A/N: It became a vicious cycle of feeling guilty for taking so long to post so vowing to write a longer chapter and taking so bloody long to write the chapter that I vowed to write more.
I had to mentally backhand myself to stop writing. Enjoy!
*
"No"
"Please please please..."
"I said No"
"C'mon B, aren't you curious?"
Emma looked up from the book she was using as reason to ignore the eager faces surrounding her chair.
"Curious about what? It's just another wolf pack."
"That came here specifically to speak to us." Doc spoke up
Emma snorted "Yeah they came here specifically to apologize for the fact that the majority of our captors were rogues from their pack. 6 months later. No. Thank. You." She lifted her book back up.
"Remember a couple of weeks ago when you were regaling us all about all the traditions and procedures they have for every pack event? Don't you want to see those traditions re-enacted in person?"
Emma rolled her eyes "That was a weak attempt at manipulation, even for you Lena."
Lena threw her hands up in exasperation. Alice was the next to try.
"Please, they're guarding the front door of our apartment and you are the only one who knows a way to get out undetected."
"And you're surprised? You're the one who told them about the blind spot that is now fixed. Now you're stuck here. We're just as much prisoners here as we were there, it's just fancier digs."
"Then why aren't you escaping like you planned to back at the house?" Alice challenged.
Emma gave a pointed glance at Lily.
"Me?" Lily was taken aback "Why would you willing stay in captivity for me?"
Emma shrugged and raised her book higher.
"You can't just imply something like that without answering why." Lena stood with her hands on her hips.
"Because you're my only family now and family don't abandon each other." Emma mumbled behind her book.
The room was silent as the other women digested that information before a collective "Awwwww..." When they went in for a group hug, Emma snapped "No touching." Causing them to pull back and settle back down in their chairs. An awkward silence hung in the air.
Lena cleared her throat. "Please B, we really want to see these guys before we meet them formally. You of all people know how different people are when they are trying to charm somebody vs. how they are in real life." She was referring to Damon.
"Not true, he always gave me the creeps." Emma replied calmly.
"Then do it for those of us who were fooled by that asshole and are now 6 feet under." Doc answered, gently placing her hand on Emma's.
Emma stared at the dark skinned hand for a long moment, tears filling her eyes.
"Fine but if any of you tell Peter or Jane of this way out I will hang you off the side of the balcony by your feet. Understood?"
"Yes" "Absolutely" "Perfectly" "Yes" Were the replies from the group.
"Come with me and stay very quiet." Emma said as she headed for her room. Once there she shimmied up the side of her canopy bed towards the ceiling, pushing away one of the tiles. The 4 women watched amazed.
"We aren't climbing through the vents are we?" Lily asked, voice wavering slightly. "I don't like dark closed in spaces."
"Nobody would if they went through what we did." Emma replied as she pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and fiddled with something out of sight. With a decisive click, she threw open a door and sunlight streamed in from above. "We're going to climb across the roof and enter through the attic."
Their jaws dropped. Doc sputtered. "You mean you want us to climb up a pole, traverse a sloping shingle roof on the 3
rd
floor then climb another 2 stories to enter through the attic on the 5
th
floor?" Emma nodded "Oh HELL NO!" Doc exclaimed "You're on your own."
Lily nodded "I think if we tried to follow you, we'd be the opposite of quiet and covert."
"Can't you just go and disable the guard so we can go out the front door." Lena said.
"But don't hurt him!" Doc added.
"Don't hurt the large beta werewolf capable of speaking telepathically to his alphas?" Emma raised an eyebrow.
"Oh ok hurt him a little." Doc relented.
"You realized what you are asking of me right?" Emma queried.
"Fight a full grown werewolf just so we can have a glimpse of the visiting pack." Lena replied calmly "I know it's stupid, but we have faith in you."
"And you know the penalty for being caught fighting with another pack member outside of training?"
"Imprisonment or death at the worst if they fear you've gone rogue. We'll take the blame if you're caught." Lily replied
"Do you know why they have us imprisoned in our apartment?"
The girls hesitated "Because they think we are weak humans." Alice spoke up.
Emma shook her head. "It's your scents. You weren't there when Dan found Lily but I was. They don't want the greeting ceremony to be interrupted by some horny wolf that just caught a whiff of their human mate."
Lena snorted. "And the 'formal meeting' is going to be any different?"
Alice shared the snort, mumbling under her breath "Meat market."
"They'll be better prepared for the meeting because they'll be coached by their alphas and they won't be as fatigued and on edge. They've been driving for 10 hours straight and they are entering another wolf's territory."
"How the hell do you know this?" Alice asked.
Emma grinned and tapped her ears "No scent and wolf hearing. Ain't nothing private in this compound." Her grin grew as she waggled her eyebrows at Lily "Pantry closets included." Lily's face turned an interesting shade of heated red.
