Page 32 of Kodiak's Heart

“We want to speak with you,” Xandra snapped.

“And we will as soon as I get baby bear settled,” Emersyn responded, keeping her voice soft and smooth.

“I’m happy to take her out to play,” Jaeda offered, rising from where she’d been sitting with her mate.

Ruby whimpered and clung to Emersyn. She scooped up her little girl and cuddled her close for a moment as she tried to find calm or inner peace or some shit that would keep her from going full beast and killing her best friend’s surviving family members.

Laramie crossed to them as if pulled by some invisible cord that stretched between them. He ran one hand down Emersyn’s side and pressed her against him, while he smoothed the other along Ruby’s braid.

“Hey there, baby bear,” he crooned, but when he leaned in, his lips skimmed Emersyn’s throat, though he might have touched the top of Ruby’s head on the way. Hell, the sound of that croon sent chills along her skin. The way he said baby as if it were her he spoke to… It made her wet with need, something she couldn’t hide from the shifters in the room. She did her best to ignore him as she answered Jaeda.

“No, thank you. I think the three of you have done enough.”

Laramie tensed beside her, and she had to force herself to step away.

“Excuse me!” Sidia was the one who spoke this time, and when Emersyn glanced their way, she saw the hurt in Jaeda’s eyes and noted the way the other woman stepped into her human mate.

“We’ll speak in a moment,” Emersyn snapped, losing her firm grip on her temper. Her emotions were all over the place this morning. For the first time since she’d been a teenager, she was fighting to keep a tight rein on her bear. She needed to leave. Malachi would understand. Laramie…would fight her. She had no doubt about that.

She carried Ruby to the back of the room and sat her in a chair facing the window before opening the backpack and pulling out the iPad and headphones inside. Ruby clapped her hands excitedly at the sight of the coveted device.

“I want pwincess!” she yelled excitedly.

Emersyn felt everyone’s gazes on them but refused to hurry. She took her time setting up the movie for Ruby then got the headphones settled on Ruby’s ears. The movie should prove the perfect distraction to keep Ruby’s focus away from the adult discussion. She didn’t want her little girl any more upset than she already was. Only when she was satisfied Ruby’s attention was fully occupied did she turn back to the room.

“If you think—” Xandra began again, but Emersyn cut her off immediately. Enough was enough.

“I think we need to get some things straight,” Emersyn stated, anger making her voice hard. “My mistake was in believing any of you were like your brother. Thankfully, I’m a quick learner.”

“Excuse me,” Sidia fired off again.

“You keep saying that, but there’s no excuse for your behavior. Any of you. Malachi would be ashamed.”

Gasps of outrage filled the room, but Emersyn paid them no mind as she paced, battling between rage and calm.

“I was too trusting,” she whispered. “Malachi sent us here, so I assumed I could trust all of you. Knowing his sisters were alive…” She paused, shaking her head.

“Em.” Laramie reached for her, but she moved out of reach.

“No. I’ll say my piece, then Ruby and I will go,” she stated.

Laramie tensed up. She felt it from across the room “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Ruby and I are going to one of the cabins for now. Don’t push me,” she warned when his face darkened with anger. “This is the compromise I’m willing to make right now.” She turned to face Malachi’s sisters. “One thing you should know about Ruby is she has big ears. So, when her new aunts plotted to take her away from me, she got scared.”

“You said something to Ruby?” Laramie thundered, and Emersyn knew that must have been the discussion she and Ruby had interrupted when they’d walked in.

“Of course not,” Sidia argued.

“You spoke in front of her, which is why she snuck out looking for me.”

“And where were you?” Xandra asked. “When Ruby needed you, you were off fucking around—”

Laramie’s growl silenced his sister-in-law, who flushed, snapping her lips closed, but the anger in her eyes never diminished.

“My fault for trusting she’d be safe with you,” Emersyn admitted. She refused to speak about her and Laramie. Not when it couldn’t be anything more than a fling. Plus, she didn’t owe them any explanations. “You made her cry.” She quickly snapped her eyes closed and took a deep breath as she fought her bear, fought for calm. Only when she felt more in control did she open her eyes again. “You terrified her, and I won’t have that.”

“No,” Laramie growled. It seemed his bear was close to the surface, as well.

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