Prologue

Emily lay out James’ pyjamas and robe. Their daily routine was almost at the end. She gathered her courage. She needed to prepare him for her decision. But she didn’t want to deal with the fallout. So, she waited for him to start the shower before she said anything. “I’m done, James, and I’m heading out. But before I go, I just need to tell you something.” Emily dreaded this part. He would not take this well. Once she said what she’d decided to, it would change his world and their relationship. 

“What’s up? Can’t it wait for the morning?” James called from the shower, his voice a mixture of his grouchiness and curiosity combined.

“You know how I’ve been seeing Damon, the Beta of the Orion’s Forest Pack, off and on, right?” She couldn’t help but wince, waiting for him to complain. She’d met the tall blonde wolf at a gathering of alphas. He came into the region often with his alpha for business and they’d seen each other then. James tolerated it but said nothing.

“Yeah, which I think is a waste of your time. He lives too far from here for anything to come of it.” Yeah, that’s why James tolerated it. He didn’t think he’d lose his best friend to a mate and pack from the other side of the country.

“Well, he wants to make it a formal mating.”

“He can’t be serious. How can he know that’s what’s right for either of you? He’s not been near you long enough to know.” Emily wasn’t angry with James for this. He’d always been protective of her. But he was right. Emily didn’t give off a scent. An odd thing for a wolf, but something that happened after one contracts the Lupine Immune Virus. It’s rare for a werewolf to catch it. In the heat of battle, an enemy bit her and transmitted the virus to her. Now her hormones were faulty, and her true mate would never find her. Her scent was too far off.

“James, I’ve agreed. We’ll mate with the next full moon. I’ll be leaving next week so I can be there for the ceremony’s planning.”

“Okay, you can’t be serious. That’s extremely fast. What’s the hurry? Are you with pups or something?” James’ head poked out of the shower stall, and he glared at her in confusion. “How is this going to work? Are you really leaving me without a beta?”

“It’s not as fast as you think it is and no, I won’t leave you high and dry. I’ve been writing extensive notes and I believe Evan would make a great beta for you. Better than I could ever be.” Emily fidgeted with his clothes before she held out a towel for him. He snatched it from her, wrapped the towel around his slim hips, and stepped from the stall.

“I don’t get a good feeling about this. Are you sure this is what you want?” Emily glared at his face.

“Yes, I’ve thought of this for a long time, and you know I’ve always wanted to settle down and have pups and a family of my own. It won’t happen in this pack. I’m too closely related to most of the pack.” All true and he knew. In fact, he’d known for years.

“He accepts that you’ll never know when you’ll go into heat? That you may never have pups because of that…” He stopped what he was saying suddenly. James found it difficult to talk about that night. He’d almost lost her, along with so many others. Others included both their fathers and forced both of them to step up far too soon into the positions they held now.

Emily watched James’ face as his thoughts whirled through his head. She saw his anger boil up and he suddenly grabbed and threw a bottle of aftershave at the wall. The smell of cedar and pine overwhelmed the air.

What was going on? He should be happy for her. She was one step closer to her dream. “This is what I want. Why are you so angry?” 

This wasn’t fair to her. He’d been so close to her for all these years and her emotions couldn’t take it anymore. There wasn’t anything left for her within this pack. Oh, she loved everyone, but she couldn’t bear to be so close to him and not have him return the feelings she carried for him. 

“It doesn’t feel right. I don’t know. Maybe you should go. It’s what you want. But in the week left here, you must train Evan on how to do your job correctly. Don’t just leave a mountain of notes.” He suddenly seemed very sullen and looked almost like he was pouting. He grabbed up another towel from her hand and dried his hair. She took the towel from him and then wiped off his back for him.

“Of course, I’ll make sure he knows what his duties are and if he needs to reference anything he’ll have to notes so he won’t need to contact me once I’m gone.” She felt him relax under her touch, and it disturbed her more. 

Emily couldn’t keep doing this. She needed to leave and leave soon. Her emotions couldn’t take the roller coaster ride and the stagnation of this pack. Emily wanted a change, and this was her dream.