Intransigent

Intransigent | 35

Chapter 35
Emma

Ashton and I led the way back to our pack lands. Rick was to my left and Dane was on Ashton's right. Close behind us were Zaydyn and Melina, the wolves elected to take over Max's pack. They had agreed to coming back with us to meet with Rodney. There was no way that I was going to allow him to go with anyone that he didn't want to go with. Behind them was the rest of our pack.

It was going to be entirely Rodney's choice if he went back with Zaydyn and Melina and it was also going to be his choice if he wanted to lead their pack when he was of age. If he didn't want the responsibility of leading a pack or he didn't trust Zaydyn and Melina, then I would be more than happy to keep him with Ashton and I.

I glanced over at Rick and he nudged me easily before falling back into stride with me like he'd never left it. He was coming back with us to see Rodney. He was thinking about staying for a day or two and then heading back to his pack. I couldn't wait to catch up with him later. I wanted to hear all about his reunion with his family. I hadn't had a chance to talk with him before the battle because he decided to wait and join the fight with his pack.

Ashton and I howled together as we burst from the trees into the back yard of the pack house. The other wolves of our pack joined us in celebrating and announcing our victorious return from battle. It let the pack members that had stayed behind to guard the children know that we were home and that we had won.

Within seconds, pack members and children were streaming out the sliding door of the pack house and racing to embrace their loved ones. I leaned against Ashton as I watched families reunite, smiling as small children smashed happily into the legs of their parents, still in wolf form. There was nothing quite like the happiness of returning home from battle and I soaked in the moment until a little body slammed into Ashton and I.

I smiled down at Rodney and nuzzled him gently in greeting as Alyssa came up behind him, holding a babbling Adrianna. She reached out and scratched Ashton and I both on the head in greeting.

We need to change, I told Ashton. He nodded in agreement and Alyssa tugged Rodney back for a moment so we could find some privacy to shift back and pull on some clothing.

I carefully lifted a sundress from a box at the edge of the woods and found a large tree to change behind. When I came back out, Ashton was waiting for me and we walked back to Alyssa, Rodney and Adrianna hand in hand. Rodney was quick to cuddle close to my side and Alyssa relinquished Adrianna when I held out my arms for her.

Ashton settled his arm around my shoulders as he lost my hand to the sweet baby and my other arm settled around Rodney. "What now?" Rodney asked, looking up at me with wide eyes. He knew that we had beaten his father. He was a smart boy and he wanted to know where he and Adrianna would be going now.

"That's up to you," I told him. "You're more than welcome to stay here with Ashton and I, but there's also a pack waiting for you to learn to lead them if you want to."

"Who would take care of me there?" he asked, the worry clear in his eyes. I wanted to smile when I realized that he did want to learn to lead his pack, but he didn't know who would be there to teach him and raise him and his sister.

"We would, bud," Zaydyn told him, walking up behind us with Melina tucked close to his side.

There was no mistaking the joy in Rodney's eyes as he left my side and tackled their legs. They laughed happily, returning his affection easily. Melina smiled at me as Adrianna tugged on my hair and gurgled happily. I nodded to her in respect. It was obvious that Rodney loved them and it wouldn't be any harm for him to go home with them if that was what he wished to do.

"Do you want to go home, Rod?" Melina asked the little boy.

He looked back at me, his face indecisive. "I don't know," he whispered.

I handed Adrianna off to Melina and crouched down, crooking my finger at Rodney. He wandered over to me, his hands resting on my knees and my hands resting over his. "Do you trust Zaydyn and Melina to take care of you?" I asked him.

He nodded solemnly. "They always have, Emma."

"Do you want to learn to be a leader and lead your pack the way your father and brother never did?" I asked him.

He nodded again. "I want to."

"Then what's holding you back, sweetheart?" I asked, smoothing his hair back gently.

"I don't want to never see you again," he whispered, his bottom lip trembling slightly.

My heart tugged for the sweet little boy in front of me and I tugged him into my arms and hugged him tightly. "You can see me as often as you like, Rodney," I assured him. "Ashton and I will always be only a phone call away. If you need us, we'll be there and you're more than welcome to come visit anytime you want."

Rodney sniffled slightly and leaned back to look at my face. "You promise?"

I laughed. "Pinky promise," I told him, holding out my pinky.

He stared at it in confusion. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You link your pinky with mine and we shake them. You can't break a pinky promise," I told him seriously, even as I made a funny face at him. He giggled as he linked his pinky with mine and I lifted our hands up and down a couple times. "There. Anytime you want to come see us or want us to come see you, you just call us, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. Do I have to leave right now?" he asked, turning in my arms to look at Zaydyn and Melina.

They smiled indulgently at him. "I think we could stay a while if Alpha Ashton and Luna Emma don't mind."

Rodney grinned right when Rick walked over to say hello. I left Rodney to talk with Rick for a while and made my way back to Ashton. He accepted me into his arms easily, squeezing me tightly for a moment as he kissed me softly. I pecked his lips once more when he pulled back and then turned in his arms to watch our pack.

No one had left the pack house yet. Instead, everyone was pulling snacks out of the pack house and setting them up on the back deck as the children and parents played in the yard, both in human and wolf form. Everyone was happy and celebrating. I grinned when I saw Ashton's mom carrying out a tray of crackers along with other pack members. I knew she just needed some time to come around to my way of thinking.

They're happy, I whispered through the mind link to Ashton.

I felt the content rumble that vibrated his chest against my back and smiled as he leaned forward to kiss my neck. They are, he agreed. Are you?

I can't imagine being any happier than I am right now, I told him with a content sigh, relaxing completely against him. Max was gone. My scars would fade. The nightmares would go away. My love for Ashton, our family and this pack would only grow. Life couldn't be any more perfect.

~~~*~~~Author's Note~~~*~~~

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and this book. It's the last chapter of the story, with the exception of the epilogue :)

~Haley~