Awakening Fate

Chapter 23: Sibling Time

Emmeline’s POV

              All of us who were affected at the party were examined by the pack doctor and blood samples were taken. It will take a few days before we get the results back. Over the last few days Clark and I have been spending some time together, but it has mostly been in the evenings due to Clark being pulled away daily to other packs who were attacked by rogues.

              It has been nice to get to know him better, but unfortunately, we have never had the opportunity to spend quality time just the two of us. Our family and friends have been making that difficult. We have been unable to have anymore intimate moments since our kiss at the cabin a four days ago. All I crave is for his affection again and I think it’s driving me mad.

              I’m sitting in my room sulking as I debate on things, I can do to distract my mind while my mate is away yet again. Lily is away as well for the day. She had an exam for school and would not be back until the evening. So now I find myself laying across my bed, bored. Maybe if I close my eyes I will fall asleep and after my nap others will be around.

              “Are you going to be lazy all day?” Matt’s voice calls from my doorway. I turn to see him leaning against the doorway the same way he used to when he would fetch me for school.

              I smirk at him and pull myself into a sitting position. “I’m not lazy, just bored.”

              “Well good. Then come with me, I could use the help today.” He mutters before turning out into the hallway. I quickly jump up and slip on my shoes before running out into the corridor right into Matt who catches me before I can fall causing him to laugh at me.

              “Oh, shut up.” I mumble straightening out my clothes. “What are we doing?” I ask following him through the corridor.

              “Since Clark and Parker are away, I am in charge of doing a sweep around the borders. Figured you would want to come for a ride.”

              I smile widely excited for a chance to see our land. “Thank you, Matt!”

              In the car I am filled with joy as we drive across the beautiful land our pack resides on. Wildflowers bloom within the valley, while the mountains look like stone walls meant to protect us from the outside world. Our pack is blessed by every inch of our land.

              “How have things been?” Matt asks suddenly. I turn to look at him, but his gaze remains on the road.

              “Okay.” I mumble looking down at my hands. I feel embarrassed that I don’t have the typical mate bond everyone else seems to have.

              “Emmy.” Matt calls to me softly trying to encourage me to look up at him. “You don’t have to hide anything. You can talk to me.”

              I can see that he is being genuine about wanting to be helpful. I let out a long sigh and feel my body start to relax. It feels like all the weight I have been carrying is finally being set free.

              “I really like him Matt. Like a lot. I’m afraid that I’m not enough for him and that if I let myself fall for him, I will end up getting hurt. I can’t handle getting hurt again or being used. It also doesn’t help that I don’t really know anything about him, so I feel unsure about everything.” I state keeping my gaze on my hands again as I try to rub my nerves away.

              “Emmy, I can tell you with certainty that you have nothing to be worried about when it comes to Clark.” Matt says chuckling a bit.

              “How do you know?”

              “Because I have been his best friend forever, so I know a lot about him. I also know that he really cares for you.” Matt states confidently.

              “But what if he wants someone with more experience or who knows she wants to lead?”

              “Are you talking about Hayden?”

              I nod hesitantly while staring at my brother waiting for his response.

              “Trust me that relationship has been over for some time. It was basically over before you disappeared.”

              “What happened?” I ask shocked to hear that the golden couple in our pack has been on the outs for a while.

              “Well, it’s kind of a lot.” Matt says hesitantly making me worried.

              “Matt, please tell me.”

              “Well, first off Clark was interested in you prior to your disappearance.” He states making my jaw drop as I stare at him. I also notice that every time Matt mentions my disappearance that his voice drips with annoyance.

              Matt glances at me and just nods. “You caught the attention of him and Parker. It was quite annoying. All they would do is ask about you. It all started a few days before the mall incident. Anyways, the day before you went missing Clark found out about the bullying you experienced. When he found out who was behind it, well, he was pissed and broke it off with Hayden. Of course, she continued to try and get his attention back on her and also tried to blame you for things, but he wasn’t having any of it.”

              “Wow.” I state looking away back towards the road, trying to collect my thoughts with everything he just told me.

              “I told you it was a lot.” Matt mumbles turning down another road that leads down another side of our lands border.

              “Okay, well what is Clark like?” I ask turning my attention back towards Matt.

              “Well, as a friend he is awesome. He enjoys basically the same stuff I do. He doesn’t shove his status in my face or abuses his power when we have disagreements. For you I guess you should know that he will most likely be possessive and his focus will be on keeping you safe. Attention from other males will make him mad, but honestly this is all stuff you should expect from an Alpha when it comes to his mate.”

              “Okay, I don’t really understand.” I express feeling confused.

              “Emmy, when you went missing Clark tried really hard to find you. At first, he thought it was just because you were a pack member but looking back his wolf was upset about losing his mate. He just didn’t know it yet.”

              “Oh.” I look down at my hands feeling guilty for causing so much trouble.

              “That’s why I know he cares about you. I’m actually happy my little sister is mated to someone like him. I know that he will cherish you and try to make you happy.” He says giving me a wide dorky grin.

              “Aww, Matt are you getting all sentimental?”

              “No.” He grumbles turning his attention back towards the road making me chuckle. “While we are at it, why didn’t you tell me about the problems you had with Kenzie and Hayden?”

              I feel like I was hit by a truck as I turn and see the hurt on my brother’s face. He glances at me briefly before turning back to the road. Silence and tension fills the car as my brother waits for my answer.

              “Matt, I’m sorry.” I say softly looking at him with pleading eyes. “I didn’t want to hurt you, and I didn’t know if you two were going to be mates or not.”

              “You thought I would be happy with someone who enjoys torturing my little sister?” He asks raising a brow.

              “Again, I’m sorry.”

              “It’s fine. Just from now on, no more secrets okay.” He states giving me a stern look. I quickly nod and give him a small smile.

              “Of course. Thank you Matt.”

              We continue to drive around the border making sure everything looks good. At every guard station Matt checks in, but it seems everything has been quiet. We head to our last route and I’m starting to get thankful that it’s almost over as I’m starting to get tired. This route is found within the thickest part of the woods that surround our land. It sits between two mountain ranges and there is a small lake in the middle of the forest somewhere. This is an area I have never been to due to it being so dense and it sits the furthest away from our packhouse.

              I watch as trees pass by the window as we continue down the route. Suddenly I feel nervous, like a there is a pit in my stomach. Pain fills my head causing me lean forward and placing my head in my hands.

“Emmy what’s wrong?” Matt yells, but I find that I can’t answer him.

Images flash in my mind of the car getting hit and Matt yelling at me, but I can’t make out what he is saying. Once the images stop playing in my mind, the pain I felt finally subsides. I sit up and hear Matt continuing to call my name.

“Emmy!” He yells causing me to look at him.

“Sorry, I’m okay I just had a weird experience like a headache or something.” I mutter as I rub my temples.

I notice a boulder on the side of the road that I saw in one of the images. “Matt, I think you should slow down.”

“Emmy, we aren’t even going that fast.”

“Matt please I think something is going to happen.”

Matt looks confused as he glances at me. “What do you mean? AH!”

Something large hits the car causing Matt to yell. The care lurches on the road before Matt can regain control. I glance out my window and spot a large brown and gray wolf is running alongside the car. It is snarling and staring at me through the window. Drool drips from it’s mouth as it shows it’s sharp canines while growling. It is having no problem keeping up with the car.

“Matt! Is that a rogue?” I yell as it tries slamming into the car again.

“Yes.” Matt says as he tries to keep the car in control.

The wolf slams into the car again pushing it off the road. Matt brings it to a stop and throws off his seatbelt. I start to get scared and do the same.

“Emmy, stay in the car!” He yells as he gets out. I can see his whole body is shaking, letting me know he is about to shift.

The rogue approaches the car slowly still snarling. My brother lets out a loud growl before shifting into his wolf. I stare at him in awe. I have never seen my brother’s wolf before. He is a dark brown with black tipped ears and feet. He stands over the rogue. The rogue lets out a howl while my brother lunges at it knocking it to the ground. The sounds of snapping jaws and snarls fill the air causing me to cover my ears.

 It seems like time has stopped when suddenly there is a loud cracking sound followed by a loud thump. My eyes find the rogue laying on the ground not moving. My brother has shifted back and slowly approaches the car. On shaky legs I pull myself out of the car. I can’t find my voice as my brother looks at me concerned. He seems to be yelling at me and pointing his arm towards the car but I can’t hear anything he is saying. I start to get worried as I can’t hear anything until loud howls and growls fill the air.

              Turning I see four more dirty skinny wolves making their way towards us. Looking back at my brother I can see the worry written all over his face. He starts to shift again running towards the group of wolves while I watch from next to the car horrified. My brother’s size puts him at an advantage as I watch the wolves attack him. Everything is so loud that I cover my ears again. One of the wolves bump into the car before jumping back towards my brother. I crouch down and hug my legs. With my eyes shut as tight as possible I start to pray to the moon goddess to keep my brother safe.

              Luckily, she answers my prayers when I hear growls and howls from the other direction and see our own pack members making their way to help my brother. At the front of the group is a large black wolf. This wolf towers over my brother’s wolf making it seem much more intimidating and frightening. I close my eyes again as our pack members join the fight keeping my hands over my ears and my knees tucked into my chest.

              After many minutes I feel someone’s hands on my knees trying to coax me out of the ball I put myself in. Looking up I see my brother looking at me with concern. I slowly pull my hands off my ears and stare at him with wide eyes.

              “Emmeline, are you hurt?” Matt says fussing over me and looking me over for any wounds. I try to say something, but still can’t find my voice. I slowly shake my head letting him know I’m not hurt.

              “Emmeline, I need you to use your words. Goddess, Emmy your shaking. I’m so sorry. I should have never brought you with me.” He states while running his hands through his hair.

              I glance around and notice the other pack members have shifted back and are looking at us. All of them are standing there shirtless, wearing only a pair of jersey gym shorts. There is one who stands out amongst them. Clark looks at me and my brother with concern. He is slowly moving towards us and raises his hands in the air showing that he is safe. I notice that he is also shirtless like the rest of them. He is so good looking that it takes me a minute to hear my brother calling for my attention again. I turn to see my brother staring at me. My eyes travel over my brother taking in all the bruises and scratches that cover his torso.

              “Oh goddess, Matt your hurt.” I state out in panic.

My brother merely shakes his head. “I’m fine it will be all healed up in a few hours.”

I stare at him shocked. He is covered in bleeding scratches and dark purple blotches. Suddenly I realize that my brother is crouched down in front of me completely naked. I scream and push Matt so quickly that he stumbles back a bit looking confused.

“Matt, you’re naked!” I yell at him, covering my eyes.

 Matt chuckles and apologizes while Clark walks over and throws a pair of shorts at him. Clark walks over to me and holds out his hand. His eyes stay on mine as I take his hand and allow him to gently pull me away from the car.

“Emmeline, are you okay?” He asks in rough voice. His eyes are dark but appear to slowly be returning to his normal blue ones.

“I’m okay, promise.”

He raises an eyebrow and smirks slightly. “You are shaking like a leaf.”

I look down and see that he is right. Every part of my body is shaking uncontrollably. I try to hug myself to stop all the shaking running through my body. I look at Clark as I feel my adrenaline rush. Tears start to fill my eyes and threaten to spill down my cheeks as I also start to hyperventilate.

“It’s okay.” Clark says pulling me to him. His hands rub my back in small soothing circles. “It’s natural to react this way after seeing something like this.” He continues to stand there holding me until the shaking starts to slow down.

“Some of the warriors brought some cars.” Matt calls out from behind Clark.

“Okay, I will bring her home. We will meet you all at the packhouse and debrief father and Beta Marcus about what occurred.” Clark says without even glancing towards my brother.

I press my face against Clark’s chest, holding tightly against me. Listening to his heartbeat allows me to steady my breathing and gain control of my body. I pull back slightly to look at Clark. He smiles softly and gently kisses my forehead.

“Better?” He asks taking my face gently in his hands.

“Yes, thank you.”

“It’s not a problem. I cherish that I’m the one who can help calm you and make you feel better.”

Blush fills my cheeks at how honest he was in his statement. I try to look down but his hands hold me in place. He chuckles at how flustered I get, and gently removes his hands.

He grabs my hand and looks at me lovingly. “How about we get home?”

I nod slowly still feeling flustered and allow him to pull me towards one of the cars. “I think it’s time we spend some alone time together.” He mumbles softly making my heartbeat frantically.