emery
"You don't have to come in," I tell Denver, my gaze locked on the brick building. A large board cut into a coffee mug shape hangs above the door.
"I'll come in separately," he says.
I turn away from the building to shoot him a pointed look. "What is she going to do to me in there? She's a human, Denver."
"You are also a human. She was friends with that rogue that Alpha chased off. I don't trust her. I think she knows more than she lets on."
I think about how Calla reacted when Lenora choked Deja. "I doubt it, but fine. You wolves are all so damn stubborn."
He smiles briefly and cuts the engine. "You head in. I'll follow you in just a minute."
"Okay." I hop out of the Jeep and head for the coffee shop door.
The bell over the door jingles as I step inside. I'm coated in warmth right away.
My eyes rove through the coffee shop. It's rather small with only a few tables but the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and delicacies greets me. Soft instrumental music plays through speakers in the ceiling and paintings from local artists hang on the wall.
Calla at least wasn't lying about this place's environment. It's been so long since I've been out in public.
"There you are," calls a familiar voice.
Calla stands from a corner booth wedged into a small cranny in the wall. She's dressed in leggings and a baggy shirt that she's knotted over her stomach. Her curly hair is pinned to the top of her head in a messy bun.
I smile at the sight of her. She just looks so innocent and human. The thought of her plotting my demise with the rogues seems laughable now.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she says as she rushes to embrace me. "You haven't been returning anyone's messages and I just knew you don't know many other people in town. I was afraid you'd left town or something had happened to you."
I gently hug her back. "Do you always care about strangers like this?" I tease.
She snorts. "My only answer to that might make you uncomfy, so we'll just say yes." Grabbing my hand, she drags me over to the booth. "I ordered you a muffin and a latte."
"Wow, I feel so pampered."
We slide into the booth opposite each other and I gratefully take a sip of the latte with a small, gratified groan.
I should've grabbed my Keurig from the apartment—I've gone too long without getting my caffeine fix.
"So," Calla says, "what's been up? Did you get a new job somewhere else?"
I shrug and place the ceramic mug on its holder. "Yeah . . . I got a remote job. I can work from home now and it, uh, pays better. How've things been at the diner? Does Alex hate my guts?"
She laughs. "Maybe just a little. If I hear him complain about one more dishwasher quitting, I'm going to poke his eyes out." She grabs her mug but doesn't drink from it. "So, I guess I can't call you 'dishie' anymore then?"
"Probably not," I say with an awkward chuckle.
What the hell am I doing here?
"I hate to ask, but did you quit because of how things ended with us?"
A bitter taste fills my mouth at her question. I take another sip from my coffee and open my mouth to respond when the doorbell chimes.
We both look over to see Denver stoll in. He keeps his eyes expertly trained on anything but us. Even so, I know all of his other senses are dedicated to eavesdropping on our conversation.
When I look back at Calla, her eyes are narrowed on him.
"What?" I ask her.
She snaps her attention back to me. "Sorry, that guy just seems familiar. Anyway, about you quitting. Was it because of me?"
"No . . ." My mind is drawing blanks for excuses. "I just—I needed a change of scenery."
"Well," she says, reaching across the table to grab my free hand, "I'm sorry if it was me. I know I can be a lot and I was really into you. I guess I got my hopes up too soon." She threads our fingers together when I move to pull away. "Are you still hanging with that chick?"
"Who?" I try to feign innocence.
Her eyes sharpen and I gulp. "You know, that intense chick. The one who manhandled Deja."
I make a futile attempt to wrest my hand from hers but her grip is firm. "Ah, not really. I've been on a, um, hiatus."
In the corner of my eye, I see Denver take his black coffee from the barista and take a seat by the door. He keeps an ear in our direction.
I think Calla poses a different kind of threat than he's expecting.
"Huh." She sits back against her seat, releasing my hand. "Well, I hope you hang out with my crew again. You were a fun addition and everyone loved you."
"Thanks," I say, sipping my coffee to hide the blush on my cheeks.
Lenora would eat me alive in more ways than one if I ever proposed hanging out with Calla again. She was going to be livid when she found out about today.
The door chimes again and Calla's dark eyes flicker over my head. A smile breaks out across her face.
"Look who the cat dragged in," she says with a smirk.
Just as I turn my head to see who it is, I come face to face with someone I never anticipated seeing again.
"Calla, honey," Brian says as he pecks her cheek. His eyes turn to me. "Ah, you again. What's your name?"
I blink in shock. What is he doing here?
He was literally quaking in his fucking boots when Lenora told him to get out of Lemley.
I remember that night quite distinctly, as it left a resounding impression on me. Although I never heard her words, Brian was a sobbing mess after their encounter.
Now that I know Lenora, I'm not at all surprised that she reduced a man of his size and strength to a blubbering mess.
This Brian doesn't seem fazed at all by her threat. He is all confidence and smooth grinning, just as he had been before. Something bothers me about it. Why would he come back here when she threatened him? Does he not think she'll know or care?
"Emery," I tell him. My attempt at small talk sounds even weaker than it feels. "It's good to see you again."
His responding smile is tight. Turning back to Calla, he motions for her to scoot over. "I'm glad you called. It's been ages, it feels like."
I want to look at Denver to see if he's picking up on this but I can't without being obvious. Fuck. I take a slow breath to calm my nerves. Just because Brian is a rogue doesn't mean he's part of Arabella's posse. Right? I gulp down half of the latte to steel myself.
"Where've you been anyway?" Calla demands. "Everyone keeps falling off the map around here."
"I headed west at first but I ran into some cool people," he says. His eyes find mine and the coldness in them stuns me. "They kind of took me in, showed me their ways."
"Sounds like a cult." Calla chuckles.
"So, what brought you back?" I dare to ask.
He grins but the gesture guts me with its malice. "I do odd jobs for them and one of them just brought me back here. Crazy coincidence, right?"
My heart slams into my ribs. I don't know what's happening but it isn't good. Calla prattles on, oblivious. I'm pretending to listen to her gossip when a wave of fatigue washes over me. I realize I'm having a difficult time following their conversation and that even the effort to blink is hard.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," I say, pushing up from the booth.
"Are you alright?" Calla calls after me.
I sway a bit on my feet. It's hard to see through my blurry vision and my legs feel like jello. What the hell? This is exactly what I imagine getting roofied feels like.
"Emery," rumbles a familiar male voice.
I instinctively turn towards Denver, my safe place, but another figure steps between us. Judging by the size of the shoulders, it's Brian.
"And you are?" Brian asks.
"Step aside," Denver growls.
Calla grabs me and holds me against her warm body. "You almost fell over," she says. "What's wrong, Em? You look sick."
"Did you drug me?" I ask weakly. My grasp on reality is rapidly diminishing.
"Emery!" Denver snarls. "Run. Run!"
I try to flail out of Calla's arms but they're like iron bars wrapped around me. When did she get this fucking strong? Tilting my head back, I try to see her face, to make her see the pain of betrayal I feel. I gasp. It's not Calla's face smirking down at me. The freckled porcelain skin and lime-green eyes send a spike of devastation straight to my heart. I'd think I was just having a hallucination until I feel my skin hum under her touch.
"Oh, how I've missed you, my little toy," Ara taunts me.
She presses her lips to the top of my head and I squeeze my eyes shut at the heat that rolls through my body. I hate her. I hate her with every fiber of my being but I still can't stop the mate bond from responding to her. Her touch seems to have delayed the sedative from my coffee as I feel awake enough still to speak. My eyelids still feel like cinderblocks while I fight to open them again.
"Don't," I whimper.
"Don't what?" she asks. "Don't take you? Don't dangle you as bait in front of your beloved Alpha? I don't take demands from foolish little humans like you, mate."
"What do you want?"
She slides one hand down my side and over to where my thighs rub together. "I want a lot of things. Revenge, mostly, though."
"Didn't you . . . learn your lesson last time?" I wheeze. Every word is a labor to utter.
Her growl against my ear sends a shiver down my spine. Damn it.
"I may not be a match for Lenora," she hisses, "but I brought someone more than capable."
She grabs my jaw in a bruising grip and forces me to look straight ahead. A man in a tailored suit and sunglasses strolls into the cafe with a black cane in hand. I don't recognize him at all but a pit of dread takes root in my stomach.
"This mighty Alpha Lenora must not be so smart," he says as he approaches us.
My tired eyes desperately search for Denver but he and Brian have disappeared.
"Letting her weak human mate wander out without her," the man continues, shaking his head. He pushes his reflective sunglasses to the top of his head. His irises are fogged over with a white film.
I automatically shrink back into Ara who chuckles sadistically.
"May I?" he asks but reaches forward to touch my cheek before getting an answer.
Ara tightens her hold on me and I try to wiggle away from his touch. He cradles my jaw in his palm.
"So soft," he purrs.
"Don't touch me," I snap, jerking my face away. Ara restrains me from moving too far.
"Do you know who I am, little human?"
I glare at his milky eyes. "You're Jacob, aren't you?"
He smiles in satisfaction and blinks slowly.
"So what are you doing here?" I demand. "If you're so powerful and mighty, why even bother coming here? What's the point of taking a human hostage? It just makes you look like a pathetic asshole who can't even take on his own kind." I sag into Ara, exhausted. It was too much. I feel the sedative taking over again.
The smile drops and is replaced by a snarl. His cane snaps up and punches me in the chest with its capped end. The force of it knocks the breath out of me. "Watch your words, girl. They'll get you killed."
My vision grows dark while I fight to breathe again. Arabella scoops me up and I know we're outside when I hear the door chime and feel a blast of cold air.
"Load her into the backseat," Jacob orders.
Arabella hesitates, her grip tightening on me.
"Do you intend to defy me as well?" he snarls.
"No," she says, "but I would rather her be with me when Lenora arrives."
I bob in her arms like the deadweight I am. Why can't I see but I can still hear them? It's harder to stay conscious when the darkness seems so appealing in my fatigue.
"Fine," Jacob says. "Get in the back with her."
I'm jostled against and then feel cool leather underneath me. My head is elevated and resting on something. Fingers comb through my hair. For a moment, I wonder if this has all been a dream and I'm lying in Lenora's lap. Arabella's voice sours any such delusion.
"You're going to be all mine very soon," she grumbles. "We will crush Lenora and you are going to be my little slave, just as nature intended."
I want to roll away or claw at her eyes but I can do nothing. I'm just trapped here, arrested inside my own body.
Her hands wander down to my chest and then further. I will myself to fall unconscious. I don't want to endure her torment again. She cups my sex with a sigh. The slam of a car door must startle her because she suddenly moves her hands back to my hair.
"He called," says Jacob. "The infamous Alpha is on her way."
The apprehension I thought I'd never have to experience again returns in full force. I don't want Lenora here, around these terrible people. Pure fear closes its jaws around my throat. They will make her do terrible, unspeakable things. I can't let that happen to her. Even as I think this, I feel the last strand tying me to consciousness break and I am coaxed into the darkness.