Page 27 of Destined Bear
Too late for that now. He’s in for the long haul and all of Alessa’s craziness. I wish I hadn’t agreed to let Alessa pick me up that morning. She’s getting to be a lot to take every day.
“I’ll wait for you outside,” I tell Alessa, tucking my chair back in. “But don’t take too long. I want to get back to Mom.”
Emeric appears at my side. “Circe is fine with Heath. Why don’t we talk for a minute while those two make arrangements?”
A fusion of annoyance and desire surges through me as Emeric steers me away without waiting for a response.
“Emeric, there’s no reason for us?—”
He cuts me off. “We have to work together. Stop fighting me on this.”
I clamp my mouth closed and hang my head, swallowing as he reluctantly releases my arm.
He says we have to work together to understand what the connection is between Stonecrest and my mother’s illness, but I know how this goes.
I’ll start depending on him again, trusting his judgment, and then he’ll dismiss me like before.
I can’t let myself fall back into that pattern. The pack still doesn’t trust me for walking out all those years ago, and my place on the council isn’t going to change that, no matter what my mother believes.
The room empties around us, except for Alessa and Sabo, who huddle in the corner, speaking in low voices.
“I want us to be friends,” Emeric says eventually.
The statement almost makes me laugh. Emeric looks offended by my expression, so I take pride in the fact that he can still read my emotions well enough.
“Did I say something wrong?” he grumbles.
“We can work together as a team,” I say carefully. “But I’m not ready for friendship yet.”
His face falls, but he nods. Before he can respond, I turn away.
“Alessa!” I stride toward her, ignoring Emeric’s outstretched hand as he tries to draw me back into the conversation.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see him open his mouth to say something, but he chooses to remain quiet. My heart wants to go back to him, but my head knows better.
“Alessa.” I stand purposefully in front of her, waiting for her to end her conversation with Sabo.
The crow shifter glances at me and clearly senses my urgency. “I’ll head out toward Stonecrest territory now to get started.”
“It’s going to be quite a trek,” Alessa sighs. “That’s a long commute every day.”
Sabo nods grimly. “Tell me about it.”
“Well, no point putting it off.” Alessa waves him toward the door. “Get going then.”
Sabo shifts into his crow body and takes flight, disappearing through the ranch house door. Alessa glances back at Emeric, who remains where I left him.
“Anything else we need to handle here?” Alessa asks.
“No.” I lead the way out of the room.
But before I can take another step, Emeric stands blocking my path in his bear form, his massive chocolate-brown body filling the doorway. Baffled by his abrupt shift, I gape at him.
Alessa chuckles loudly. “I think that’s his way of asking you to go for a run with him.”
My eyes narrow and clash with his, our stares colliding. “No,” I tell Emeric flatly. “I need to get home to my mother.”
His russet head lowers, the dark chocolate of his fur gleaming under the lights of the chandelier.
