When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 6

6

Demetra.

His sister, Aunt Scotty who visited us in Paris so often when Amira was a baby smiles widely. I see my uncles, my cousins-

And then Tiffany, Aunt Allison’s daughter breaks from the crowd to swallow me.

“Oh my goodness, Demetra!”

“Tiff.” I hug her fiercely and my voice is muffled against her shoulder.

When we pull apart, Slade is there. He wraps me in a bear hug. We stare at each other for a long moment.

“Craig. Timothy.” I call out my cousins‘ names as I recognize them, hugging them before pulling the rest of the girls into quick embraces too. Eventually, we all move inside.

“I’m planning the biggest party you’ve ever seen-”

“A party?” I say to Tiff. She’s the one who flew to Paris and basically moved in during those hazy, difficult postpartum

months.

“I feel like I’ve been through so many gallery openings and world events back in Paris that a party is just…”

“Don’t even say you’re overwhelmed.” She links her arm with mine and steering me toward the pack house. “You are the Alpha’s daughter, and the entire pack has been dying to formally meet you. This is your fate. Now, come see your room-”

She opens a set of double doors and I actually stop breathing for a second.

It’s… gorgeous. And insane. It looks like Barbie’s dream house decided to have a love child with a modern castle. A queen- sized bed on a raised platform with large pillars. A gorgeous rooftop balcony. Everything is marble. And the closet… the closet has its own large, spiral staircase. It’s less of a closet and more of a boutique.

“Slade went crazy with your room.” Tiffany says, watching my face as my mouth hangs open.

“Why does the closet look like a luxury boutique!?”

“Maybe because Slade got a boutique consultant to figure that out,” she says with a smirk.

“He did what?!” I gasp. This is the point where I stop admiring and need to go interrogate whatever is happening in my brother’s mind. As I whirl around to head back out, I nearly collide with Aunt Scotty.

“My gorgeous Demetra!”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“My friend has a son,” she continues. “He’s the Alpha of the Nightfall Pack, and he’s very single. And by how beautiful you are, I’m sure he wouldn’t care one bit that you have a kid already.”

I exhale and gently extract my face from her hand.

“I don’t come back to West Virginia to date-”

“That is not possible! You are the Alpha’s daughter, and there are many single Alphas who would be thrilled-”

“I won’t date someone who sees my daughter as a liability. If I marry one day, it will be to someone who loves my daughter with all their heart, Aunt. That’s non–negotiable. Anyway, can we talk about this later? I’m looking for Slade.”

“Demetra…” she sighs, but I squeeze her hand, blow a kiss into the air, and move quickly before she can launch into a full presentation on the pros and cons of marriage.

Ever since my last heartbreak, I haven’t even opened my heart enough to imagine another man in that space. And honestly, that might be how it stays.

I finally find Slade in his office, finishing a phone call. He sees me lingering in the doorway and his stern expression softens into a smile. He says a quick goodbye and hangs up.

“Hey, sis.”

“I just escaped Scotty.” I announce, collapsing into the chair opposite his desk. “She’s talking about setting me up on dates and I haven’t even unpacked my luggage’s frist.”

He chuckles. “She’s been talking about it. She’s got a long line for the both of us.”

I squint, then realize. “True. You don’t have a Luna yet.”

“I don’t need a Luna.” Slade says.

“Says no one… ever,” I counter with a soft chuckle.

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6

“I’ll get a Luna when you get married.”

“I am not getting married, Slade.”

“And that,” he says lightly, “makes it clear what we both want.”

The joke hangs between us and we chuckle. He comes around the desk and pulls me into another hug. He rests his head on top of mine, and for a moment, we just stand there in the quiet of his office.

“How’s being an Alpha going?” I murmur into his chest.

His sigh is deep. “Hard. Without Dad. Hard, knowing the final decisions are mine to make. The weight of it… it’s different when you’re actually holding it.”

I pull back to look up at him. “I’m sorry he left. He left because he wasn’t sure I would find the will to move on. It’s my fault-” “Don’t even,” Slade says quietly. “Dad wasn’t there for you during the years you needed him most, so he definitely wanted to be there for you and Amira this time. I’m just glad you’re both back now. We can do this together.”

I smile.

“So, what’s the recent gist?”

“Um…” Slade hesitates for a moment. “It’s the Black Covenant Pack. They’re trying to take over a territory that belongs to us.”

My brows lift. “What?”

“We’re separated by water, but there’s land before the shoreline that’s ours. They’re fighting for it. Their Alpha is claiming it belongs to them and he’s gone as far as calling the Council against us.”

I narrow my eyes. The Council of Wolves is an organization made up of representatives from different packs, meant to judge disputes like this fairly. Supposedly.

“If it’s ours, then it’s ours.” I say, carefully avoiding my mate’s name. “He has no right.”

“That’s the kind of person he is,” Slade replies darkly. “In the last five years, his pack has grown more vile. Greedy. They take and take, acting like they’re the greatest pack alive. He’s claiming the land originally belonged to his grandmother and that he has documents to prove it.”

“Documents?” I repeat.

“Yes. And because of this stupid territorial dispute, his wolves think they have the right to harass ours in public. They’ve been confronting them. Tackling them.”

My jaw tightens immediately. “So what…what are we supposed to do? Just let that slide? We can’t allow him to bully our pack. If the current documents show the land belongs to us, then it belongs to us.”

“I want to handle this without bloodshed but someone like the Black Covenant Alpha doesn’t care who bleeds. That’s why I‘ ve got a constant headache.”

I frown.

“Hey. Don’t grow wrinkles now. I’ll take care of it.” Slade says. “I’ve already registered Amira for school. I gave them all her information and they said she can start on Monday. She’ll adjust just fine, I promise. If you don’t believe me, you can go to the parent–teacher meeting, alright?”

“Alright.” I try to smile. “I’m going to take a shower. Then we can continue.”

He kisses my hand before I leave, and I smile…right up until I step out of his room.

The moment the door closes behind me, tears blur my eyes. My chest burns like something is ripping open again. Even my ears feel hot. After all these years, Emris is still the same kind of person.

The kind who takes.

The kind who breaks.

I wish I had rejected him before he ever had the chance to push me away. Maybe then I wouldn’t still feel this connection… this pull that refuses to die no matter how far I run.

I swipe at my eyes and keep walking. Because I don’t get to fall apart anymore.

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