She stood up and took his hand and led him to the fireplace. He threw on a couple of logs and she took two large cushions from the sofa and threw them on the floor for them to sit on. He sank down into them and waited for her to talk.
“I think it’s time I told you what happened to me.”
“You don’t have to, baby.”
“Yeah, I think I do.” she smiled and he was happy she just looked resigned, not distressed.
“Imogen, India and even my parents know the gist of the story, but no-one knows everything. Please, just let me get it all out before you say anything. I need to do this all at once and then maybe we can put it to bed forever.”
He nodded and she turned to look into the fire. He could see the flames reflected in her eyes and she bit down on her bottom lip and took a deep breath.
CHAPTER TEN
Kandis
“He was right when he said I was flirting with him. He was good looking and sexy and I knew I had a great body. I wore the shortest shorts and the tiniest tops I could, I was showing off big time, we all were, but he chose me. I loved that he found me attractive and I felt a certain amount of power that this fully grown wolf could have anyone he wanted and he still picked me. I was so wrapped up in my own stupidity I thought he had feelings for me and he spoiled me rotten, bringing me gifts and candy. He flirted with me and watched my every move but nothing more physical than a kiss and I thought I was in love.”
Liam winced but kept quiet as she continued.
“When he drove me to the cabin, I felt a little apprehension but I thought he understood that I wasn’t ready to have sex with him, he knew I was still a virgin. We would fool around a little and he would fall in love with me and we would be mated when I was old enough. This was what I was dreaming up in my stupid fourteen-year-old brain. The place was lit with candles and he gave me some wine in a fancy glass and I felt so grown up and sophisticated. We were lying on the bed kissing and I knew he was aroused, I could feel it but I still thought I was in control of the situation.”
Liam took her hand, but she gently shook him off and stared at the fire, her knees drawn up against her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them.
“When he tried to remove my clothes, I stopped him and he tried to cajole me at first but when I continued to refuse, he got angry and called me a cock tease. I jumped off the bed and asked him to take me home and he hit me across the face so hard it knocked me to the floor. I was dizzy with the blow and he picked me up and threw me on the bed. I struggled for all I was worth but that just amused him and he held me with one hand and ripped the clothes from my body with the other. I knew he was going to rape me and I also knew I could do nothing to stop him. With all the strength I could muster I kicked out with my feet and caught him on the side of the head and he yelped in pain. I scrambled off the bed and ran for the door, but he caught me and wrapped his hand around my neck and choked me. I thought I was going to die right there as he squeezed and I felt my life drain away.”
She sobbed and Liam reached for her, but she shook her head and stilled his arm with her hand. She needed to do this her way.
“I blacked out and when I regained consciousness, I was completely naked and my wrists and ankles were restrained at the four corners of the bed. He stood at the bottom and waited on me being fully alert before he climbed on top of me and raped me. I screamed in pain, it hurt so bad and I struggled for all I was worth until I realized that was the part he enjoyed the most. I forced myself to lie still and bit down to stop myself from crying out again until he was done.”
She took a deep breath and swallowed before she continued.
“He was angry that I stopped fighting him and when he went to the door, I thought he was leaving but instead he invited his two friends in and they each took turns raping me too. They gagged me to muffle my screams and took photographs while they violated me. When they eventually grew tired, they released my arms and legs and Kellas lifted me onto his lap and held me like a small child until the feeling came back into my hands and feet. It was then he warned me that if I told anyone he would come back for me and my whole family. He promised he would do the same thing to my cousins as he had done to me, Katie was only a little girl.”
She jumped up and paced up and down the floor and Liam knew that what she was going to say next was so difficult for her, but he sat still, knowing she wouldn’t appreciate any interference from him right now. This was her story and she had the right to tell it any way she wanted to. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively and turned her back to him before she spoke again.
“He put me on my feet and gestured to his two friends who stuffed the gag back into my mouth and forced me onto my hands and knees on the floor as Kellas shifted. I screamed as hard as I could when I realized what he was going to do to me but they held me tight as he mounted me, his claws were digging into my flesh and I could feel his fangs pierce my shoulder as he tried to rape me one more time. Thankfully, I passed out and when I came around, I was dressed and they bundled me into the backseat of the car. Kellas hugged me and fondled me as if what they did to me was perfectly normal and I was too shell shocked to react in any way. I was in so much pain emotionally and physically that I threw up in the car and he just laughed at me. He told me there was something wrong with me as his wolf rejected mating with me, so I know he wasn’t able to violate me in wolf form, that at least was a small mercy. The rest of the story you already know.”
Liam was speechless for the first time in his life!
In every single pack he knew, the punishment for having sex with a human while in wolf form or even trying to, was instant death but he had never heard of a single case of it actually happening, until now. Mated wolves had sex all the time when both were in wolf form, some even preferred it this way, but never this, it was beyond sick.
He stood slowly, scared to spook her and reached for her. He was relieved when she turned into him and let him put his arms around her. She sobbed into his chest for an age and he knew there were many years of pent up emotion spilling down his shirtfront.
How the fuck did you deal with what had happened to her and she had been nothing more than a child. He tightened his hold on her and shushed her like a baby until her sobs subsided and she wiped her face with the towel he handed her. His anger was just below the surface but there was no-one left to vent it to. All three of the sick bastards were already dead, he could happily dig them up again and beat them to a pulp.
She lifted her head to look at him and his heart nearly stopped at the raw vulnerability. She had laid herself bare to tell her story and he was overwhelmed with gratitude that she had chosen him.
“Kandis, I have never been prouder of you than in this moment. You are without question the bravest person I know and I wish there was something that I could do to erase the pain and the awful memories you have carried around with you for all these years. I would do anything to turn the clock back and not have you go through what you did.”
“I feel better already, just telling you, there shouldn’t be secrets between us, Liam.” she attempted a half-hearted smile, “But now I need to put it to rest, It doesn’t define who I am and I won’t let it ruin the rest of my life.”
She pulled him by the hand to their bedroom and he knew she needed to feel close to him. She peeled off her clothes slowly, her eyes never leaving his face and when she was completely naked, she stripped him of his too.
She was so beautiful! Aphrodite in the flesh.
He lay down and she climbed on top and sat astride him. His hands reached for her perfect breasts and she rode him with her hair falling loose all around her, she was magnificent! She craved this control over him and her life and he closed his eyes and handed her the reins as she transported them to a euphoric peak, time after time.
She lay in his arms and he cradled her, his protective instincts were on high alert and he hoped the fates would be kind to them tonight and she would conceive his child. No-one had
more love to offer a baby than Kandis, no-one was more deserving of a little slice of happiness.
His wolf crowed his pleasure that his mate could be impregnated.
He kissed the top of her head and whispered.
“I love you, Kandis, you are the other half of me and I will love you for the rest of time.”
Her soft breathing told him that she was already asleep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Liam
It was still dark outside and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to be able to sleep any longer but he was happy just holding her, warm and compliant, against his body. No wonder she had anger issues before and he felt a ball of shame in his gut the size of a football. He had thought her sweet when she was much younger, but he had never really liked her much when she turned into the sullen angry brat that had returned from Lachlan's cousin’s pack that summer.
How many other people, kids especially, were going through what she had and felt like they had no-one to turn to. It’s not like she could have shown up at the local cop shop and told them she was raped by three men, one of who had turned into a wolf before attempting to rape her again.
She would have been locked up in the nearest psych ward and the people living in town already thought they were something of a cult. Kandis herself could be such a lifeline for others who were hiding behind intolerable pain. It could be cathartic and he wondered if it was something she may be interested in pursuing.
Rafe, the young doctor who had come for a visit and was still here months later may be able to help. He had steered a couple of the younger women in the pack in the right direction when they wanted to pursue nursing as a career and he could probably help Kandis too if she wanted it. He would speak to her about it later, Rafe didn’t need to know everything that she had told him tonight.
Lachlan sent a text confirming that the cabin was being painted and Liam shut off his phone and closed his eyes, just enjoying being with her. He knew he would hate it when they had to go back to their normal lives, but at least it would be as a mated couple this time. The last little while had been torture, wanting her so badly and fighting it because of her waspish temperament. That wasn’t who she was at all and he hoped everyone else got the opportunity to see it too.
When he watched her last night tell her story she looked so young and vulnerable, not the tough cookie he was used to dealing with on a day to day basis with the pack. Not many people would see her fragility and he suspected she liked it that way. He still needed to pay a trip to her mother and make his intentions clear. Lachlan already knew but Faye was very protective of her daughter’s heart and he wanted to reassure her that his intentions were pure.
He had been in love with her for what felt like an age and still had to pinch himself that she was lying here in his arms. He watched her face and the guarded look that was always present when she was awake was gone and it softened her features, she was the most enchanting woman he had ever met.
A bathroom break forced him to get up and he took a quick shower before making breakfast. He scrambled some eggs and had bacon and sausage under the grill when she padded through from the bedroom. She was all mussed and sleepy and he almost changed his mind and took her back to bed, but she stretched and sat down at the table and poured two mugs of coffee.
“I’m starving, hope you made plenty.” she sipped her drink.
“I can’t believe how much a little thing like you puts away.” he teased her, and she smirked.
“It’s all the bedroom gymnastics that burn up the calories.”
Liam grinned and loaded her plate.
“I should make sure you eat plenty then before the next session.”
“Do you think we will tire of wanting to have sex constantly.”
“Fuck, I hope not.”
She smiled and tucked into her mountain of food and he followed suit. He had a picture in his head of them sitting around the breakfast table with a couple of kids and his heart swelled with hope. She was everything he had ever wanted and despite her wariness with the outside world she was warm and loving and would make a great mother when the time came, he selfishly hoped that she was already pregnant.
“Are we going to take a better look at the other pieces of property today? I thought it might be helpful if we have as much information as possible to take home with us.” Kandis asked as she finished the last of her coffee.
“We could do that, it would make a nice walk and I think it’s a little warmer this morning than the last few days.” he replied, “Leave the dishes, I’ll clear up, you go and get ready.”
She didn’t need to be told twice and disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower while he stacked the dishwasher. They had enough food to last easily until the end of the week and he wanted to pack lunch to take with them on their walk today, wolves were always hungry. He also thought it might be nice if they had dinner in town tonight, he wanted to spoil her a little and they could pick up a few things that they needed as well.
He finished wiping off the table when she came through from the bedroom and his heart skipped a beat, damn she was gorgeous!
She was wearing denim shorts and a white cotton peasant top and she had tamed her glorious blonde mane into a thick braid that hung down her back and even without a scrap of makeup she looked like a Viking princess. Her cornflower blue eyes were clear without a hint of the wariness he was used to seeing there and he knew that his mate was finally beginning to heal.
“I have this little backpack.” she held up the canvas bag, “We should probably take some food with us if we are going to be out all day long.”
“Already on it,” he took a container of cooked chicken salad from the refrigerator and she packed it with some crusty bread, fresh fruit, cheese and bottled water. Kandis added her notebook and pen, she wanted to make a rough drawing of the area and take some notes.
“Let’s go!” she lifted the bag and Liam took it from her and hoisted it onto his own back. It weighed nothing for a wolf, but she would let him be chivalrous if it meant that much to him.
He took her hand and they started to climb the dirt track behind the cabin. They knew from Geoff and Maryanne that Seann’s cabin was the highest on the mountain and they wanted to get as high as possible to be able to see all around.
All the cabins were built on this face and Geoff had said it was because the other side was solid rock and much too steep a gradient to build on. He hoped that was the case because it would make a perfect place for them to run as a pack. None of the humans would venture up this high and if they bought it all they would do what they had done with the compound and their other mountain retreat, fence it off from trespassers and spread rumors about mountain lions.
Kandis was as fit as he was and they reached the summit in record time. It was a fairly large flat expanse and he knew they could gather here on a full moon to start their traditional run. They were far enough away from town that they wouldn’t be heard but the cabins lower down the mountain may be a problem. A few wolves wouldn’t be noticed but a few hundred howling lycan would be heard by the people living in the lower homes. They needed to check out just how many cabins they were talking about, he reckoned there were quite a few and they were going to have to buy them all.
They walked down the other side and his first impression had been right. Although it was doable, it would cost a fortune to excavate the rock and none of the terraces dotted along the face were large enough to build on. It was a perfect natural barrier to intruders, real mountain goat territory. Someone must own the rest of this land though, he needed to see the plans.
Kandis took copious notes and made several drawings as they walked and when they got to the bottom Liam grinned when he saw the creek that ran around the perimeter of the mountain and a wide strip of dense forest beyond that.
“The water is great for thirsty wolves but more importantly it’s another natural barrier,” he said and they walked through the trees to see how far they went. “This
thicket of trees must be at least three hundred meters wide.” he waved his arms around, “We need to buy this too to stop someone cutting them down and building on it.”
They walked parallel to the creek for a couple of hours and then climbed back up the mountain ninety degrees from where they started. There was nothing there and Liam was getting more enthusiastic about the location by the minute. They stopped at a small ridge high on the side of the mountain farthest from town and sat down to eat their picnic lunch. The views were spectacular!
They polished off the food in minutes and Liam looked through the detailed drawings she had made. She had captured every angle and square foot with her pencil and he couldn’t wait to put it together with the plans he hoped to get from Geoff and Maryanne. He was quite sure Seann and Garrett would think his idea had merit but Seann would only be convinced by a well thought out and executed plan.
They continued around the side of the mountain, heading back towards the face where the homes were built and the first small cabin they came to was completely empty. The door was locked but Liam climbed in through the window and unlatched it and they looked around. It was basically a single room with a small bathroom and had been empty for a while going by the amount of dust on the countertops. It had no doubt been someone’s weekender before it had been abandoned.
Kandis made a note of everything and they locked the door before continuing on their way. They came across three more in this area, all of which were occupied and finally came to the bottom again. They could see as far as Geoff and Maryanne’s cabin through the trees and she made a note of each cabin's location as they walked back up the hill towards their own.
“Apart from Seann’s, Geoff’s and the other one that is possibly for sale, Marvin and Francine’s, there are four empty and eleven occupied. There are also two pieces of land that have been cleared ready to build but it looks like it was some time ago and has begun to grow over again. Every cabin has acreage and we could build several more cabins on each parcel of land.”
Children of the Moon: Book Three Page 6