Tucker
When Emma shifted in her seat, a heady aroma filled the space between us. I caught her looking at me from the corner of my eye, and each time she did, her cheeks darkened with color.
I turned onto the interstate, merging into traffic as she let out a shaky breath. We were both obsessed with not touching, not staring, and too preoccupied with our thoughts to form words. Nerves clawed at my stomach, and I gripped the steering wheel.
It had been years since I’d been with a woman. Even longer since I’d shared my bed with one. And as I held on for dear life, Emma’s scent, her body language, and periodic sighs grabbed at my legs. I was going to fall, and there was nothing left for me to hold on to.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and rolled her eyes at the slight distraction. In that brief moment, I held her gaze, her vibrant blue eyes staring back at me. I’d found her. After years of locating and copying the required documents for her release, I'd found her, and she was coming home with me.
I’d rehearsed our meeting a thousand times before, but that didn’t make it any easier when I could read her scent—excited, anxious and sexually frustrated. The last one made me uneasy, my jeans uncomfortably tight.
I drummed the steering wheel.
Emma’s eyes were on me in an instant, her gaze falling to my hands, then my lap. I could’ve imprinted on anyone, but I'd chosen her. While the rest of the pack had wasted their time trying to find their perfect match, I'd picked Emma, and now I was the only guardian with a child.
She isn’t a child anymore. It was reason enough to be careful. If she’d been locked in that psych ward for as long as I thought, she probably hadn't had any relationships at all.
With my wolf senses still intact, I listened to her erratic heartbeat. She took a long, deep breath. Followed by another. She did everything she could to appear calm, and I commended her for that. Even back at the ward when we were standing at the front desk, she’d impressed me with her calm demeanor. Granted, I'd sensed her anxiety before we'd reached the car, but she'd hidden it enough to fool anyone who wasn’t part wolf.
Hours passed, and as the landscape changed from blacks and grays to whites and greens, Emma’s body stiffened. She pressed her hands against the window and glanced over her shoulder at me.
"It’s real," I said, "if that’s what you're wondering."
"But this isn’t the spot you brought me to before. I would've remembered it."
"No." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "You weren’t ready back then. The forest—our forest wouldn’t have let you in."
Emma settled back in her seat with her hands clasped in her lap. Her eyes darted from one side to the other as she took it all in. A lifetime had passed since I’d joined the pack. I couldn't remember how it felt to be so new to the world I now called home.
She isn’t ready. Neither was I when the guardians came to me. What we did now had nothing to do with being ready, and everything to do with what was right. The world was dying, and it needed our help. Just as my guardian and those before her had done, I was fated to do the same.
Turning down a long dirt road, I slowed the truck, pointing to the other guardians when they came into view. Emma’s eyes widened, but as soon as she caught sight of one, it was gone.
"Are they yours?" Emma asked without looking away from her window.
"They don’t belong to me. No guardian does."
"But are they your...are they like you?"
"Will they shift?"
Emma nodded.
"I don’t think so. Guardians can't shift without a human companion, and even then, they’d have to imprint on one first." I swallowed around the lump in my throat. It had been a long time since the pack had shifted together, well before I’d become a guardian. "Once we're inside, I can tell you whatever you'd like. But you must never leave the house without me. While the others understand our link, that doesn't mean they won't try to take you as their own."
"But you said they'd have to imprint first."
"Some of the wolves will still try, even though you've been of age for a while now. Promise me you’ll remain indoors."
"Another prison." She sighed under her breath.
I squeezed her hand. "Not a prison."
"It sure sounds like one."
"You’ll understand once we get inside."
I pulled the truck as close to the house as I could, refusing to turn off the ignition until the other wolves were well out of sight. Time to run.
I hopped out of my side of the truck and hurried to let Emma out. Without grabbing her duffle bag from the back, I hoisted her into my arms and carried her to the front door.
The outside of the cabin stank of wolf piss. Shit. Emma was still checking out the property when I pushed her inside, pressing my back against the door until it shut.
"What the hell?" Emma asked, prying my arms away from her.
"I told you, the other wolves—"
"You should probably start at the beginning," Emma warned, dropping her arms to her sides.
I placed my hands on her face as I fought back a burning desire to kiss her. "I will, but there’s something I need to take care of first. Wait here, and keep the door locked. I’ll call for you to open it when I get back."
Before she could whisper another word, I locked myself out. The piss hadn't gotten there on its own, and I wasn't about to ignore it.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed my fingertips into the snow. Every muscle in my body trembled, my pink skin rippling away to show the fur underneath. A small part of me knew she was watching, and I shivered under her gaze.
Without looking back, I stepped out of my old clothes and bolted toward the woods. Zarrius had to be around here somewhere.