Page 44 of Alpha's Choice
Emma scrutinized me, her eyes dripping with worry. “Is she okay?”
“You need to understand. This isn’t unusual for wolves in Jenny’s position.” I knew Emma was pinning a lot of hope on Jenny surviving the loss of her mate. In her mind, she had tied it to her ability to do the Luna job.
“What is it?” She sat up straighter, and I could feel the tension in her body. “Just tell me.”
“She went into a catatonic state overnight. She’s in the hospital now, being monitored.”
Emma tried to stand, but I kept hold of her. “Let me go. I want to go see her.”
“Helen specifically requested you not visit Jenny.”
She stilled in my arms. “What? Why?”
“She said it was what Jenny would have wanted.” I rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, Emma. Under the circumstances, I feel it’s important to respect the family’s wishes.”
“She’ll come out of it, though, right?” Tears glistened in her eyes, her voice small.
“I don’t know. This state happens when the wolf isn’t interacting with the human side. That may just be because her wolf has retreated temporarily to recover.”
“What else could it be?”
I knew it would be hard for Emma to hear, but I didn’t feel right hiding it from her. “Her wolf half could have died. If so, Jenny may not be far behind.”
“How does that happen?”
I thought about how to explain it to her. “During the marking and mating process, our wolf counterparts form a strong bond with each other. The sudden loss of a mate causes the bond to tear. Sometimes it leaves the surviving wolf irreparably broken.”
I wiped the tears from her eyes. “The human half can process more complex emotions. But losing a wolf and mate can be overwhelming.”
“Her wolf was so responsive to me at first. I thought for sure I could help keep her wolf rooted. What changed that?”
“There may have been some initial denial and shock. Sometimes a wolf’s connections to the pack and others aren’t enough to sustain it.”
I let the silence stretch on as she processed. This couldn’t be easy for her to grasp as a human. She turned to face me, her gaze on me intent. “You have strong ties, right? If something were to happen to me. You have strong enough ties that you’d be fine.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
“You can’t know that.” She looked at me, her jaw firm. “You’re an Alpha. You must have the strongest connection to the pack.”
“Don’t worry about me.” I didn’t say that since she was human, my wolf would bind even stronger to her. And the mate bond of an Alpha was already stronger. Being human, she could survive the loss of me. But I was increasingly sure that my wolf and I would be nothing if we lost her.
CHAPTER22
Emma
Tables and chairs filled the field behind the school. A line of at least a dozen barbecues, all in operation, stood next to the building. Music was pumping from a sound system and kids ran around with water guns, weaving in and out around laughing pack members.
I couldn’t match the mood of those around me. I kept thinking about Jenny, laying in a hospital bed, unresponsive to everyone around her. Tobias insisted it was nothing I did, but I still felt like it was somehow my fault.
I was also more scared of the mate bond now than I was before. People in the pack just accepted that Jenny may not survive the loss of her mate, making me wonder how strong the bond was to elicit that.
Tobias told me not to worry, but I still feared for him if anything happened to me after we mated. My feelings for him were already so strong and I knew his for me would be stronger because of his wolf.
I hung back and watched him as he greeted pack members. He knew everyone. We talked a lot this last week, and he told me how he studied the pack member files before he became Alpha, because he was about to be responsible for all their lives and he couldn’t do that properly if he didn’t know each of them.
He even kept updated on school results for the children and training results for the adults. I watched him connect with the members as he made his way around the field. He had deep roots in this pack. If something happened to me, everyone would be there to anchor him.
“Hey, someone looks a little too glum for a party.” Kylie appeared in front of me and held out a plate with a piece of dessert. “Here. Have some pie. It’ll cheer you up.”
