Emily's POV
I shifted the truck's gears back into third as I took the steep, rocky turn-off towards the White Moon Pack, my home for the last five years. I have been on an assignment, and it felt good to be able to come home again.
It was Mila's idea to come to live here, and even though it was hard in the beginning to leave my family behind, I was proud of what I had accomplished by myself.
My thoughts wandered off to that night. My mom had mind-linked Mila, telling her that I wasn't feeling well and that I needed a friend.
Mila didn't even wait for my mother's scent to fade from my room when she sneaked in through my window.
"Em," she whispered. "Are you awake?"
I nodded my head, unable to utter a word.
"Are you okay?" She asked, climbing through the window and into my bed with me.
Mila pulled me to her, and I rested my head on her chest. She gave me a moment before she started asking questions.
"Can you tell me what happened?" She whispered.
I shook my head as tears welled up in my eyes again.
How could Alex do this to me?
Why did he do this to me?
Why didn't he just ignore me or tell me about her?
Unanswered questions kept going through my mind.
Mila sighed. She has never seen me this upset and unhappy, even after my failed attempt to shift.
"Okay, I tell you what," she muttered. "I'll guess, and you nod your head if I guess correctly."
I slowly nodded my head, accepting her offer.
"Last night, you found your mate? Didn't you?" She asked, and my body stiffened.
Mila knew me too well.
I swallowed hard as warm tears spilled over, running down my cheeks and soaking Mila's white shirt.
"I take that as a yes," she answered for me.
Mila pulled her hand through her hair and released a deep breath.
"Did he reject you?" She asked carefully.
"No!" I whispered, my voice breaking.
Silence followed.
"Then what did he do?" She asked, confused.
"He chose someone else," I said.
Mila lifted my chin and searched my gaze.
"He! Did! What!?" She asked angrily.
I dropped my gaze, unable to keep on looking her in the eyes, and sobbed behind my hand.
I was a wreck and a mess, and I didn't know what to do!
"Who is that bastard?" She growled, and her eyes shifted gold. Her wolf was on the surface, and she wanted blood.
"It doesn't matter," I whispered.
"It does!" She growled. "He took your innocence, and now he chooses someone else to be his mate! What about you? Are you going to be his mistress? A toy? What a f*cking loser! You should reject his ass!"
That made me sob uncontrollably, and I cried out as reality hit me.
Alex broke my heart. He used me!
"I can't!" I forced out the words between sobs. "I can't reject him. I have no wolf!"
Even if I tried to reject Alex, it wouldn't work—not until I had my wolf.
"F*ck!" The word slipped from Mila's lips. She didn't think about that.
Mila sighed and became silent. I wasn't sure of what ran through her mind, but after a while, she pulled her body from under me and sat up straight.
"I have an idea," she said, leaning forward.
I lifted my face toward her, feeling that my eyes were tired and swollen from all the crying.
"What about we leave Opal Pack?" she asked, sounding quite excited about the idea. "I can ask my uncle at White Moon Pack if we could stay there for a while, and when you are ready, you can come back and reject his ass. We can even make it a public display."
"You would do that for me?" I asked, feeling my heart pinched. Mila was so good for me.
"Yeah," she said, nodding. "I would do that for you because you are my friend."
"But you would give up your life here?" I said, worryingly. "What about your family? Friends? Jax?"
Mila smiled as if she had already planned out everything.
"Girl," she said. "My uncle begged me to return to his pack, but I stayed because of you."
"I-I-I kept you here?" I muttered in shock, and new tears started burning behind my eyelids.
"I wanted to stay," she said, smiling. "I couldn't leave you here. You are my best friend, and I need you just as much as you need me. But now," she shrugged, "it might just work out fine. We can leave, and no one would even suspect that."
That night, Mila made a call to her uncle and explained my situation; he didn't even ask questions and sent a car to pick me up at the pack border.
My new surroundings were a bit overwhelming, and I didn't handle my heartbreak well. I mostly kept to myself and stayed in my assigned room.
Mila and Jax joined me a week later.
"E-m-i-l-y," Mila sang, entering my room. "Where are you?"
I was still in bed with the blankets pulled over my head when Emily and Jax found me.
I was dead tired. I couldn't shake the unbearable ache in my chest, and to add to my discomfort, I kept on dreaming about Alex, and my dreams would end up with me screaming my lungs out.
To top it off, I could barely keep any food in, and I stopped eating by day two, writing it off as just my nerves being in a new pack.
"Oh, my goddess, Emily," Mila yelled out worriedly when she found me. "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling sick?"
"I don't know," I said, feeling my body and mind give in to the darkness.
I woke up in the infirmary with Mila sitting by my side. She had a worried expression on her face.
"I'm sorry," I croaked, reaching out to touch her hand. Mila immediately jumped to her feet, hushed me, and called the doctor.
It wasn't even a few seconds until the doctor entered my room.
"Aah, welcome to the land of the living, Ms. Parker," the doctor said, smiling. "How are you feeling? Are you able to talk?"
I gestured to my throat. It was dry and sore.
Mila understood and quickly grabbed a glass from the side table, poured a glass of water, and handed it to me.
"Drink," she said. "Just take small sips first."
I did as she said, but soon became impatient and gulped all the water down.
I handed the glass back to Mila and turned my gaze toward the doctor.
"I feel fine," I said. "Better than fine."
"Good to hear," the doctor said. "We were all worried about your and your pup's survival. You were severely dehydrated."
"Pup? I'm pregnant?" I asked, unable to process what I was hearing.
"That's correct," the doctor said. "And by the looks of it, you are pregnant with an Alpha pup."
Mila's gaze snapped toward me, and her bottom lip quivered out of shock.
I could read a thousand questions in her eyes, but she needed to wait until the doctor was done before she could ask her question.
The doctor pulled out some scans and gestured to the size of the pup. Alpha pups grow more rapidly than other ranks, and their size is usually double, if not triple, that of the average pup.
I nodded, confirming his suspicion. I wouldn't gain anything if I hid the truth.
The doctor nodded, scribbled something on paper, and excused himself.
"Why didn't you tell me that Alex is your mate?" She yelled at me. "Do you know how much trouble we are in?"
"He didn't want me, remember!" I replied. "He chose another!"
Mila shook her head.
"He called the pack together," she said angrily. "And he called for you to go to the stage."
I narrowed my eyes at Mila.
"He wanted to announce something, but when you weren't there..."
"He probably wanted to reject me in front of the pack," I said, cutting her off. "What other reason would he have to call everyone together?"
I laid back in bed, and my gaze ended up on the ceiling. The tears had dried up, and for once, my mind was clear.
"Promise me you will not tell him that I'm here," I said.
"But you will feel..."
"I'll manage," I said.
My gaze landed on the border patrol, and I brought the truck to a lower speed. I didn't need to identify myself because of my rank and status in the pack, yet one of the warriors waved at me and gestured for me to stop.
I did as he requested, finding it a bit odd.
"Welcome back, Parker," the guard greeted me.
"Morning Joe," I said, "what's the hold-up?"
"King Xavier seeks to speak to you," he said. "It sounds urgent."
I could hear the urgency in the guard's voice.
I thanked him and made my way into the pack, yet I never thought my next assignment would send me close to home.
****