Alpha's Arrangement (Troubled Fork Shifters (Book 2)) (9 page)

“I know.
” She said with a wink. “Ready?”

He nodded. “Defi
nitely.”

They arrived at the Wobblin’ Wolf and met up with his friends. Alexander’s sister Trina was there as well. It was her first chance to meet all the people that were closest to him and as far as first impressions went, she found them all to be terrific. At the least, they didn’t seem like the types that would consort with a supposed criminal.

Maybe they had no clue but at this moment, she didn’t care that much. Time would reveal the truth so she decided to block it out and enjoy her night. The group ate and chatted for about an hour or so when Alexander leaned over towards Emma.

Alexander nudged her and said,
“Emma, dance with me?”

She was never much of a dancer but as bad as she was, there were few things more feminine than being held close during a slow song. She was a sucker for stuff like that so how could she refuse?

“Sure.” She said. “Of course.”

They made their way out onto the dance floor and as they did, a slow dance started to play. Alexander took her in his arms and held her close. As they moved, Emma looked at him.

“Your friends are great.” She said. “They are all so nice.”

“Yeah, they’re great peop
le.” He said. “I’m pretty lucky, especially now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Alexander said. “Emma, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.
” she said.

“Well…” he said. “I owe you an apology.”

Confused, she asked, “An apology? For what?”

“For the way I insulted you when
we first met.” He said. “I was,
that was,
out of line. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay.
”

“No, it isn’t.” He said. “Listen, there’s a lot going on between m
y uncle and I. I won’t lie. At first I resented the arrangement and you as well. What I said to you and
about you
came from that place of anger. That was wrong. After getting to know you these past couple of weeks, I cringe when I think of how that must have hurt you.”

Emma looked up into his eyes as he spoke.

“Alexander… I…”

“No,
I’m not finished.” He said. “This isn’t easy for me so please hear me out.”

Emma nodded.

“If I could, I would take back everything I did.” He said. “I couldn’t imagine asking for anything more out of a mate than I have with you. You are beautiful, kind, honest and loyal. Those traits, they are rare and something to treasure. I am grateful that my uncle picked someone like you.”

Alexander paused for moment, looked down at her and smiled. There was softness in his eyes. For the first time, she gazed into them and saw tenderness where before there had been nothing of the sort.

A rush of shame overcame her and she buried her face into his chest. She felt his cadence change. Alexander reached down and began to stroke her hair.

“Emma? What’s wrong?” he asked. “Was it something I said?”

Emma couldn’t speak. Choked up, she squeezed him close to her and shook her head.

“I thought you would be happy.”

She looked up him and tried to hold back an onslaught of emotion.

“I am
” she said. “But…”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Emma replied. “I need to use the ladies room. Do you mind?”

Alexander nodded and gestured for her to walk ahead of him. “No problem. Come on.”

As she passed by the party goers, she did her best not to make eye contact with any of them. Emma hurried to the bathroom and into a stall where she hoped to settle her nerves.

But no sooner had she sat, then the door to the bathroom opened and a voice called out, “Emma? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, Trina. I’m fine.” She said. “My stomach feels a bit upset. That’s all.”

“Oh,
well, okay. If you need anything…”

“Thank you. I’ll be right out.”

“Okay sweetie.” Trina replied as she closed the bathroom door.

This was insane.

For the first time in her life, Emma swore that she might be on the verge of a full blown panic attack. As far as she could tell, Theodore wasn’t any closer to a bust of Alexander than he had been when she arrived in Silver Gulch. Now, the alleged criminal more or less told her that he wanted to be with her.

What would happen next?

Well, Alexander would get arrested and sent to jail for a long,
long
time. She would have to go back to Troubled Fork with a broken heart and a ruined conscience. It seemed so unfair, so
fucking unfair
that she wanted to pull her hair out and scream right there.

She couldn’t do it.

She wouldn’t do it.

No matter what he’d done, there had to be a way to work it out. This was everything she’d wanted in her life and once again, it was all on the verge of being ripped away from her.

But, not this time.

Emma vowed that somehow she would figure out a way to get this resolved. She had no clue how she was going to do it
only that she would. Determined, she straightened herself up and went back out to join the party.

As she reached the table, Alexander stood and said, “Everything alright?”

She nodded and smiled. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Over the next hour or so, the party guests began to leave in dribs and drabs until at last, only Emma, Alexander and Trina remained. Trina had enjoyed herself a good deal that night, perhaps a bit too much.

Her condition did not go unnoticed.

“Trina…” Alexander said. “How much have you had to drink?”

“All of it!” Trina exclaimed. She looked at him and smiled as she raised her right index finger skyward and made a small circular motion with it.

Alexander shook his head.

“Okay.” he said. “You are coming with us.”

Trina pouted. “I can drive!” she exclaimed.

“No, you can’t.” He said. “We aren’t having a discussion about this. I am telling you what is going to happen.”

“Pooh!” Trina said.

“Trina…” he replied.

“Okay, f
ine.”

A few minutes later, the three of them got up from the table and headed out to the parking lot. It was already late by the time they exited and there weren’t many cars left by that point. As they walked, Trina leaned against Alexander for support. It turned out that she was a bit more drunk than she had appeared.

Trina exclaimed, “To the happy couple, Alexander and Emma! May your marriage
fever
be filled with love!”

“What?” Alexander said.

“No, no! Oops, I mean…
forever
be filled with love!” she said as she laughed.

They both
shook their heads at Trina’s inebriated proclamation when a voice from behind said, “Marriage!? Who the fuck is getting married?”

Without even having to turn around, Emma knew
who’d said it.

***

She turned around.

“
Devon…
What are you doing here?” she said. “How did you even find me?”

“
Easy. I installed a tracking app on your phone.” Devon replied.

“What!?” she exclaimed.

“You don’t return my texts anymore.” He said. “I told you I wanted to see you and it turns out that I was right all along! What the fuck, Emma?”

Alexander interjected. “Hey, take it easy. Emma what’s going on here?”

Without looking at him Emma replied, “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it asshole.” Devon said.

Alexander’s body stiffened.

“No, Alexander.
” Emma said as she grabbed on to his arm.

“Emma, what is going on here? Who's he?” Alexander asked.

“It’s my boyfr…
ex-boyfriend.
” She said.” I’ll explain later. Please don’t do anything.”

Alexander relaxed his posture as Emma turned her attention back towards Devon.

“Is this him? Is this the guy?” Devon said. He was growing angrier by the second.

“Devon, I told you. I didn’t want to see you anymore.” Emma replied. “Why have you come here?”

“Because you are mine, Emma. Nothing and no one is going to stop that from happening.”

“Devon,
I am going to ask you one time. Please leave. I don’t want to be with you. It’s over.”

In a sudden movement, he lurched forward and grabbed her. Emma shrieked. He spun her body around so that she faced Alexander and Trina.

“I will decide when it is over, Emma.” He said as he pulled her into his torso. “Do you hear me you cheating little bitch?”

Emma struggled in his grasp. “Let me go Devon, you lunatic! You are hurting me!”

Alexander rested Trina against the trunk of his car and stepped towards them.

“Take your hands off of her right now.” He said.

“Or what?” Devon replied. “What the hell are you gonna do about it?”

“No, Alexander,
please.” Emma begged.

“Let her go or I promise that you will find out.” Alexander said.

“Man, fuck you!” Devon exclaimed. “What? You steal my girl? Do you think I am just going to let that happen? You’ve got another thing coming dirt ball.”

“Hey, easy pal.
No one stole anything from anyone.” Alexander replied. “Emma doesn’t want to be with you anymore. Why don’t you just take it like a man and let the lady go?”

Devon scoffed.
“Tell you what, pretty boy, why don’t you go fuck yourself?” he said. “Do you think I give two shits about what you think?”

Alexander laughed.

“What is so goddamn funny?” Devon said.

“Bro,
I’m gonna lay it all out for you.” Alexander said. “Either you leave in peace or in pieces. It’s your choice.”

“Man, fuck you!” Devon shouted. “Just who the hell do you think you are talking to?” In a flash, he released Emma and shoved her to the side. When he did, she tripped and hit the ground.

“Emma!” Trina exclaimed.

Stunned but okay, Emma scrambled to her feet and returned to Trina’s side.

As she did Alexander said, “Are you alright?”

“Yes
.” she said.

He turned his attention back towards Devon. “Hey man, I’m not gonna tell you again.” He said. “
This
is your last warning.”

Devon rushed toward Alexander.

“What the fuck are you gonna do?” Devon said as he stood less than six inches from Alexander.

Alexander turned towards Emma and said, “Emma, get back. Now!”

This was insane. In her entire life, Emma couldn’t recall two men so much as wait to hold the door open for her. Now, in the blink of any eye, two brawny shifters were on the verge of an all out battle. She wanted to speak, to protest and put an end to the madness that unfolded but the resolution to this conflict was outside of her control.

Before she even realized what had happened, both men had shifted. And now, two wolves of near equal size stood before her and Trina. Devon’s coat was tan with patches of black underneath and down his legs. Alexander’s fur was a cascade of gray, white and black. Taut, hard musculature rippled beneath their fur as the two combatants moved around one another in a small circle.
As they did, low growls and snarls emitted from both of them.

The women pressed themselves against the vehicle and braced for the worst. Emma had seen her share of fights over the years but none quite like this. Two enormous wolves, both in their prime, sized one another up. She knew from experience that it would be a matter of seconds before it was an all out war. Hackles up, both of them measured each step with sinewy precision.

The tension of the moment was evident in their haunches and now, the only question was who would be the first to strike.

Devon bared his fangs and Alexander countered.

As Emma looked on, she felt Trina go limp. She turned to see what the problem was only to discover that she had passed out and was about to hit the pavement.

“Trina!” Emma shrieked.

Distracted by the commotion, Alexander turned his attention toward his sister. It was the moment Devon had waited for and he seized it. He launched himself at Alexander and with a horrendous thud, the pair hit the pavement. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of Alexander and weakened him just long enough for Devon to bite first.

Alexander yelped as Devon sunk his teeth into his upper back. He writhed about and flipped Devon over behind him. As he did, he landed on top of Devon, whose bite still held firm. Alexander struggled to regain the advantage and kicked at Devon with his hind legs. The force jarred Devon loose from him but a high price. The wound on Alexander’s neck drenched his upper back with blood.