A/N: Thank you to all our readers and our reviewers. We love hearing what you think. Please check out "Me's" story "Click". It is fantastic! Also, "Private Performance", he needs your thoughts on who you think Edward will choose. Now on to Emmett's Pov. Enjoy :D
Chapter 12
Emmett POV
Jesus, if I thought Paul was overprotective, he's got nothing on his little dude. Brady was literally sleeping on his chest in wolf form at night. I didn't even know that was possible. And his little purring-growl was about as cute as it gets. No one would ever guess the little wolf, who could walk underneath Paul's wolf, would have the ability to throw a dominant thirty feet in the air without lifting a paw.
"Don't let him get you on your back, you have no leverage that way," Paul said. We were giving Jacob a crash course lesson on fighting. It would be a one-on-one battle, something he'd never really encountered before. He was a good pack fighter but, he'd never fought without at least one other brother. Paul and I had many matches with only one or just the two of us over the years. We were a pack of two with no lands of our own. We were considered rogue and most packs were suspicious of us for that reason alone. "If you can, get behind him and take out one of his back legs. He will be less able to move and it hurts like hell," Paul explained.
I watched Jacob try to get himself behind Paul to get at his back leg. I couldn't hear anything Jacob said, only Paul and Chris. Embry, Seth, and Brady sat next to me all in human form. Brady's wolf could interfere with Jacob's training anytime the future leader tried to attack his mate. He understood that Jacob wouldn't really hurt Paul but, his wolf wouldn't see it that way.
"Tell Jake to leave his claws descended at all times," I said to Paul. It would slow him down if he were running but, any contact he made with the other alpha would do damage. Jacob was a quick learner, he was born for this. His body was massive and strong. Who ever this Jared guy was, he was an idiot.
Jacob's jaws clamped down on Paul's hind leg briefly when he finally figured out how to position himself. I heard the familiar sound of a wolf phasing and Jake went sailing into a tree. I turned to see Brady running over to Paul. I shook my head as I listened to Paul soothe and coo his mate's wolf. This was fucking ridiculous. He needed to be in better control or anytime someone came near Paul, they could end up with a concussion.
"You know Jake isn't going to hurt me, Brady," Paul said.
"Alpha-order him, Paul," I chuckled knowing damn well he wouldn't do it. That was reserved for emergencies and Paul's annoyance with me. He's told me to shut the fuck up "alpha-style" more times than I care to remember and usually because of my love of musicals.
"No," he growled at me."This is a good way for him to learn to control his wolf," Brady stood up on his hind legs for a moment to lick Paul's nose. His mind was quiet but, I'm sure I didn't want to hear the all the lovey-dovey shit he was saying to his mate. "He only phased for the first time about a week ago. He needs a little time."
"You okay, Jake?" Paul asked as the alpha walked over to us. He nodded his head. Brady made his way back over to Seth and Embry who took off his shirt so that Brady could cover up. We spent another couple of hours trying to teach Jacob what we had learned over the years. Mostly, we tried to avoid fighting. That wasn't an option for him.
"Um, Jake, Paul I need to talk to you," Chris said when we came back to the mansion from Jacob's training. "So, Leah has chosen me as her mate."
"I figured after what I heard early this morning," I said not mentioning what I saw in his head that afternoon. It was rare but, not unheard of, a she-wolf. I always figured I'd have a male for a mate mostly because the odds were in favor of it but, I didn't really think I had a preference. What I saw in Chris' head didn't disgust me, in fact, it was kind of sexy but, I really couldn't imagine being with a woman anymore. Or another male for that matter. Embry was it for me, my everything. What we did with Paul was awesome but, it wasn't something we would do again. "But isn't she Cameron's sub?" I asked.
"Yeah," he nodded. "No one has claimed her because she will never breed a dominant. She says that she isn't bitter about it but," his eyes fell to the floor. Embry put his arms around his pack brother as his tears fell. Chris wrapped his arms around my mate as we all stood there watching. "She's so beautiful and perfect and she picked me," he said into my lover's shoulder.
"I'll talk to the council immediately," Jacob said. "I can't go directly to Jared because there is to be no-contact between us until the match but, if a sub has chosen to leave their alpha, then pack law must be obeyed."
"It's my pack she has chosen so," Paul said.
"Are you my beta?" Jacob asked. "Or, are you turning me down?"
Paul pulled his mate closer to his body. Brady seemed to have a calming effect on his mate. I would never have guessed Paul would be so gentle when it came to his imprint. With me, he was almost feral, wanting to claim me, own me. When Embry joined us, his wolf didn't like sharing me and wanted to claim and own Embry as well. Paul knew how to control his wolf, keeping him at bay. But, nothing like what his imprint could do.
Paul closed his eyes and nodded. Jacob put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it."Thank you, Paul. I couldn't have made a better choice."
"I hope you're right," Paul said.
"I'll talk to the council. We may not even have an issue. Maybe Jared will give her up without any problem," Chris lifted his head from Embry's shoulder and wiped his wet cheeks. "He can't keep her if she wants to leave. Where is she now, Chris?"
"She's with them, on the other end of the house. She's been ordered to remain there until they leave," he said.
"I'll go now and let you know," he said. He kissed his mate on the cheek and left without another word. The mood was somber and you could cut the tension in the room with a knife. I needed to fix that. I searched through all the options and decided it was time for a Wii dance party. All the boys groaned but, I knew once I got it going and they saw my horrible dance moves, they'd lighten up a bit and try to show me up. I was right one hour later, I had Embry dancing with me, with Brady and Seth waiting in the wings:
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting, those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, but they did it with expert timing
Oh-oh-oh-oh...
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting, those cats were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning, make sure you have expert timing
"Come on Emmett, at least try to do the right moves," Seth said. I'd lost every round due to the fact that I didn't follow the lame moves they had in the game. This was the perfect song to show off all the hours I spent watching Mr. Miyagi training the Karate Kid.
Hours later, Jacob returned with Leah following behind. Chris jumped up from his seat on the sofa pulling the she-wolf into his arms. I could smell the arousal from across the room. I groaned internally knowing that we were probably in for an earful tonight. Sometimes wolf-hearing wasn't always a good thing.
Jacob and Seth left shortly after and we all headed to bed. It had been a long day and tomorrow would be stressful. I wrapped my body tightly around my lover thinking of all the alphas who he could have ended up with. My sweet, loving mate who only wanted to comfort everyone around him. He could have ended up just like Leah. He didn't carry the dominant gene either.
"Emmett," Embry whispered. "I can't breathe," I loosened my hold, slightly and he pulled in a gasp of air.
"Sorry, baby," I kissed the back of his head. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he said. "Now, quite thinking and go to sleep," I chuckled. He knew me too well.
The morning was cool and the sky was dark as we slowly made our way to the large grassy area on the grounds of the mansion. In wolf form, Paul walked alongside of Jacob with Brady under the protection of his stomach. The rest of us following behind them.
Our minds were quiet and we hadn't given Jacob our complete submission so, I couldn't hear what he was thinking but, his body language showed he was pumped; his head high and a fierce look in his eyes. He was focused on what was about to happen. When Jacob stopped at the edge of the large grassy area, Seth moved to the back of the group after rubbing up against his mate one last time. He came to stand next to Embry and I, as did Brady. We all sat down except for our alphas.
There were a few other wolves scattered around along with Thing-one and Thing-two. The other alpha with his beta by his side and pack made their way to the other side of the field. He wasn't much smaller than Jacob and his face seemed much the same as Jacob's; unemotional but, fierce. His eyes held no compassion as he stared over at his competition. His coloring was dark grey with lighter grey peppered throughout. Part of one ear was missing and there was a small bare patch on his shoulder. A wolf 's healing powers were so fucking awesome that the only way to receive a bald spot was a bite full of venom from a cold one.
Jacob and Jared were asked to move to the center of the field. They stood facing each other both at full height and growling lowly. The battle would end when one submitted to the other. There were no rules other than they had to stay within the marked off arena and no one else could enter. The match began when the two council members left the area.
The wolves circled each other baring their teeth and their hackles up. Jared took the first swipe although, it didn't land as Jacob moved out of the way quickly. Jacob took a snap at Jared who moved out of the way quickly. This went on for quite some time with one or the other trying to inflict the first wound. Jacob was the first to make a move when he crouched back with his putting his weight on his back legs ready to leap. His jump almost landed him on the other alpha's back but, Jared changed direction out of Jacob's reach. The small scratch and blood soaked through Jacob's fur showed that Jared's last-minute swipe had been successful.
Jacob landed and was able to turn his body to face his opponent and his body left the ground again before taking a step catching the other alpha of guard. He was able to push him to the ground and they rolled, clawing at each other. Their growls and snarls filled the air and their bodies pounded on the ground causing it to vibrate. It felt vicious and it was the first time I felt fear for the future alpha. Seth was stoic until his mate was able to break away from the other alpha and saw the blood from oozing from the large gash on Jacob's shoulder. His small whimper broke my heart. I wondered what he was saying to his alpha. I hoped it wasn't how he feeling at that moment. I could hear Paul though. His voice was calm but forceful like a coach would be, never letting his emotions taking over as he helped Jacob.
Jacob wasn't the only one hurt, Jared had several scratches to his underbelly, blood dripping to the ground. He also seemed to have a limp favoring one front paw. Jacob maneuvered to Jared's stronger side, moving in quickly causing Jared to lean on his weakened paw throwing him off-balance. Jacob pin him on his back and leaned in toward the other wolf's neck with his jaws open when he was thrown by the back legs of the grey wolf. Once again, they circled each other trying to get the advantage.
It was obvious that Jared had trained as well for this moment. He wasn't as muscled as Jacob but, he was quick, avoiding Jacob's attacks. At this point, the were up on their hind legs trying to get at each other's throats. Jacob was able to push him backward pushing him to the ground. Not making the same mistake twice, he bit down on the other wolf's leg pulling and twisting. A stomach-turning crack was heard along with Jared's yelp. Jared struggled to get out of the hold, clawing at Jacob. He released the leg to stand over the other alpha baring his teeth. Jared wasn't giving up though trying to tear at Jacob's chest. Dirt and fur flew everywhere as the wolves snarled and snapped at each other. Jared broke free from Jacob a couple of times but Jacob pinned him back down easily.
Jared was able to lock his jaw on Jacob's already-hurt shoulder and Jacob's yelp filled the air. He shook the other alpha's grasp limping backward. It gave Jared the moment he needed to get back up on his feet but, one leg dragged behind him. Both wolves looked exhausted barely holding themselves up. It didn't look like either would give up. I would come down to who had the biggest motivation.
That was when Paul stopped telling Jacob how to fight but, why he should fight. His eyes glanced over at Seth for only a quick moment as Paul told him that someone had to fight against the old traditions and keep submissives safe from alphas like James.
Jacob seemed to find strength in what he heard. He put his full weight on his injured leg and bound forward landing on Jared's back and wrapping his jaws around his neck. Jared tried to buck him off and to his credit, he was able to get Jacob off his back but his teeth remained embedded in the back of his neck. Jacob shook his head a few times and Jared yelped. The grey wolf sank to the ground.
"Don't let go until he agrees," Paul told Jacob. "Make him submit, don't kill him. You'll regret it," Paul and I had both killed in the past. It was in defense of our lives but, it was something that stuck with us and neither of us proud of it. I heard Seth whimper again and looked over as he laid down with his head resting on his paws. Long moments past waiting to see what the other alpha would do. Jacob growled and occasionally moved his strong jaw trying to inflict more pain without finishing him off. No sounds came from Jared and if I didn't know better, I would think he was dead already.
"Thank fuck," Paul said as Jacob slowly relaxed his jaw and then lifted his head never taking his eyes off the prone form. "He's submitted to him."
Seth rose from the ground when his alpha limped his way over to us. He looked haggard and worn-down. His fur was matted from the blood and dirt, his shoulder still oozing. They announced his title, Alpha of alphas but, he didn't seem to hear them. Only a few feet in front of Paul, he shifted into his human form and collapsed. Paul was able to phase and catch him just before he hit the ground. Seth ran to him and lay next to his imprintor, whimpering at the sight of his beaten body as Paul held his head up.
I shifted along with the other dominants of Jacob's pack and we lifted him onto our shoulders, carrying him back to his room. I knew that his new role in the shape-shifter world would be daunting and it was a huge burden for such a young man but, I wouldn't choose anyone else to do it.