Chapter Ten
Her amusement in training
Third Person’s Point of View
Emmi stilled as they were close to the training hall.
She could see her mate in a different light. Kaiden had always been smiling and happy when facing her, and this was the first time she was seeing him so serious and oozing a clear dominance. His voice seemed rough on the others, but his expression seemed determined for them to learn what he was telling them. Even with his control of how he was reacting, I could see a small flicker of softness in how he phrased the words.
On the first row were his three sisters, who were looking at him with awe.
“Those three had always adored their brother like a star.” Mint chuckled.
Emmi looked at her with a kind smile. “They do adore him. It’s amazing to see their bond so strong.”
Just before Kaiden had finished his thoughts, his mate’s smell gathered around the area, having his head whip into her direction. The action seemed so haste that Emmi was surprised that he didn’t get whiplash. She had been hiding for him a while now, so he was excited to have her near. The man excused himself, sprinting to where she was to greet her with a smile. He wanted to have her in his arms, holding her close and possibly kissing her senseless.
But he can’t do all of that.
She needed to be familiar with the pack and with him.
The last thing he needed was for her to think that he was a savage.
“You two should have called me to help you deliver those,” Kaiden muttered as he grabbed the tray that the two women were holding. He looked back to offer the other one to his father, who had strutted along with him. “Or you could have called Dad. We are more than grateful to help.”
Emmi smiled softly at him, shaking her head. “You guys were training, and we wanted to deliver your cookies.”
Kaiden smiled as he walked to the arena. The second she was in clear view of every warrior, she failed to realize that everyone was gawking at her. While they did hear that she is a beauty, all were not aware of her visuals.
She is the epitome of beauty, which is why many men wanted her.
They knew that the Luna was already living in the packhouse, and many had claimed to see her and told everyone about how she had looked, but they had not expected her to look this way. None of the warriors had seen her in actuality, so they did not know how to react. To see her small face and innocent appearance, they knew that they had hell beyond them.
Needing to keep anyone away from her is a task.
But they are all willing to serve and protect her from all of that.
All warriors bowed down to their knees, having her eyes grow wide as she shakes her hand. Her restless mind wanted to stop them from even doing what they were planning to do—but the pack warriors were always devoted to their Luna. They knew that her safety was their number one priority in terms of attack.
“Let them be, little one.” Kaiden chuckled as he grabbed her close, patting her head as he grew proud of his men. “This is standard, and a regular thing that warriors in this pack would do, and they are just showing their devotion and loyalty to you.”
Emmi has no other choice but to agree, looking back at him. “But they do not need to grovel in my feet. I am not a god.”
“This is how things work in this pack,” Mint assured her with a soft smile. “Everyone had reacted in the same fashion for me, and I felt uncomfortable with it. However, for them, this was their sign of them signing the pledge to protect you.”
Pledge to protect her.
It had almost seemed surreal to hear that these many people wanted to keep her safe. She had always fended for herself, enough times that she had been close to getting killed.
Emmi chuckled, accepting the pledge with ease. She knew that her skill in medicine would also help these warriors live longer than they could in times of need. If they were willing to offer her safety, she was ready to show her skill and abilities.
She looked at her mate, smiling. “I will do everything in my power to protect this pack, too.”
“And I know that you will do great at that.” Kaiden smiled, patting her head.
It took them quite a minute before everyone was back on their feet and continued chatting around while eating some desserts. The twins were letting her see their training, and she was actually surprised by their abilities even at such a young age. She knew that an Alpha’s blood is mighty, but she did not think they were this strong.
They can manage to get in between the training course with nothing but ease. Even their brothers didn’t need to tell them if they needed to repeat. When they feel like they have done something wrong or taken an easy way out, they will come back from the start. She was sure that even these children could kick her ass.
“I can always help you train if you want to improve your defense. I do not know if you would use it, but it is not bad to learn some few techniques,” Kaiden whispered as he walked towards her; a small smile escaped his lips when he saw how engaged she was with seeing his sister perform their training. “I heard that you have been learning the history of the pack, I guess that you had learned about my father’s conquests?”
Emmi felt guilty by the words. “I apologize,” the words were soft, and Kaiden even felt the emotion laced on it. “I… am a sheltered child, so I was always someone who believed everything I could read. My wolf and I still have not experienced the world, and the place I stayed before did not offer my growth.” looking at the warriors who had no qualms interacting with Leighton, she was assured that there was false in how she acted. “That was immature of me.”
She had never felt like that before, and it does put such a strong weight in someone’s heart to know that you had judged a person wrong for the rest of your life. It was such a bitter pill to swallow.
“It’s a normal reaction,” Kaiden assured her, easing the tension on her shoulders. Despite what she had shown him, the man did not seem the least offended. “I was in this world when my parents were still in the middle of figuring things out. Everything was for me because I have seen the reason why they did everything.”
Emmi did hear that an incident involved him, but it was never specified.
Feeling quite horrible for the way she was thinking, she had uttered a reply. “I believe that all pups know about your father’s legacy, but I am guilty of listening on one side of the story. My mind never questions why your pack is still standing despite the horror stories written about your father.”
“It was very bloody slate that it is hard to clean, even with his years spending with my mother—he had a horrible time cleaning his wrongs,” Kaiden muttered, looking at his dad, who was talking with some warriors with a soft expression. “He is not bad as he looks, it was only his sadness and rage that had him. Despite that, the man is a great Alpha and a wonderful father. Even if people would double take in my words, I dream of having his power.”
Emmi smiled, looking back at him. “From the way that he would let you handle affairs, I think he knows that you will be.”
The warmth and love inside this pack is nothing that she had ever experienced. Despite her mate being the Alpha, he had never acted like he was above everyone. All his warriors can come up to him and joke around as long as they realize their position. Everyone here seemed like good friends who wanted to hang out. Emmi had never been in another pack to know if this was normal, but her Alpha usually wanted to have more dominance over most people.
Back to her old pack, nobody could act in this fashion to their Alpha.
“Is this what normal packs usually are?” She questioned, looking at the twins who were biting into the cookies. Looking to her mate, who was laughing with warriors as they brawl around, makes her see a different side of the pack. “Does this scenario seem natural to all of you?”
Karissa nodded, confused about her words. “All our pack members are family. Even when my father was the Alpha, nobody hardly acted harshly to members. It was only when their wolves are in control did everyone seemed terrified of him.”
“But this is what happens in the pack,” Khloe added, jumping to her lap. “We are all a big happy family in this pack. Father says that these are all the people who supported him. We can trust everyone here.”
Family.
That word still felt foreign in her mouth.
Emmi lingered her eyes around, accepting every speck of warmth gathered around the people. When they were walking towards the arena, she noticed that many people were greeting Mint. They were all smiling, and she could not see any hint of menace from everyone.
Everyone felt comfortable in the pack, and the kids were even roaming around without any fears that they would be in danger. Warriors would linger in and out of patrols, which is a clear difference from her old pack. The place looked secure—and warm.
She could only question the place where she had lived her whole life.
Emmi thought that finding little things in her old pack was normal. Being here made her love everything she saw. People were friendly, and all were treated equally. It takes her this far to realize how cruel and evil of an Alpha the creepy man was. Thank the heavens that she had escaped from that wicked version of reality.
She was finally home.