~~
Trinity
~~
Dietrich decided to settle in at the estate. He said it was so he could talk to us about the case easier, but I know it was so he could be closer to Shawn, who would be working in the house most days. He also planned to help me find someone who would help me to develop my magic. I had to admit, having Dietrich around would be pretty nice. And I think Shawn will come around to having his new mate, eventually.
The day after Dietrich's arrival, there was a surprise visit from my last wedding planning crew member, and her parents of course. It was just after lunch that our newest visitors had arrived. We weren't expecting them, and somehow they managed to get all the way to our door without so much as a phone call from the guards. I had a feeling Noah had a hand in it, as he was conveniently absent today for an appointment with Nikki with the pack doctors.
Noah was due back later this afternoon with Carter, the tailor was coming to measure everyone, except Riley, for their suits for the wedding. Uncle Wesley and Grandfather would be here as well. And Vincent would already be here on guard duty. Everything would work out well.
But, then Emmalee showed up with Bryce and Bree. I was happy to see Emmalee. I knew she would be a valuable asset for planning the wedding, and I was genuinely grateful to have her around. When Reece and I went to the hall to answer the door, I had never expected the blonde bundle of energy to explode into the room.
"Trinity!" Emmalee ran to me as soon as the door was open, before we even had a chance to welcome the guests to our home. "I'm so happy for you." She threw her arms around me, excitement and true happiness showing on her face.
"Emmalee, it's great to see you." I hugged her back.
"Emmalee, give the woman a chance to breathe." Bryce scolded her from the doorway. "I'm sorry Reece, my boy, I never can control that girl."
"No worries Bryce, it's fine. To what do we owe for the surprise visit today?" Reece asked with a smile.
"I have some personal business to discuss with you. If I may borrow some of your time for a little while."
"Yeah, no problem. Should we discuss things in my office then?"
"No, I would prefer to talk outside if that is alright with you."
"Ok." Reece seemed confused but agreed.
"Emmalee, Bree, would the two of you like to join me in the living room. I can get some refreshments and we can catch up."
"Yes, oh Goddess, I need to hear details about the proposal and the wedding." Emmalee linked her arm around mine and started off into the house. "Let's have some champagne to celebrate."
"Emmalee!"
"No!" Bryce and Reece yelled out at the same time making Emmalee stop in place.
"Emmalee Jade Evans, you are not using Trinity as an excuse to drink, not after last time." Emmalee hung her head.
"Trinity and you are both underage anyway." Reece didn't say anything else.
"Come on you old fuddies. It's not like we're humans, a little celebration is nothing to fear."
"No, Emmalee, I can't drink." I informed her.
"Don't let those boring boys staunch your fun Trinity."
"It's not that Emmalee, I can't." I smiled at her but she still didn't get it, but it seemed someone else did.
"Oh, congratulations Trinity." Bree cooed.
"Reece, boy, you dog." Bryce smiled. "Congrats. Hopefully you have better luck than I did." He laughed and Reece grinned his goofy grin again.
"What are you talking about?" Emmalee asked us all.
"Are you kidding me?" Bryce looked at his daughter in exasperation.
"Emmalee, Trinity is pregnant, so she can't drink alcohol." Bree told her.
I watched as Emmalee's eyes got bigger and bigger, until eventually they looked like giant green orbs floating in the middle of her beautiful face.
"EEeeeee!" She squealed, long and loud. "Trinity!" She yelled and she hugged me again. "Congratulations."
"Thank you Emmalee. Now, let's go so the boys can have their play time." I joked as I turned and winked at Reece. "See you later." I told him playfully. I heard a low growl answer me before I left the foyer entirely.
~~
Reece
~~
I went outside with Bryce as soon as the women left the hall. I let the older man lead the way and followed as he went toward the large, burnt orange colored SUV. He seemed to be heading toward the cargo area. When he was almost there he pressed a button on his key fob that caused the gate to lift automatically.
"So what is so important out here Bryce?" I asked him.
"I have an early wedding gift for you." He smirked at the words.
"You could have waited to give me any gift until the wedding, it's not that long of a wait you know. And shouldn't Trinity be here then?"
"No, this gift you have to open yourself with no one else around." I tilted my head in confusion, looking at him with a new found curiosity.
"Alright, I'm intrigued. What is it?"
"You need to open it." He said pointing at a medium sized square box, maybe a little over a foot in length. The box was wrapped in black paper with a gaudy red bow.
I stepped closer to the SUV's cargo bay and looked at the box with suspicion and anticipation at the same time. I reached my hands out slowly and grabbed the lid before looking back at Brye one last time. He had a bright, excited smile on his face. I didn't think he was out to trick me or betray me, but I didn't understand his look at all.
With slow movements, I finally lifted the lid off of the gift. Once the lid was no longer sitting atop the box, all four sides fell down as if they were flaps. The sides dropping revealed what was inside the box, but before I even saw what it was, the sharp scent of blood hit my nose with such intensity that it nearly made me sick.
The bottom of the box was lined in plastic with a cloth sitting in the middle so soaked in blood it was black. And resting atop that cloth was a head. Not just any head though, it was Stanley, the leader of the Black Moon pack's head.
"Bryce?" I spoke in a questioning tone.
"I promised you that I would tell you if I came across him before you, didn't I?" Bryce was grinning proudly. "Well, I figured you were busy with the wedding, and the case that you've been tracking down, and now an upcoming baby too I guess. I thought I would work extra hard to track him down. We found him two days ago and I took the liberty of preparing this gift and arranging this visit. Your beta was helpful in helping me to surprise you, though he thought I just wanted to surprise Trinity with a visit from Emmalee." The old man was positively beaming as he spoke.
"Sorry I took the joy of killing him, but he did cause a lot of trouble on my lands." Bryce was looking a little upset now, like he thought I was mad. I was a little surprised when I first saw the man's head sitting before me, but when I realized who he was all I could do was grin.
"He finally got what he deserved." I told the older man.
"That he did, asshole probably deserved worse though, really."
"You're not kidding. He was always trying to poach my lands." I laughed with him good naturedly.
"Speaking of lands, what should we do with his? Didn't he have some sort of treaty with you?"
"No, he wouldn't sign with anyone, or rather no one was willing to sign with him."
"Do you have someone in mind that would make a good alpha?"
"I have a man or two in mind." I told him. "What about you?"
"There might be a couple that would do a decent job, but I have been grooming my son to be my successor and he would be the most qualified. I can't send my son to run a different pack."
"We can discuss this a little more later, once we're inside. I can hear a car approaching."
"Yeah, I hear it too boy."
"One more thing, Bryce, where are you staying for tonight? We can prepare rooms for you if you'd like."
"That'd be great." He smiled at me before the car that carried Noah and Carter got back.
When the men parked and got out, the four of us went back inside the house. Stanley's head was closed back up inside the box, and when the ladies were not around we would dispose of it. We were walking toward the living room, Bryce and me in the lead, Noah and Carter bringing up the rear, when I heard a shout from up ahead.
"Oh Goddess! He's here." Emmalee shouted.
I saw her bolt to her feet and start running toward us as soon as we all entered the room. I thought she might have been running to her father, but she just ran past him, past all of us except Carter. She ran straight at him and literally tackled him to the floor.
"You're not getting away this time." She was pinning him to the ground by laying across him.
"EMMALEE!" Bryce and Bree both screamed.
"Carter are you alright?" Trinity asked.
"What the?" Noah gasped. I just stared in fascination. I think I finally figured out why Carter has been so down lately.
~~
Trinity
~~
I was standing there in total shock. The minute Reece came into the room with Bryce and my cousins, Emmalee bolted to her feet and tackled Carter to the ground. I easily guessed why though. It was obvious that Carter was the mate she mentioned back in January. And Emmalee was the daughter of the Alpha and mate that Carter mentioned to me in December. They had never met face to face, only smelled each other's scents.
Carter was on a scouting mission and left the minute he smelled Emmalee in that pack, knowing she would seek him out and blow his cover. Emmalee, having smelled Carter, searched for him frantically, only to break down into tears when she couldn't find him. They never thought that they would ever find each other again.
"Emmalee, what are you doing?" Bryce demanded.
"Emmalee?" Carter said in a soft voice filled with awe. He and Emmalee were staring at each other's eyes intently.
"It's alright Bryce, I think we should just watch for now." Reece smiled knowingly and Bryce stared on in confusion.
"Why did you run away from me?" Emmalee seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"I had no choice. I couldn't be found out."
"What's he talking about?" Bryce asked Reece.
"When the Warlocks were after Trinity, I knew that other packs were part of it, so I sent scouts." I expected Bryce to be mad, but he just smiled.
"Exactly what I would have done. Smart boy."
"I don't care that you could have been found out. I thought my mate didn't want me. I thought you looked at me and ran away."
"I never even got the chance to speak to you. But I saw you, and I wanted you." Carter turned his head to look away from her in embarrassment. "I have been wondering if I'd ever get the chance to make it right. I knew that if I went back to the pack and talked to everyone then they would know that I was a spy. I thought you would hate me too, for being a spy."
"You were following orders, and we had nothing to hide. I don't know why you were investigating us, but I know our packs are allies now." Emmalee was smiling, but Carter was still looking upset.
"I just thought I blew it before I had a chance to meet you as myself."
"Who are you? Why are you here? What's your name?" Emmalee bombarded him with questions.
"My name is Carter, and I am Trinity's cousin."
"So you mean Trinity and I are going to be related now?" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Does that mean you forgive me for running?" Carter asked her nervously.
"Not yet, but eventually." She joked with him as she smiled radiantly.
"Emmalee, get off the boy and let him breathe for crying out loud." Emmalee finally stood up and let him stand. When he was back on his feet she grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. "Mom, Dad, this is the mate I was telling you about before."
"So, Reece, it looks like our packs were already bound together before you came to me for help." Bryce laughed. "It's good to meet you Carter." He smiled and shook hands with the man his daughter had just tackled to the floor.
"Thank you sir, it's good to meet you as well." Carter nervously shook the older man's hand as I watched on, smiling happily knowing that he could finally be happy.