Page 27 of Kodiak's Heart

Chapter Nine

The sun was just rising when Emersyn and Laramie sneaked into the main house. Or at least, she tried to sneak. He had no such inclination. She wanted a shower, though she doubted it would wash away the night of debauchery she’d indulged in with him. It had been easy to forget the rest of the world when they’d been alone together, but with the sunrise, came the call of reality.

She’d left Ruby alone all night. Not alone exactly, but Emersyn hadn’t been there. What if Ruby had asked for her? Needed her? What if someone had come to get her and overheard her with Laramie instead? She’d never been so irresponsible and self-indulgent in her life.

She was deep in her self-recrimination and didn’t pay attention to where she was going until Laramie shut the door to his bedroom behind her. He immediately put a finger to his lips and pointed toward the bed. Ruby lay on her side, curled in the middle of his bed. Xandra sat in a chair in the corner, feet curled under her, head leaning to the left.

Emersyn immediately headed toward Ruby, tugging the covers up around her and brushing curls off her forehead.

“She came looking for you a few hours ago,” Xandra said behind her, but Emersyn refused to turn and see the censure she heard in the other woman’s voice. “I thought she might panic when she couldn’t find you, but she jumped up into Laramie’s bed, crawled under the covers, and fell asleep almost instantly.”

“Thanks for watching over her,” Emersyn whispered.

“Someone had to,” Xandra stated.

“Xandra.” There was warning in Laramie’s tone.

“I don’t know what you are to my brother, but I do know what you mean to my niece. Maybe, you need to remember that,” Xandra muttered.

“Enough,” Laramie snapped before Emersyn could say anything. “You overstep yourself, little sister. I think it’s best if you leave.”

Emersyn turned in time to see the cold look Xandra sent their way. Her words were a reminder of what couldn’t be, of what Emersyn couldn’t allow.

“There are four women in this house who think they might be your mate,” Xandra reminded. “Maybe, you should remember that before you go parading her around or coating her in your scent.”

A growl rumbled from Laramie’s chest, and Emersyn stood quickly, planting herself between him and the other woman.

“Laramie, enough,” she told him firmly, keeping her voice soft and low. Then she turned her attention to Xandra. “Laramie’s correct. You do overstep yourself. You don’t know who I am. Period. So don’t make the mistake of thinking you can judge me. I’m the woman your brother trusts with the life of his daughter, and believe me, when I say that’s not something I take lightly. Despite what you currently think, I don’t owe you any explanations. Neither does your alpha.”

“If you think—”

“You can leave now,” Emersyn said, interrupting Xandra.

She turned her back and walked back to the bed, ignoring both Laramie and Xandra. She didn’t move when she heard the door open and shut behind her, but she knew Xandra had left and the moment Laramie stepped toward her.

“Don’t.” She never shifted her attention from Ruby. It had strayed too long as it was. “I need a shower, then I’d like to crawl in with Ruby for a few hours of sleep. It looks as if we’ll be stealing your bed again for a little bit, but you can show us to a different room later today.”

“Em.”

She shook her head. “Not right now. I’d like to be alone with my little girl, Alpha Holloway.” She recognized her words for what they were. An attempt to put distance between her and Laramie. Malachi had warned her to be on her guard, but she’d taken one look at Laramie and lost her damn mind. Enough. She needed to pull herself together and remember why she was here. Not to sleep with Laramie, but to protect Ruby.

A hard hand gripped her hair and tugged her head back. The look on his face was one of controlled anger with an edge of lust. After the night they’d spent, it seemed impossible that desire would still be so thick between them, but it was. He lowered his face to hers and took her mouth in a forceful kiss. She wondered if it was to remind her he was alpha or of the passion they shared. Perhaps both. When he lifted his head, dark blue eyes sizzled fire as they stared at her.

“You can have my bed as long as you want,” he told her softly, rubbing his thumb over her bottom lip. Then he tapped it and turned, shutting the door and leaving the room without another word.

She moved to the bathroom on autopilot. She knew what he meant. There was no way to misinterpret his words. But she wasn’t naïve enough to believe she could hide from him forever. Remaining with him, would mean sharing the truth with him. If he thought his pack had been hunted and attacked before, that would be nothing compared to what would happen if she let him know what she was. His family would know. And eventually, no matter how quiet they tried to keep it, word would spread. The rumor would be enticing enough to call forth hunters with one goal in mind. Capture the last female Kodiak. Dead or alive.

Laramie would die. She had no doubt that would be the only way she’d be taken. His family would die. Ruby. Emersyn shuddered as she stepped under the hot spray. She’d never let anything hurt Ruby. Slowly, she sank to the shower floor, wrapping her arms around her knees and crying softly. She’d never felt so surrounded by people, yet so alone.

She missed her father with a vengeance. His easy smile and booming laugh. The way his face lit up whenever she was near. He’d loved her with every fiber of his being. Had protected her with everything he was. Then he’d been taken from her in the blink of an eye.

The same with Amber. God, the plans they’d had for Ruby before she was even born. Amber had been more than a cousin. She’d been Emersyn’s best friend, a sister in every way that mattered. And she’d died, alone, after cutting her own child from her womb to make sure Ruby lived.

In the aftermath, it had been Emersyn, Ruby, and Malachi. She and Malachi had both been the walking dead who had slowly come back to life because of one special little girl. Once again, Emersyn wondered what it was that had compelled Malachi to send her to the Holloways with Ruby while he looked into a hunch he couldn’t shake. She knew there was more to it than that, but Malachi had been closed lipped, pushing her to put Ruby first, playing on her love for their little girl. She didn’t think either of them could have foreseen how things would play out once she arrived.

The shower door opened, and Emersyn quickly wiped her eyes as she surged to her feet. He had her against him in the next instant. Tugging her to his chest and holding her tight.

“Your tears are killing me, baby,” Laramie soothed, one big hand running up and down her spine. “Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll make it better. I promise.”

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