Intransigent

Intransigent | 22

Chapter 22

Emma's POV

We spent two more days with my old pack before packing up our stuff and preparing to go back to Ashton's pack. Ashton walked into the room with a sandwich in one hand and a shirt from the laundry in the other. He smiled at me, offering me the sandwich.

"You hungry?" he asked.

I nodded. "Starving," I replied, taking the sandwich from him. "Thanks."

He kissed my forehead and tossed the shirt into his suitcase, not bothering to fold it first. I rolled my eyes and shoved him out of the way, folding the shirt before replacing it and zipping it up.

He wrapped his arms around my waist. "Thank you, sweetheart," he whispered in my ear. "Whatever would I do without you?"

I giggled and pulled away from him. "You would wear wrinkly clothes all the time," I retorted. "Now grab your suitcase so that we can get downstairs and say goodbye to everyone."

He reached out, pulling me gently to his chest. He looked into my eyes and pushed some hair out of my face. "I'd be a lot more lost without you than just wearing wrinkled clothes," he told me softly. He leaned down slowly and kissed my cheek. "Are you sure you want to leave early?"

"I'm sure," I told him softly. "It's time that I take care of our pack. This one is in good hands."

He leaned down and captured my lips with his in a deep, passionate kiss. When he pulled back I was breathing hard and his eyes were dark, Rafe sitting near the surface. "You're going to be a wonderful Luna," he whispered, framing my face with his hands. He gave me another quick peck on the lips and then stepped back and grabbed both of our bags.

I sent him a small smile before opening the door and leading the way out of the room and down the stairs. There was a group waiting by the front door for us. My parents were there, along with Will, Aly, Elizabeth and Lisa. Rick and Dane were there too, but they were coming with us, not waiting to say goodbye.

My mom already had tears in her eyes, just from seeing us walk down the stairs, and I couldn't help but smile as I threw myself into her arms. She hugged me tightly and tucked her face into my shoulder.

"I love you, Emma," she whispered into my ear. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, momma," I whispered back. "I love you too."

She pulled back, wiping her tears and smiling at me. She gently pushed me to my dad and I wrapped my arms around him next. He held me even tighter and buried his face in my hair.

"I love you baby girl," he told me quietly. "You're going to be the best luna that pack has ever seen. Make me proud, Emma."

"I will, Daddy," I whispered. "I love you, too."

He was grinning down at me when he pulled away and he tucked some hair behind my ear. "You keep in touch, okay?"

I nodded.

"Call us when you get there safely," my mom added.

I smiled and nodded again, backing into Ashton's arms. "We will," he assured them.

I said a quick goodbye to Elizabeth and Lisa and then had a group hug with Aly and Will, once again promising to keep in touch. Ashton picked the bags up and we made our way out to the car with everyone following.

"Take care of my little girl, Ashton," my dad warned as we climbed into the car.

"Don't worry, Sir," Ashton replied with a small smile. "She'll be more than safe with me."