[Warning: this chapter contains some mature content]
Waiting for your pack to return unharmed is one of the worst feelings an Alpha can experience. In spite of that newfound power, I felt utterly powerless. There was nothing I could do.
Not even sleeping beside Ember consoled me as much as it usually did. Unable to find sleep and unwilling to move to find something to read, I watched Ember sleep instead with a myriad of questions and worries plaguing my mind.
I'd had a rough day, to say the least. From Ember admitting I was her anchor, to Alistair showing up – then Alistair leaving and me accepting myself as Alpha. Then me searching Victoria's mind while Ember and Thea teleported, without my knowledge, to track down Eric, and then the pack deciding to split up to search for answers. Plus the answers the dryads gave us: the fact that the dark spirit possessing Killian had been wreaking chaos for over a century...
Then Ember almost drowned in the bathtub.
As I watched her sleep, I felt thankful that she was still by my side. Even though I now had several other people to worry about and look after other than her, I somehow knew things would turn out okay as long as she was with me.
"I love you," I murmured to her as I brushed a curl of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear.
She didn't respond to me – seemingly caught in an intense dream world that I couldn't hope to decipher until the morning when she would regain consciousness. Her face was immovable, her features frozen, and she grasped the bedsheets with one of her hands.
I was half-tempted to wake her up, but I knew she'd need the sleep – whereas I'd cope just fine. By that time, I found myself well accustomed to insomnia.
Though I was grateful when the dawn began to struggle in through the half-open blinds.
It was unlikely that the rest of the pack would return from Hopecliffe until later that day, but the new day refreshed my hope.
<How was the shift?> I transmitted to Thea, aware that she'd insisted I get some rest while she would watch Victoria for the second half of the night.
<I had to keep listening for her heartbeat to check she wasn't dead. She barely moved last night.>
<Do you think me... entering her mind affected her?> I silently voiced the question that had been lingering on my mind.
Once I'd retracted my claws from her neck the day before, her head had flopped down lifelessly and lolled there until I'd propped it against the back of the armchair. Her heartbeat was slow, yet steady. Yet since none of us is a neurosurgeon, we had no way of knowing whether I'd impacted her brain activity, or if she was acting catatonic by choice.
It didn't particularly matter now, though. Victoria wasn't exactly helpful when she was fully cognisant, and I highly doubted she'd be able to reverse Kaden's transition into Killian. Victoria forcing Kaden to murder someone had awakened Killian, and it wasn't like we could just flip that switch and make that dead person alive again.
<Don't know, don't care,> Thea responded flippantly, before elaborating, <I mean, as long as we keep her here and she doesn't go on a murderous rampage, it doesn't matter, does it?>
Unsure of whether it should matter or not, I simply asked, <Want me to come and watch her for a while?>
<Nah, don't bother. Keep an eye on Ember. Whatever happened with her in the bath last night... I don't know, but she needs you right now.>
<Okay... Thanks.>
"Mhm, Theo?" Ember yawned awake right on cue.
"Morning, gorgeous," I told her and leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead – before she bolted up.
Sitting straight up in bed, Ember checked herself over – feeling her arms, her torso and her legs before she turned to me.
"What is it?" I sat up too.
"I had a terrible dream – more of a nightmare, really," she admitted without a moment's hesitation – forcing me to silently wonder whether my being her Alpha made her more inclined to tell me the truth.
"I'm listening." I nodded but refrained from rubbing her back in support as I was aware that any physical touch may have set her off.
Ember quickly explained her nightmare to me; how she'd been tied to a stake and was being burned to death while everyone she'd ever known watched her. She then specified that the crowd was made up of people that had been affected by knowing her – me included.
"But, Ember, I would never–" I rushed to console her yet she shook her head and cut me off.
"I know, Theo. I know." It was only then that her eyes finally landed on mine. "It still freaked me out."
Searching her worried face, I reassured her, "I'm here now."
"Thank fuck." She threw her arms around me and buried her face against my neck.
"I'm here," I repeated as I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her tight to me. "I'll always be right here."
"What?" Humour entered her voice as she pulled away from me a little, smirking. "Right here in this bed in the spare room at Wednesday's?"
Rolling my eyes at her, but silently rejoicing her humour returning to her, I corrected, "Right here, next to you, obviously."
"Okay, Mr Alpha." She giggled at me.
"You know..." I smirked as she climbed into my lap. "We probably have a couple of hours until the others get back..."
"Can I ask you something?" Ember asked a little shyly.
"Of course." I smiled at her reassuringly.
"What's a Luna?"
"A Luna," I began explaining, "Is an Alpha's partner – his soulmate. Sienna was Jason's Alpha – losing her tore him apart; that's how strong the link is between an Alpha and a Luna. Normally, a Luna is another werewolf, but not necessarily. With normal wolves, the Luna is the female Alpha of the pack."
"Does an Alpha choose his Luna?" She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and worry began to swim in her dark blue eyes.
"It depends." I shrugged – much to her annoyance. "What I meant to say is, does anyone choose to fall in love?"
"I guess not. It kinda just... happens." Ember frowned and then asked, "Do you know who your Luna is, Theo?"
Her question was obvious, as was her concern.
"Em, baby..." I gently took hold of her thighs and slid her closer against me. "All that Alpha-Luna stuff doesn't mean shit to me. It doesn't matter that you're not a wolf. You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with – so I guess that makes you my Luna if that's what you're asking."
"I'd be proud to be your Luna, just as I'm proud to have you as my Alpha," she responded instantly as her hands landed on my shoulders and squeezed them. "Do you think this will make our connection stronger?"
"Probably," I told her honestly as I moved my face closer to hers. "Do you have a problem with us getting... closer?"
"Not at all." She smirked as she retorted, "How close do you want to be?"
"So close until there's no distance between us," my voice dropped to a murmur as Ember's lips steadily neared mine. It'd hardly been long since we'd last kissed, yet I ached for her.
"That's pretty damn close..." Ember observed as her lips ghosted over mine, her hot breath mingling with mine.
All I could bring myself to say was, "You bet."
I could hardly find words with her so tantalisingly close to me – with her legs spread over my lap and her hot centre crushed up against my crotch. My lips yearned to connect with hers; my hands yearned to trace every inch of her skin; all of my body yearned to make her mine in every physical sense of the word.
And, judging by the darkening of Ember's eyes, the hammering of her heart and the clenching of her thighs, so did she.
All I wanted to do was to shut out the rest of our fears and just pretend like it was only me and her in the entire world. No dark spirits to defeat; no pack to worry about and protect no matter what. Just me and Ember.
"This is really bad timing, isn't it? With everything going on..." Ember hesitated at the same moment I did; it felt wrong to be so selfishly in love with her.
"Timing's never on our side," I told her pointedly.
She twisted her pretty mouth at me wistfully and longingly. "How about a quickie?"
My eyebrows raised up my forehead in surprise.
"Foreplay's hardly necessary with you..." Ember continued, her tone deepening to one of seduction and control – a side of her I'd yet to experience. "Just being this close to you is turning me on so much. Please, Theo..."
I bit my lip and let out a slow breath. I knew I couldn't deny her turning me on; she would've been able to feel it as well.
"You're making it very hard for me to say no..."
"Oh, I know it's very hard," she teased as she grinded her body down over mine, forcing me to suck in a breath as my dick hardened and throbbed for her.
"You want it hard and fast, huh?" I smirked at her as I grasped hold of her hips and slowly rolled my hips up against hers – so that we were effectively dry humping.
A quiet, low moan escaped Ember's lips and she nodded quickly, gasping for air. "Stop playing with me," she insisted with a shaky voice.
"You sure you wanna do this now?"
"Positive. But only if I'm on top."
"That's fine by me..." I told her, before reaching over to my bag that I'd thankfully brought into that spare room the night before. In a discreet, inside pocket of my duffel bag was a couple of condoms – just in case.
Boldly, Ember took one of them from my hands and held it between her teeth. She dragged my t-shirt off, then her own top, then stood up to wriggle out of her panties.
"You're so fucking breathtakingly gorgeous, Em," I confessed, as the sight of her getting naked for me made me even harder for her.
"As are you," she responded with a smile as she grabbed hold of my boxers and slid them down and off my legs. She climbed back into my lap and tore open the square condom packet. "I wanna put it on you."
"Be my guest."
Wrapping her hand around my dick, she pumped it slowly to ensure I was hard enough. Then, after getting it out of the packet, she pinched the top of the condom and rolled it down over my dick.
Without a moment's hesitation, she positioned herself over me and sat down on my hard dick.
"Fuck," I groaned at the sudden rush of euphoria.
"Is this okay?" Em asked as she began riding me slowly.
"More than okay," I reassured and brought her face down to mine – finally connecting our lips.
And with our lips locked and no possible distance between us, I forgot about everything and everyone else.
Only Em matters.
~
Em and I passed the rest of the morning in a bliss-filled haze. The quickie wasn't so quick after all; it'd evolved from a hard, fast fuck to genuine, gentle love-making. Yet both of us settled so easily into her riding me cowgirl style that we didn't feel the need to try any other positions.
I lost count of how many times we told each other we loved one another. But that was irrelevant; I knew both of us meant every syllable of those three little words that held so much emotion.
I was so enamoured with Ember that I forgot about my twin sister being right upstairs in the attic until she told me later in the day, <You're very vanilla in your sex life, bro.>
<Oh shit, Thea... I'm sorry – do you want me to watch Victoria?> I'd forgotten about the psycho werewolf we had locked up there too.
<Forget it. You might wanna get dressed though. Ryder texted; they'll be back soon.>
<How come Ryder texted you instead of me?> I thought angrily, just as my phone pinged with a text from Ryder – saying they were on their way home.
"What's wrong?" Ember spoke up, frowning as she saw the change in my face.
"The others are on their way back here," I told her and held her close to me. "We should get dressed."
She nodded in agreement and we pulled our clothes back on – though not before I snuck another glance at her stunning body.
"Do you think Al or Halia will have found out anything other than what the dryads told us?" Ember asked.
"I don't know," I admitted with a shrug. "But I reckon it's pretty hard to beat the fact that we found out that Killian sunk the Titanic and helped engineer the Holocaust."
She slipped her hand in mine as I helped her to her feet, and then we left the spare room – heading towards the attic.
Worry found a home again in my mind and my heart as reality crept back in – as I knew it inevitably would. I was getting sick and tired of this Killian mess; all I wanted was Kaden back with his soul intact. But then again, maybe I should've stuck around for a little longer last year when I was in Lake Oldoy, instead of rushing back to the US to search for a pack that fell apart.
While it was true that Victoria made Kaden into the monstrous being that he now was, it was my fault. I wasn't here to help him or support him – Kaden must've turned to Victoria at his weakest point.
"What are you thinking? Ember insisted beside me, tugging on my hand and stopping us from walking any further along the landing.
"That Kaden transitioning into Killian may have been my fault, seeing as I wasn't exactly around to protect him," I admitted straightaway – forcing me to silently wonder whether her being my Luna made me more inclined to tell her the truth; the same way me being her Alpha did.
"It wasn't your fault, Theo," Em told me pointedly, "You had to go back to America to find your pack, and you had no way of knowing what was going on with Kaden while you were gone. Keep in mind the fact that I too wasn't around to help him. So if you're looking to blame yourself, then you're a bit late to that game. We'll have to share the blame."
I smiled at her feistiness – especially at the fact she was oblivious to how indignant she was being.
"I'll watch Victoria for a bit," she proceeded to say, "Thea's been watching her for 12 hours; she needs a break as much as you need to go do Alpha things."
"Alpha things like what?" I frowned at her – though didn't rush to stop her from guarding Victoria. I could tell how much more powerful she now was since being reborn in sync with the Phoenix.
"I don't know." She threw her hands up. "Like talking to the others when they get back?"
"What about you, though?" I wrapped my arms around her waist and drew her close to me.
"I'll be fine, Theo, babe. As far as I'm concerned, what the dryads told us is enough to warn us of how dangerous Killian really is." She shuddered as she spoke the next words; "It was enough to warn us of the carnage he could cause as soon as he's gathered enough strength."
"And what makes you think he's gathering strength?" I questioned, hoping for some of her Phoenix's knowledge on the matter – seeing as that was probably where her insight was originating from.
"The fact he's not properly attacked anyone yet. I mean," she corrected with a sigh and a downcast face, "I know he murdered a ton of people, but that was based around Kaden exacting revenge. All the things that Killian's done in the past have been of a much larger scale."
"You're right," I told her.
"Am I?" She beamed at me.
"Well, at least I think you're right..." I mused aloud.
"Good enough for me." Ember pecked my lips then climbed the ladders up to the attic, after which I heard her telling Thea to get some rest.
Sighing heavily, I tramped my way downstairs and then sat on the penultimate step to watch the doorway for the rest of my pack to return. I lost track of time – which was the best way to pass the time waiting.
Upstairs, I heard Thea make her way to the spare room and practically collapse onto the bed. The sound of Victoria's heartbeat was still agonisingly slow, so the chances of Ember having to intervene were minimal.
I felt an odd prickle in my veins that insisted that the pack were back – though I couldn't yet see them. Then Halia, Ryder, Wednesday and Al rounded the corner that brought them to the close where the Mortelles lived.
Having had Jason as my Alpha, I knew that Alphas were connected to their Betas, yet I never expected myself to become so quickly in tune with where my pack were.
<It's been happening for a while.> Thea's groggy thought sounded in my mind.
<Get some sleep, Thea.> I reminded her gently, knowing that all of us would need as much rest as we could get to eventually face Killian – which was where everything seemed to be heading.
Grateful for something to do, I stood up and reached forwards to unlock the front door.
"Hey, man," Ryder greeted as he walked in.
Halia's weary countenance was somewhat improved; possibly due to her little trip to the ocean. Wednesday flashed a quick smile at me as she walked in, though I could see her looking around for her dad – who, obviously, wasn't there. Al had a few twigs matted in her hair, revealing the fact she'd spent the night in the woods with her pixie troupe.
Wordlessly, we made our way to the kitchen table, which was quickly becoming where we held our pack meetings – though Ember and I had had a different sort of meeting there the night before. An intimate meeting which included us almost having sex on the farmhouse-style table...
"What did you find out?" Wednesday asked me directly and tucked her silvery-purple hair into a loose bun.
Quickly, yet with as much detail as possible, I told them what the dryads had told me and Ember in the woods the day before – making sure to detail Killian's sinking of the Titanic, his time as a Nazi general who was besties with Hitler, and his escapades in Lake Oldoy.
"Shit," Ryder observed with a half-disbelieving laugh.
"The dryads never lie," Al backed me up as she nonchalantly picked twigs out of her brown hair. "We can trust what they said."
"Did any of you find out anything else?" I asked, anxiety clawing at my heart. "Anything that may help us with Killian?"
"The pixies helped out when he was last here," Al told me with a wan smile. "Like the dryads, they'll help out again if they have to."
"Well, that's reassuring." I nodded and planted my hands on the edge of the table. "Halia? Were there any naiads near Hopecliffe?"
"We must capture Killian as soon as possible." A sudden vivacity entered Halia as her eyes flared at me. "It will not be long until he gains enough strength to become unstoppable. We must capture him and attempt to help Kaden before he becomes too far gone."
"Too far gone in what way?" It was a question I didn't want to ask, yet I had to ask it anyway – that's what an Alpha does, right?
Ryder continued after a frightened glance from Halia. "Too far gone, as in too far removed from Kaden."
"Like the spirit taking over completely," Wednesday affirmed with a nervous nod.
"Then we have to capture him before we lose Kaden for good," I questioned, but refrained from saying, right? Uncertainty wasn't an Alpha quality. But since I wanted my pack's opinions on the matter, I asked anyway, "Right?"
"Right," Ryder responded instantly.
Halia bowed her head in clear gratitude, though couldn't find any words. Wednesday and Al bobbed their heads in agreement.
"What should we do about Victoria?" Wednesday piped up.
No longer obsessing over whether or not I should show uncertainty to my pack, I shrugged. "I'm not sure whether she can be much help to us. But I don't think we should let her go."
"We can't keep watching her for the rest of our lives." Al rolled her eyes and huffed. "She's a pain in the arse, is what she is."
"How about we help Kaden first, then deal with Victoria?" Halia proposed though it was more of a statement; all of us knew how Kaden would always come first in Halia's mind.
"How soon are we planning on capturing Killian?" Wednesday demanded, before explaining with a little more consideration in her voice, "It's just that while you've been shacking up with Ember, the rest of us have been travelling and not resting much."
"We can rest tonight, and figure out a plan in the morning," I decided aloud, much to the others' relief and gratitude.
"Sounds good to me." Ryder found the energy to grin at me.
"Where is Ember?" Wednesday suddenly asked, her eyes fixing in on mine with a steely gaze.
"She's upstairs watching Victoria while Thea rests," I explained. I was about to continue, but I felt that weird tingling sensation race along my skin again.
Someone's here.
Right on cue, the doorbell rang.
Everyone's eyebrows descended into frowns – revealing the fact that none of us was expecting anyone. It seemed unlikely that Alistair would be returning, or that Esther would show up without calling first. It seemed impossible that Killian would announce his presence in such a mundane way either.
I paced towards the front door, aware that the pack were following behind me cautiously. Even Thea was now standing at the top of the stairs and making her way down. She looked a little refreshed, though she mustn't have had much time to sleep.
I unlocked and swung open the front door – revealing Abi, Zack, Maia and my dad standing gathered around the front porch.
My mouth dropped open. "What are you all doing here?"
"We came to help," Zack announced strongly, though his glance at Abi was worried – maybe she's had a premonition.
"Dad!" Thea cried out and rushed past me to embrace our dad tightly.
"Come inside," I insisted after a nervous glance around the quiet street, aware that Killian, Eric, or a spy of some sort could've been watching us.
Once we were all gathered in the hallway, a wave of relief washed over me – like my dad, Abi, Zack and Maia were meant to show up and help us. Because that's the thing; I didn't have any doubt whatsoever that they'd stick around to help us beat Killian and get Kaden back.
Plenty of hugs were shared between us all, and some slice of joy returned at the sight of my old pack – me, Ryder, Zack and Abi – being together again. I didn't stop to question where Jason and Jade were. If they showed up, things probably would've become difficult – what with me now properly as an Alpha and Jade's creepy doppelganger locked up in the attic.
But my grin didn't stay on my face for long, as it slid off my face at the sight of Abi's chalky pale face.
"Abi, what is it?" Zack asked her rapidly before I could even open my mouth.
Abi looked at me straight-on with a questioning look, as if she was checking I wanted to hear what she had to say. Knowing Abi's advice was extremely valuable, I nodded.
"Someone here is going to die," she announced clearly, looking around at each of us in turn – her light blue eyes never lingering on any of us for more than a second.
Well, I knew them showing up would be helpful somehow...