Wild at Heart
Chapter 11

“Where are you going?” I asked sleepily as I sat up in bed on my elbows. Nick’s golden eyes connected with mine as he slid on a pair of pants.

“Daniel needs me. It’s nothing important, little wolf, go back to sleep.” He turned from me as he shuffled in his dresser drawer. I locked my stare on his scar and almost asked him about it before it disappeared beneath a white t-shirt. I laid my body back into the mattress, but I kept my eyes on him. He walked back over to me and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. As soon as I heard the front door click shut I was jumping to my feet. I had so much I needed to get done. I picked up my cell phone and checked on Lucas at the bar, I responded to Chloe’s text about replaceing time to have lunch with her in my busy schedule. I quickly dressed myself in shorts and a simple tank top before I rushed out the door. I took off in a run towards the pack house, which wasn’t far from Nick’s, but it wasn’t the pack house I was looking for. The East Pack was staying in a neighboring house and I wanted a one-on-one with their Alpha.

I went up the porch stairs and banged on the door, knowing full well they would have caught my scent by now and would know who was visiting them. How convenient it was for me that Reginald opened the door with that usual stupid smile on his face.

“Why Madam Luna of the North Pack, what a pleasure.” He leaned on the door and looked me up and down in a way that made my stomach turn.

“We need to talk in private.” I stated.

“Oh, how delightful.” He smiled at me again. “There’s a cute little coffee shop by the hospital. I’ll be there at nine.” I nodded once and turned, jogging down the steps of the porch. I could still feel his eyes on me as I wondered into the woods. I don’t know what it is about that wolf that gave me the creeps, but every time I was around him, I felt a sudden urge to wash my skin until it peeled.

By the time it took me to muster up the courage I needed to face an Alpha alone, it was almost time for our meeting. I must be crazy to think that this was actually going to work, but what other choice did I have? I walked into the little café and I instantly wanted to turn and run. The last time I set foot in this place, Emmett thought he owed me an apology and the memories of the events leading up to my death flooded my brain like a broken dam. Shit. I can’t do this. I turned to leave, but nearly bumped right into Reginald. It was too late to turn back now.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” He asked me.

“Of course not.”

“Good, shall we sit?” He motioned towards a table in the corner where we would get optimal privacy. I nodded and followed him. A waitress took our order and disappeared. “Again, I must ask, what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Your daughters followed me into the woods last night.” I began.

“Oh?” He placed his chin in his hand and locked eyes on me.

“Did you know?” I asked.

“I did not.” He sat up straight again, but he didn’t break the stare. “I hope it was worth it.”

“What?” I suddenly was as lost about this conversation as he was.

“I don’t peg Nicklaus as the sharing type, so if you were meeting with my daughters in the woods late at night, then I hope it was worth the heartache you brought on him.”

“Are you insane?” I asked him. “I was not meeting your daughters to have some kind of twisted menage a trois.”

“My apologies, Emma.” He chuckled at me. “I know my daughters well.”

“Apparently not well enough.” I countered. “They followed me looking for a fight.”

“I see.” We both fell silent as the waitress brought our drinks over. “Again, I must apologize. My daughters are hot-headed and once one of them gets an idea, the other will follow.” I sat back in my chair and held my hot tea in my hands, letting the cup burn my skin. “I’m glad they rethought their approach with you. I’m sure you must agree that if you were to harm my children, the alliance would be off.”

“How do you know the alliance wouldn’t be off just from the idea of them trying to ambush me?” That got him to lose the smile plastered on his face.

“Let’s not be rash about any decisions here, Emma.” He sipped his tea, but I knew he was getting nervous. He wanted our pack’s protection just as badly as Nick wanted this alliance. I grinned at him and he set his cup down ever-so gently on the table. “I see.” He leaned in so close to me that I could smell the Chamomile on his breath. “Was is it that you want from me, Emma Clark?”

“You seem to have a knack for gossip.” I responded. “I’ve been hearing rumors about myself.”

“You forget that I already told you the rumor I knew of.”

“I know you know more than what you’re leading on.”

“So, you want to blackmail me?”

“I’m not blackmailing anyone.” I leaned in closer to him now. “I have information you’d rather me keep to myself, and you have information I’d rather you didn’t keep to yourself.” He sighed and sat back in his chair again.

“You want to know what I know about the red wolf.” I nodded in response. “The wolves from the South Pack that aligned themselves with Jackson didn’t all die in the battle between your pack. The ones had the courage to go back to the South Pack were killed and the ones who didn’t turned into rogues.”

“Who killed them?”

“Stefan, of course.” He sipped more of his tea. “He’s a ruthless bastard. He doesn’t failure lightly and to him, those wolves failed.”

“And the rogues?”

“They run the borders of the territories trying to stay alive. I may have taken one or two of them in a night or so.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I’m not heartless, Emma.” He responded with a grin. “I see the world as a peaceful place without Stefan in it. These wolves from the South Pack aren’t bad people. They were born into a pack with a dictator for an Alpha and most of them don’t know right from wrong. The ones that do just happen to lose their way.” Is that what happened to Derek? He wasn’t just born into the South Pack, he was born from the South Pack’s Alpha. I never thought he was a bad person, he was my person for the longest time. So what happened? Did he trick me the entire time, or did he get lost along the way?