Page 26 of Reject Him

“Sure, you don’t,” Val sighs out. She stands and straightens her long sleeve shirt. “Are you ready?”

She turns to face Val. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Val steers Eme out of the bedroom and into the hallway. She leads her down the stairs, and all the while, Eme wants to turn back around and hide. Hide because maybe she should have worn lipstick. Maybe she should have chosen the red blouse. She supposes it doesn’t matter what shirt she’s wearing because, as soon as they make it to the bottom of the stairs, she sees that Draven is waiting there, holding out their coats.

“You’ll want this,” he says. “It’s snowing again.”

“Thanks,” Eme responds. She takes the coat and slips her arms through it while Val zips up her own.

“You look pretty,” Draven adds with an eyebrow wiggle. “I’ve been waiting here forever. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were stalling.”

Val huffs. “I can assure you that she was.”

Draven drapes an arm around Eme’s shoulders and leads her to the sliding glass door. “Don’t be nervous. Everyone loves you.”

“Not everyone,” Val and Eme murmur together. Eme hasn’t forgotten about Becca, but tonight she’s going to ignore her. She promised herself so because what better way to spend her night than to not worry about a female who wants her position and her man.

Her man. Since when did he grab such a title?

Eme shoves the thought aside for later evaluation. She peers out the sliding glass door. Everyone is outside, laughing and talking to one another. Food is spread out on a long table, and many people are holding plates.

The snow clouds hover above, leaving an area lit brightly where the moon tries to shine through. Indeed, it is snowing, a gentle fall from the low clouds. Lights are strung in the surrounding trees, lighting up the backyard and the people throughout.

“See,” Draven comments with a pat on her shoulder. “Nothing to worry about.”

Val opens the door, and the scent of pine and barbecued food wafts in. Draven all but shoves her outside, and blissfully, the conversation doesn’t stop among the pack mates. She recognizes a few faces, and a few, she doesn’t, but she can’t believe how many members there are in the pack. Far more than the Stonewell Pack has.

She takes a step and breathes deeply, reminded of Draven’s reassurance.

“At least, I don’t have to cook,” Val murmurs beside her.

Eme hums in response.

“Lucky for us, Viola and Jim brought the grub,” Draven comments. Draven and Val take off into the crowd, Draven headed toward the table of food and Val toward Wayne and . . .

There he is. Logan locks eyes with her before she’s ready, and the butterflies intensify. She gives him a small smile with a little wave, and he grins, motioning for her to join them.

“One foot in front of the other,” Eme murmurs to herself.

When she reaches Logan, Val and Wayne continue their conversation, but Logan leans down and whispers in her ear, “You look beautiful.”

“Draven already told me so.”

“Did he now?” He presses a soft kiss to her ear, and it makes her toes tingle. “He can’t have you.”

“Oh?”

He nips her ear then leans away. Eme’s face flushes when she finds Val watching them. “You just wait,” she says sternly. “Before week’s end, there will be a mating ceremony.”

“If you guys keep sneaking kisses like that, there sure as hell will be,” Wayne adds while crossing his arms.

“Sure, sure,” Logan interjects, though, to Eme’s ears, he sounds uncertain. Eme hates that tone, hates that he feels so uncertain about her because she made it that way.

To deflect, Eme once again searches the crowd. She can feel someone staring at her, and when she finds the person, she works not to huff.

Becca’s eyes are locked on her with a sneering sort of expression. Once again, she’s surrounded by her friends, and when Eme holds her gaze, Becca’s top lip curls. Over Eme’s dead body will she cower to a lesser wolf.

In Becca’s hand is a red plastic cup, and she takes a sip before discarding it in the trash can and leaving the backyard with her friends in tow.