Intransigent

Intransigent | 15

Chapter 15

Ashton's POV

I could feel Emma drifting off as her friend Ally talked about school and how much the teachers sucked senior year. I smiled as I watched her eyes drift shut. I knew that she had been fighting it for a while, wanting to hear everything that she'd missed with her pack, but her body was healing and she was more tired than usual because of it.

I was proud to see that most of her bruises were gone, that I could see, and the cuts and scrapes were well on their way there as well. The only thing left that worried me was the cut down her stomach. It was stitched and I would keep it cleaned, but I hated the reminder of everything that she'd gone through.

I looked up when I realized that no one was talking anymore. David and Abigail were watching us with smiles on their faces and Will and Ally were the same way. Dane looked to be about half asleep as well and Rick was watching Emma's sleeping face, seeming content.

She shifted slightly, burying her face in my neck and curling a little closer, making me smile slightly. She sighed and stilled in my arms once more. I couldn't help but look at her in awe.

She was so strong and brave and beautiful. I'd been waiting for my mate for six years and the only thing I could think now was: it was worth the wait.

I couldn't have asked for a better mate than her. I only wished I could've found her sooner and protected her from ever being kidnapped in the first place.

I felt Axel growl his agreement in my mind.

All eyes stayed on her, but her father asked a question that made everyone's smiles disappear, especially Rick's. "How bad was it?" he whispered, looking at Rick for an answer.

We all feared his answer but we all needed to know. We needed to know how badly she was treated in there.

I watched as sadness and anger filled Rick's eyes. He only said one word, but it shot fire through my stomach. "Bad," he whispered, his eyes haunted by memories none of us could even begin to guess at.

I held Emma a little closer to me and closed my eyes, burying my face in her hair and trying to calm myself and Axel. He was freaking out, demanding blood and I was no different. I wanted to kill that man for touching my precious mate.

Her father sighed and when I was finally calm enough to look up, he had his head in his hands. Her mother was crying silently and Will and Ally were both very pale. Rick's eyes were still dark as he stared at Emma.

"I won't-can't-tell you everything that Emma endured in that prison over the last two years," Rick whispered. "It's her story to tell when she's ready to talk about it. Don't push her on it. It was bad and to be completely honest, she's got more strength than any person I've ever known for having survived it."

I watched silently as David and Will shook with rage in their seats and Ally moved to sit beside Abigail on the couch. They cried silently together while everyone else in the room tried to control the anger that was pulsing inside them, demanding death.

A good five minutes later, David looked up, "How did you find her?" he asked me. I wasn't sure if he could handle his temper if I told him, but I knew why he wanted to know. For the same reason that I wanted Emma to tell me about the two years she was kept prisoner. We just needed to know.

"She found me, actually," I told him with a small grin. It was quickly replaced by a scowl when I remembered her condition. "Dane found her and Rick when they crossed into our territory and took them downstairs to the prison. He came and found me and when I went down there, I knew she was my mate with one look."

"How was she?" Abigail asked, a quiver clear in her voice and when I looked at her, I could see the fear of my answer in her eyes.

I looked down at the sweet, wonderful girl in my arms and said in a quiet, hard voice, "She had bruises covering nearly her entire body along with cuts and scrapes. Her body is covered in scars. The only injury that hasn't healed yet is the cut across her stomach."

David leapt off the couch, the scariest look I'd ever seen on his face as he took off out the front door. There was a tearing sound and a huge black wolf ran by the window heading for the woods. Abigail watched him go, a fresh batch of tears running down her face.

To break the silence, Ally stood. "I'm hungry," she declared.

"I'm sorry," I told her, "Emma dismissed my omegas for the night so there's not really anyone to cook for the rest of the night."

Ally waved her hand in dismissal and I saw Abigail smile through her tears. "That's my daughter," she whispered and I couldn't help but smile with her.

Ally pulled Abigail off the couch and said, "What do you say, Abby?" she asked the woman. "Shall we make some food for when David comes back?"

I watched in amazement at how the young girl addressed her Luna. I was even more amazed when Abigail smiled and followed Ally to the kitchen. I looked over at Dane with wide eyes and I heard Will laugh when Dane returned my look of surprise.

We both looked at him. "What?" we asked.

"You look so shocked, yet you just told us that Emma told your omega to take the night off," Will said, shaking his head. "Did you think she learned how to treat her pack on her own? She learned it all from her parents and she has her own caring twist that she throws in on her own."

When he put it that way, it really wasn't surprising at all. She had dismissed my omegas and even let the little girl help her make spaghetti. It was obvious how much she already cared for them, even though she wasn't officially Luna yet. I couldn't wait until she was. She was going to be an amazing Luna.

I smiled when I heard cupboards opening and closing in the kitchen. They were searching for stuff the same way Emma had earlier. I kissed to top of her head and leaned further back on the sofa.

I looked over at Will and said, "Tell me about Emma. I want to know all about her before."

Will grinned, looking down at my beautiful mate, cradled safely in my arms. "She was an amazing girl," he told me. "She cared about each and every one of the pack members and really had a soft spot for the children. She was always helping the omegas in the kitchen and with the cleaning. When her father was busy, she'd take over his office and take care of everything in there while he did whatever he needed to outside the office.

"She used to work out treaties, call other alphas when they sent requests for help. She rarely lost her temper. If you felt her anger come through the pack link, you knew something was seriously wrong because it hardly ever happened. Someone had to really piss her off for her to lose it. The last person to make her do it was Matthew. She got so mad she shifted during breakfast. I didn't get to see it, but her dad told me about it."

I grinned at the picture. "What did he do?" I asked, wondering what he did to set her off.

"You'll soon learn that Emma is super protective of her pack," Will replied. "Not just their physical wellbeing but their emotional wellbeing as well. Matthew refused to eat with the omegas and Emma told him to leave. He challenged her and Mel took over. She probably would've killed him if her dad hadn't stopped her."

I was amazed. I knew that she was strong, knowing that she'd gone through things that shouldn't ever happen to anyone, but knowing that she defended even the weakest in her pack was another kind of strength and I admired both.

I was so damn lucky that she was mine.

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

Well, its Monday again! What do you guys think of today's update?

I would've had it up earlier, but wattpad was being ridiculous and I had to wait until I could get to my computer to update. My app is being stupid and won't let me read anything, including my own books in the create tab :(

I'm going to try to fix that, you guys enjoy this chapter :)

~Haley~