Emerson's Beta met them at as they walked through the Pack House doors. His mate was quiet by his side and he knew the reason for it. Unfortunately, it wasn't something he could fix. He tried to place a comforting hand on her back but she moved away.

"How did it go?" Brandon asked.

Madeline pushed passed them and hurried to the living room where her friend was waiting for her. He watched the two embrace.

"That good, hm?"

Emerson scowled at him and smacked him upside the head. "Let's discuss this in my office."

He didn't say anything else until they were both seated in his newly repaired office. He barely glanced at his remodeled office. He knew it wouldn't stay that way. Madeline had a thing for interior design. She loved to completely redo everything, much to his dismay. It wouldn't be so bad if he could find his things.

"Why is she upset?"

"You just don't beat around the bush do you, Brandon?"

His Beta gave him an unamused face. "What happened?"

He braced his elbows on the table. "In a week, all of us Alphas will be bringing our best warriors to the Bloodmoon Forest."

"Shit Emerson, that's Rogue territory," Brandon growled.

"We have intel that they are regrouping not far from there. We don't have an exact location on where they will be. Once we're there we'll send scouts out to locate them. From there we'll ambush them. Hopefully, Benjamin will be there and we can end this."

"Are we even sure that he's the one calling all the shots?"

Emerson opened a drawer and pulled up a folded piece of paper. He opened it and smoothed it out. He placed it in front of his Beta. Brandon looked at his Alpha for a moment before reaching for it and read:

Dear Son,

How did you like my gift for you? I hope nothing is too damaged, I don't want my Pack to be in rubble when I take over. Rebuilding is so much work is it not? I expect that you will get calls from the other Alphas if you haven't already. You weren't the only one that got a gift. The other Packs got them too, though they did more damage. Turns out my army is very peeved with them, for throwing out my soldiers and all. So really, the only ones to blame for this are you Alphas. You were the ones who created all this anger in them. But I've promised as soon as I take my Pack back I will help them get revenge on all who have hurt them.

I will take back my Pack. I am the rightful Alpha. You have done nothing but hurt them. I will bring them into the light. That does mean you must die. I wish there could be another way but there is none. As for your new little mate, she's a pretty thing, isn't she? If she hadn't meddled in my affairs, I would have let her live. Perhaps taken her as my own mate. Think of the beautiful children we could have. Alas, she must die as well, though I do suppose I could always break that spirit of hers. Doesn't matter, you'll be dead. You won't know what I'll do to her.

The next time you hear from me it will be in person and a much bloodier environment.

Sincerely,

Your loving father

Brandon placed the paper down and massaged his temples. "Emerson, you have some serious daddy issues."

Emerson snorted.

"When did you receive this?"

"The day after the attack."

"And you haven't told anyone? Does Madeline know?"

"No. And I would prefer to keep it that way. She has enough on her plate right now. She doesn't need this added to it." He folded up the letter and placed it back in the drawer. He closed it and locked it.

"She should know. It does pertain to her as well, not just you."

"I said, she doesn't need to know," he said tightly. He was leaving. He was leaving her. "Brandon, you will be deciding who comes with us and who stays behind. Most will be coming with us to Bloodmoon. Make sure there's enough left behind to defend the Pack. Run the list through me and I'll make the final decisions on who's coming and who's not. Please inform the Omegas to prepare everything for our departure."

His Beta nodded. "Right away Alpha. You should probably get back your mate. You don't want to leave on bad terms now do you?"

"Yeah, I know. I should get her something too, like a teddy bear or something."

Brandon snorted. "You are so whipped. Just to think, two months ago you hated everything about her, though she was just a silly little girl. And now look where you are. you're completely smitten with her."

"Just you wait until you get your own mate. Then I'll rub it in your face with how whipped you are."

His Beta fell silent. It was a bit of a hard subject, what with him being in his thirties and still mateless.

Emerson sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're not that old Brandon. There's plenty of people who are your age and still haven't met their mates. Perhaps you'll meet yours at Bloodmoon."

"God, I hope not. I don't want my mate to be anywhere the conflict."

"Hopefully she isn't then. If all else fails and Benjamin doesn't succeed, you could always go to the ball. It is designed for wolves to meet their mates."

"Assuming we live through this, I'll consider it."

"We will live through this," Emerson said sharply. "I'll make sure of it."

The Beta nodded. "Well, you better go get that teddy bear for your mate. Try spraying your cologne on it too. I've heard that women like to cuddle things that smell like their mate."

He barked a laugh. "I'll think about it."

Emerson was definitely not going to tell Brandon or Madeline or anyone that he spent ten minutes rubbing his scent all over the large teddy bear he got for his mate. Though his scent would probably be faded by the time he left in a week so he made a not to rub himself all over it before he left.

He looked in the living room, the kitchen, the game room, and even the Alpha Wing but couldn't find his mate.

The cook found him at the bottom of the stairs looking distraught and confused. "Madeline and that friend of hers left. Said something about that boutique of hers."

"Thank you."

"Of course, Alpha."

Emerson offered a small smile before he turned and left. He knew where it was or at least the area it was at. He had gone there a time or two to pick up a tipsy Madeline. It seemed almost every time they were together, they were either drinking and sharing things, or they were watching sad chick flicks and crying their eyes out. They had a weird friendship that he wasn't even going to attempt to try and understand.

He read each of the building signs until he came upon the Rosebud Boutique. He pushed open the door and stepped in.

"We're not open! Come back tomorrow," the voice of his mate's friend called out.

He followed their scents to the back room. "It's just me Casey."

Emerson felt pathetic standing there with that teddy bear in his hands. He saw his mate's red and puffy eyes before she turned away from him. He felt like a terrible mate. It was his fault she upset.

"You are not welcome here right now," Casey puffed out her chest and crossed her arms, trying to intimidate him. "Leave."

He sighed. "I've come to make amends. I bought a bear." He held up the gift even though they had already seen it.

The girl was about to speak when he heard his mate's lovely voice. "It's fine Casey. Give us a moment please."

She huffed. "Five minutes and then I'll be back. And if you try anything, Alpha or not, I'll get you."

"I'll be on my best behavior," he promised.

She glared at him one more time before leaving. Emerson turned back to his tear-streaked mate. He placed the bear down to the side, making sure to prop it up.

"Madeline, I'm-"

"You're leaving," she cut in.

"I know."

"In a week."

"I know."

She chocked a sob back and he wanted to do everything he could to make her happy. But what she wanted was something he couldn't give her.

"He left too. He went to war and he never came back. He promised he would and then didn't. I lost him. I don't want to lose you too. I can't lose you too. If you die, it will break me. I can't- I can't-"

Madeline had burst into tears then. It was rare to see her cry. He could count on one hand the times he had seen her cry.

"I don't want you to go," she said when she regained her composure, "but I know you have to."

He took a seat next to her. "Then you know, I will do everything in my power to come back to you. You are my world."

"I know," she said barely above a whispered.

"I will come back. I promi-"

"Don't. Don't promise something you can't keep."

He sighed. "I'm going to go and I am going to kill him so we don't have to live in fear anymore. So we can be happy and have a family without being afraid that he is going to kill us."

She was quiet for a moment. "But will it stop with him? There will always be someone out there who wants to hurt and kill me, us, and any children we have. There's always going to be something. You're an Alpha. There are going to be wolves out there that want your blood and they will use me or our children."

"You knew what you were signing up for when you agreed to this."

"You think I don't know that? My brother is an Alpha. I know the danger. I just...I don't know." The tears started to flow again.

This time, he put his arm around her. He took a deep breath. "I know. I know it's hard. I promise I will call you as often as I can. I will do my hardest to come back to you as soon as I can. Every moment I am away I will be fighting to get back to you. I love you."

"I love you too." She embraced him and he hugged her tight. He dug his nose in her hair. His eyes closed as he savored the moment.

"How long do you think Casey has been listening?" Madeline asked him.

He chuckled, "Since the beginning."

"No one likes a tattle tale Alpha!" Casey yelled through the door.

The Alpha and Luna both laughed to themselves. He kissed her head then leaned back.

"You can come in Casey," he said, "I have to be going anyways."

"So soon?"

"Yes, my love. There are things I need to attend to, preparations to make."

Madeline looked down but nodded. "Okay."

"I'll see you tonight okay?"

She nodded and he smiled. "Be good you two. No getting into trouble."

"No promises!" Casey called out to him as he was walking away.

He rolled his eyes. He didn't need a repeat of last time. The two of them thought it would be a good idea to prank Madeline's guard. It ended with half the pack in panic and a very unhappy Emerson. Needless to say, he made sure to have more guards around when they hung out together.

"If you get in trouble I'm not bailing you two out."

They all knew they wouldn't get punished for whatever they did. Well, Madeline would, but that would only be behind closed doors. He would give Case some Omega work to discourage her if it would work. It never did, unfortunately.

"Yes, you will!"

"Whatever!"