Free Darkest Before Dawn (A Guardian's Diary Book 1) by Amelia Hutchins Page A

Emma?” he waited for me to nod, instead I just watched him. “Anyway, we dispatched them. More seem to be converging on this area. You have any info on why they would come here?”
    These two knew each other, yet their posture said it wasn’t by choice.
    “It’s why we came, but if ye think I’m going tae discuss pack business in front of a mortal, ye are dead wrong, leech.”
    Okay, there was a few things wrong with this conversation. One being mortal ; we’re all mortals, right? Pack business? Was he in some kind of cult? Rogue pack, like a big bad pack of rabid wolves, or could it explain the drop dead beef cakes that seemed to be crowding in on my tiny little city? Leech? Did Jaeden suck…? And if he did, what exactly did he suck? I was so lost.
    “Hey, if you two are going to compare dick sizes, can I go? I’m unequipped to participate,” I said with a smile hidden beneath the protection of the mask. Both men looked down to the location in question, and I felt a blush rise from my stomach all the way to my cheeks.
    “So, Jaeden, what does the lass look like behind the mask? Hideously scarred?” Lachlan asked.
    Jaeden grinned as his eyes did that quick search of my eyes that felt as if he could see through the mask I wore and was looking into my very being. “No idea, but I couldn’t care less what she looks like.” He said as he sidled up next to me. “What is that smell?”
    “Probably the dead bodies?” I offered.
    “What the hell is on your back?”
    “A baby,” I said. “Can I go? She needs to be taken care of. She’s been alone for at least one day from the smell of those bodies. I still have to find some things for her.”
    “I’ll come with you,” he said, and I had to push the urge to scream ‘hell no’ down from my throat where it sat, waiting to come out. “Lachlan, I trust you and your pack will be staying in the area?” Jaeden questioned casually.
    “Someone has tae guard the race, and since ye feast upon it, I guess that leaves me,” Lachlan said just as easily, while his men grunted in agreement.
    Feast upon it? Like a zombie? I narrowed my eyes on Jaeden, and of course they slid down his body. Today he wore camo pants and dark leather boots. He had on a long sleeved black shirt, thankfully. It made it easier to breath around him. He didn’t look like any zombie that I’d ever seen in the movies and then my mind drifted away wondering how much it would hurt if he took a nibble at me. I gave myself a sharp mental shake at that. Gross, Emma, just gross.
    “You don’t need to follow me,” I said to Jaeden who had inched closer towards me. He ignored me, but Lachlan smiled as I said it, as if he found it funny.
    “The lass says nae, leech,” he smiled as he said it.
    “The lass doesn’t have a choice in the matter, dog.”
    I looked from one male to the other. “Again with the name calling? Maybe you guys should go to couples therapy?” They raised their eyebrows, and I narrowed my eyes at their twin looks of surprise. “Just saying,” I smiled, but it was still hidden beneath the mask. “I’m leaving; this baby needs care.”
    No one stopped me, but Jaeden followed me until I reached the ATV. “It only seats one,” I said as I turned to look at him.
    “Liar, two can easily fit on it. Besides, you need help protecting the baby.”
    “Fine,” I replied as I adjusted the baby to my front and straddled the ATV and waited for him to climb on it. The moment he placed his arms around my waist, I shivered. “Problem?” he whispered against my ear. “I personally like it when women drive…”
    “Is that a sexual innuendo?” I asked, smiling even though I shouldn’t have been.
    “Tell me, Emma, do you like to drive?” he continued on.
    “I like the purr of the engine, the way it feels between my thighs…” I smiled as he growled. “And the way I can run shit over,” I whispered, and listened as his lungs expelled a disappointed sigh. I took off, not