you. Here's a tip lady, you have a question about your new life? Ask your fucking alphas. You have a question about our history? Why don't you ask the pack elder that's lived it for the past 600 years? And what the HELL did you think you would get out of our genealogies?" Jane yelled, her eyes starting to bleed into her wolf. Peter took the hand that was resting on his shoulder and rubbed the back of her hand with a soothing touch. "Honestly?" "Always." Peter said calmly. "I was trying to find a common pattern. I wanted to know if it was genetic or if he was an anomaly." "Damon?" Peter asked gently. Emma nodded. "And?" Jane prompted, calm again. "It happens but it's not a common thing. There is no genetic link." Emma answered flatly. "There's no way to predict who will lose it and when. There's no reason why they chose us." Emma shivered in trepidation. Jane and Peter exchanged a glance. "Is that what you're worried about? Going rogue?" Emma nodded. "Why?" "All it will take is some dominating aggressive male to corner me and pressure me into having sex with them and..." She pantomimed ripping off a head. "You're in an enclosed space with two dominant alpha wolves challenging you and you seem to be fine." Emma shrugged "Well first of all you're not trying to have sex with me and second of all you're..." She waved her hands wildly "safe or something like that. I don't feel threatened being in the same room with you." Peter growled lightly at being told he was non-threatening "And if we ordered your execution tonight?" Emma quirked a shoulder "I believe you would be doing it to protect your pack and I wouldn't begrudge you the decision. I'd be sad...but not mad." "So she does understand pack dynamics and she acknowledges us as her alphas. She subconsciously trusts in our ability to protect her and our pack. She just doesn't realize it." Jane commented to Peter. Peter nodded. Seeing the nod, Emma thought he was agreeing about her imminent rogue status and was about to order her execution. A thin tendril of fear entered her scent. Jane picked up on the fear "What do you fear Emma?" "While I understand you ordering my death sir, may I request you keep my friends away from it?" Emma asked timidly, looking down at her feet. "They've seen enough of their friends die in their lifetimes." Peter and Jane were taken aback by the comment. "My dear" Jane said "We are not going to kill you." Emma looked up, startled "You're not?" Jane shook her head. "It is clear to us however that we need to separate you from your little pack of girls. Part of the problem with your lack of acceptance is that we are still treating you like a human. We will be moving you out of the secure wing and into an apartment with the other beta females so you can socialize with other wolves your rank. You will not be allowed to hide your scent when you are at the compound, however when on patrol or anywhere offsite, you have permission to hide your scent as you see fit." Emma's hackles rose at the word permission but she tried to hide it, semi successfully. Jane jumped into her next point, preventing Emma from arguing. "If you cannot abide by these rules we will move you to another pack, away from your friends. You need to accept your new life or turning rogue will become your future." Emma clenched her jaw but nodded. Peter brought up his point "Given your history, I'm not going to force you into it but you need to get used to other wolves touching you outside of a sparring bout. Your wolf needs a pack and it needs contact with her pack members to allow her to make a place in her pack or she will be more on edge and quicker on the draw. A wolf who knows her place in her pack is a happy wolf. If you can manage that, maybe we can avoid the amount of incidences where your wolf has risen to the surface and nearly taken over." "Like today for example, your wolf was too close to the neighbouring alpha. Had you attacked him, it would have been within his right to kill you and declare war on our pack. It was close enough with your verbal confrontation; we didn't need a physical confrontation." Jane cautioned. Emma nodded. "I understand. I'll try my best." Jane's tone softened "You know you can always ask us for help. We aren't trying to set you up to fail." "I know Madame Alpha, I just don't want to burden you with my problems if I can handle it. You have enough responsibilities as it is." "But you're not handling it Emma." Peter added softly. "It's been 6 months and you haven't made any progress with your new pack or dealing with your abuse. Despite your room being soundproofed, we know you are still having nightmares almost nightly." Emma was shocked by this declaration "How do you know?" "The patrols can hear you when they pass under your windows and your friends have come to us, concerned for your wellbeing." Emma clenched her jaw and ground her teeth at the sense of betrayal she was feeling for her friends going behind her back to tattle to the alphas. Seeing her anger flare in her eyes, Jane took a step forward and took a gentle grip of her wrist "Now don't go take this out on them, they only came to us because they care about you. You shouldn't punish them for caring about you." That seemed to be the best thing to say as Emma's anger cooled and her features softened. Silence filled the room as Emma pondered what was said today. She sighed and nodded. "Okay." "Okay?" Jane echoed. "Okay." Emma repeated "What's that supposed to me okay?" "Okay I need help dealing with my problems." Peter and Jane were stunned that Emma went from denying her problems to asking for help within minutes of each other. Talk about whiplash. Jane looked at Peter "Wasn't Erica's mate a psychiatrist before he was turned?" Peter nodded. "He still is. He still has his practice in the city and he helps us here with our pack needs." He turned to Emma. "Elliot would be the perfect choice, let me call him up here." Emma's eyes widened "Whoa wait a minute. You think I need a shrink?" She shrieked. Peter and Jane were hesitant to answer. "Uh Emma, you were held in captivity for 5 years, abused physically and mentally and forced to do unspeakable things." Peter said "Even the strongest person with the best coping strategies would need some help sorting themselves out." Emma rubbed her hand over her face. "I don't know...can I think about it?" Jane sighed at the setback "Of course my dear. While you consider it, please pack your things to be moved into the Beta's complex." Emma nodded absently, deep in thought "Thank you sir, madam." Supper that night was a lively affair as both packs mingled with each other. Most of the excitement stemmed from the unmated males and females sizing each other up for likely bed mates in the upcoming weeks. As Emma entered the dining room with Drea and Greg, both who were still slightly disgruntled at her actions this afternoon, silence descended on the room as everyone turned their eyes on the mysterious girl. Her pack had filled in the visiting pack on her history so everyone was curious what she was going to by herself in a room full of wolves. She cleared her throat nervously and made her way to the buffet table. The silent stares followed her across the room. She caught whispered conversations on her way. "No way dude! She really doesn't have a scent." "She has a scent, she just hides it." "Wish she would teach me how to do that." "I don't think she even knows herself." "I hear she's practically feral." "Yeah if you touch her without her consent, you risk losing a limb." "Those hidden sheaths for her daggers were awesome; I didn't know she had weapons on her." "Yeah she carries a full arsenal at all time; she's as prickly as a porcupine." "Someone's gonna get in trouble." Drea sing-songed as she pulled up next to Emma. "The gossip mongers?" Emma asked as she pulled out a tray. "No, you." Drea snickered "I seem to recall an alpha's order that you don't hide your scent and we seem to be approaching said alpha." Emma hissed and slammed down her tray. Closing her eyes she focused and a thin slip of scent surrounded her body. She went to move further down the line when Peter loudly cleared his throat. Catching her eye, he motioned with his hand to let more of her scent slip free. Emma sighed and let go of her control of her scent. The smell of lemons and mint filled the air and Peter nodded appreciatively before turning back to his meal, only to be interrupted by Ian standing up quickly, knocking his chair down and snarling "MINE!" Ian leapt forward in an attempt to bring Emma closer into his grasp only to have Emma shriek and hide behind Greg, using him as a shield. Ian growled menacingly at the male who stood between him and his mate and while Greg did expose his neck, he stood his ground. He tried to reason with the large alpha "Perhaps," Greg licked his lips nervously "this is not the best way to woo your mate sir?" Ian growled louder "What is it" He rumbled "with people of this pack thinking they can tell me what to do? Have you not taught them better Peter?" Peter growled back at the insult only to have Emma peek out from behind Greg's broad back "Peter's a great alpha, you're just a bully." She stuck out her tongue. Ian straightened out of the predatory pose he was holding "Did you just stick your tongue out at me?" He asked perplexed. Emma took another step out and replied "Yes I did." "Nobody sticks their tongue out at me." "Yeah well nobody likes a bully." She stuck her tongue out again. He took a step closer, crowding her space "Careful. If you stick your tongue out at me again, I might find a use for it." He purred. The rumble in his chest went straight through her and made her feel all tingly and warm. As the scent of her arousal perforated the room, she stepped behind her protector again. "You're not my mate. I don't have a mate. I don't need a mate." She spoke bravely. "Your scent says otherwise." Ian answered as he took a step around Greg to get at his mate. "My scent says I'm attracted to you not that you're my mate." Emma answered, stepping around Greg so he still stood directly in the way. Greg rolled his eyes at being in the middle of this drama. "And I don't plan on acting on that attraction." She continued. Peter spoke up "I'm curious why when Ian leapt, you choose to scream and hide behind Greg, a male beta, instead of using one of your many hidden weapons to kill the threat. Perhaps you didn't want to hurt Ian?" Emma, who was playing a rousing game of ring-around-the-Greg, stilled and her jaw dropped then closed as she replied haughtily "I was just following orders not to cause a war between packs" and moved again, narrowly avoiding Ian's arms. "Bullshit, hurting him didn't even cross your mind. You thrive on pure instinct. If you had thought Ian was a threat, you would have killed him, order or not." Peter grinned at the flash of fang as Ian processed the comment. "Maybe." Emma was panting as Ian was all but sprinting after her in a circle "I am learning to curb my instincts." "That shouldn't be a maybe if you actually believe it." Jane answered. Emma paused and clenched her fists. "He's NOT my mate!" She placed her hands on his chest to stop the chase, sparing a thought for the hard muscle beneath the shirt "I'm sorry but you're not my mate." She told Ian as he pulled her closer and rested his hands on her lower back and his face in her hair "You're just really super yummy hot" her speech became breathy as she unconsciously started kneading his pecs. "What does your wolf say?" Jane asked, crossing her arms "What makes you think she hasn't had a say?" Emma answered into Ian's chest as she auspiciously took small breaths to fill her senses with his yummy scent. "What does your wolf say Emma?" Jane repeated Emma sighed and closed her eyes, bringing her wolf forward. Before her body shifted, her eyes snapped open and with a "Son of a ..." Emma turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. Ian stood there dumfounded at the sudden departure. "I don't understand." Jane laughed and shook her head "You poor poor man." Peter joined in on the laughter "Congratulations on finding your mate my friend. I only hope you survive the chase." Emma ran out the front door into the snow. "Good" she thought "Maybe this will cool my heated blood." "So that's what you were trying to tell me? He's my mate?" She addressed her wolf. Her wolf nodded and wagged her tail happily. "But he's Damon's uncle!" Her wolf rolled her eyes and settled in for the same argument from this morning. "He looks exactly like Damon. How can I even be with him without seeing Damon? It's not fair to him to have Damon's actions affect my feelings for him and it's not fair to me to have to relive my past every time I look at him." The wolf didn't bother to answer; she just continued to watch Emma as she paced furiously through the snow. Her internal rant was cut off by the sudden appearance of two wolves exiting the woods. Once they stood in front of her, the one on her left started to shift. Faced with a naked Adam, she turned her back and hissed under her breath "Fucking naked." "Is there any other way to fuck?" He joked to her tense back. Faced with her furious glare, he sobered up and asked "Sorry about that B, I just wanted to know where you were going." "To hell in a hand basket" She thought. She replied "No where. Can't a girl take a walk without facing the Spanish inquisition? "In bare feet?" He asked with eyebrows raised as he stared at her feet. Looking down, Emma swore a blue streak finishing with the statement "A pox on hot men!" She tried for nonchalance "I'm a wolf, we don't feel cold." She shrugged. "Yeah but we can still get frostbite in our human form." "Fine!" She said in exasperation, throwing up her hands. She shifted into her wolf, tearing through her clothes, causing her weapons to fall to the ground in a loud clamour. A look of regret passed in her eyes as she looked at her pile of shredded clothes. With a final glare at Adam, she took off into the woods. Adam called after her "Stay within pack grounds!" She only paused long enough to kick up some snow at him. He sighed and looked at the discarded pile of clothes "I'll call someone to collect her things." His partner made a sound that needed no translation causing Adam to laugh. "I hear ya man, women. C'mon, let's finish our patrol and get back inside, I'm starving." Emma stalked silently up to the front door, only shifting at the last moment to turn the door handle. She peered cautiously into the foyer, finding the room empty she slipped inside and went to the front hall closet to grab an extra pair of sweats and slip them on before anyone saw her in her birthday suit. The run had helped her mood a little but she still didn't have a solution to the mate problem. On her run she realized that if she did submit to this mating, not only would she have to live with waking up to Damon's face every morning; but as Ian was the alpha of his pack, she would need to move to his land, away from her friends and she would have to face the families of the members of the rogue pack who held her hostage for 5 years. Would they blame her for their son's death? Would they hate her for constantly reminding them of their shame? Danger Zone Ch. 06 On the other hand, based on her reading, she knew that if she rejected this mating, she would never be able to have babies. Given that she was quickly approaching her 30th birthday; her biological clock was ticking loudly, despite her aversion to wolves of the opposite sex. She wanted someone to call her own, a family to replace the one she was forced to give up when she was kidnapped and turned. She also knew that mating stabilized their wolves, making it less likely for them to go rogue and as a forced turn, she was at a high risk of going rogue. As an unmated male, Ian was also at risk of losing his position and if she publicly rejected him, like she kind of did today, his pack was likely to lose faith in his ability to lead if he can't even retain his own mate. She vented her frustration with a loud raspberry that echoed through the foyer. She was not ready to face other people and pretend to be ok with this. She still needed to vent some more frustration and the thought of hitting something appealed to her. As she made her way to the basement gym, she hoped somebody was working out already. While hitting a punching bag always soothed her nerves, nothing beat a live target. "Need a sparring partner?" A deep voice rumbled from behind her. Emma whirled quickly into a defensive stance, facing the man leaning on the doorframe. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to startle a person with a sword? I could have taken off your head!" Emma glared as she turned back to the leather covered dummy. "All the way across the room? That's quite the reach." Ian chuckled as he entered the training room. "Why a sword?" "Go away." Emma mumbled as she hacked heavily at the dummy's left side. "I'm not going anywhere Emma until we sort this out." Ian came up right behind her. She could feel the heat coming off his body which caused her blood to heat until he placed his hands on her hips. That was the last straw. She turned in his arms, placing the practice sword at his neck. "Are you suicidal? Don't touch me!" She stared at him, her wolf's agitation showing in her eyes as they glowed white. He took a step closer, a faint line of red showing on the side of his neck. Emma's wolf was howling at the fact that she was hurting her mate. She took a step backwards, easing the pressure of the sword on his neck. "Stop crowding me." "Stop fighting the mating." He replied, stepping so closer, he breathed the same air as her. The sword cut across his collarbone as it was pressed between their bodies. "Why are you pushing me? Just go away. I can't be your mate." She whimpered, taking another step back, only to be pinned against the dummy. His hands descended on her hips and his head lowered to take her mouth only to stop at the acrid scent of her fear. He sighed and took a step back. "I won't hurt you Emma." Emma's legs collapsed at the loss of his body and the sword fell from her hand. She was glad she had the dummy to lean on. For a moment there she wanted to kiss him. What the hell was happening to her? "How do you know?" She mumbled. "Because you're my mate Emma." He replied fiercely "Hurting you would hurt me." Emma snorted "Just because we have a chemical attraction does not mean you can never hurt me." "Dammit Emma!" Ian exclaimed as he stepped back into her space. "I acknowledge that you've been around some pretty fucked up people these past few years but that is no reason to sully the fact that we are mates." He took her hand and held it against his heart "Finding your mate means you have found the other half to your soul." When she snorted, he held a finger of his other hand to her lips "It's not just some touchy feely mumbo jumbo, it's true. Have 2 natures fucks with you, it tears your identity in 2 different directions. Finding your mate soothes your jagged soul; it pulls you back together and makes you whole." His hand slid around to cup the back of her head "It's what every wolf looks for because once we find our mates, we know that we are truly safe from losing ourselves to our animal nature. It's fate." He whispered as he finally bridged the gap and kissed her. Daaaaamn...was the only thought Emma had before she lost herself in the kiss. She whimpered at the intensity of the kiss. Ian didn't just kiss her; he stole a kiss from her. He stole the breath from her body, stole the space in her mouth as his tongue entered her month, stole her tongue when he sucked it into his mouth. She felt his desire as he pressed harder into her body, releasing her hand trapped between them to grab her behind possessively. That's what he was doing, possessing her. And she felt possessed through the rough lashes of his tongue across her lips, in her mouth and down her neck as his mouth moved away from hers to travel down her neck to bite gently at the base of her neck. It gave her goosebumps but she wasn't afraid. She didn't have the mind space to analyze that reaction as his kisses suddenly turned gentle. He was no longer demanding her reaction; he was inviting her to share with him. The care he put in each press of his lips, each stroke of his tongue was designed to show her how much he cared about her, how much he wanted her. Not just want her, need her. She couldn't process this new emotion. How can we feel so much for each other when we only met hours ago? She wailed in her mind. This can't be real. A sharp nip on her lips brought her focus back to man standing in front of her as he pulled her into his chest, breathing heavily. "I can hear you thinking." His voice was tumbled whisky on her frayed nerves. "I'm offended you are capable of thinking right now." "I'm surprised I'm capable of standing right now." She sighed into his chest. When she looked up to look him in the eyes, she flinched backwards as Damon's face looked down on her with such heat. He dropped his hold on her and turned away but not before she caught the flash of pain that crossed his face. "I'm sorry." She whispered "Why? I'm the one who took advantage of you. You don't like to be touched and I practically molested you." He braced his hands on the wall trying to settle his breathing and hide his hurt. She lightly touched his back, causing him to shudder and step away from her touch. He didn't want her sympathy or comfort right now. She let her hand drop to her side. "It wasn't the kiss. That was...indescribable. I haven't felt that alive in almost 6 years. It was..." She paused to collect her thoughts "You talked about fate bringing us together..." Putting her hands on her hips, she let her irritation show "Can you please face me! I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." She smiled ruefully when he glanced over his shoulder with a look that promised reprimand for her tone "And all I can think about is your ass." She finished with a full grin. Ian turned on her. "How can you joke after all you've been through, after what I just did to you?" She waved a hand dismissively "Oh please. That doesn't even make my top 100 worst things to happen to me in my lifetime. Next time you might want to ask for permission first." She scowled playfully. Ian was suffering some whiplash in the sudden change in emotions. Wasn't she seething mad a couple of minutes ago, hacking at an inanimate object? He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Fine we'll talk but can we do it somewhere where we can sit down?" Emma grimaced "Ok but I want to shower first." She wrinkled her nose at her sweat soaked clothes. Ian grinned "Why? I like the way you smell." Emma cocked her head to the side curiously. "But I'm hiding my scent. How can you smell me?" Ian's expression turned to chagrin "You can't hide your scent as well when you sweat. That's how I knew you were down here." Then he flashed a devilish smile "Can't hide it when you're aroused either." Emma sighed inwardly at the way the skin around his eyes crinkled when he grinned and tried to ignore the tiny dimple in his left cheek. Outwardly she let him see her annoyance and replied "Thank you for the information. I'm going to go shower and I'll meet you in the library." "Need me to wash your back?" Ian offered hopefully. Emma rolled her eyes at the cheesy pick-up line. "Come anywhere near my shower little boy and I will divest you of you more essential body parts." Ian gasped in feigned horror "Even before you've had a chance to play with it?" Emma squinted suspiciously at Ian "I'm pretty sure that's not an essential body part but after talking to you, maybe that is where your brain is located." "Trust me baby, it's essential for you." Ian purred before he turned and left the room. He didn't make it very far down the hall before he was flipped onto his back as Emma stood over him with a thunderous expression holding a blade to his throat again. "Let me make myself clear." She could keep the growl out of her voice "I don't do nicknames. So don't baby me. No sweetheart, sugar, pumpkin, cutie pie or any of those other cutesy names that you think are endearing." Her blade pressed harder into his skin, drawing blood for a second time today but this time she didn't care, she was too pissed off. "And never EVER call me princess or you will die. This I vow." With one last look into his startled eyes she took off down the hallway with predatory grace, her anger marked in every step. Ian remained on his back in the middle of the hallway, watching her hips sway with contained fury and god save him, he had never been this turned on. "Damn." He groaned as he collapsed on the floor. Danger Zone Ch. 07 The next week taught Ian the fine art of patience while Emma practiced the art of evasion. Every time Ian entered the same room as Emma, she was always seen escaping out the back door or slipping covertly behind him as he was distracted conversing with another pack member. The only time he could catch her a glimpse of the woman that haunted his dreams was at meal times (Jane and Peter were wise to her tactics and refused to let her get out of set mealtimes by being on patrol) and when she was training with the other betas. Her fresh scent permeated the main house and it was causing Ian to lose his grip on his sanity. It all came to a point during a conversation between Peter and Ian in his office. "God Peter I am this close to going all caveman on her and dragging her to my room to claim her... but then she'll hate me." Ian paced across the room. "Sit down my friend. That carpet is very expensive and Jane will kill you if you burn a hole in it with all your frantic pacing." Peter responded from behind his desk, trying to hide his amusement at his predicament. Ian plopped heavily into one of the leather easy chairs. "I don't get it. It seemed like she was willing to work on it a week ago in the gym but then she stands me up in the library and avoids me for the entire week." He ran his hands through his hair, causing a cowlick on the left side of his head "It can't be just because I called her baby. I didn't know, surely she understands that." "Let's recap that day from her standpoint." Ian replied as he held up his hand and ticked off items on his fingers. "She had to escape her own living area, drug one of her friends and instructors, found out Damon was still alive after believing for 6 months he was dead, found out her mate was Damon's uncle, argued with her alphas and was forced to move out of her room into another room and change her lifestyle. Then she was cornered by her mate in an empty gym and kissed mercilessly then asked to meet in the library to 'talk'. Yeah man, I bet she was totally in control of her emotions that day. You basically took advantage of her when she was shaken up by her entire world being turned on its head. It's no surprise she is avoiding you, she's not sure she can trust what she felt that day." Ian leaned forward in the chair and growled "She should have come talked to me instead of avoiding me." "That's not her MO." "I know...still...it annoys me how she pretends she doesn't notice when I enter a room. She acts like the moment I enter the room that she suddenly forgot to do something elsewhere. Like I have no bearing on her actions." Peter laughed harshly "That's bullshit and you know it. She's just putting up her defensive wall that's she's been using for the past 5 years." Ian laughed drily "The same walls that you had all but obliterated before I entered the picture." "Yeah, well she wasn't expecting to find a mate. She didn't think she deserved one." Peter raised his hands defensively when Ian growled "Her words, not mine." Ian sunk back into the cushions with a groan. "What am I going to do? My wolf is climbing the walls and I'm not far behind. I'm not used to waiting for what I want. She won't even stick around for me to have a civil conversation with her at meals." His expression filled with awe "I have never seen anyone hoover 2 full plates of food in less than 2 minutes." "Well if it helps your psyche, her wolf is on your side. Apparently she's been having trouble sleeping this week. She's been spotted in her one of her usual haunts every night, the gym or the library." Ian's expression turned pensive "So I could get uninterrupted time with her?" Peter nodded "She gives up trying to sleep by about 2:30am." "Excellent. Thanks for the info." Ian said as he rushed from the room, calculating his plan of attack tonight with his mate. She wasn't getting away this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Couldn't sleep?" Instinctively, Emma dove behind the easy chair, drawing the Sig Sauer from her thigh holster wrapped around her plaid pyjama bottoms and pointing it at the shadowed man in the doorway. The book she was absorbed in fell heavily to the ground in the silence that followed. Ian nodded in approval of her reaction and stepped further into the light shed by the lamp by her chair. Emma straightened abruptly and rolled her eyes, hiding the fact that she was secretly giddy she had earned his approval. "What do you want?" Emma asked, still holding her gun. "I noticed you were still up. I thought to keep you company." Ian answered as he took a few steps closer. "Thanks for the offer but I'm fine." Emma answered shakily. She broke out into a cold sweat when the scent of Ian assailed her senses but she refused to back up. The large easy chair still separated their bodies so she has a physical barrier from his appeal. She mentally cursed the fact that Ian slept in a pair of boxer briefs and nothing else if his current state of dress was anything to judge from. "Are you sure?" Ian's voice dropped an octave "You're shivering, do you need me to warm you up?" Emma took a step back, eyes wide with fear, shaking her head slowly. Her hands were shaking so bad, Ian was worried she'd accidentally discharge her gun. Ian took immediate action, moving faster than she could process, grabbing the gun, putting on the safety and placing it gently behind him. He turned back to her and gently rubbed up and down her arms as Emma shivered with a mix of fear and arousal. "What's wrong Emi?" Emma let out a huff "Like you don't know. Can you back up or something?" In response, Ian stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her body "No. I've been patient enough all week. No more running, we talk now." Emma fought her instinct to soften into his embrace and tried to talk her way out. "It's kind of hard to talk into your chest. Can you at least give me breathing room? I promise I won't run." Ian growled low and sat down in the vacated chair, settling Emma across his lap but keeping a possessive hold on her hip. "There now you can breathe. And talk." Emma took a moment to glance at his face. His face was shadowed in the soft lamp light but he looked determined. She sighed. "What do you want to talk about?" Ian snorted "Like you don't know." "I can't be your mate Ian." Emma said gently. "Why? What are you afraid of?" "I can't look at you without seeing Damon. It's unfair to you to be mated to a woman who flinches every time she looks at you." Before Ian could get a word in, Emma continued on. "And what about your sister? You killed her son because of me; she's going to hate me. And on that matter, what about all the other families who lost their sons to the rogue pack? They're all dead and I'm alive and now one of their alphas? How are they ever going to accept me as their leader? It's ridiculous!" Ian, content to let her ramble on, started to massage the tension out of the back of her neck as she talked. "And what about me? I can't lead a large group of people; I can barely keep myself together in group situations. I can't sleep in beta's dorm because I can't sleep in the same room with other people because I'm afraid they'll attack me in my sleep." She took a deep breath "But I want babies and I don't want you to lose your position with your pack because I rejected you and I don't want to make Peter kill be because I've gone rogue, it'll make Lily so sad..." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ian interrupted "Where did you get the idea that I would lose my position if you rejected me?" Emma paused before she answered "Well Peter was saying that being a good alpha meant that you had your pack's respect but if they didn't think you were capable of keeping your mate, they would question your ability of leading and protecting your pack, and you would lose their respect." Ian's laugh shook through Emma's body "You seem to be under the impression I would let you go." He brushed a kiss across the top of her head "I'm not going anywhere Emi. My pack doesn't blame you for the fact that their sons went rogue and I'll stand by you, no matter what." Emma snorted and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Great so I can be the cause of tension between the alpha and his pack. And don't think I haven't noticed you've given me a nickname." She pouted. "It meets all your requirements. It's not cutesy; it's only a shortened version of your name. Like Lil' for Lily." Ian chuckled as he wiped more tears away. Emma stuck her tongue out and snuggled more into his chest. "Fine, have it your way." "Emma, look at me." Ian commanded gently. When she complied, he continued. "You're judging people before you meet them. They've been living under our laws longer than you've been alive. They understand why their sons were executed; they won't hold it against you." "They still grieve." She sniffed. "Listen to me Emi: They. Will. Not. Hate. You." Emma fell silent, her bottom lip quivering. Ian groaned "Aww Emi, you can't do that and not expect me to kiss it better." "Kiss what better?" She asked innocently. "That lip." He answered seconds before swooping down to take her lower lip between his teeth, nipping it lightly and pulling it to take the rest of her mouth. When they separated, panting heavily, Emma's only response was a dreamy sigh. Ian chuckled and gently tucked her mussed hair back behind her ears. "Better?" he asked. Emma blushed and nodded. "Good now do you mind explaining how you went from sitting across my lap to straddling it?" Ian teased. Emma's blush spread across her cheeks and down her neck to disappear underneath her sweatshirt. Ian tugged gently at the collar to peek in only to have his hand slapped away. "What are you doing?" Emma shrieked as she held her collar closed. "Just wanted to see how far your blush spread." Ian answered innocently as he tried going the other way by lifting her sweatshirt off from the bottom, trapping her arms in the sleeves above her head. As she wiggled to untangle herself from her sweatshirt, Ian took advantage of her distraction to caress the line of her blush along her collarbone and down towards her cleavage. "Ian." She hissed as she blushed further, causing it to spread under her tank top. With childlike glee, his fingertips followed underneath her tank to pass along her breasts, her nipples reacting instantaneously. Ian's grin spread across his face and his eyes turned mischievous. "Oh no, can't have you overheat on me. Let me cool you down." He commented as his tongue stroked across the top of her breasts. He took her nipple into his mouth though her tank top then pulled back to blow cold air on the wet fabric. The sensation caused her to shiver deliciously, hips moving against him, causing his cock to react to her proximity and her scent. With a mournful groan, Ian wrapped his arm around her hips and ducked under her arms to place his shoulder into her stomach. He stood up with her draped over his shoulder, causing her to squeal. "Put me down." "I am not going to do this on a chair." Ian grumbled as he headed down the hall. "Where are you taking me?" Emma asked as she finally wrestled her sweatshirt off, leaving it lying on the floor of the hallway." "My bedroom." "What? No!" Emma shrieked as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp. Ian sighed and bent forward to let Emma down but before she had chance to get away, he had her pinned against the wall, kissing her senseless again. When he was satisfied with the glazed look in her eyes, he picked her up again and continued down the hall. As they reached the bedroom door, Ian hitched Emma's slight body into one arm so he could twist the handle of the door. When they crossed the threshold, Emma regained some lucidity and started struggling again. "Emma I'm not him. I won't make you do anything you don't want to." Ian said as he placed her on top of the bed and took a hold of her hands. "All I ask is that you give me a chance and not dismiss what we have just because of who I'm related to." He finished as he kissed her knuckles. He waited patiently for her response. It came with a hand brushing through his hair, fingernails scoring his scalp a little, and a whispered "Ok". Joy burst through him and he surged up to take her lips again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I am way out of my depth." Emma thought as Ian gently laid her down on the bed. "Why am I letting him do this? Why do I believe him when he says it'll be ok? I shouldn't trust him. The only person I can trust is me and I don't trust myself to keep it together around him. Then why am I here?" She yelped as Ian bit her ear and whispered "Stop thinking, just live in the moment. Be here with me Emi. Stay with me." Emma started to apologize but ended up moaning as he started to rub her through her pyjama pants. She had a fleeting thought about where her thigh holster had gone as he pulled her pants down and off her legs. Ian sharply drawn breath brought her attention to his face as he reverently stared at the space between her thighs. "Have mercy. You don't wear panties and you're shaved bald?" Emma self-consciously reached down to cover the area in embarrassment. "Sorry..." Her apology was interrupted by his kiss as he removed her hands and laid them next to her head. "Don't apologize. It's beautiful. You're beautiful." Ian responded while he sat back in order to remove her tank top. Ian drank in the sight of her naked body, noticing the scars that covered her body. He traced the lines across her hips that looked suspiciously like claws marks. Emma's expression fell and she moved to cover the marks. "Don't you dare move those hands." Ian growled harshly causing her to flinch and quickly lay them back down with a whimper. Ian softened his expression and gently stroked her arms. "I'm sorry Emma that came out wrong. I never want to scare you, no matter what. I just wanted to explore your body without you distracting me with your hands." He picked up her hands, kissing each palm gently then used his grip to pull her on top of him "Since I was a bad boy, you get to explore first. Please be thorough." He waggled his eyebrows causing her to giggle. She paused as she looked down at him. Ian, taking it for hesitation said "I'm sorry Emma, I ruined the mood. You don't have to do this." He went to lift her off of him but was stopped by her growl as she pushed his hands back into the mattress "Stay." She pushed again to emphasize her point. Ian bit back the urge to bark at her. Once she was sure he was not going to move she sat back up, her wet pussy rubbing against his boxers. "Now when a person is faced with such a delectable buffet, one does not just dive right in." She said as she stroked up Ian chest and neck and through his hair. "I need to take a look and decide where to start." "Well then I apologize for interrupting you." "You should be." The room was silent as Emma looked him over, broken only by his groan when she lent forwards to scent him. As Emma pushed herself up onto her hands, Ian was shocked by the determined look in her eyes. "Nope." "No?" Ian's stomach dropped. "Nope. I can't decide where to start." Ian groaned and fell back onto the bed. "You're killing me here." Emma's finger traced the contours of his abs muscles, causing them to jump underneath her. "I liked it better when you were touching me. Do you think we could go back..." Emma shrieked as Ian surged forward and flipped them over. "You don't even need to ask. I'll touch you whenever you want. And feel free to touch me whenever you want to." Emma's laughter shook her body. "Eager little beaver aren't you?" "Very eager. But I'm more interested in your beaver." Ian responded as his hand delved in between her legs. Emma moans filled the room as his hand travelled up and down her pussy lips, carefully avoiding her clit. Her scent started to permeate the room and Ian reveled in the fact that he was surrounded by her musk. Emma's head rocked side to side as she tried to endure the torture without begging. She gave up. "Please..." "Hm?" Ian asked distractedly. "More." "More?" "Yessss" "More where?" "Dammit!" Emma responded as she jackknifed to grab his hand and placed on her clit. "There!...jerk." She finished with a mumble. Ian tried to contain his cocky grin and he started to circle her clit "Alright, I got it. No need for the claws." Emma's eyes flew open at his statement "Oh shit I'm sorry! Here let me see ...unh." Her thoughts scattered when his lips touched the protruding bud. His resulting chuckle sent such violent spasms through her body that it felt like her muscles were permanently locked into place. "I hate you" She whimpered. "You wish you hated me." Emma's eyes flew open and she stiffened, her lust filled haze cleared slightly. That statement hit way too close to home. Before she had time to respond, Ian rose above her, taking her mouth in a breathless kiss, pulling her body tightly against his. As they panted for breath, Ian whispered in her hair. "It was a joke." Emma shut hers eyes tightly and took a big breath. "I know I'm sorry. I need to put my big girl panties on and stop being so sensitive." Ian huffed. "I keep ruining the mood with my big mouth." He sighed "Emma, you're my mate and I love you, but I can't live like this. I want you to trust that I will take care of you but it's clear you're not ready yet." He paused as he ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "Look this was a bad idea. I was so impatient for you to mate with me that I'm making it worse. I'll go. I'm sorry." He rolled off the bed and started to reach for his shirt only to be tackled by one angry wolf, baring her teeth and growling loudly. Her pale blue eyes glowed in the dark room. "Dammit Emma! You're giving me whiplash." Emma shifted back into her human form. "I'm giving you whiplash? I'm not the one who wooed me back into my bedroom only to decide for me that I wasn't ready. Who are you to tell me how I feel?" Ian couldn't help the bark of laughter. "Wooed? Who uses that word anymore?" Emma slapped his naked chest. "Stop being an ass." Ian sobered "I'm sorry. Maybe it would be better if you told me what you want to do." His hands started gently stroking from her hips to her ribcage. Emma hesitated and Ian waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. She drew random patterns on his chest as she answered. "I can't decide if I want you to fuck all my doubts into oblivion or if I just want you to hold me but I don't want you to leave." Well that's a start. Ian thought but he said "At the risk of being called an ass again can I ask that you put on some clothes while you decide? You are sitting on me naked and I'm not a saint." "Why are you worried? You have clothes on." "Boxers can be easily removed. Put something on or you lose your chance to decide. Looking at your beautiful breasts and holding your luscious ass gives me too many ideas." Emma's nose wrinkled. "Did you just call my ass luscious?" "Emma..." "Fine fine..."She said as she reached past his shoulder to grab his shirt and slipped it over her head, letting the material pool at her hip and covered her behind. "Happy?" His possessive feelings struck him like a bolt of lightning. "No." He croaked. She crossed her arms, inadvertently propping her breasts up. "What now?" She glared down at him. "Ah hell." He groaned as he surged up and kissed her, placing a firm hand on the back of her neck so she couldn't pull away. Her moans urged him on as he flipped her over and tore his shirt off of her. "Tell me to stop now Emi or I'm going to fuck you here." "Don't stop. Never stop. Show me what I've been missing. Love me." She gasped. Danger Zone Ch. 07 He groaned "Never. Never stop loving you. Mine. My mate. Always." He told her as he dove back in to take her mouth. He shifted his lower half away and before she could protest, he literally tore his boxers off his body, pressing back against her skin to skin. "Yesss" She hissed as she reached between them to stroke his cock. She tried to direct the head towards her pussy only to have him pull out of her grasp. "Nooo. Please." She cried as she tried to reach for him again. "Shh shh. It's ok. I just need to make sure you're ready." He whispered as he rubbed soothingly up and down her arms. Her back arched off the floor. "If I was any more ready, I would be a puddle of cum." Her legs wrapped around his hips and her ankles hooked together, thumping on his lower back as she emphasized her words "In. Me. NOW!" He surged into her with one thrust and they both stilled with him filling her to the hilt. When he didn't move again, Emma tried to use all her leg strength to move him. When he didn't budge, she resorted to begging "Ian, move. Please." He slowly started to withdraw so she could feel every vein as he moved as he whispered. When just the head remained in her pussy, he slowly started to push back in. He continued this slow controlled pace until Emma moaned "More." Ian lent down to kiss her again and ground his hips against her clit, causing her to writhe violently below him. His hands grasped her ass cheeks to steady her, squeezing them hard enough to leave white fingerprints as he relaxed his grip. "I love this ass." "It's your ass just please Ian, fuck me." Ian paused. "Your ass is mine?" "Everything is yours just please...fuck me." "I thought you wanted me to make love to you?" He teased. "You can multitask." She answered. "Fuck me Ian. Hard." She whispered in his ear, her breath tickling the hair on the back of his neck. He shuddered hard as he tried to control his urge to cum. "I won't last." He grunted. "That's ok, neither will I." She panted. "Hell." He muttered as he drove harder and faster, causing their orgasms to careen out of control, nearly blacking out from the pleasure that rolled up and down his spine. Her shrill cry echoed through the room as he came hard, driving as deep as he could without crawling into her body. His blood thundered through his veins and all he could hear was a dull roar but through it Ian held tight to Emma. As their breathing settled, Ian gathered her limp body and lifted them to the mattress, pulling the cover over them. "Damn." Emma muttered groggily. "Yeah." Ian grunted. "Thank you." "No, thank you." Ian yawned. "Not for that... never mind." Emma muttered. "Huh?" Emma kissed him gently before resting her head on his chest. "Night." She yawned before quickly dropping off into sleep. Ian's hand traveled down the length of her spine before pulling her into the side of his body as he fell asleep contented. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Emma woke early the next morning wrapped around a warm torso. Ian's hands lay possessively on the ass that he claimed he loved so much last night and his light snores ruffled her hair every time he breathed. She gently unhooked her leg from around his thigh and slowly lifted her body weight off his torso only to be pulled back down by his hands that started kneading her ass and rubbing up and down her back as he grumbled in his sleep. Emma huffed out a sigh and lifted her head to look into his half-mast sleep filled eyes. "What are you doing?" Emma felt the murmured question through his chest more that heard it. "I need the bathroom." Ian's eyes turned wary and vulnerable "You'll come back?" Emma, touched by the vulnerability in the big alpha male, laid a gentle kiss to his chest and answered "Yes. But if you keep pressing my pelvis into yours, I might not need the toilet soon." Ian quickly removed his hands and helped her off the gigantic bed, watching her as she entered the bathroom and closed the door. Inside the bathroom, Emma stood at the sink and stared at the woman reflected back at her. "What the hell am I doing?" She thought. Last night, while one of the most memorable moments of her life, Emma lost herself in the passion of her mate. You would not have recognized the girl that melted under Ian's dominant touch. She did not have an identity, she was just Ian's. Ian's mate, Ian's woman, Ian's body, Ian's musical instrument. It was a fact drilled into her head last night as he kept making her say his name, telling him who she belonged to. He took away her identity, destroyed her psyche and she did nothing to stop it. It was all she could do last night not to let her wolf bite him, mark him as hers. It was disgusting. And yet, a part of her wanted to crawl back into his arms and never let go. Not just her wolf but part of her human side wanted to let him fix everything for her. Take away her nightmares, her fears, and her panic every time she entered a crowded room. She seriously contemplated giving up her soul if she could have one day without flashbacks, without jumping at loud sounds, without cringing whenever someone got too close. She sighed and splashed some cold water on her face. As she exited the bathroom, she took a moment to appreciate the beauty of a naked man splayed across a king size bed, the sheet covering his waist like a gift wrapped package just for her. She licked her lips then mentally chastised herself. There is no way she'll be able to figure out her feelings if she was with him. Her libido would do all the thinking for her. "I know I'm a pretty hot specimen but you don't have to just look, you can touch too." Ian stated as he extended his hand out to her and waggled his eyebrows. Emma rolled her eyes and crawled back into bed, snuggling into his chest as he buried his face into her hair and took a big sniff and let out a low growl of satisfaction. She grinned into his chest. It was endearing that he always buried his face in her hair every time she was in his arms. "Good morning kiss?" Ian hinted. Emma's grin grew as she propped herself on her elbows "Sure." She crawled up his body until she was face to face with him, straddling his hips. "Good morning." She said as she kissed his forehead and grinned at him. "Little bit lower Emma." "Good morning." She said as she kissed his nose. "Lower." Ian warned "Good morning." She said as she kissed the corner of his mouth. "Right." He growled "Good morning." She whispered as she kissed the spot behind his left ear. "Not funny Emma. Kiss me on the mouth." He scowled. Emma laid a light kiss on his lips and went further south, kissing him on the collarbone. Ian hesitated briefly then rasped "Lower." Hiding her grin, Emma scooted lower on his body, her wet core trailing down the length of his erection, making him groan. Taking a moment to lick the bite mark her human teeth left on his right pec, she laid a kiss on the left side right above his heart. "There?" She teased. "Dammit Emma, Lower!" Ian answered as he firmly gripped her hips that were slowly drawing a figure 8 across his body. Emma took the time to kiss each delicious abdominal muscle as she travelled further down. Ian's hands trailed lightly up her ribcage, gripping her shoulders tightly as she hovered above his thick cock. "There!" He cried "Kiss me there." Emma kissed him lightly on the crown then took a giant slurp of his cock from stem to tip. Once he had let go of her arms and let his head fall back on the bed, Emma quickly hopped down to his feet and kissed him on the left ankle. "NO!" Ian exclaimed as he jerked up and reached out for Emma. Emma made sure to stay out of his reach and her tongue laid a trail up the inside of his leg, pausing at the hollow on the underside of his knee, causing him to squirm. She giggled "Are you ticklish Ian?" she asked as her hand ran up the sole of his foot, tickling his foot lightly. His leg jerked hard and he growled. His shining golden eyes watched her lazily. "Just remember, payback's a bitch" "Payback?" Emma stopped what she was doing and knelt at the end of the bed looking at Ian with mock surprise "Oh I'm sorry, it must have been another arrogant domineering man that had me pinned to the bed last night with his rough tongue in my cunt." "I love it when you talk dirty." "I can tell." She grinned as she squeezed his cock when it jumped. "Bitch." "Love you too." She blew him a kiss. Ian raised an eyebrow but remained silent. Emma blushed and ducked her head. "Ok I like you but I don't know if it's love but I want to be your mate and if the sex is anything like last night then I don't see any problems spending time with you because that was, like, WOW and you're..." Ian interrupted her rambling explanation with a finger to the lips. "As adorable as your rambling is, there are more pressing issues right now." He said as he glanced meaningfully at her hand. "Oh! Sorry!" Emma said as she pumped him slowly. He took possession of her hand and guided the pace. Once he was satisfied with her pace and grip he lifted his hands to her face. "Please Emi, I need your mouth." Without hesitation she swooped down onto his erection, forming a tight seal around the head of his cock as her hand rotated slightly with each pump. Her tongue darted lightly across the head of his cock, causing him to buck wildly into her mouth. He tried to settle the motion of his hips so he didn't hurt her but when her throat opened up for him and her tongue ran up and down the underside of his cock, he lost all control, grabbing her head firmly and face fucking her until he came down her throat. As his heart rate settled, he instantly felt remorse for how he treated her. He gathered her close to his chest as rocked her as she regained her breath. Once her breathing returned to normal, he turned her chin so he could see her eyes. "I'm sorry." Her eyes widened with surprise "For what?" "For treating you like that. You were giving me a gift and I took advantage of you." She patted his chest. "It's ok. I enjoy making you lose control." She winked. "That's not funny Emma. I don't ever want to lose control and accidentally hurt you. I'm much bigger than you." "Yes but I carry much bigger knives." She reminded him. He yawned and turned Emma onto her back. "Now it's my turn to return the favor." Emma stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Maybe after a nap. I haven't been sleeping very well the past few weeks so I could use the extra sleep." Ian pecked her on the lips. "Of course." He pulled the covers over top of them and settled Emma against him, pulling her in with a hand on her ass. "You know your obsession with my ass is unnerving." Emma rolled her eyes. Ian chuckled and kissed the top of her head "Go to sleep Emma. I'll hold you and protect you from your nightmares. I'll never let you go." He promised as he drifted off to sleep again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Emma stayed awake debating whether the tears in her eyes were because of his promise to protect her or his promise to never let her go. After much debate, she decided that if she stayed and let him take care of her she would be defined by who Ian is and not by whom she is. Moving slowly and carefully, she extracted herself from his grasp and slipped his shirt over her head and her pyjama pants back on. Spotting her gun on his bedside table, she slipped in back into the holster and silently slid out of his room and stalked down the hall in the library. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen she wrote him a quick note that she left propped up against his door. She snuck down the hallway and was just about to enter the main foyer when she was startled by a shadow coming away from the wall. Emma drew her weapon as she took in the scent of the intruder and immediately lowered her gun. "Lena" She hissed "What are you doing here?" "Take me with you." "What?" "I know what you're doing. Please take me with you. I can help you stay off the grid." "What? Why?" "I can't...I can't stay and be around them." Lena's eyes filled up with tears and she angrily wiped them away. Emma wanted to pull her into a hug but knew it would not be received. "Lena..." She hesitated. "Do you know what it's like to see Alice and Ethan together and know that I'll never see Hank alive again?" Emma sighed "No but she's your sister and he's your boyfriends best friend. I just wish tha..." "Yeah well I wish that your mate and his pack could have saved Hank too." Lena interrupted "It's not fair that Alice gets to be with her soul mate and I never got to say goodbye to mine. I can't look at them being all lovey dovey without thinking of Hank." She sniffed "and today, she told me that Ethan was going to turn her next month. She's leaving me B." She sobbed "So take me with you. I know you're running but anywhere you're going is a hell of a lot better than being here right now." "Ok, ok, shhhh." Emma handed her a tissue "If you want to come with me, you can't be giving away our position by sobbing so pull yourself together and stop crying." Lena snorted "Gee you're not pulling any punches are you?" "Well I expected to be out of compound by now so you can see why this delay would make me a bit testy." Lena took a deep breath and nodded "I'm ready. Let's go." Emma eyed her carefully "If you do anything to compromise me getting the hell out of dodge, I'm dropping you like a lead weight. Understood?" "Yes I do and when we get out of here I can help get us out of the country. How does Paris sound?" Emma snorted. "Go wherever you want. If you can help me get a passport pronto, I'm taking the first international flight out of here." Lena reached over and squeezed her hand. "I go where you go. We're a team B and I'm not going to abandon you." "Don't get all sappy on me yet. Save it for when we get out of here." Emma snapped "If we get out of here." She finished. "We will." "Such faith. Ok here's the plan. You're going to have to ride me. That's the easiest way to make a quiet escape out of here. I'll give you my clothes to carry in your backpack so I don't have to steal clothes each time I shift." "Then what?" "Then once we're out of here, you are going to work your computer magic to procure us passports and money and we are going to get on the first plane out of here." "Then we'll settle in a new town?" "Then we travel the world. I intended to travel across the globe before I was kidnapped and this seems like a fantastic chance to do that while I find myself again." "Ahhh one of those types of trips. I'm warning you right now, I refused to shave my head and become a Buddhist monk and I'm not gonna go all hippie either." Emma gently shoved her sideways "Smart-Ass. Just for that, I'm going to make you pick up after me." She said with a sly look as she started for the door, peeling the t-shirt and pyjama pants off. "Make sure you don't lose the shirt. It'll probably be the only thing keeping me sane the next few months." She said over her shoulder right before shifting. Lena muttered as she bent over to collect the clothing and shove it into her backpack. The wolf whined anxiously at her as she exited the building and she gave her the finger before climbing on. "Any fat jokes and I'll be feeding you doggie kibble for the next 2 weeks." She was answered with a wolf's equivalent of a snicker. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ian awoke the next morning and immediately noticed that Emma was not lying on top of him. He reached out to the space next to him and found it ice cold, the same temperature of his heart as he realized she was gone. He jumped out of bed and frantically searched for any sign that she was coming back. When he didn't find any, he raced to the door with the intention to ask the next person walking by to find her. When he opened the door and didn't find anyone, he ventured further determined to catch someone. It wasn't until he passed a mirror in the hallway that he realized he was running around naked and with much chagrin he turned back towards his room to grab a pair of sweats. He noticed the envelope as he approached the room and sprinted over; catching her faint scent as he hastily tore open the envelope. Inside was a simple message that tore his heart out of his chest and into a million pieces. Danger Zone Ch. 08 One Year Later, Lake Baikal "I thought we were supposed to be the ones who brooded on rooftops." Emma snorted "And I thought we were supposed to be the ones who acted like horny teenagers, making out in the music room." Lena had the decency to blush, though it wasn't as pronounced on her white porcelain skin. She quickly changed the subject. "What are you doing up here?" "I'm waiting for the boys to return from town. They 'snuck out' about 2 hours ago." "Again? This is what you get for teaching teenage boys to hide their scent and move quietly. Any other normal group of boys we would have been able to catch before they snuck out and caused havoc in town." Emma chuckled. "Oh I knew when they left; I just enjoy passing the time they spend in town thinking of creative punishments for sneaking out. Besides, moving silently is common practice for our kind. It's not like they would learn that on their own anyways." "And hiding their scent? As far as I know, that's a trait solely owned by you." "I'm not teaching them to suppress their wolf like I can. It's like putting a limb through a wood chipper then cutting it off completely. I teach them to avoid leaving a scent trail." "Hiding your scent is painful? Why do you do it so often if it causes you pain? Are you purposely hurting yourself honey?" Lena's concerned tone grated on Emma's nerves. She looked away from the forest to face her friend so that she could see her eye roll. "My unique ability stems from survival. My wolf willingly suppressed herself so that we would both live and so that we could protect each other when we were surrounded by so many wolves. It became such a common place occurrence that it's natural for me. She trusts that I would never try to supress her without good reason and I trust her to protect me when I am in danger. I am not a masochist nor am I suicidal and I'm offended that you would think that." Emma hid the flare of anger by looking back towards the forest and an awkward silence ensued. "How are your sessions with Dmitry going?" Lena asked hesitantly. "None of your business." Emma snapped. Lena sighed. "I'm sorry if I'm prying. It's just..." "Don't" Emma interrupted Lena "Just don't. What did you want?" "The girls want to Skype on Sunday. When are you on supervision duty?" "I have the morning shift so... how far ahead are we?" "13 hours I think. So if we say 9pm our time, that'll be 8am their time. Does that work for you?" "Fine. Anything else?" Lena suddenly swept Emma into a hug "I'm sorry B, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings but I'm just worried about you." Emma shrugged her off. "I know, doesn't mean I need you to be my keeper." Lena sighed. "I feel like I'm always apologizing." "Then don't" Lena pursed her lips and correctly assumed the reason for Emma's surly mood "He still not returning your calls?" Emma shook her head "He hates me." "He's your mate, he can't..." "Just because you're happily mated, doesn't mean we all are." Emma snapped "Ian hates me. I betrayed him and ran away from him, making him look like a fool to his pack. He'll never forgive me." "So you're giving up? That doesn't sound like the Emma I know." "I'm not giving up...it just...hurts." The sound of rustling leaves made both women perk up. Emma's grin turned devious. "You want the front or back?" Lena smirked evilly "I always enjoy being the ice queen." "Fine, you've got front, I'll come up behind." "Dude you are making way too much noise. They'll hear us coming." Sam hissed to his fellow deviant, Lev. "Sorry." Lev whispered "I think the last girl was drunker than I thought." Stan snorted "This is what we get for bringing a leech on our excursion." "Konstantin Robert Dobrynin," Lena's sharp reprimand cracked through the dark of the night, causing Stan to yelp and Sam to recoil into Lev, knocking them both into the snow "what have I told you about using derogatory terms?" "Sorry Lena." "I'm not the one you need to apologize to." Lena's tone froze him to the bone. Stan gritted his teeth. "I apologize Lev if I hurt your feelings." Lev bit his lip to prevent bursting out in laughter as he brushed the snow off his coat. "No harm done Stan." Lena pivoted on her heels and headed back towards the castle. "Well come along gentlemen." Lev reached down to help Sam up and out of the snow. Sam gratefully took the help, taking a moment to shake off the snow. Lev snickered "You're such a dog." "Lev!" Lena's voice whipped across his senses and Lev mentally rolled his eyes. "I was just referring to his reputation with the ladies." Lev commented innocently. Lena harrumphed and glided forward. Stan shook his head and mouthed "Scared of a newborn... you're pathetic." "Her husband." Lev mumbled. Sam nodded sagely "Smart." They travelled in silence until they reached the steps of the academy. As they began to climb the steps, Sam expelled a breath. "At least it was Lena that found us." Sam was pulled up short by an arm around his throat and a knife to his kidneys "Awww Sammy-poo did you miss me?" Sam groaned. As he opened his mouth to reply, he was suddenly released and spun so that he came face to face with Emma. "And what have I told you about protecting your six? Shoddy work my man. You'll never survive as the self-proclaimed alpha of the academy if you make mistakes like that." Sam groaned louder "How did you know that?" Emma grinned slyly "I make it my business to know what my pack is doing because despite what you've been telling the others," Her eyes shifted to her wolves and her expression turned feral "I am the alpha." Stan and Sam immediately bared their necks at the show of dominance. "My apologies." Sam simpered. Emma took a deep breath to calm herself and immediately choked. "Gah, what did you do, roll yourself in perfume and alcohol? You reek!" Sam turned beet red. Emma grabbed Stan's shirt and sniffed his neck, snorting at the offensive smell. "Bleh, you too." Emma turned on Lev with a look that had him backing up warily. "I only got close enough to take some blood. Those two were the ones drinking and making ... Hey!" Lev rubbed the back of his head where he was cuffed. He spun to face the person that slapped him only to see the broad chest of the headmaster. "Uh-oh" "You endanger us all by feeding on the nearby villagers?" Alex asked as he encroached further into Lev's personal space. "It was a tourist from Germ – ACK "His words were cut off by the hand squeezing around his neck and the talons digging into his vocal chords. "A tourist?" Alex demanded incredulously. "Now Lexi, let's not kill the poor boy." Lena chided "He fed from a human." Alex growled "A tourist that will spread stories about us across the globe." "You're exaggerating and you know it Alexei." Emma crossed her arms "Unless you failed at your job, Lev erased her memories of the feeding. Right Lev?" Eyes bulging, Lev nodded frantically. Alex nodded "Well there is that." He replied as he released the struggling teenager. Lev dropped to his knees, rubbing at his throat as the wounds closed in front of their eyes. "Go to bed." Alex growled "I'm sure Emma will have some punishment for you tomorrow morning." As the boys shuffled off with their heads down, Alex turned on Emma and Lena "You two are horrible people." Lena pouted "But it's so much fun." Alex rolled his eyes. "Why do I always have to be the adult around here?" Emma pretended to ponder the question. "Because you're the oldest?" She answered. Alex scowled at Emma "Why didn't you stop them before they went out and wreaked havoc?" Emma shrugged. "They wouldn't learn." "You're supposed to keep them out of trouble." "I'm supposed to teach them how to survive." Emma countered. Alex threw his hands up in frustration. "You're impossible." Emma grinned "Thank you." "That wasn't a compliment." "But it felt like it." Alex hissed and turned to enter the building. Behind him, he heard the women bickering. "You were supposed to keep him distracted." "It's not my fault he has mad stamina." "Then employ the use of toys. Better yet tie him up." Emma's exasperation was evident in her tone. "But it's more fun when he ties me up." Lena purred. "Gross." "Jealous?" Emma paused then sighed unhappily "Yes." He looked back to see Lena wrap an arm around Emma's shoulders and pull her in to whisper in her ear "You'll get there." Emma snorted. Lena's musical laughter echoed through the foyer. "Did you see their faces when they fell in the snow drift?" "I know right?" Their peals of laughter followed them down the hallway. "Hello!" Lily's bright shining face came onto the screen. "Hi Lily! We're still waiting on Doc and Alice." Emma smile grew wider as her other friends entered on a separate screen. "Hi guys!" "Hey!" Came the chorus of greetings. "How have you been?" "Good." The five friends made small talk for over an hour with Lena and Emma sharing stories of their teenage charges, Doc grossing out the group with her new discoveries on were physiology and Alice raving about the new security program she's designing for the pack. By the time they got to Lily, she was practically vibrating with her news. "I'm pregnant!" "No way! "Shut up!" "That's awesome!" "Congrats!" "How far along are you?" Doc asked. "2 months. When we found out Dan passed out. He hasn't let me out of his sight since." The entire group burst out laughing at the image of the big warrior passing out at the doctor's office. Lily looked down at her hands as she clasped them together repeatedly. Silence fell over the group. "Is there something wrong with the baby?" Emma asked nervously. She knew how much Lily wanted a family, she couldn't imagine her friend going through any more hardship. "No, no nothing like that. I was just hoping..." Lily hesitated "I want you to be there for the birth B. It would mean a lot to us." "Of course I'll be there for the birth. I wouldn't miss it for anything!" Emma watched as everyone let out the breath they were holding. "Wait, you thought I would say no?" Lily shifted nervously. "I know things have been tense with you and Ian and that you feel you have a purpose in Russia there..." "Lily I wouldn't miss it for the world." Emma cut in "Besides, it's time for me to stop hiding. I will be there in 6 months, plenty of time before the baby is born." "A werewolf's gestational period is 6 months, not 9." Doc piped up. "6 months?" Emma was shocked. "Ya. Listen, if that's too soon..." "Oh shush. I was going to work until the end of the school year but I will be there in a month, after the end of term." "Really?" "Of course. I miss you guys. I want to come home. I need to come home." Lily giggled and clapped her hands delightedly. "Yay!" The other girls smiled indulgently at Lily's excitement. "Are you coming too Lena?" Alice asked. "Yeah it won't be until later. Lex will need to see out the school year so we'll be there after the baby is born." "Ooooo... Lex. Does this mean we'll get to meet the infamous Alexei Romanov?" Alice teased "I'll have to brush up on my manners. It's not every day you meet royalty." "Oh shut up. That was ages ago and he's not some stuck up prick." "She's right." Emma grinned "What self-respecting prince would let his mate call him Sexy Lexi." Her laughter was muffled by the pillow Lena was beating her with. Once the laughter died down. Doc said "I'm just so happy we'll all be back together again." "It's only been a year Doc." "I know but it feels like ages. So much has happened in a year. We were rescued." "We were turned." Added Alice. "Damon paid for his crimes." Lena commented. "And now we're all happily mated and I'm pregnant." Lily patted her slight bump. "Or at least most of us are happily mated." She finished sadly. Emma feigned interest in her fingernails in order to avoid the looks of pity, frustration and condemnation in her friends faces. "Alice?" She hesitated "How is he doing?" Alice pursed her lips and growled angrily and ignored Betty's warning squeeze on her shoulder. "You have NO right to ask that question after what you have done to that man. He is a good man, a good alpha who you have made miserable by your actions." She stood up at glared at the webcam "What makes me even madder is that you're making yourself miserable too by running away from the problem instead of facing it head on. The woman I knew would never do something so cowardly." "Really Ice? Because the woman I knew back at that house kept her goddamn mouth shut and did every debasing and demoralizing things that was asked of her in order to protect her friends from the wrath of a rogue pack. She was a fucking mouse that didn't step one foot out of line when she knew she should have." "If you honestly believe that line of bullshit, you are more fucked up than we thought." "We thought? Who is this we you speak of?" Emma's eyes were glowing and she was breathing hard in an effort to control her wolf that wanted to jump through the screen and tear out Alice's throat. She didn't fail to miss the expressions of guilt that passed over her so-called friends faces. "What the fuck else were you going to do in that hellhole, fight? You were outnumbered, outmuscled and malnourished. You couldn't have fought your way out of a paper bag." Alice wasn't doing much better at controlling her anger. Her eyes glowed and her fingernails had shifted into claws. "I was a wolf. I could have used my abilities to save us instead of suppressing my wolf." Tears of frustration clouded Emma's eyes "I could have saved the others." "You were a half-starved wolf. All you would have done is gotten yourself gang raped and killed. Then who would have protected us?" "B, you did what you had to." Doc piped up in an effort to diffuse the situation. "We will never forget the sacrifices you had to make in order to protect us, but maybe it's time you forgot." Emma absently started to nod then caught herself. "Wait, what?" "We all have made huge strides to heal ourselves so that we can be happy again. We don't need you lording your sacrifices over us to make us feel guilty for finding happiness when you can't." Emma was stunned. "Please let it go Emma. For our sakes?" Doc pleaded. Emma gaped "I... It's late. I should go. See you guys soon. Congrats Lily!" Emma shut the dialogue box before anybody could reply and sat motionless staring at the blank screen. She heard Lena get up and felt her cold touch on her hand. "At the risk of hurting you more, they're right. I ran away with you because I was scared and mad just like you were. The difference is that I found peace and happiness on this journey and you have just gotten more bitter and resentful. Sure being here has made it better because you have a purpose but we don't need you to be our martyr anymore. We need you to be our friend." Emma snatched her hand away from Lena's grip and folded her hands in her lap, hunching further into herself. Lena sighed heavily. "Goodnight Emma. I love you." She got no response as she quietly left the room. Once down the hallway, Lena made a quick call "She needs you." "Emma?" Emma didn't even flinch at the sound of Dimitri's voice. His voice always had a soothing quality that made her feel more at ease and open in his presence. That kind of hypnotic ability made him an excellent psychologist. Dimitri noticed Emma's slight catastasis, rocking lightly with her arms wrapped around her torso. "Emma?" Dimitri took another step into the room as he tried again to get her attention. "They hate me." Emma whispered. "Who hates you?" "Them." Emma gestured at the computer screens. "The computers?" "Stop being obtuse. My so called friends." "Why would you think they hate you?" "Because they do." Emma replied petulantly. "Not good enough. Did they tell you they hated you?" "No but they're mad at me for running away and for hurting Ian." "So they're mad. That doesn't automatically mean they hate you." "Yes it does!" Emma ran her hands through her hair and pressed her palms into her forehead. "You don't understand, you weren't there." "Ok, so make me understand." Emma stared blankly at the dark screens in front of her, opening up unhealed emotional wounds. "We went through hell together." She whispered "That forms a bond. Something that makes it easy to read them without them having to speak." "You mean body language?" "No, not body language. We made sure to control our reactions and body language around the rogues." Emma paused, collecting her thoughts. "It was in the eyes. And the hands. Kind of like sign language...but not." "So even though they never said they hated you, they were 'signing' that they did?" "...not exactly." "I don't understand." Emma's lower lip twitched "I told you you wouldn't." Dimitri spun the chair around so that Emma faced him. "Can you please face me? I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." Emma couldn't contain the smirk as she remembered saying the exact same thing to her mate. Her mate. Emma's eyes widened as she made the realization that she no longer thought of him as Ian or Damon's uncle or the Alpha. He was hers. "Omigod Dimitri I need to go home." Dimitri pulled back in confusion. "You are home." "No. Home is with my mate. I'm such an idiot." She jumped up out of the chair "How could I have wasted so much time thinking only about myself? I could have been home claiming my mate, having a life." Dimitri's expression turned into one of mock insult "What are we, chopped liver? You have a life." "No I have a comfortable hideout." Emma sat down and started typing on the computer "I need to get back to Canada as soon as possible." "Well I guess my work is done." Dimitri gave Emma's shoulder a squeeze as her turned to leave but paused when he heard her hesitant question. "Do you think he'll forgive me?" Dimitri turned and crouched down next to Emma and took her hands in his. "I'm sure he's mad at you but I can guarantee he doesn't hate you. He'll forgive you." He gave her hands a squeeze before he let go and stood up again. "I just hope it's soon. For both of your sakes." Dimitri was only partially prepared when Emma launched herself at him, hugging his neck. "Thank you for everything." She sniffled "For being there when I needed to talk and for your help and the pills." "You're welcome krasavitsa. Now if you don't mind removing your snotty nose from my Armani suit, the drycleaner is more than 300 kilometers away." Emma purposely wiped her face on his lapels. "What do you care? You own a helicopter and have more money than can be reasonably spent in a lifetime." Dimitri handed her a tissue then used his handkerchief to swipe at his suit. "First, this is my favorite suit and you've now inconvenienced me. Second, I'm immortal, I need enough money to last eternity." "Blah blah blah... I'm rich and powerful and have lived hundreds of years so I have seen everything puny mortal..." "You're the one who asked..." "Get out of here. I have a plane to book." "You planning on using my lucrative helicopter to get you to the airport?" "Oh wow thanks for offering Mischa, I would love to!" Dimitri rolled his eyes as he exited the communications room. "Dimitri?" His sensitive hearing picked up her voice from down the hall. He kept walking. "Yes?" "Seriously. Thank you." A knock sounded on his door. "Come in." Ian growled. It was all he was capable of doing these days. Danger Zone Ch. 08 Alice opened the door and hesitantly entered her alpha's office. "What is it Alice?" "I just thought you should know Emma is coming home next month." Ian stared silently at Alice until she shifted nervously. "Is that all?" He asked tonelessly. "Uh...yes, sir" "Thank you Alice. Please shut the door behind you." He said as he returned to the paperwork in front of him. Alice tilted her chin down as she backed out of the room. Once the heavy door clicked shut, the pen in Ian's grip exploded ink all over his desk and papers. Danger Zone Ch. 09 Authors note: I am SO sorry for the delay. Between school part-time and work full-time, I lost my ability to focus on the story and it took a while to get the chapter together. Thank you for all the e-mails. I have already started on Chapter 10 which I think will probably be the last and hopefully I will have it done later this week. ***** Emma pulled up to the gates of the compound in her rental car, unsure of the reception she would receive. She hesitated to tell Ian that she was arriving ahead of time but she knew it was the correct thing to do when entering a pack's territory but since he was ignoring her calls, she sent him an e-mail. She just hoped he hadn't deleted it without reading it. The guard approached her window and knocked on the window with the butt of his rifle. "I'm sorry ma'am, this is private property. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." "I have a meeting with Ian McNally." "Mr. McNally has no appointments today. Now I must ask you to leave before I need to forcibly remove you." Emma sighed. Apparently Ian deleted her e-mail. "Guess there is only one other option." She thought as she released her scent. As the aroma of lemons and mint filled the car and filtered out to the guard at her window he gasped and flung the door open, dragging her out of the car. "Terry call the alpha. It appears his wayward mate has made it to our gates." He started to walk back to the guard house, still gripping Emma's arm firmly. "If you'll accompany me madam alpha, we can accommodate you in the guard house until your mate arrives." "Emma." "What?" "Call me Emma. I haven't earned the title of madam alpha." "I..." Ethan floundered "I could never do that madam. You are our alpha." "No I'm your alpha's mate. That doesn't mean I have earned the right to be called madam alpha." "I disagree." "But it's true." "Don't waste your breath Ethan, she's would argue with a mule if it suited her." Ian stood in the doorway, an imposing figure with his arms crossed. "Ian!" Emma was shocked at the amount of relief and joy she felt when she saw her mate. It was like coming home. "Emma." Ian nodded at her, his expression unreadable. "You weren't due for another month." "I couldn't wait." Emma replied breathlessly. "I needed to come home." "And you decided to show up unannounced on your way to the MacDougalls?" "I sent you an e-mail since you weren't returning my calls. And no I wasn't going to the MacDougalls. My home is here." She nervously wrung her hands. "Or at least I hope it still is." Ian nodded, his expression still unchanged "Of course it is. I'm sure we'll be able to find some way for us to cohabitate." Emma's stomach dropped at the cold words. Did he not want her here? She decided to try again. "I'm sorry you didn't get my e-mail. I may have mistyped the address. I should have called you to follow up." "I received your e-mail Emma. I assumed you were going to be living with Lily and Dan until the baby came." Emma shivered at his cold tone. "I...no." She whispered, her confidence waning. She figured now was not a good time to profess her love for him, telling him he was the reason she came home so soon. "Well you're here now. Come inside." He turned and walked swiftly toward the main house. "Gentlemen, please have her bags delivered to her room." Her room. The words echoed endlessly in the back of her mind as she followed sedately behind him. She didn't even react to the elegantly designed lobby or the dual staircases leading to the balcony above as they ascended the stairs. They walked down the hallway, Ian leading her into a room on her left. Emma took in the dark oak four-poster bed with the emerald green bedspread, startled when her shirt was literally torn off her. She looked down and watched as her pants went the same way as her. Standing there in her underwear, she looked up at Ian in shock. He stared at her, demanding her attention as he reached over and casually shredded her undergarments. Emma stood still, waiting to see what he would do next. "Put your hands on the bed." He said gruffly "Look down at the covers." Emma hesitated but moved quickly when Ian snapped "Now!" Emma was barely settled into position when she felt Ian's naked body cover her body, sniffing her hair. She turned her head to look at him but Ian grabbed her chin, turning it back down towards the ground. "Don't look at me." Emma's breathing hiked as fear mounted in her body. Ian's behaviour was starting to scare her. Ian moved down her back, sniffing her skin, saying nothing. Emma felt a trickle of arousal as his nose skimmed over her, his breath warming her skin. When he arrived at the junction of her legs he took a big inhale. "You haven't been with any others." He phrased it as a statement instead of a question. "Of course not." Emma replied. She jumped when his hand landed on the top of her ass. "Don't give me attitude." He growled. He took a step away from her and Emma looked over her shoulder to see what he was doing. She cried out when both hands came down hard on her ass. "I said don't look at me!" He snapped. Emma quickly looked away. Ian walked across the room and opened up a drawer in his dresser, coming out with a bottle of lube. He checked over his shoulder to see if she was sneaking a peek. She wasn't. He took another deep breath in, noting the intoxicating mix of fear and arousal coming from her body. He knew no man had touched her because his scent still lingered over her pussy, even a year later. She was his. Uncapping the tube he heard Emma's breath stutter in anticipation and grinned menacingly. "This was going to be more fun than he thought." He thought before he blanked his expression again. He couldn't show her how happy was she was here, she needed to be punished first. He dispensed a small amount into his palm and carefully slathered his cock. Walking over to Emma's bent over form, he put a little more onto his fingertips, pushing it into Emma's slightly damp pussy. He knew she was too afraid to be sufficiently wet for his cock right now but he was desperate to be inside her, he couldn't wait for her to be ready. Emma jumped at the cold touch of lube on her pussy. She trusted him enough not to physically hurt her but she was wary of his mental state right now. She felt him work his fingers into her pussy but she felt strangely disconnected from him despite the intimate act. "Ian." "Quiet." He directed, smacking her on the inside of the thigh. "Spread your legs more." Emma bit her lip, quelling the questions that circled in her mind. Ian's fingers pulled away and he suddenly thrust into her, making her gasp. Without giving her time to catch her breath, Ian started driving vigorously into her pussy. Emma was so busy trying to maintain her balance, she couldn't focus on what effect his relentless pounding had on her body. She stood stiff-armed as he took his pleasure with her body. Ian stopped suddenly, fully embedded in her pussy and she felt a lubed finger circling her anus. "Has my nephew been here?" Emma hung her head and chose to answer honestly. "Yes." "So you're not new to anal." "No." "Good." And with that his finger bluntly pushed pass her sphincter. Emma clenched against the invasion but relaxed at his command to let him in. He continued his thrusts into her pussy, working his finger deeply before adding another finger, stretching her with the scissoring of his fingers. Abruptly he pulled out of her pussy and started to push his cock into her ass. It was a slow but steady torture for both Emma and Ian as Ian joined his hips to hers. He groaned loudly. "God you're squeezing me like a vice. Loosen up for me baby. Relax." Emma's nails dug into the comforter momentarily irked that he called her a pet name. She wasn't sure if he had done it by accident or not but she wanted him to forgive her so badly, she would gratefully take whatever pet name he chose to give her. She closed her eyes and focused on relaxing her muscles, bearing down on his cock. "Good girl." He petted her back and hips and felt her bristle at the touch but she didn't say anything. Ian started a slow glide in her backslide, pulling almost all the way out then pushing smoothly back in until his pelvis hit the cushy mounds of her ass. He gradually increased the speed of this movements, seemingly mesmerized by the ripple of her ass every time his pelvis hit. He brought his hands from her hips to the top of her ass, rubbing small circles into her ass with his palms. Emma's hips started to gyrate with the motion of his hands. Ian could feel his orgasm coming and he ramped up his pace, switching his grip back to her hips, pulling her into his every thrust. Emma's breasts swung painfully below her and she reached up with one arm to cradle her breasts into her chest. With only one hand left supporting her weight, she depended on Ian's tight grip on her hips to keep her upright. With one final surge, Ian let loose a primal yell and shot his hot seed deep into her bowels. His fingers clenched and unclenched on her hips with each jerk of his cock as he leant over and marked her with his teeth at her shoulder. Ian pulled away abruptly, causing Emma to collapse on the bed. Emma laid there catching her breath, listening to the flow of water as Ian turned on the shower. Ian returned to the bedside and stared down at his mate. "I want you gone by the time I get out of the shower." He said coldly. He turned away and walked towards the bathroom, pausing at the doorway to say "Come to me whenever my scent starts to fade from your scent." The door slammed behind him. Emma stared dumbfounded at the closed door, tears filling her eyes. Grimly, she clenched her jaw and blinked away the tears, throwing herself off his bed and launching open the bedroom door with a loud crack, startling the man standing outside the door. "My room?" She asked calmly. The man pointed at a door across the balcony. Emma held her chin high and walked regally across the balcony to enter her room. Aware of the powerful hearing of wolves, she turned on the shower full blast, stepping into the stream before breaking down into heart wrenching sobs. When she exited her room a few hours later, she had to be quick to react from running right into the back of a very large man. "I'm sorry to have surprised you Madam." He said as he turned. "Who are you?" Emma demanded. "Ethan ma'am. You met me at the gate?" "What are you doing standing outside my bedroom?" "We've been assigned to your guard detail." "To guard me from attack or to guard me from leaving the compound?" Emma asked sarcastically. Ethan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "I guess that all depends on how you decide to look at it. Either way, you're stuck with us." Emma looked past the broad shoulders of Ethan to see three other men standing in the hall, watching her. "Hmph." She said before closing the door in his face. One month later "And get me the report on our Q3 financials by Thursday." Ian sat back in his chair, watching the woman across his desk as she wrote down his requests in her notebook. She stood up and was about to leave when she hesitated at the doorway. Ian sat forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his desk and asked "What is it Jas?" Jasmine Maser, Ian's sister, opened and closed her mouth and few times, contemplating her question before finally blurting "Do you know your treatment of Emma affects how the rest of the pack treats her?" Ian stood up from his chair "What are you saying?" He growled. "I'm saying your pack treats her like you do, cold and distant until they need something from her." Jasmine propped her hands on her hips. "She doesn't have any real friends, apart from Betty and Alice, and that's only because they knew her before they came here." "And you?" Ian stalked around the desk to come face to face with his sister. "Are you my mate's friend?" "I try to be but she doesn't trust my motives." Jasmine said sadly. "And how dare you call her your mate when you can't even attempt to be civil to her." She shoved him. Ian snarled and stood over his sister, forcing her submission. "What happens between my mate and I is no one's business." "It is when you publicly ignore her. I mean, my god, you eat meals together and never have I seen you engage in conversation with her." Jasmine screamed. She took a step away and bowed her head "Look, she chose to work her way up the hierarchy instead of just taking over the alpha female position. She's earned the respect of our women through her actions but they don't want to spend time with her socially in fear that they will be ostracized too." She looked up into his eyes "No one will accept her as alpha female until you accept her." "I accept her." Ian frowned. "Prove it then." She said as she opened the door. "Spend more time with her other than fucking her. And get rid of her guards, she's not going to run and she doesn't need protecting." Later that night as the pack sat down for dinner, Ian reached over to dish some potatoes onto Emma plate, causing Emma to rear back and stare at Ian like he was a foreign species. "How was your day?" Ian asked politely. "What are you doing?" Emma demanded. "I'm trying to make conversation." "Why?" Ian took a deep breath and Emma could hear his teeth grinding. "Because I don't want the pack to treat you like a pariah." "So you're asking how my day is for the pack's sake." Emma stated quietly, her fork scraping her plate as she pushed her food around. Ian's hand came on top of her, stilling her hand. "I'm doing it for your sake." He said "I want you to be happy here." Emma blinked slowly and repeated "Happy." Ian nodded and brought her hand to his mouth to kiss her knuckles "I think it would be best if you moved in to my rooms so that the pack sees that you are accepted." Emma pulled her hand out of Ian grasp and into her lap. She turned to face him. "You want me to move in with you so the pack thinks I'm happy?" "We're happy." Ian corrected. "But we're not." "That's none of their business." "But it's my business." Emma said calmly. Ian grunted. "What happens behind closed doors is our business. What they need to see from our public personas are a happy couple in the beginning stages of mating." Ian turned and picked up his fork, spearing a piece of roast beef. "Speaking of which, I think it's time you marked me." "You want me to mark you?" Emma asked sweetly. Had Ian been looking at her, he would have noticed that her eyes had shifted to her wolf. "Of course. We should complete the mating." "For the pack's sake." "For your sake." Ian reassured her. "Can we do it now?" "Now?" Ian's head jerked up "But we're eating." Emma stood up and extended her hand, saying loud enough for the pack to hear "Come mate, let's retire to our room. We can eat later, after I'm done with you." She finished saucily. She could hear the pack whispering at her strange behaviour. Despite Ian's edict that she search him out whenever his scent started to fade, it was always him pulling her into his room to fuck her and then kick her out of bed when he was done marking her. Ian smiled slowly and took her hand, pulling her away from the dining room and up to the bedrooms. He led the way into his bedroom, he turned at the sound of the door closing and noticed Emma's eyes were practically glowing and her canines had elongated. She was very close to shifting. He was unprepared for the speed that Emma launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his torso and biting him hard through his shirt. Just as suddenly, she pulled away "There's your fucking mark, you self-sacrificing bastard." She spat blood onto the floor as she walked into the bathroom, "Maybe the pack will be happy now." She said, slamming the door behind her. Emma sank down to the floor with her back against the door, crying silently as she heard Ian mumble "What the hell was that?" One month later Ian left his office late again, hoping that his mate was already asleep by the time he got to their room. While they acted like a happy mated couple in public, they constantly bickered behind closed doors. He paused when he noticed Emma's guards standing outside the alpha female's office door. Was Emma in a late night meeting with Jasmine? He approached Ethan, who was standing outside the room. "What's Emma doing in a meeting with Jas this late at night?" "Jasmine isn't in there." "Emma's in there by herself?" Ethan nodded. "What is she doing in there by herself?" "I would suggest asking her yourself, sir." "I will. I suggest you watch your tone." Ian pushed past Ethan and barged into the room, spotting Emma sitting behind the desk, typing on the computer. Emma glanced away from the screen briefly before her attention turned back to her work "What can I do for you Ian?" "What are you doing in here in the middle of the night?" "Working." "I can see that, what I'm wondering is why you are using Jasmine's computer to work late at night." "It's not Jasmine's computer, it's mine." "Did Jasmine move the alpha female's office?" "No, this is still the alpha female's office." Emma replied with a raised eyebrow, waiting for Ian to make the connection. "You're the alpha female?" Emma sniffed delicately "I'm almost offended by your tone." "When did you become alpha?" Emma paused to mentally tabulate the weeks "Over a month ago." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because you weren't talking to me at the time." "So why have I been meeting with Jas instead of you for the weekly alpha meetings?" Ian roared. Emma turned away from the computer to face him. "We felt it best for pack productivity if she met with you instead of me. All we seem to do when left in a room together is argue and that is not an efficient way to run a pack or a business." "So you lied to me instead?" Emma stood and placed her hands on her desk "We're lying to the whole pack with this charade of a mating so how is this any different?" "Because you lied to your alpha!" Ian screamed. "And we're lying to a whole group of people who are relying on the stability of our relationship to determine the stability of their pack!" Emma's hands slammed down on the desk. "Is that why you've been so mad at me this past month? The pack?" "The pack?" Emma mocked "Everything about our relationship is for their sake. So that they'll accept me, so that they feel secure in our love, so that they trust our decisions for the pack." Emma rubbed her eyes to hide the sheen of tears "What about us Ian?" "What about us?" He asked startled. "Do you even care about me?" "Of course I do, you're my mate. It's my responsibility to keep you safe." "I don't want to be another duty for you Ian, I want you to care about me because you have feelings for me." "I have feelings for you." "Well that's good because it seems like all your decisions have been based on what's good for the pack without considering their effect on my feelings." "Effect on your feelings?" Ian sputtered "If you want to talk about thinking about other people's feelings, let's talk about you leaving in the middle of the night for a fucking year, leaving only a note behind." "I tried to get a hold of you right after I left but you've ignored all my calls and e-mails." "I physically chased you around the world for five months before I had to return home to run my pack. Sure you wanted to talk to me but you never wanted to see me. Every time I had managed to track down the phone number or the IP address, you were already off to a different location." Danger Zone Ch. 09 "Because I knew if I saw you, I would cave and come home!" Emma shrieked then paused a moment to calm herself before she continued speaking. "I needed to find out who I was before I could come home and be your mate. Otherwise I would have lost myself in our relationship." Ian ran a hand through his hair "You didn't trust me enough to let me help you through that period. You assumed I would just take over and run your life. Had you told me your fears, I would have supported you while you got back on your feet. That's what mates do." Emma stood silently, unsure how to respond. "That's what it comes down to Emma. You don't trust me not to try to control your life and I don't trust that you're going to take off into the night again." Ian sighed. "I do trust you." Emma whispered. "Then I guess it's just me that doesn't trust that you're here for the long run." "Do you..." Emma started saying hesitantly then stopped, her face hardening. "Forget it." Ian snorted "See you can't even bring yourself to confide in me." "Fuck you." Emma snapped. "Exactly." Emma gave Ian a long look "Is this all we're going to be Ian? Bitter rivals?" She took a deep breath "Is there any hope that we will ever have a normal mating relationship?" Ian looked out the window to avoid Emma's pleading gaze. "I don't know." He admitted "Maybe?" He took a step closer to Emma, caressing her wet cheek. "Give it time Emma." "Time." Emma took a step away and returned to her desk, her expression closed off. "I guess that's fair." "Emma." Emma held up a hand to stop Ian from approaching her desk "Leave me my dignity Ian. I said I'll give you time." Ian stood silently watching his mate "Are you coming to bed?" Emma nodded "When I'm done with this. I need to make sure everything is up to date before I leave for Lily's baby shower." "Do you want me to come?" Emma shook her head "No need, it's only for a couple of days." "I want to go with you." "No you don't." Emma snorted. "Yes, I do!" "Why?" "I don't need a reason." Emma's lips quirked as she fought not to respond to the childish statement. "Don't worry Ian, we'll have sex before I leave so everyone knows I'm yours." Ian growled and turned away. "Fine, keep pushing me away then. I'm going to bed." Ian prowled past the awaiting guards that had to dive out of the way when he violently threw open the door, muttering constantly under his breath. When Ian came out of the shower, he found Emma sitting cross legged on the bed nervously biting her lip. He stood half naked in front of her in a soggy towel with his arms crossed as he waited for her to speak. He resolutely tamped down the heat that rose from within as his mate hungrily watched the water drip off his hair and trickle down the front of his chest and stomach. He cleared his throat when her gaze strayed below the line of his towel. "I'm sorry." She stammered out, her words tripping over one another. "I'm a bitch... in more ways than one." The upward tilt of his mouth at the joke bolstered her courage and loosened her tongue. "I want you to come because you want to be with me, not because you feel like it's your duty to accompany me." Colour blazoned across her cheeks. "I hate feeling like another check mark on your to-do list." "What makes you think I don't want to be with you?" Emma stared at him in stony silence, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Ian shrugged and turned away "Ok point taken, we haven't exactly had the most romantic of relationships, but that's not entirely my fault." "And how long exactly am I expected to pay for my mistakes?" Emma asked in a hollow monotone, her gaze shifting warily away. Ian stopped at the threshold of the bathroom. "Dammit Emma!" "What?" "Stop trying to pick fights!" "I'm not..." "Bullshit! You think if you push me away enough that I leave you that it will make us even." Emma's mouth gaped open as the comment struck home. "See I do know my mate." Ian said sardonically. "How much do you know yours?" Emma's mouth snapped closed and she clenched her jaw. Ian disappeared into the bathroom, coming back dressed in black sweat shorts. He knelt in front of Emma sitting on the bed and took a hold of her hands, clasping them between his hands. He placed a gentle kiss on her clenched knuckles and asked her a question. "Do you want me to come to Lily's party? I'd be happy to go with you." "Why?" "Why do I want to go?" Ian asked. At her nod, he continued. "Because as much as you think to the contrary, I do like being around you and I think it would do us both well to get away from the voyeuristic eyes of our pack analyzing our every move." Emma puffed out the breath she held and Ian read relief and a bit of disappointment at his response. He stood up, his eyes hardening and jaw clenching. "I know what you wanted to hear Emi but I have no interest in making myself vulnerable so you can eviscerate me emotionally again." He picked her up off the bed and threw back the covers, putting her back down on the bed and effortlessly divested her of her clothing "You first this time." He pulled the covers back up. Ian crawled into bed and pulled her stiff body closer into his, feeling her stiffen further and sighed "Relax, I just want to hold you before you leave for next few days." When he felt her slowly relax into his hold he barely contained the snort that threatened to escape 'Glad she trusts me to keep my word.' He consciously slowed his breathing, burying his nose into her auburn hair and filling his senses with her delicious scent. He was almost asleep when he felt her burrow her nose into the crook of his neck and sleepily whisper "Love you." He drifted off to sleep with a small smile on his face. Danger Zone Ch. 10 Authors Note: Here is the final chapter, I struggled tying it all up in a little bow for your pleasure. I have learned my lesson, next time I decide to post a story, I will make sure I have finished the story before I start posting as nothing is worse than being left in the lurch while you wait for the author to get their act together. Thanks for reading my story. Enjoy! ***** Ian growled low in his throat as his cell buzzed angrily across his bedside table. He picked it up and answered with a grunt, unable to be polite at whoever called him in the middle of the night. "You're as bad as Damon." Ian jerked up in bed but couldn't get a word in before Peter continued his tirade. "No I take that back, you're worse than Damon. At least she never loved Damon." "What the hell are you talking about?" Ian growled harshly. "Is Emma okay?" "You tell me." Ian swung his legs off the side of the bed and sat upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What did she tell you?" "Nothing Ian. She told me nothing but her body language spoke volumes. She fucking flinched when I tried to hug her. Did the same thing with Greg and Adam. Can you tell me why someone who has supposedly recovered from her abusive past and is allegedly happily mated to one of my closest allies, flinched at the idea of being touched by other people?" Ian sighed and stood up, the moonlight reflecting off his body as he started to pace the room. "My relationship with my mate is none of your concern." "Funny, she said the same thing." "Great then stay out of our business." "As long as you explain why Alice, Betty and one of your guards constantly throw their bodies around to prevent any other males from touching her. Please tell me you are secure enough in your relationship that if she came home smelling like another male, mated may I add, that you don't think she'd cheat on you." "She was gone for a year Peter." "And you think in her year away that she magically went from a sexually abused woman to a slut that looks for comfort in any man's bed?" "I wasn't with her in that year, how would I know?" A heavy silence fell over the phone line. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that so that I don't tear out your throat the next time I see you." Peter growled darkly over the line. Ian groaned "That came out wrong." "Sure as hell did." Peter snarled. Ian growled back at the threat in his friend's voice. "Look Peter, we're fine. I'm fine, Emma's fine, our relationship is fine." "Ah I see." Peter paused "So you're fine with the fact that your mate is passing her heat here in agony because she says you're not ready to have children." "She WHAT?!?" Ian exploded. "Oh you didn't know?" Peter asked innocently "She came into heat yesterday but refuses to go home to the only man that can scratch her itch because she doesn't think your relationship could handle it." "She told you that?" Ian asked in disbelief. "No of course not. I may have...overheard her friends talking about her situation." "You were spying on them?" "They were the ones who had a private conversation in a public hallway." Ian growled louder "She better not be finding relief in any of your pack members." "Don't be an idiot." Peter snapped "You know that mated females in heat can only attract the attention of their mate during their heat cycle and their mate is the only one who can satisfy their hunger." "Shit, you're right." "Always." Peter replied smugly. Ian's lips twitched "May I remind you that this conversation is taking place at 2:30 in the morning and I'm not exactly firing on all cylinders?" Ian straightened "Speaking of which, why is this conversation taking place at some godforsaken hour in the morning instead of a reasonable hour of the day." "Because if Emma knew I was telling you this, she would castrate me and feed me my balls then Jane would get mad and hurt her because she likes my balls where they are and then you would get mad and hurt Jane and then I would have to kill you." Ian shook his head as he struggled to follow the convoluted line of logic "Forget I asked. Why would Emma be so mad if I found out?" "She really does not want you to know how that she is heat." Ian grunted. "So when should I expect you?" Ian glanced at the clock and grimaced. "Probably this afternoon if I can get everything sorted in time." "Excellent. Look forward to see you then." Peter responded brightly. Ian paused in his pacing and hissed "You manipulative bastard. You wanted me to come." "I can't stand to see such sadness and loneliness in her eyes. You need to fix that." Ian snorted and heard a loud thud in the background. "Listen you self centered asshole, she knows she fucked up but she's home now, focus on that. Forget about last year or you two are going to tear each other apart." Peter swore softly. "Fuck you made me spill my scotch." "Look you nosy overprotective old hen, you may have been the one who saved her from hell but that in no way makes you her father. She's my mate, a member of my pack and my alpha female so her wellbeing, both physically and mentally is my concern. Not yours!" "Then fucking do your job!" Peter screamed before hanging up. Ian swore fluently as he spun and threw his phone at the wall, causing it to shatter and fall to the floor. He stood in the middle of the room, heaving as he fought to control his temper. As his breathing normalized he strode into his closet, quickly packing as he called mentally for his second in command. "TERRY!" Terry Maser jerked awake and fell out of his bed into an unholy heap, his ears ringing at the defining call. His mate Jasmine snored softly on, her naked body revealed by Terry pulling the covers off with him. Terry sat up, disgruntled at being woken up in the middle of the night when Jas clearly was not disturbed. Suddenly Jasmine moaned, her hands coming up to cover her ears as Ian's summons reverberated through her skull. She cracked open one eye to see her mate kneeling on the ground wrapped in the covers, holding his head. "We're coming." She grumbled back to her brother. "You sadistic bastard." She mumbled as she crawled out of bed, patting her mate on the head as she passed him to go to the bathroom. Emma shivered under the frigid spray of the shower head. She had hoped the icy water would soothe the burning itch that rippled across her skin but it wasn't working. Last night she had picked up and put down her phone multiple times, fighting the urge to call Ian. She even tried to relieve the ache with a monumental masturbation session but it only made the slow burn turn into a full-fledged inferno. Needless to say, she hadn't slept a wink last night and she was hungry, tired and beyond cranky, not a good situation for someone who had to maintain control of her inner beast, or demon as was the case today. Her wolf nudged persistently against her willpower, vying for dominance to shift and run home to her mate. Her eyes faded slowly from her normal bright teal to the pale icy blue of her wolfs'. Emma braced her hands on the tile in front of her, breathing heavily, wincing when her claws scraped shrilly along the porcelain. She cursed loudly at her loss of control, roughly turning off the shower and stepping out. She took a brief glance at the towels that hung on the rods in front of her and opted to air dry. At this point, those normally super soft towels would feel like super coarse sandpaper on her skin. Stepping out into her bedroom, her wolf howled mournfully when she caught a whiff of her mate's scent from her pyjamas. As estranged of a relationship they may have, Emma was not above stealing her mate's shirts in order to keep a piece of him with her at all times. Emma dressed slowly, cringing with every abrasive pass of her clothing. She tried to distract herself from the sensations by recalling the conversation she had with Doc last night. "You know, if I knew you were going to run away again, I wouldn't have warned you that you were going into heat." Doc grunted as she finished checking Emma's vitals. "I'm not running away, I'm just giving us space so we can decide logically when we want to have children instead of letting our hormones rule our fate." "Whatever makes you sleep at night." Doc barked a laugh. "Look I'm just glad I don't have some mutant strain of the flu. I thought werewolves don't get sick." "They don't. They go into heat." "You've already told me that." "Well if you ask me, you two need a little hormone therapy." "That's the last thing we need. The only thing we're capable of doing together is having sex. Hormones are not our problem. We're our own problem." "Can't fix that by avoiding each other. Having a baby would help you two get your priorities straight." "Or it could tear us apart. We're not in the right frame of mind to have a family together and I refuse to raise my child in a hostile environment." Emma's chest rumbled as her wolf added her two cents "This conversation is over." Doc held her hands up, tilted her head and took a step back "Ok have it your way but don't expect me to stand by and watch you suffer." "I'm not asking you to." "You never have to B." Doc said sadly. Emma's shoulders slumped and she hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. She was glad her friends were not here to see her suffer but going through her heat alone was beyond any hell she endured during captivity because she had she golden solution within her grasp, or more specifically, within her jeans pocket. Within the next second, Emma straightened her shoulders, took a deep breath and put on a happy face. She refused to let a man ruin a happy weekend dedicated to Lily's pregnancy and future happiness. She could do this. She exited her suite and immediately caught the welcoming scent of a fresh pot of coffee. She blindly followed her nose to the mess hall and quickly made up a breakfast plate while lovingly cradling a mug of black coffee to her chest. After locating her friends and their mates sitting at a table on the left side of the room, she took her seat and dove into her meal. The sound of her friend's conversation burbled over her as she ate and partook in her first cup of coffee. They didn't try to involve her in their conversation because they knew she was not fit for civilization until the coffee had kicked in. She was so engrossed in her coffee that she didn't notice at first the hush that fell over the room. She peered up from her cup and gaped with the rest of the room at the two people entering. She was jolted out of her shock with the high-pitched girly squeal emitted from her left as Alice launched herself across the room to hug her sister. She stood with the rest of the table to join in the reunion as Lena and Alex were ushered into the room and back to their table. Emma was quick to escape the circle of hugs after the first brush of skin made her feel like she was being stung by a swarm of wasps and the next felt like someone had poured hydrochloric acid over her arm. She wasn't sure whether the contact was from a man or a woman but she was decidedly uncomfortable with physical contact right now. Unless it was her mate. Then she was all for full body skin-on-skin, or better yet skin-in-skin contact. If only he wasn't a possessive, controlling, edict-issuing, stubborn, grudge-holding alpha douchebag who was unable to remove his head from his ass. She cringed when Lena emerged from the group to pull her into a back-cracking hug but when the contact elicited no ill side-effects, she relaxed into the embrace, happy to see her friend again. Her mind whirled as she contemplated the fact that she couldn't touch her own species while in heat but other species were fine. "Your blood smells funny." Lena said as she took a step back and wrinkled her nose. Alex wrapped his arms around Lena from behind and pulled her into his chest. "We've had this conversation before Lena, her blood smells off to us because she's a werewolf." Lena shook her head "It's not that. Her blood normally smells like dirt but it smells acrid, like rotting flesh or something." Emma wrapped her arms around her torso and took a step back "Gee. Thanks." Emma snarled when Alex suddenly appeared at her side and grabbed her wrist, pulling it up to sniff at her radial pulse point. "I hate when you do that. Can't you move at a semi-normal speed?" Alexei gave her a smug grin before announcing "You are in heat." "Really? That's great!" Lena exclaimed and then with a sly look and a raised brow said "I'm surprised Ian let you out of the bedroom." "Errrrr..." Emma blushed and ducked her head. "Yes Emma," Alice asked in a sotto voice "Where is Ian?" "At home." Emma replied meekly. Alexei raised an eyebrow "He let you travel to another pack while in heat?" "He doesn't know I'm in heat." The vampire couple stood in stunned silence before Lena screeched "EMMA!!" Emma held her hands up defensively "Whatever you're about to say has already been said by everyone here. Multiple times. I am not having a baby with Ian until I know our relationship is stable enough to survive the addition of another person in our life. My baby deserves to be raised in a loving environment with parents that can be their role model for love." She said with a stubborn tilt of her chin. "Do you really believe lying to your mate is the right way to establish a loving relationship?" "No but it was the best thing I could come up with at the time." Lena sighed "Emma..." "Can we just leave it for now? It's done, there's no going back now." Emma pleaded. Lena eyed Emma critically before conceding with a terse "Fine." Later that afternoon, a pack of wolves were spotted in the woods playing a juvenile game of freeze tag. Everyone who spotted the group gave a mental eye-roll at the sight of the two alpha females and some of their betas frozen in spot trying not to tilt over as they balanced with their paws up in the air and laughing when one of them fell into a mud puddle or a stream but they didn't deign to interrupt their fun. The crowd gave way as they group returned to the main house to change, some of the braver members of the pack cracked jokes at their muddy state and offered to spray them down with a hose in deference to Jane's normally anal retentive obsession with keeping the floors clean of muddy footprints. Laughing softly at Jane's semi-menacing growl as she reached for her pile of clothes, Emma spotted Adam and Greg coming down the hall and perked up at the opportunity. Briefly forgetting her unclothed state, she reached behind her to latch onto the wrists of Lena and Alex and drag them down the hall, calling out to Adam and Greg. She wanted to show them that vampires do exist. So insistent on proving her point, she didn't notice the resistance of the people she held onto or the shocked and somewhat fearful looks on the men in front of her, but she did notice the low growled "Mine." that set her lower half alight. Jerking around to face the front door and inadvertently letting go of her captives who quickly made their escape, she spotted the hulking half-shifted form of her mate standing in the doorway. Ian watched as Emma's expression to his arrival morphed from joy and surprise to horror and dismay. Emma shook her head and the blood drained from her face as she started to mumble denials. Her body trembled as she started to slowly back away down the hallway. Reading her intention, Ian lunged forward to halt her retreat but Emma was fast enough to run away and barricade herself in her room. Ian suppressed his desire to charge down his wayward mate and slowly approached the closed door. He could feel her panic and distress radiating through the door and hear soft sobbing and the brush of her skin against the door as she slid to the floor with her back pressed up against it. "Emma?" "Go away Ian, you don't really want this." Emma choked out between sobbing breaths. "Don't want what?" Emma let out a barking laugh "Don't lie to me, I know you can smell it. You're just reacting to my hormones." Ian sighed and slid down the wall opposite the door, putting his head in his hands. "No, I'm not Emma. I can't smell you." A small fist banged against the heavy oak door. "LIAR!" "I knew we'd have this discussion so I pre-empted your argument by rubbing tiger balm under my nose. My sense of smell is gone." Emma snorted. "Like you'd make yourself vulnerable by removing one of your senses." "It's true. Take a whiff." "I don't need to, I can smell that stench through the door but that doesn't mean you were actually crazy enough to rub tiger balm under your nose. With our heightened senses, that would be like taking a blowtorch to your nostrils. You probably just rubbed it on your leg or something." "Okay, let's try this another way. Can you smell me Emma?" "Of course I can" Emma scoffed "I already told you I can smell the tiger balm." "But can you smell me? My natural scent." Ian persisted. There was a brief pause. "No." Emma conceded quietly. "So if you can't smell me and you don't have the tiger balm on your body, why do you think I can smell you?" Ian grinned when he heard Emma blow a raspberry and mutter "Point taken." Emma hesitantly opened the door and poked her head out. "You really rubbed tiger balm on yourself?" "Yep." "You idiot." She growled, opening the door further. Ian took a long languid look up her body from the tips of her tapping toes, past the luscious naked curves of her torso, to the pointy arch of her eyebrow and gave her his most charming smile. "Arghhh!" Emma stomped her foot and slammed the door again "I can't even look at you without wanting to climb you like Mount Everest. Stupid hormones!" "Well you are certainly welcome to summit on me." Ian grinned. "IAN!" Emma made a sound between exasperation and laughter. Ian took a look down the hallway. "As much as I'm sure our pack enjoys witnessing the soap opera that is our love life, do you think we could take this conversation into your room?" When Emma hesitated he added a sweet sounding "Please?" The door swung open. Ian could hear Emma scurry away from the door to put as much distance as possible between them. Unfolding himself from the floor, Ian leisurely crossed the hall and entered the room, closing the door softly behind him. Emma was perched in the doorway of the balcony, clearly preparing her escape route. "I think we need to make a pact." "A pact?" Ian nodded. "Before we bring a child into the world." Emma's jaw dropped and her colour rose. She took a step into the room, looking for a projectile to launch at his head. Spotting the bedside lamp, she threw it with all her might, shattering it against the door as Ian easily sidestepped it. She reached for the glass of water next. "Having a baby is not a fucking business deal." She screeched. Running out of ammo, she threw the bedside table. "Asshole!" She screamed again, this time in frustration, as Ian breached her defenses, pinning her arms to her sides with an unbreakable hold and lifted her off the ground, wrapping another hand to restrain her kicking legs. Bones crunched as she started to shift. Ian shook her hard, stopping the shift. "Dear god woman, will you listen to me before you rip my face off?!?" Emma snarled and bared her teeth in his face, snapping at his nose. Danger Zone Ch. 10 "The pact has nothing to do with business. It's all about pleasure." Emma stopped growling but continued to glare with her lip curled. "Look we've figured out that we're both very passionate people. Some may even say oversensitive and emotionally unstable..." Emma started growling again. "But if we understand that the reason we drive each other crazy is because we love each other, then we can make a pact not to..." "Wait, what?" Emma interrupted. "We can make a pact not to lash out or run away when we're mad, or sad, or..." "Back it on up! You think we drive each other crazy because we love each other?" Ian nodded and took advantage of Emma's dumbfounded expression to sneak a kiss. "Well I certainly love you and you already told me you love me." "When the hell did I tell you I loved you?" "Right before you left." "I never told you I loved you." "Yes you did and I'm telling you now that I love you." "What about all the shit you said before I left?" "See that's part of the pact. We can't lie to each other anymore, lash out or run away when we get upset. We promise each other to have an all-out shouting match behind doors each night followed by the hottest make-up sex you can ever imagine. Our relationship will be perfect." Emma sputtered "That's the most dysfunctional thing I've ever heard. How are we supposed to role model a loving relationship to our children if we are at each other's throats each night?" Ian shrugged and put her down, releasing his tight hold on her arms but not releasing her from his arms quite yet. "They may not understand the first 12 years of their life but they'll eventually understand what the sounds that come after the fights mean." Emma smacked him across the chest. "How did you come up with that asinine idea?" "I had a lot of time to think when I was driving over this morning." "And that's the plan you came up with?" "It was the most logical out of all of my ideas." "Along with rubbing tiger balm under your nose?" "If I didn't, then we wouldn't be having this rational conversation right now." "Rational. Right." Emma snorted. Ian stood silently, looking at her in anticipation. After a few minutes of stubborn silence, Emma's body language changed. "Fine." She said, extending her hand. Ian knocked away her hand and pulled her closer again "This deal we seal with a kiss." But he was denied by a stiff arm to the face. "Nuh uh." Emma said with a cough as she took a step back. "You reek and you already tainted me with that earlier kiss. You don't get any until you've showered." "Fair enough." Ian shrugged before he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. "IAN!" She cried as she rained blows down on his back. "Put me down! I told you, you get nothing until the tiger balm is gone." "Exactly. That's why I need to make sure the stuff you claim I tainted you with is off your body too." "You fucking suck." "I see the pact is working already." As the bathroom door closed behind them, the group of people shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation heard three more things: Ian's yelp, Emma's giggles and an outraged shriek of "Not the cold water!"