(Emily POV)
I stood frozen in shock as I watched Noah disappear down the driveway. I heard the door to the garage swing open, I turned around to see a flustered looking Nick. "Emily, what the hell is going on?" He questioned as he noticed Noah was gone. Shit. I have to tell them something. "Um, there are some things you guys need to know. Can you grab everyone and have them meet me in Reese's room?" I was walking into the house as I spoke, not pausing for his reply. I ran upstairs into the room Reese was in. I slowly approached his bed and sat down. He was so pale from all of the blood loss, his breathing was a bit shallow but even. His body was covered with bruises and cuts. The emotion from everything that happened came crashing back down on me as I took his hand in mine. I gave in to the waves of feelings and let the tears slip down my face. A small sob wracked my body, followed by another, then another. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Elena had come over from her perch by the window. She was just about to say something when Nick came in with Jeremy, Antonio, and Clay.
"Emily I want you to tell me what happened tonight and where Noah went. Now" Jeremy ordered calmly. I knew there was no more hiding behind my secrets. My body shook violently with sobs as I told them everything I could, but keeping true to my word I didn't tell them about the baby. I simply explained that Noah had picked up the same scent at his girlfriend's house and he rushed off to go check on her. Jeremy exchanged a silent look with Clay who handed me a pen and paper for me to write down the address. I jotted it down and handed the paper back to him before he left. Jeremy wasn't happy with me for neglecting to tell him that I knew the mutt was nearby. He and Elena left to make some calls, trying to get more info on the mystery mutt. Antonio stood up and tugged Nick our the door to get the body in the woods cleaned up.
Once I was alone again, the gravity of the situation overwhelmed me. I killed someone. It was all I could repeat over and over again as I felt my insides twist up with nausea. I ran to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. I grimaced when I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I still looked like myself, but I didn't recognize the girl looking back at me. I'd taken a life. I was a killer.
I walked back over to the bed to watch over my mate. My body ached and all I wanted was to curl up in bed and chalk this up to a bad dream, but it wasn't a dream and my wolf was too restless to allow me to sleep. So I sat quietly beside my love, scanning the doors and windows for any sign of intrusion or danger until the sun was fully up in the sky.
(Reese POV)
I woke up with a pounding headache. I tried to move my arms to sit up but every inch of my body felt like it was on fire. What the hell did I drink last night? I thought as a fresh wave of pain erupted in my head. I cracked my eye open to see sunlight streaming in the windows. Another shot of pain sounded in my skull before the memories of last night came rushing back. Emily. She said yes. God she looked like a goddess in the candlelight. I made love to her, then the howls woke us up. I tried to get her to stay put so I could keep her safe. Her wolf jumped out of the window, she was fighting another wolf. She ran into the woods. My eyes flew open as the memory rushed into my mind. Ignoring the pain I pushed myself halfway up before I felt hands pushing me back down. "Baby calm down. It's okay, you're okay. I'm right here." Emily said as she pinned my shoulders to the bed. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but when I glanced over at her I stopped in my tracks. Somethings wrong with her. My wolf growled at the sight of our mate. She looked exhausted. Her usually tanned skin was pale and clammy. Her eyes were red and puffy, tear stains littered her cheeks. Her hand slid into mine, it was trembling. "What happened? Are you o-" she cut me off with a light kiss. "I will be. How are you feeling? I'm so glad that you're awake." she tried to smile a reassuring smile as she gave my hand a squeeze. "What happened to the mutt I was fighting? I had the upper hand until the bastard pulled out a knife and tried to gut me." Her face went solid white and I jumped up when she ran to the bathroom to puke. I ignored the pain in my side as I made my way to her.
She was sitting on the floor next to the toilet with her knees pulled in tight to her chest. Hot tears poured down her face and sobs wracked her body. "Baby, please look at me." I coaxed as I made my way onto the floor beside her. "Em look at me. What happened? Did he hurt you?" I could feel my anger rising at the thought of anyone laying a hand on my mate. How could I not have been there to protect her? I growled at the thought. Emily looked up, surprised at the sound. "He, he- no he didn't hurt me. Reese I- I" she couldn't finish before sobs took over her tiny body again. "I did something terrible" she squeaked as she buried her face into her knees, no longer willing to look me in the eyes. Help her my wolf grumbled at me. "Love what did you do?" I asked softly "Emily baby please, I'm your mate. If you can tell anyone it's me. You know I won't think any less of you." She sniffled as she looked up at me, she looked so hurt and broken I wanted nothing more than to take her into my arms and take the pain away. "He was going to kill you Reese. I had to do something, I don't know why but I just couldn't stop. I- I killed him. I ripped his throat out." She twirled around as her body wretched with sickness again.
I stood up and pulled her off the floor, leading her by the hand down the hall and into her room. I kept a tight hold on her as I plopped down onto the bed and pulled her down with me. She tried to protest but I shushed her as I pulled her over and tucked her body in beside mine. I felt her take a few deep breaths as her tears began to slow. My heart was breaking for her, we've all killed. It's an unfortunate part of the world we live in, but it never makes it any easier. Especially the first time it happens. "You saved my life" I whispered into her hair "I would be dead right now if you wouldn't have done what you did. This doesn't change you as a person love. You are still good and kind, with a beautiful heart. I wish that this world wasn't so violent, and I've tried to keep this side of it from you as much as I could. I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but you did the right thing. I love you sweetheart, always will no matter what. It's going to take some time to get over this, but you won't be doing it alone. You have me and the entire pack here to help you. We've all been through this exact same feeling that you're having right now. The fact that you're mourning the death of a mutt who intended to kill you simply speaks to the beauty in your heart." I traced small circles on her back under her shirt. My fingers brushed against something hard on her back, she winced a little before settling back down onto my chest.
I leaned up on my elbows and pulled up the back of her shirt. Rage filled my senses as I took in the two large lines of stitches running down her back. "Did the wolf you chased into the woods do this?" She nodded and pulled me back down to snuggle into my chest. "It was him." She whispered. I gripped the sheets as realization washed over me. Fucking hell, he came for her. He came for her and I let her face him alone. He hurt her again. "Don't worry, he'll get what's coming to him Reese. Now it'll be easier to pick him out in a crowd. I left him with a nasty scar." She rubbed her head into my neck and took another deep breath. "So, you still want to marry me? I mean even after I- I did what I did?" She looked up at me through her lashes and bit her lip. I groaned and pulled her even closer "Baby, you're fucking course I still want to marry you. Now- you and I need some rest. I'm sure everyone is on high alert downstairs, if someone's stupid enough to come back they won't make it very far." I reassured her as I rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Sleep love, everything's going to be okay."
(Emily POV)
I fell into a restless sleep, images of the mutt laying mauled on the ground haunted my dreams. I woke to someone lightly shaking me. "Emily" another shake. I groaned and opened one eye, it was darker now than it was when I fell asleep, I glanced at the clock and it read 6:30am. Oh my gosh. How long was I asleep? I blinked and tried to focus my still heavy eyes. Noah was standing beside my bed. He was wearing the same clothes I'd seen him in the night he took off to check on Tara. "Noah hey, what's going on? Is everything okay?" I asked groggily, trying to sit up. He surprised me by grabbing me and pulling me into a hug. "Thank you" he whispered into my ear "you kept your word. I was so scared when Clayton showed up at Taras apartment. I thought he was going to break the door down he was knocking so hard. I was so sure you'd told them and they'd come to drag me back home, but you didn't tell them about the baby. I literally can't ever thank you enough for what you've done to help me Em." I hugged my little brother back. Even if I don't agree with him keeping a secret this big, I love him too much to betray his trust. "You know my word is my bond. I didn't say anything more than what I had to, but Noah we aren't going to be able to keep this secret forever. What are you going to do once the baby is born? Are you going to leave her and live with her? What will your excuse be then? Eventually they're going to find out. Maybe Reese can help us figure-" he cut me off with a shake of his head. "No Emily. Not yet, I love Reese, he's my brother and I trust him with my life. He's an amazing person and I hate that I've put you in the position to keep anything from him, but I need more time to figure this out okay? Can you please give me that? Just a little longer, at least a few more weeks until I know if it's even going to be a boy." His eyes were pleading with me as he spoke.
"Okay, a few more weeks then. But I have some conditions." He nodded his head for me to continue. "One you can't just go running off rouge like that, you could've gotten yourself killed Noah. Do you understand that? You're a talented fighter, but it isn't your best skill set. You have to think before you go running off into danger or you may not make it to the day your baby is born." He looked at the ground and gave a small nod of agreement."Two you and I are going to train together, every day. I understand the need to protect your mate, so I want to help you be the best you can be incase the day ever comes that you're put in the position to do it. And three, I'm going to start stopping by to check on Tara a few times a week on the days you aren't able to. She is your mate and she's pregnant with your child, that means she is under my protection just like I would protect you if I felt you were in danger." He nodded again in agreement as I took his hand in mine and gave it a small squeeze. "We're going to get through this Noah. I promise you everything will be okay." And I meant what I said to him. I will defend and protect my brother and his child at all costs. I will kill the bastard who dared threaten my pack. If it's the last thing I do, I'll kill him.