Intransigent

Intransigent | 23

Chapter 23

Ashton's POV

I silently groaned. They'd pissed her off. My mom stepped forward, trying to talk to Emma again, but I put out my arm and shook my head at her. I didn't know what she was going to say, but it would probably only make it worse.

"You good here, sweetheart?" I asked her.

She gave me a small smile over her shoulder as she sat some cookies and frosting in front of Cara. "I'm good," she assured me.

"Come find me when you're done," I told her.

She nodded. "Don't worry, I'll let you know when dinner is ready." She smiled at me once more before turning back to Cara and handing her a box of food coloring. She began explaining how to color the frosting and I turned to my family.

They were definitely surprised by her attitude. My mom seemed a bit offended while Alyssa was grinning from ear to ear. "Let's go to my office," I told them, motioning with my head for them to lead the way. We passed Rick on the way to my office and he smiled slightly before heading into the kitchen.

My parents followed behind me silently until we reached my office while Alyssa decided to stay in the kitchen with Emma and the girls. I closed the door and turned to my parents. "Take a seat," I told them, motioning to the chairs in front of my desk. I sat in the chair behind it and folded my hands together in front of me, waiting for one of them to speak.

My dad cleared his throat and sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I think I like her," he said, thoughtfully as he stared at a picture of him and my mother on my desk. "She'll make a good luna."

I grinned, sitting back in my chair. "I think so, too," I replied.

"She was a bit offensive in the kitchen," my mom stated carefully, her hands folded demurely in her lap. I knew that she was using softer words so that she didn't anger me, an easy thing to do when talking about someone's mate.

I sat forward again, my elbows on my desk. "Emma is a strong believer in taking care of her pack herself, including the omegas. I admire the trait. Ever since I brought her here, injured and scarred, she's done everything she could to help around the pack house. You insulted her first by not helping Cindy with dinner." I held my hand up when my mom tried to cut in. "I know that's not how you run the pack, but Emma is very protective. She doesn't treat the omegas the same way that most packs do."

My dad spoke when my mom seemed to be speechless. "Why is Emma injured? And why did you say that she was scarred when she was brought here?"

I took a deep breath, making sure I had good control of Axel before I started this conversation. The last thing I needed was to lose control when my parents were in the room. "Emma was held prisoner for two years and from what I've pieced together, tortured nearly every day."

My dad leaped to his feet with a loud growl and began pacing the room. "Who?"

"Max of the Blood Moon Pack. He was trying to get her to mate with his son, Jeremy." I couldn't help the growl that escaped with those words. The idea of Emma mating with anyone else was nearly enough for Axel to take control and rip the room apart in anger.

My dad continued to pace and growl, trying to calm himself down. He already felt a connection to Emma, knowing that she was my mate, his future daughter-in-law and the next leader of the pack. When he didn't seem to be calming, my mom stood and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

He looked down and she held his gaze, putting her other hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand, breathing deeply as he strove for calm. With my mom helping him, it didn't take long before they resumed their seats.