The Arrangement

Madeline couldn’t stop pacing the floor. Yes, she had been calm and collected when she had sentenced Benjamin to the cells to await his trial, which would likely not end in his favor. He did confess to the majority of the Pack that he had killed their previous Luna. She had held in her panic in front of them, so they wouldn’t panic. But in her room, with only Emerson and her, she let it all out.

“I mean, what kind of father does that?” She cried out. “Just because, what? He wants to be Alpha? That’s no reason to kill your son’s mate. So why on Earth would he do that?”

Emerson was seated on the bed, his arms crossed. He said, “Because he is broken. And broken people don’t think things through, they just do.”

“Being broken does not give an excuse to kill your son’s only happiness. When my mate died, yes, I was heartbroken, but I didn’t kill my brother’s mate, I didn’t kill his son. I didn’t go on a rampage and try to take over Mystic Peak. You lost your mate and you didn’t go around killing everyone else’s mates. So why? Why did he do it?”

Madeline was on the verge of exploding. Or, at least that’s what it felt like to her. She was just so mad, so confused and angry, and she didn’t know what to feel or what to do. So, she just ranted. That seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Her chosen mate stood up. He grabbed her shoulders gently to cease her pacing. “I don’t know. There’s no logical reason for what happened. He’s insane. The death of my mother has driven him to what he is now. You were strong enough to handle your mate’s death, I was strong enough, but my father was not. He broke. He is broken. There’s nothing that we can do or say to change the past. But we can focus on the future and make sure this never happens again. So, stop worrying before you drive yourself insane.” He removed his hands from her shoulders and placed them on her cheeks. “Go take a hot bath, drink some wine, watch your favorite movies, or whatever else you need to calm down. And if, and only if, you’re calm, you can come to the meeting I’ve called in a couple hours to discuss this. Notice how I said discuss, not freak out.”

She pinched his arm, but nodded. “Okay, okay. A bath sounds nice.”

He smiled. He kissed her hair. “Good.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

She squinted her eyes. “Oh, don’t act you’re not stressed. I can see the tension in your arms, your back. Maybe you should follow your own advice and relax some too. Calm down, you know?”

“I’m always tense Madeline, but nice try.”

Emerson bent down, and before she knew, she was thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

She squealed and wrapped her arms around his middle. “Emerson!” She shrieked.

He set her down on the rim of the bathtub. He turned on the faucet. “No leaving until you’ve soaked for at least half an hour.”

Madeline stuck her tongue at his retreating figure.

When the door shut, she stood. She grabbed a towel and set it on the floor next to the tub. She grabbed some clothes and set them on the floor as well. She adjusted the temperature of the water. She stripped out of her clothes and lowered herself into the tub. She tied up her hair so it wouldn’t get wet.

This is nice.

The heat relaxed her tense muscles, but she still couldn’t help but worry. That little voice in her head couldn’t shut up. She kept thinking about what had happened between her and Benjamin. The way he had looked at her, it was truly insane. What he had revealed…she could almost feel the sting in her hand from when she slapped him.

And then she couldn’t help but think about what she had discovered, her love for Emerson. She didn’t understand how her feelings towards him had manifested into love. How could it have happened so fast? It shouldn’t be possible but it was. And she felt guilty, for loving another, for loving a man who was not her Lucas.

The water went cold. She drained the bath and stepped out, drying and dressing. She wiped away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin.

“How was your bath?” Emerson asked when she emerged from the bathroom.

“Refreshing.”

Madeline jumped on the bed next to him and looked at the TV. Her eyebrows raised. “I never pegged you as a Marvel fan.”

“I’m not,” he said defensively. “I just flipped through the stations and this one had lots of fighting and stuff so I left it on.”

She snorted. “Okay, I’ll pretend to believe you.”

They were about halfway through the movie when Emerson checked the watch on his wrist. “You should get ready if you want to go to that meeting.”

Madeline got up. She walked to the bathroom to apply some makeup. She didn’t put it on because she needed it, or she wanted to cover up her features. She certainly didn’t need it. But she wore it to enhance her features. Just some foundation, a little bit of lipstick, some eyeshadow, and lastly, mascara.

She dressed in a simple pantsuit matched with some black heels. The last thing she did was let down her hair and part it in the middle.

There, done.

Emerson was ready when she stepped back into the bedroom. He wore slacks, nice shoes, and a button up. His hair was combed for once.

“Let’s get going. If we’re late, they’ll think we’re ‘banging’ again,” he said.

She laughed. She remembered well. It was Brandon, of course, who had mentioned it. and then the others had chimed in, and by the end of it, Madeline was redder than a tomato. They had spoken about such absurd things, that she had never even thought of doing.

And Emerson, being the ass that he was, didn’t say anything until her ears turned red.

It wouldn’t have taken so long to get to the meeting room had it not been for the countless Pack members bombarding the two with questions. They wanted to know exactly what was going on, what was to happen, who were involved, were they going to kill Benjamin, etc.

The others in the room were just as disheveled as they were. So that meant Madeline was spared the embarrassment of being accused of being late because Emerson had taken her to bed.

Emerson took a seat at the head of the table, Madeline sat the closets on his right, and Brandon on his left. The others all sat according to their ranks.

They were all quiet, even Brandon who was always teasing Madeline or his Alpha. They were silent now. They all looked to Emerson, awaiting to hear his instructions.

Madeline saw how tensed he was. More so than before. She reached under the table and snagged his hand. She held it firm, letting him know that she was there for him, and that she would support him no matter what.

Emerson cleared his throat. “Benjamin has committed the worse of crimes by murdering Abigail. And because this is a murder crime, it is out of my reach. The Council will decide what to do with him and we will hold him until a decision has been made. I will call after this meeting is over.”

“He murdered out Luna. Screw the Council, we should decide his fate!” One of the commanders in the back exclaimed.

And then the once silent room, erupted. All at once, they began arguing who should punish him, how to punish him. The bellows of their Alpha were swallowed by the noise. Emerson was unheard or they chose not to listen to him.

Madeline had enough of their child-like behaviors. She stood and slammed her hands on the table. “Enough!”

Unlike her mate, she gained their attention and they all quieted.

She looked each and every one of them in the eye. “If I wanted to be surrounded by arguing children, I would be helping Edna right now. But I am here, and I expected to be with mature adults. Instead, you’re all screaming at each other.

“Your Alpha has spoken. We will tell the Council and let them decide the fate of Benjamin. It is out of our hands now. So keep your complaints behind your teeth. You may recommend to the Council of what you think should happen to Benjamin but that is it.”

Madeline sat back down just as the door burst open.

“Alpha, your father is gone!”

They were all on their feet in an instant. And it was in that moment that she was glad she was Luna. They were all pushing and shoving each other, but they didn’t dare push her.

The Alpha and Luna hurried side by side to the cells. They stopped at what a cell that used to occupied, but was now empty.

Gone.

He was gone.

The insane, Luna murdering man had escaped their clutches.

“How the hell did this happen?” Someone in the back demanded.

“He has resources. There are people in this Pack who work for him. They are the ones who got him out,” Madeline spoke.

“And how would you know?”

She leveled her glare on him. “Because there is no way he would have gotten out alone. He had help. Most likely one of the guards on duty.” She looked at the empty cell. “But that is not the question you should be asking. You should be asking what’s his next move? Where will he go? When will he be back?”

“He could have just run away to escape his punishment.” Another spoke.

“Then you have never picked up a book. The villain always comes until he is dead or he gets what he wants. Benjamin will be back, furious and determined to take this Pack for himself. Let’s just hope we’re prepared when he does show.”

Madeline leaned against her mate’s side. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, drawing her too him.

Emerson cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the wolves that were down there. “There’s not much we can do. Question the guards that were on duty, see if you can track his scent. Report back your findings.” He turned to border patrol. “If you have enough, double up the patrol. We need every available wolf on lookout from now on. Tell your sentries to be alert and report any movement. Up the training and push for more to join the Epsilon. I will contact other Packs and the Council to inform them of what’s happening.”

Madeline didn’t realize how bad she was shaking until she was seated on their bed and she looked down at her hands.

Emerson knelt before her and took her hands in his. She didn’t shift her attention away from their hands.

“Madeline, you need to breathe. You’re going to pass out if you don’t. take deep breaths.”

He demonstrated, and after a moment’s hesitation, she repeated the action. A deep breath in and exhale. Deep breath in and exhale. Deep breath in and exhale.

“Good,” he said softly.

“I’m scared,” she said shakily.

He lifted her up, sat, and placed her in his lap. He folded her against his chest, as if trying to protect her from an invisible threat. “I know, I am too. But we need to stay strong, for the Pack’s sake,” he spoke quietly in her ear. “As long as we stick together, we can figure this out. We just need to be strong and keep our heads.”

Madeline clutched his shirt, her tears soaking it. She nodded, just barely. “Okay.”

His warm hand rubbed her back in a soothing manner. “Let it all out now.”

And so she did. She cried into the night. She kept hold of him as she sobbed and shook and screamed. And he just held her threw it all, rubbing her back, and whispering soothing words to her.