Page 82 of The Finder

Oh my word,Emma said. She was mortified. She felt her face flush red when she thought about what she just said to Paul. Paul, thankfully, just smirked. He let her faux paus pass. Emma could have died from embarrassment.

Paul kept pressure on the wound for a little longer. “I’m going to put some salve on it that should help it to heal and not need stitches.” The longer he worked on her shoulder, the more it started to hurt. She tried to not respond because she didn’t want Garrett to feel bad. When Paul pushed again trying to get the bleeding to stop, she winced in pain.

“You’re hurting her,” Garrett said gruffly. He moved closer.

Paul looked at Emma. “I’m sorry, Emma. Let’s get a painkiller down.” Garrett disappeared for a moment, and Paul moved away from her to get medicine. Emma stood up but instantly regretted it. She might not have felt the injury before, but she was definitely feeling it and the loss of blood now. She felt herself sway for a moment before strong arms steadied her. She opened her eyes as Garrett swept her up into his arms. She closed her eyes as dizziness overtook her. Garrett lowered her to her bed. “Here,” Paul said. He handed Garrett pills and Garrett gave them to her. He helped prop her up and gave her a water bottle to take them with. Then he carefully laid her back down. Paul disappeared. Garrett stood up from the bed.

“Are you leaving?” Emma asked.

“No, I’m just going around to the other side,” Garrett said. He kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed a moment later. He lay down next to her and pulled her close, careful of her injury. “Do you need to change your clothes, baby?” he asked.

“This is close enough to what I wear to bed anyway,” Emma said.

“Okay. Just rest and let the pain pills help. I’ll hold you until you go to sleep,” Garrett said softly. Emma tried to relax in his arms; it was difficult with the pain in her shoulder. “I’m sorry you’re in pain,” Garrett said. She could hear the pain in his voice.

“It’s okay,” Emma said quietly. Emma lay still for a few minutes, content to just be in Garrett’s arms. “What happened to the wolves who killed your parents?” she asked softly.

“I tracked them down and killed them with the help of my pack,” he said.

“Good,” Emma said. She wanted to say more, but the painkillers were starting to kick in. She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

“Just rest, Emma. I’ll keep you safe,” Garrett said before kissing her on the forehead.

“I know,” she said softly.I love you,she sent to him.

I love you too more than anything in this world.His voice in her head was the last thing she heard as she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 46

Emma woke up alone the next morning. She sat up slowly, taking stock of how she felt. Honestly, her shoulder didn’t feel that bad this morning. She turned to get out of bed and saw a single rose laying on the nightstand next to a white envelope. She picked up the envelope. She opened it and pulled out a simple card.

Emma,

Thank you for last night. Knowing you bear my mark is the greatest feeling in the world. My wolfwas actually calm last night for the first time in a very long time. I can’t wait until I can have you in my bed every night and hold you as you drift off to sleep. It’s my new favorite pastime.

I love you, Emma, and can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.

Garrett

Emma smiled down at the card. She got out of bed and took a shower. She took her time getting ready and choosing something to wear. She found a pretty green blouse she remembered trying on at the store. She put that on and found a white pair of jeans Madison had talked her into. She put product in her hair so her curls would look good for the day. She put on earrings and pulled her hair up on the sides. After doing her makeup lightly, she left her room to go find Garrett.

She walked downstairs and into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. She was just getting ready to reach out to Garrett when she heard a knock at the door. She walked over to answer without even thinking about it. She saw two men she had never seen before standing in front of her. They were both tall and lean and dressed impeccably in suits. “Uh, can I help you?” she asked.

The man in front of her took a deep breath and gave a small smile. “Oh, I think you’ll be able to help me just fine.” Something about the encounter was setting off Emma’s alarm bells.

“Actually, this isn’t a good time,” she said. “Maybe you could come back later.” She reached behind her to grasp the door handle, but the man moved in front of her before she could even blink.

He wrapped his hand around her wrist. Emma blinked up at him. She had never seen someone move that fast, and that was saying a lot because she lived with shifters. Fear wrapped itself around her.

Emma, are you okay? she heard Garrett’s voice in her head, but she couldn’t respond because the man with the hold on her wrist was pulling her towards him with an ironclad grasp.

Garrett!she gasped out. She tried to pull herself from his grasp, but she couldn’t get free.

Emma!Garrett was trying to get ahold of her, but she couldn’t focus on that. Right now, she was trying to get free and was being completely unsuccessful. Adrenaline flooded her system and her training came roaring back at her. She threw a hard punch that did absolutely nothing. The man just laughed at her.

“You’re a wily little thing, aren’t you?” he said. The other man came on her other side. They got her off the porch and down the stairs.

The door opened behind them, and she heard Kyle’s voice. “Hey!” A second later, a wolf was flying through the air towards them. The man holding her let her go to defend himself against the wolf. Madison’s wolf came at them next. The second guy grabbed Emma and started dragging her with him.

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