Emory
I woke up in the bed this morning and I was confused. But then I remembered what happened last night.
I can't believe Brenden found me like that. And right after a nightmare. He must think I'm insane.
Luckily though, Brenden was already gone when I woke up so I didn't have to face him yet.
Getting out of bed, I was about to start my day when I saw a piece of paper resting on the nightstand.
Meet me in my office once you've eaten and gotten ready.
- Brenden
Great. So I don't have as long as I thought.
I took a very quick shower and got dressed as fast as I could. I don't know when Brenden left this morning and I don't want to anger him by taking too long.
The clothes Annalise and Lauren ordered had started coming in so instead of the borrowed sweats, I wore a light blue sundress and some strappy white sandals.
Even though Brenden said I could eat breakfast I skipped it and went straight to his office. I received glances from pack members, but luckily no one approached me.
Head down, I slipped through the halls until I reached the large wooden doors that led to Brenden's office. I reached out a shaky hand and knocked.
"Come in."
I opened the door a crack and slipped inside before closing the door once more.
"Good morning," Brenden greeted me.
"Good morning."
My voice was soft and part of me hated how weak I sounded, but it was how I was trained.
"Please, sit."
I did as instructed and sat in the chair by Brenden's desk. What's this about? I hadn't really had time to think about it yet. Was this it? Is he rejecting me?
My wolf whined at the thought, but I shoved her back. I knew this was going to happen eventually.
"Can we talk about last night?" Brenden asked and my eyes shot up to his.
"W-what about it?"
I was hoping he'd forgotten or would just ignore it.
"What happened?" My mate asked. "You were clearly having a bad dream and you freaked out. You've been scared of me this whole time."
Brenden let out a growl at the last statement and I shrunk down in my seat.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"You don't have to apologize, but can you tell me why you are so scared of people?"
No. He'd reject me on the spot which I was already expecting, but if I had a chance of staying here after, he couldn't know. He'd resent me and find me disgusting and he'd kick me out. Or kill me.
My breathing became shallow and the world around me blurred.
Brenden can't find out. He can't know about Alpha Dustin and Tony. Especially Tony.
"Emory?" I vaguely heard through the fog in my head.
"Emory?"
Something touched my arm and I jumped. The chair I was in tipped backwards and I flailed my arms around waiting for the fall. But it never came.
Strong arms grabbed ahold of the chair and stabilized me. I was brought face to face with Brenden. We stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes and my breathing slowly turned normal.
"I'm sorry," I squeaked.
"It's ok. We'll talk when you're ready."
I excused myself back to the suite and collapsed on the couch. Everything was so confusing. Why did Brenden want to know about my past? Why did he care? And why wasn't he forcing me to talk?
I couldn't understand it.
____________________________________
Brenden
I didn't want to push Emory to tell me anything she wasn't comfortable with, but at the same time I'm worried about her. I want to help her and I can't do that if she won't talk to me.
"Can you come to my office?"
I mindlinked Annalise and Lauren. They had befriended Emory, maybe they knew something. I wouldn't ask for details unless Emory was ready, but I needed to know something.
Both of the girls replied and soon they were in my office.
"What can we help you with dear brother?" Annalise asked.
I gave her a look and she chuckled. That was my sister, always the jokester.
But this was serious.
"Does Emory act skittish around you?"
I had to make sure it wasn't just me.
"Yeah," Lauren replied. "She relaxed more around us, but at first she barely talked and didn't let us touch her."
I nodded and let that sink in. What made her grow comfortable around them? Was it because they're girls or did she just like them more?
"Do you know anything about that?" I asked. "You don't have to tell me what, just if she's said anything."
"Sorry bro. She hasn't said anything. We didn't want to push her."
I nodded once again. I wasn't going to get anything here.
"Thanks guys. Can you send Max my way? And maybe check up on Emory?"
My sister agreed and the two girls left my office.
I thought over everything they told me, but there wasn't much there unless I followed the path that males made her uncomfortable. I'd have to go farther back. Maybe her old Alpha knows something.
Max entered my office and sat down.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I need to figure out what's going on with Emory."
Max nodded. "How?"
"I want to contact her old pack. Can you get me Alpha Dustin's number?"
"Sure thing."
I let Max do his thing and after a few short minutes, the number was plugged into my phone.
"This number has been disconnected," the phone said.
What? Max looked as confused as I felt right now.
"Are you sure this is the right number?"
"Yeah. This is from paperwork from only a few months ago."
I called the number twice more, but I still got the same response.
"Something tells me this isn't a coincidence," Max thought out loud.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"What are we going to do?"
There's only one thing we could do at this point.
"We are going to the Blood Stone Pack."
I gathered a group of warriors to come with me and Max to Blood Stone. The minute we were ready we left. I told Emory I would be away for the rest of the day, but I failed to mention why. I knew she would freak out on me and I didn't want that. She stressed so much and I didn't want to cause more of it.
The long car ride was miserable. Every minute felt like hours and I couldn't stand it.
After two and a half hours, we crossed onto pack territory.
"Um, Alpha?"
I looked over at Max.
"You might want to take a look out of your window."
I took Max's advice and looked out of the car's window. I didn't see anything. And then I realized that was the problem.
I didn't see anything.
There was no sign of life on this territory. There were houses and buildings, but they appeared deserted.
We parked the car and got out to take a look around. We knocked on doors and didn't get any answers. It was as if no one ever lived here.
After a while of searching, I decided to approach the pack house. Maybe the pack was in there. All of them.
I knocked on the front door and once again there was no response.
"This is weird," Max said.
"Definitely."
Where was this pack and why weren't they here?
I was about to turn away and go home when the door to the pack house opened.
"Your Majesty," an older woman said and swept into a curtsy. "Please come in."
The servant stepped aside and my group entered the seemingly empty pack house. I felt like I was in a murder mystery movie and a killer was about to jump out at me.
"Where is everyone?" I asked once we were seated at the table.
"Gone, Your Majesty."
"Gone?"
"Alpha Dustin took them and left. It was shortly after the ball," she explained.
They left? That made them a pack of rogues and a pack of rogues was dangerous.
"Why are you still here?" Max asked.
"I've disagreed with the way Alpha Dustin runs things for years, but I was too scared to do anything about it. This was my chance to escape."
I nodded. What did he do that was so bad to make her leave the pack? I was about to ask when she spoke up again.
"Is it true that Emory is your mate?"
My eyes shot to hers at the mention of Emory.
"Yes."
"So she's safe then?"
The woman looked so hopeful and that confirmed my suspicions that she hadn't been safe before I found her.
"Yes."
"Thank the Goddess," she said and placed a hand over her heart.
"How do you know Emory?" I asked.
"I've known her since she was a child. I always tried to look out for her and help her after..."
Helped her after what? The woman's eyes doubled in size when she realized I didn't know.
"Don't worry, I won't ask. It's Emory's story to tell."
I didn't want to hear it from anyone but my mate. I wouldn't betray her trust like that.
"Thank you."
"What's your name?" I asked the woman.
"Shauna, Your Majesty."
"Would you like to come back with us and see Emory?"
Something in me told me this was the right choice.
Shauna happily agreed and joined us on the trip back to the castle.
Maybe Emory would feel more comfortable around someone she knew.