Healed

EMERY

I stood frozen in shock as I watched this strange, dark man threaten my friend. I stepped forward, almost forgetting what I was doing, and placed my hands on his arms.

His arm flexed under my touch, waking me up and realizing I couldn’t use my abilities to calm him. Not here. There were too many people around and this man was a stranger.

I quickly removed my hands and stepped back as I saw my father approaching.

“Alpha Damon,” my father spoke diplomatically as he walked over, “what is going on here?”

“This pup was touching her,” he growled.

My father narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what was happening. Suddenly his eyes widened as he realized the situation.

“Alpha Damon, Dr. Matt is an old family friend. I’m sure he had no intention of—”

“I know exactly what his intention was,” Alpha Damon grumbled.

“Well, in any case, Alpha Damon, please release him so we can have a chat,” my father replied.

Alpha Damon narrowed his eyes darkly at Matt before letting go and taking a step back. I helped Matt up off the ground before looking up at the brooding man before me.

“What on Earth was that f—” I stopped. All words had left me.

As I met his bright blue eyes, I felt it, like a shock through my whole body. And then I was overwhelmed by the intoxicating smell of sandalwood.

“OUR MATE! WE FOUND HIM!~”~River yelled in my mind.

When I got over the initial shock, I began to panic again. “River, he’s not in our pack… He’s an Alpha from another pack… What will happen if he—”

“Come with me,” a low voice called me from my thoughts.

I looked up again to see him staring down at me, his hand stretched toward me. I took his hand hesitantly and followed him to a table on the far side of the field along with my father and mother.

“Well, Alpha Damon, this is a surprise for sure,” my father spoke uncomfortably. I knew it was because he was hoping I’d find a mate in the pack.

I looked over to my mother, who was trying hard to fight the tears in her eyes.

“We will leave tonight,” Alpha Damon spoke bluntly.

I looked up at him with worry. “I can’t leave tonight. I’m not ready.”

He looked at me with a frown before turning back to my father. “Fine. We will leave tomorrow morning, no later. I can’t be away from the pack for too long.”

With that, he stood from the table and walked off to the party, and began speaking with a group of men I assume were part of his pack.

I turned to my parents with fear only to be met by fear of their own. “Mom, Dad, he’s a stranger. I can’t hide it for that long. I don’t know if I can do this…”

“You have to. Alpha Damon isn’t one to be told no. He would not take rejection kindly,” my father replied.

I let out a huff before taking a deep breath, knowing I couldn’t calm myself in the way I wanted to.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to make the most of it,” I spoke confidently before looking over at Alpha Damon.

He turned and met my gaze. His piercing blue eyes seemed to be searching me. I turned away and less confidently said, “Maybe he’s nicer than he seems…”

My parents let out a small chuckle before we walked up to the pack house to begin packing my things.

The next morning, I stood outside my home and hugged my family, my mother crying heavily as we said our goodbyes.

Alpha Damon stepped forward and placed his hand on the small of my back, the touch sending tingles through my body. “Are you ready?” he asked.

I nodded before turning to the car, casting one more glance toward my family, hoping to memorize them as they were right now. I didn’t know when I would see them again.

I climbed into the large, black SUV and looked out the window, hoping nobody would notice the silent tears falling down my cheeks as we drove away.

***

DAMON

As I sat in the back of the SUV on my way to the Red Mountain Pack, I let out a long huff. I didn’t want to go to this thing.

I had no desire to go to some party and watch some little she-wolf be paraded around by her daddy.

My Beta was supposed to go and supervise the single males that were going to the party with the hopes of finding their mate.

But my Beta came down with food poisoning right before the trip and I was roped into going.

As we arrived, I saw the large crowd and took a deep breath before stepping from the car. We were a bit late, and all of the men were just about tripping over themselves to get out of the cars.

I reminded the members of my pack that we were here as guests and to behave themselves before making my way to a far corner of the party.

I stood on the side, nursing a drink when I smelled her. Vanilla filled the air and I shook my head, attempting to clear my mind of the scent. I knew what it meant. My mate was here.

I ignored it, knowing that whoever she was wouldn’t know I was here unless she saw me. As an Alpha, my ability to pick out my mate was much stronger than that of other wolves.

I hid in the background, hoping she wouldn’t find me. I watched as everyone danced and laughed and enjoyed themselves.

Then I saw her.

I could feel my wolf, Jax, spinning in circles. I pushed him aside, hoping to shake the thought away. But when I looked up, I saw her again. Long brown hair and a bright smile.

She was petite and pretty, and of course it had to be that Alpha’s daughter. I let out a huff before taking another sip of my drink.

No matter how hard I tried though, I couldn’t stop watching her. I looked from a distance as she danced and smiled.

I could already feel the effects of the mate pull. My eyes followed her as she made her way to the buffet, and I tried not to chuckle when she ate an entire hamburger in two bites.

Then I saw that wolf walk up to her. I could tell they were friends and that they knew each other well by how comfortable she seemed talking to him.

I didn’t really like that, but I wasn’t about to say anything. Hopefully, I could get through this party and go home without ever meeting her.

And then he touched her.

“KILL HIM! RIP HIS HANDS OFF!~”~Jax yelled.

As I watched him step closer to her, I saw red. Every cell in my body was telling me to beat the little wolf to a pulp.

I knew I had made a mistake the moment I grabbed him. Now she would know who I was. There was no escaping it.

When I met her eyes, I almost lost myself. They were bright hazel and full of warmth. I knew there was no going back, much to my wolf’s joy.

I was irritated that I had to stay the night. I had planned to return home right after the party, not wanting to stay any longer than I had to.

Finding a mate was not on my list of things to do. Ever.

***

As we drove away from her home, I watched as she tried to hide the fact she was crying.

“Talk to her! Comfort her! HOLD HER!~”~Jax yelled as I tried to ignore her tears.

“Why?” I replied.

“Because she’s our mate~, ~idiot.~”~

“If she wanted me to say something, she wouldn’t be trying to hide the fact she is crying,” I grumbled back, hoping he would go away.

We rode in silence for a long time, watching the trees rush by as we drove down the long mountain roads.

“So, Alpha Damon, right?” the girl asked.

“Yes,” I replied bluntly.

“I’m Emery,” she said softly. We sat in silence for a few moments until she spoke again. “So…what pack are you from?”

“Black Grass,” I replied.

She nodded her head in response before turning to me again. “So—”

“Look,” I spoke firmly, turning to face her, “you don’t need to get to know me. I don’t want a mate, I don’t need a mate. But my pack needs a Luna, so here we are. No more questions.”

Emery lowered her head, obviously disappointed. But I wasn’t about to make her think this was something more than it was.

The rest of the ride was quiet. She fell asleep about halfway through and slept the rest of the way, which I was thankful for.

I let out a sigh of relief when we turned onto pack territory. We drove for another ten miles before finally pulling up to the house.

“We’re here,” I said as I gently shook her awake. “Welcome to Black Grass.”