Her head tilted upward as she folded her arms and glowered up at me, planting her feet even as her eyes flashed wolf, a danger sign that she was fuming.
“I’m. Not. Going.”
I closed my eyes in frustration, trying and failing to bite back the growl reverberating in my throat. I glanced over at Sam, who shrugged, even as his eyes glinted with amusement, and an annoying smirk played on his lips.
With a sigh, I turned back to Emma. “Is that your final word on the matter?”
Surprise flickered in her gaze this time, as if she hadn’t expected to win that easily. Her arms fell to her side, but she jutted out her chin, keeping her gaze locked on me.
“Yes,” she said. “That’s my final word on the matter. I’m staying here. So, unless you want to drag me out of here, you might as well leave.”
“I have no intention of dragging you anywhere,” I growled.
Before she could respond, I cleared the final gap between us and picked her up, hauling her over my shoulder. I lifted her without much effort, and she shrieked in my ear in surprise.
“Let me go!” she screamed.
“I wouldn’t have to do this if you weren’t being so stubborn,” I snarled as I carried her out of the house and to the car. I ignored her kicks as she drove her feet into my stomach. I didn’t let her down until we stood in front of the car.
“Are you going to get in the car on your own now?” I growled, folding my arms.
Her jaw worked as she glared up at me. “Fine. At least let me get my daughter,” she snapped.
The words took me by surprise. Daughter? I turned to look behind me at the house, the door still open. Emma had a daughter?
The thought that someone else had a child with my mate made my wolf snarl with rage, his claws flexing.
But she was already marching past me back to the house. I followed after her, matching her stride and making sure she couldn’t slam the door in my face. Emma weaved through the tiny living room toward the back. She creaked the door open, first ajar, then all the way.
“Mommy?” a girl’s voice asked. “What’s wrong? I heard screaming.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Emma said. “It’s just…” She trailed off, clearly not certain how to continue.
I pushed past her and came to stand in the room.
A tiny girl with auburn hair raised her head and blinked sleepily up at me with blue eyes. Her eyes squinted in curiosity as she regarded me, her head tilted.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Elias,” I said. “I’m friends with your mom.”
“Friends” was more than a little disingenuous, but I wasn’t about to go into the details of our past or the future that the Oracle had foretold.
“I need you and your mom to come with me,” I continued.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. There was something familiar about that stare. She must have gotten it from her mother.
“I like it here,” she said.
“It’s all right, Grace,” Emma’s voice said. She leaned against the doorway, her lips a thin line. Sam stood behind her. She took a deep breath, her forefinger tapping against the side of her other arm. “It looks like you and I are going to be moving.”
Grace’s brow furrowed as she looked back at me. “Do we have to?” she asked her mother.
“Doesn’t seem like we have much choice,” Emma answered, her voice tight as she bit back anger. With a glare at me, she strode into the room, her scent lingering in the air behind her as she bent to bundle her daughter up in her arms.
“I hope you’ll at least let us pack first,” she snarled at me.
I let out an irritated growl. She didn’t have to be this stubborn about it. She was acting as though I was dragging her to prison, not to be the luna of a pack. Most females of packs dreamed of this sort of chance. I would have thought she’d be grateful at the very least.
