The Unbroken Luna

6.

  Emily's pov

I slowly turned, only to get face to face with my own personal devil. 

Clayton was standing there, with a young witch at his side. The way she looked at him and hanged from his arm told me way too much about their relationship. 

Girl, if you want him, be my guest, I thought. I've had enough of Clayton to last me ten lifetimes. 

He smiled - and to anyone else, that smile would have looked genuine, sincere, and full of love. But I knew best. That smile did not reach those cold, dead eyes, and they were showing every single ounce of his rage. 

"What are you doing here, sweetheart?" he asked me, with the same voice he'd used to win my heart years ago, but that now no longer had that power on me. 

"Ma'am?" the hostess called me. "It's your turn". 

I swallowed, nervous. Clayton's gaze was clear: he would have gladly torn apart all those innocent people just to get to me, but he couldn't. He would have exposed our entire race, and if he did so, every single pack would have wanted his own share in the destruction of the Red Bloods. 

He couldn't do anything. 

I'd cornered him. 

I'd… won. After all that time, it was I now who had all the power. 

"Emily," he repeated, offering me his hand. "Let's go home, sweetie".

Another time I would have probably, no, surely obeyed his command and followed him home. 

This time, though, I had my baby to protect: a small life growing inside of me, a little spark that counted on me to provide for the safety it needed. 

I wouldn't make him experience what was like being a family with Clayton. 

"Ma'am?" the hostess called me again, and I noticed she was frowning. "Is everything all right?" 

Shut the hell up. 

I froze in place as I heard Clayton's voice in my head. This was the first time he'd ever mind-linked with me… and, of course, it was to threaten me. 

Never again, I decided, not bothering to answer him, and shook my head. 

You f*****g slut, you'd better stop this act now, or else! 

Something flashed in the hostess's eyes. "Is this man bothering you?"

I opened my mouth to say that yes, the creature that wore the skin of a man but was worth less than a worm was bothering me, and harassing me, and abusing me, but Clayton was faster. 

"There's nothing to worry about, miss," he said, taking my hand in a firm grasp. "My wife is just a bit overwhelmed. We've been apart for a very long time. Excuse us". 

He gave a small tug at my hand as he turned to leave, but I dug my heels in. 

"I've never seen this man before," I told the hostess, wrestling my hand out of Clayton's iron grasp. "And I'm sure as hell I'm not married to this dickhead". 

Emily…. 

Not again. 

The hostess called the security and, in a couple of seconds, Clayton was off of me, kept still, face on the ground, by two men. He didn't even have the time to try to run away. 

I quickly finished the boarding procedures and walked past the gate. I felt his gaze burning a hole in the back of my neck, and I turned to face him. 

His eyes were full of venom and hatred, a silent promise of revenge. 

Don't you ever think you'll be safe, you little ungrateful b***h. Wherever you go, I'll find you and get you back where you belong. 

Anger grew like a tsunami inside of me, and I used my safe position to do something I'd been dying to do for a very long time. 

A defying smile appeared on my face. 

I don't think so. 

I turned my back on him for good and went towards the plane. 

I yawned and stretched my stiffened limbs as I stepped down from the plane, holding tight to the handrail. The flight had been long and exhausting, and I wanted nothing more than a place where to sleep, but I knew that Clayton or one of his guys was probably there, waiting for me. After all, he'd said that he would find me. He'd seen me at the gate, so he knew where I'd been headed: it would have been stupid and naïve of me to think that he hadn't already set up a plan to get me back. 

Luckily, I was in a crowded place, and it was morning. I really hoped no one would try anything. Still, I wasn't into taking risks, so I reached a small group of police officers. 

"Excuse me," I called them, and they all turned to look at me. "My name is Janet Blackwood," I said, opting to use the pseudonym Rick had used to book my ticket. "I just arrived on the flight from Portland". 

Two of them blinked, waiting for me to explain more. The third one, though, had something in his eyes, a spark that had ignited as soon as he'd heard my name… I caught a sniff of their scents and connected my dots. While the first two were humans, the third one was a werewolf: a Gamma or a Delta, judging from his solid yet thin figure. 

Was this guy a friend or an enemy? Probably a simple bystander. He didn't look like he wanted to kidnap me, nor I'd ever seen him around Clayton or other Alphas I knew, but I still had to be careful. 

"I… I'm running away from my husband," I finally said, without adding more information. "He's a powerful man, and I'm scared he might have sent someone here to get me and bring me back to him. Can I hang around with you guys until my taxi arrives?" 

That was a lie. I hadn't called a cab. Yet. 

A flash of sadness and pity appeared in their eyes, but they blinked it away almost immediately. I knew that these were the reactions I would have received if I'd admitted the truth, but I still didn't like them. 

"Sure thing, Fraulein," the first human said. 

"Please, follow us," the second human added, and we all started to walk towards the police's office. "He," the man said, pointing at the werewolf. "Is going to stay with you until your taxi arrives".

The werewolf nodded in my direction, shooting me a warm smile, completely void of any bad intentions. 

I sat down in a chair, and he mimicked the movement sitting in front of me.

"So," he said with a kind smile and a strong German accent. "You must be the fresh addition to our pack, the Blauer Mond. Nice to meet you".

I kept my mouth shut. What if he was lying? I had no guarantee that this guy was from the right pack ... Foley hadn't even told me the name of the pack I was going to be a part of, to protect them in case somebody tied to Clayton found me. For all I knew, he was on Clayton's side and paycheck. 

He gave me a startled look when I didn't answer right away, but then nodded. "How stupid of me. Here, this is the proof you need," he pulled up his sleeve, showing me the tattoo of a swirling moon. I immediately let out a sigh of relief: the only thing Rick had told me about my new pack was their symbol, the swirling moon. That mark couldn't be faked: only the Alpha could do one of them, and they tied you to the pack unbreakably. I didn't have the Red Blood mark, though; the Luna mark on my shoulder was enough proof that I belonged to a pack. 

"Nice to meet you too… " I smiled, shaking his hand and trying not to cringe as I realized I didn't know his name. 

"Franz Meyers," he laughed. "Gamma of the Blauer Mond pack". 

I'd been right about him. 

"Emily Carnahan". 

That was the first time in four years I introduced myself with no titles, just with my name. It was… strange, in a way. But also extremely liberating. 

"Our common friend, Richard Foley, already told us about your… delicate situation and what you've been through. Not that the whole pack knows, of course… just the Alpha, the Beta, and me," he rushed to add. "Only those who needed to know. I hope the flight hadn't been too bad". 

I swallowed. "I can't say it was pleasant," I admitted. It had, actually, been one of the worst of my life. The hostess had to give me three bags to puke into. Talk about pregnancy bliss. 

The left corner of his mouth turned down. "I'm sorry to hear that, though you have written it all over your face. Would you like to take a ... Heilige Scheiße, wie sagt man das auf Englisch? ... nap? My shift ends in an hour, and then I'll drive the both of us to the pack house. The Alpha, you know, wanted to come to welcome you right here at the airport, but he got stuck in a meeting. That's why you didn't meet anyone at the arrivals, just me. I offer you his most heartfelt excuses". 

"There's… there's no need for that," I stuttered, shocked. The Alpha himself wanted to come to fetch me at the airport? I'd never heard of this: an Alpha going to meet a lower-ranked wolf and not the other way around? 

Is this a European thing? Or is it because I was a Luna? 

"Well, for what's worth, he was really disappointed." Franz shrugged. "He said he'll make up for that. Anyway, there's a small bed in that room, if you want to take that nap. It's an inflatable, but it's better than nothing. I'll wake you up... Oh, and call if you need help or don't feel good. There's no problem". 

I thanked him and reached for the bedroom door, falling on the small inflatable like a baked potato. I fell asleep even before touching the mattress.