#11 Meet Me in the Emerald Forest

Lukas

I would have skipped home if I wasn’t afraid of who might have seen, I was that excited about my 30 minute interaction with Clementine.

For the first time since I met my mate, I was able to hold a conversation with her. I didn’t think, even for one second, that it would feel this amazing to have been near her. Just seeing her smile, causing her to laugh, and watching her subtle facial expressions was enough to make every single struggle I’ve ever faced completely pale in comparison to not having her by my side for eternity.

Which meant that I was in deep shit because now I knew what it was like to have my mate’s attention and there was no going back after that. Bastian was completely and totally irrational at this point, there was no containing him or talking him out of going after his mate. It was also safe to say that I was now right there with him. Clementine was mine and we were hers.

Garrick was right, she was a grown woman and boy has she grown. She knew what she wanted out of life and she wasn’t going to let anyone, least of all me and the pack, stop her from achieving it. I didn’t have to be afraid of stealing her freedom because I was pretty sure she would shoot me if I even tried. She could make her own choices now and I had to let her. It was time to come clean with my mate and let her make up her own mind about me and my world.

But, first, I had to make her fall in love with me and that would be the real challenge.

“Well don’t you look jollier than an elf at Christmas time.” Mateo, who had returned at the same time as Clementine, grinned at me when I entered the packhouse.

“I saw Josh and Jake at Clementine’s house.” I said and Mateo’s eyes went wide.

“You were at Clementine’s house?”

“I was with Clementine.” I clarified and Mateo’s eyes grew two more sizes.

“Tell me more, please.” He sounded like a gossiping school girl.

“I was going for a run in the Emerald forest and stopped at the tree where we first met. She must’ve had the same idea after her road trip.” I explained as we walked towards my office. By now, Garrick had joined us and was clinging to my every word.

“Yeah, her brother was really pissing her off.” Mateo said, looking slightly scared as he thought about Clementine’s anger.

“I noticed. Met him, too.” I said, unlocking the door to my office.

“So…what does this mean?” Garrick sang with a stupid look on his face.

“It means you were right, okay?” I snapped at him, plopping down in the desk chair.

“I was right?” Garrick faked surprise, his hand fluttering dramatically to his heart.

“Yes, okay? God damn it, Garrick, do you have to look so smug?” I growled at him and he couldn’t contain his laughter. He poured the three of us some whisky and handed out the glasses,

“So, your head has been effectively removed from your ass, then?” Garrick clarified and I gave him a look that said shut it or die.

“I want her, happy? I want her like I want air to breathe and walking away from her today nearly killed me. She’s mine and I’m going to make sure she and the rest of the world knows it.” I snarled, slamming the now empty whisky glass down on my desk.

Garrick and Mateo exchanged glances before they began pumping their fists into the air, cheering.

“Thank the Goddess!” Garrick shouted while Mateo conducted some sort of appalling happy dance.

“Please, please stop that.” I begged, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Not gonna stop until she’s here. I am so tired of chasing that woman all over creation.” Mateo groaned dramatically.

“You’re still going to be following her around even after she’s the Luna, you idiot.” Garrick said, slapping him in the back of his head.

“Yeah, but at least she’ll be here most of the time and I won’t have to be all stealthy about it.” Mateo glared at Garrick.

“Let’s just face one problem at a time, please. First, I need to properly date her before diving into the whole werewolf and mate situation. Oh, and I have three months to accomplish this.” I said, listing off the series of impossible tasks I had before me.

“Three months?” Garrick asked.

“That’s how long she’s on leave for.” Mateo explained before looking back at me, “You just have to be firm with her. She doesn’t do subtlety or beating around the bush. Any signs of weakness and she’ll chew you up and spit you back out. Just be honest and up front, make a stand.” Mateo said,

“Even just today I could tell that she was affected by our bond. She felt the sparks and she was drawn to talk with me. She said that she wasn’t usually that chatty with strangers.” I replied proudly.

“That’s true. She normally just ignores them or is unbelievably sassy.” Mateo mumbled like he was speaking from experience.

“I already have a reason to go back to her house.” I said as I stood up and pulled open the top drawer of my filing cabinet.

“Oh?” Mateo asked curiously.

“I told her that we had some files on the Willow street serial killer.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Garrick asked, looking between Mateo and I.

“She’s been hunting down leads on her parents’ killer since she joined the FBI.” Mateo added, “She’s like a dog with a bone, so I don’t know if I’d encourage her.”

“She’s going to look into it one way or the other, and, eventually, I’m going to tell her the entire truth. For now, at least I can give her some hope that she’ll find out the truth soon.” I plopped the few files we had on the case down on my desk.

“I don’t know. What if she doesn’t see it like that? What if, when she finds out the truth, she’s just mad at you for lying to her?” Mateo asked and I studied his expression.

“I guess that’s a risk I’m going to have to take.” I said, sitting back down and going through the files. I had to remove anything that mentioned werewolves or the pack.

“I have Rick and Thaddeus taking over for Jake and Josh at midnight.” Mateo sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to talk me out of my decision.

“Good. Do you happen to know her schedule now that she’s home?” I asked.

“Daniel owns an art gallery in D.C. and usually leaves for the train by 5:00 AM. Clementine is having her files sent over from Quantico along with consulting on some of their cases so I’m sure she’ll be staying at the house.” Mateo replied.

“Confirm that with Rick and Thaddeus in the morning so I know when to stop by.” I said before turning my attention back to the files.

Mateo and Garrick left my office then, and a little while later I switched off the lights and went upstairs to my bedroom. I could hardly sleep, feeling giddy and excited about seeing my mate. The next morning I took a quick shower, dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice v-neck t-shirt and headed downstairs.

The packhouse for the Emerald Forest pack was simply that, a house. Only the Alpha family lived here in the generously sized two story farmhouse. Five of the bedrooms were located on the second floor and each one had its own bathroom and walk in-closet. The ground floor was an open concept living room and kitchen along with another full bathroom, a guest bedroom with adjoining bathroom, two offices, and a good size library. The living room was large with an oversized sectional sofa facing a stone, wood burning fireplace that took up the entire wall and a TV mounted above the mantle.

There was a finished basement with another fireplace inside the large open room which served as a media and game room, there was also another full bathroom and small guest bedroom. Growing up, the basement was utilized as a playroom and then a hang out space for my sister, Lily and I. It was where we set up our Christmas tree, had family game nights, and got into trouble with our friends as teenagers. It was by far my favorite place in the entire house.

I walked across the pack grounds, waving and smiling politely at various pack members as I went towards the community center. In the middle of the main part of the pack grounds was a large traditional looking log cabin. It had a huge front porch with picnic tables and rocking chairs scattered all around. The large double doors welcomed you into a mudroom with river rock flooring. There was a huge walk in-closet with spare clothes for anyone to use after shifting.

Through the entryway was a gigantic family room, dining hall, and kitchen for everyone in the pack to utilize. The kitchen was fully staffed with amazing cooks, chiefs, and bakers to prepare three meals a day for the pack; it was set up buffet style in the dining hall. The living room had a huge TV stocked with all the best streaming services and an even bigger couch. There were chairs, cushions, and bean bags all over the place for people to gather. The pack library was also located in the community center and was the same size of any local library you’d find in the city.

Once again, the basement was finished and converted into a well supplied game room including video games, VR, pinball machines, two pool tables, foosball, table tennis, a poker table, and several high top tables for playing board- and card games. There was a bar stocked with drinks and snack foods along the large back wall.

“Hey, Alpha.” One of the ladies from the cleaning staff greeted me as I entered the dining hall.

“Good morning, Martha.” I smiled as continued towards the buffet tables.

I picked up a plate and started filling it up with breakfast foods: pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast with grape jelly, and a cup of fruit. I joined Mateo, Garrick, Lily, and my niece, Callie, at the table.

“Uncie Luke!” Callie shrieked, jumping down from her chair to hop onto my lap.

“Hi, Cal.” I chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist so she wouldn’t fall off my lap.

Callie was Lily and Garrick’s four year old daughter. She had Lily’s dirty blonde hair and Garrick’s chocolate brown eyes. She was a sassy sweetheart and the absolute light of my life. Lily mocked me for spoiling her and I was completely okay with that.

“Daddy said you found the Luna. When can I see her?” Callie asked and I shot Garrick a glare.

“Oh come on, you can’t be mad at him, Lukas.” Lily frowned, “How could Garrick not tell me about your mate?”

“Thanks, buddy.” I sighed loudly at Garrick who just shrugged,

“What can ya do?”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about her seven years ago.” Lily said, shooting a frustrated look towards Garrick. I decided to let Garrick off the hook, assuming that he has already gotten an earful from my sister for not telling him about Clementine years ago.

“Don’t start with me, Lily.” I shut her down.

“Uncie Lukas!” Callie yelled at me and I winced at her volume.

“You’ll get to meet her when she’s ready. My mate is a human, Callie, so this is all going to be a lot for her.” I explained carefully.

“She’s a human?” Callie’s eyes went wide.

“She is.”

“Does she have a name?” Lily asked, cocking one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows.

“She does.” I declined to give her any more information as I dove into my breakfast.

An hour later, Mateo informed me that Daniel had left the house hours earlier and Clementine had just received a package from Qunitco so she was settling into her office. It was 9:00 AM and I just couldn’t wait any longer. I grabbed the files from my office and hopped into my black truck, driving off towards Clementine’s house.