But for now, he wasn't so enthusiastic. Nor was he looking to find his mate. There just wasn't any time.
The past year had been rough, coping with loss and getting established as the new Alpha of his pack. He'd also opened Blue Moon with his little sister in his father's memory. The bar was Henry's idea, so it was the least they could do to commemorate him.
As for the pack, Cade took over with very little resistance once everyone learned the truth of what happened with Brady Santon. He attended every event their kind partook in, and did all he could to ensure their safety and survival. Henry told him he'd make a damned good Alpha, and their wolves seemed to agree.
No one had challenged his authority in a year's worth of time.
As for making sure no one else was betting on the newborn fights, his pack turned up clear of gamblers, and Cade managed to stop two other packs from turning unwitting humans and running the fights altogether. There was evidence that more fights were being held in the region however, but getting information on who was running them had proven difficult recently.
Still, Cade had partially fulfilled all of his father's wishes so far—except one.
Henry asked him to make sure his family was happy, including himself. That was a promise Cade wasn't sure he'd done quite as well with. While his family was fine, thankfully including his mother who'd recovered from Henry's loss well enough to function normally, he wasn't so sure just how content he was.
Then again, Cade wasn't sure how content he actually wanted to be either.
Don't deserve it.
He grabbed his jacket from the hanger near the door and stepped outside. It was a cold, rainy night, and he headed to his truck, focusing on what he had to do now instead of on his personal life.
A stray newborn, he thought. Definitely a tough break. It was hard enough being born a lupine and living in a human world, but to be turned from a human without even knowing lupines existed was something else altogether.
He had no idea who she was or how she'd gotten into the situation she was in, but he hoped it hadn't been a very bad experience. If so, she could be completely unstable as newborns became if they didn't have proper guidance from the beginning.
That being the case, it could be a real pain in the ass to try to handle her.
But hell, it gave him something to do instead of blaming himself for things, and thinking about the time of year it was on top of it all.
Anything was better than that.
~*~*~*~
“So tell me more about what happened to you, Ashley. How were you caught on the highway?”
Leo asked that question as the bus took them through town. Ashley quietly thought everything over, then decided to start at the beginning.
“Someone I used to go to school with helped me get a job in Atlanta. So I was moving away from home where I wouldn't be stepped on.”
“By who?”
“My dad,” she muttered. “We didn't get along well, so I took my chance when I got it.”
She went on to tell him about how she'd taken a wrong turn one evening, gotten lost, and crashed her car because of the same wolves who'd attacked and bit her. “I only remember so much after that, and I don't know why they did what they did, but,” she shrugged, “that's my bad luck story.”
Leo's expression became curious, his head tilting as he repeated her own words back to her. “Why they did what they did?”
Ashley realized she hadn't worded that very well. She stared at him hesitantly, her expression becoming pained.
“Ashley,” Leo started softly, “I'm not gonna hurt you, so you can relax. Tell me what they did.”
“I'm afraid to,” she admitted, her voice hoarse with emotion. “What if I do, and you realize you can't help me?”
“I'm gonna help you,” he promised determinedly, “and it'll be easier to if you tell me everything. But I can already see whatever happened wasn't good.”
“No,” she shook her head, her eyes becoming misty. But she forced all of that back as she finally explained it to him.
“When they bit me, I felt,” she paused for thought, “wild inside, and I blacked out. I thought I was dead, but I woke up later, and wished I was. I was in an old, dirty basement and . . . ”
She swallowed, trying to breathe because the memory was difficult for her to handle without becoming both angry and panicked at the same time.
“I was chained by a collar, naked. Someone approached me, but it was too difficult to see them clearly, and I was petrified, angry. Then they hit me, and I blacked out again. Later, I woke with scratches and marks everywhere, and the process would repeat itself. Every time I was beat on, I felt that same wildness and blacked out.”
Something about Leo made Ashley want to trust him and tell her story despite the misgivings she had. He was going to buy her dinner because he was worried, actually gave a damn even if he didn’t know her, and she needed to tell someone, otherwise she felt like she'd explode.
In fact, she had to tell him the entire truth. With the thought in mind, Ashley looked up, her wide eyes imploring.
“I lied to you, Leo. I’m not in town alone. I know I’m being followed because I caught their scent when I got here today. I don’t know how I escaped them, but I'm not going back, and I'm afraid you're gonna make me.”
She looked down, able to feel her anger rising at the mere thought of being handed over to the rednecks who'd tormented her. It showed in her voice when she added, “If this guy you called tries to make me, I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get away from all of you.”
“Hey,” Leo replied quickly, taking her hand and folding his fingers around it in a firm squeeze. “Look at me, Ashley.”
When she lifted her eyes to his, he promised, “You ain't goin' back, I guarantee you that, so just breathe slow and easy for me.”
“No turning me over to them?”
Leo looked appalled by the very idea. “After what you just told me? Hell no.”
Hearing this, hope sparked to life within her, and she tried to do as he'd suggested. She figured if she got too wound up, she'd end up changing into a wolf without control.
But Leo reassured her before she could think too much about it. “Cade won’t look at this any differently, I know that for a fact. As for why those bastards did this, I can’t answer that, but you won’t ever have to go through it again as long as you're here.”
More tears gathered up with the first ones that she fought back, and Ashley shook her head, asking, “Even when they’re after me?”
As if it was a lot to explain due to their surroundings, Leo was brief with his reply. “For now, I'll just say that even if someone found you here, we’d kick their asses plain and simple. So worry about yourself, not the shitheads that did this to you.”
Music to my ears, she thought, and it helped to calm her down even more.
“Okay, good,” Ashley replied, trying to let everything settle in.
“Where’d you catch their scent anyway?”
“By a park with a sign that said Spring Oaks. So I got on the bus when I came across it to try to get away.”
Ashley was only able to afford bus fare because the clothing she'd managed to steal had a couple of bucks in the pocket. It wasn't exact change, but one of the passengers was getting off when she arrived and apparently thought she looked like hell, offering to break the dollar bills she had in order to help.
Leo nodded as if he knew where Spring Oaks was. “I'll tell Cade so he can send someone to check it out.”
The bus stopped with those words, and Leo stood, saying, “This is where we get off.”
Ashley didn't wait, standing from her seat as she offered Leo's jacket back to him. But he told her to keep it for now, so she put it on as she walked toward the exit.
Once outside in the misting rain, Ashley looked around to see a few consignment shops along the road they were on, but it wasn't a very populated area. The scent of rain was fresh, much stronger than when she'd been a
human, and with it, she could detect the scents of the city, things she'd never noticed before.
Over time, she'd grown a little more used to her new senses, but most of all, she appreciated them because they alerted her to danger. She knew the scent of her captors, and now she was checking for signs of it while she waited on Leo to lead the way.
There wasn't any threat looming in the air as they began walking down the sidewalk however. So she stuck close, feeling more at ease, as if something in her gut was telling her that she was on the right path.
“I didn't know what to expect from you, Leo,” she started, “so I'm sorry if I offended you before. Honestly, I'm still scared this is too good to be true, but something's telling me that I'll be fine. Does that sound crazy to you?”
“Nah, doesn't sound crazy,” Leo replied. “And it's fine, you've been through a lot. But that's your instinct talkin', tellin' you everything's fine.”
“That's good,” she replied, hesitantly adding, “I think.”
Leo smiled in amusement, suggesting, “Let’s talk a little until we get there. Tell me what you did back home? Any jobs?”
Talking about something normal was definitely a welcome distraction. “I was working on becoming a chef,” Ashley explained, “graduated from a culinary school not long before I left. That was gonna be my job in Atlanta.”
“Chef, huh? Make anything decent?”
“No, I make everything awesome,” she retorted in attempt to make the conversation more lighthearted.
Leo grinned. “In that case, I hope the food at Blue Moon lives up to your expectations.”
“Anything would right now,” Ashley admitted, her stomach gurgling again. “But what about you? What do you do for a living?”
“Formerly a detective on the police force, and now I work security for different places.”
That made sense somehow. If he had keen senses, they probably came in handy being a detective, even now with security. Leo wasn't a small guy either, so he was probably good in a fight.
“You mentioned kids too. How many?”
“Four,” Leo started, “Mike’s the oldest, he's your age. Then there’s Lucy, Greta, and Donald, he’s fifteen. As for my wife, Rene, she’s a lousy cook, but a damned good housekeeper.”
Ashley started snickering, but she was surprised. From the sound of it, this guy was pretty damned normal. He had a family, a job, and there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary about him whatsoever—except that sometimes he turned into a wolf.
So damned weird.
She stared at him while they walked along the road, and Leo noticed because he asked, “Surprised I’m not human now, aren't you?”
“Oh!” Ashley gasped, realizing she'd been staring. “I'm sorry.”
“It’s all right,” he chuckled. “My daughter-in-law was turned too, her name's Nicole. She was also pretty surprised about the way of things. Sadly though, not all of our kind are the same.”
Ashley knew that for certain just from talking to Leo. He was nothing like the ones who'd hurt her, giving her hope that things wouldn't so different that she couldn’t adjust.
She was realizing that there were actually others like her, and even if they turned into wolves, they still functioned in a normal world. So she had a chance to do the same, didn't she?
With a little reluctance, she decided to admit, “I didn’t think I’d be able to live a normal life anymore. After being where I was and not knowing anything, I thought it was all over.”
Leo had a grim expression on his face when she mentioned that, and something about it told Ashley that he may have had an idea as to why she’d gone through her ordeal. She wanted to ask, but at the same time, she was afraid to. Ignorance is bliss.
“You never saw any faces? Couldn't describe anyone?” Leo inquired.
“I don't know. It was dark, and whenever they got close, I was so scared I spent more time trying to back away than look at them. Then I would black out. Besides that, everything's fuzzy.”
“Hmm,” he mused aloud. “Maybe it'll come back, so we'll be patient. But let me tell you something important for now.”
Leo came to a stop on the sidewalk, and Ashley gave him her complete attention.
“What you went through, it’s not what we do, Ashley. You were wronged, and the people who turned you will be punished when they're found. We don’t chain newborns, and we sure as hell don’t beat on them. That could drive someone insane, and it sounds like that was where they were headin’.”
Ashley’s lips pursed as she whispered, “I feel like I’m going insane already, Leo.”
“You're not,” he promised, putting an arm behind her to continue walking. “Just remember, people who are crazy never question if they're sane. But you'll start gettin' what you need to be able to see that for yourself now.”
She hoped he was right, looking up as they walked.
Ahead on the road about a parking lot away from them was a sign by a brick building that read the words Blue Moon Bar & Grille. It was in a stylish design, and Ashley was glad they'd finally made it. Her feet were freezing in the cold, wet night, and she glanced down at them, wishing she had a pair of shoes.
But she tried not to focus on that because it would only depress her. Instead, she focused on the fact that she wouldn't be turned over, and that she actually wasn't crazy. Both concepts were a huge relief, as was the notion that she might be able to lead a normal life.
But she didn't try to sugar coat the truth. Things were going to have to be done differently more than likely. Ever since the original attack, she’d felt this raw, wild sensation in her gut that she could tell was a part of her now, and instinctively knew it wouldn’t be going away. Ever.
But after awakening to being chained in a basement and beaten on so regularly, she’d taken comfort, even solace in that new aspect of herself, using it to survive because it made her feel stronger.
Parts of her former identity were still rattling around inside of her too—the more demure, modest Ashley she'd been who rarely ever felt aggressive. Maybe she just needed to find a balance between the old and the new.
It couldn't be too hard to do, could it?
Chapter 4
Blue Moon seemed like a nice place.
It was housed in a brick building with blue and black awnings over the windows and the entryway door, located on the side wall where the parking lot stood. There were no buildings on the other side of the lot, only trees that spanned around to the back of the establishment and beyond it.
Ashley headed to the door with Leo, seeing a plaque next to it on the way in that read In Loving Memory of Henry Hodgins – The Heart and Soul of Blue Moon, along with the years he was born and had died beneath it.
“Henry Hodgins?” Ashley asked. “Who's that?”
“The father of the bar's co-owners, Cade and Sara,” Leo explained as he opened the door for her.
“Oh, Cade owns this place?”
“He does.”
No wonder Leo said there would be something ready for them, she thought as she stepped through the doors where there was a brick archway across from her in the small entrance.
Beyond it was the dining room, boasting wooden walls and floors. The bar area took up the entire back right corner with stools anchored in place around a polyurethane stained counter. It had an overhang sporting various neon signs for liquors and malt beers, including the bar’s blue and black logo right in the center.
The tops of the tables and booths were black, and the chairs and stools had blue cushions on them.
To the right of the entrance was a game room with dartboards and pool tables, as well as a large television set that was currently off. It was a Tuesday night, so there weren't all that many patrons around anyway.
Ashley headed toward the bar with Leo, who called over to the man behind it, “Hey Martin, is Cade here yet?”
“Not yet, but he called about fifteen minutes ago and told me what's goin' on,” Martin replied.
As they drew closer, Ashley could tell from the bartender's scent that he was a lupine too. He wasn't too tall, but he looked tough, thick in the arms and chest with muscle, his dark blond hair buzzed off.
“This her?” he asked.
Leo introduced them. “Yeah, Ashley, meet my friend, Martin.”
Ashley nodded politely while he smiled in greeting, then told Leo, “Cade asked me to have something made for her, it's waiting in the back office.”
“Thanks,” Leo replied. “Ashley, why don't you go get your meal. I'll keep a look out for Cade up here.”
Ashley looked between him and Martin, unable to help feeling awkwardly hesitant. But the bartender smiled, saying, “Don't worry, it's warmer back there anyway.”
“Go on,” Leo urged her gently toward the archway that lead to a hall where the kitchen, bathrooms, and back office was located. “I'll be back there in a few minutes. Trust me, it won't take Cade much longer.”
“Okay,” she replied, walking back where Martin stepped through the door behind the bar and led her down the hall.
She followed him into the office, which was decorated in much the same way as the rest of the establishment. There, Ashley saw a styrofoam box settled on a small coffee table across from a black leather couch next to the door where Martin motioned.
“Have a seat. If you need something, come to the bar, okay?”
Ashley still felt awkward, but that seemed to be the theme of the evening. So she thanked Martin as genuinely as she could while heading over to the couch to sit down.
Martin shut the door while Ashley opened the box to see a big burger and some fries ready to be devoured. There was a drink to go with it, and when the scent hit her nose, all of her current worries dissolved away.
She got the feeling she might finish the food off before this Alpha could even get there, digging in without question.
Still, what kind of person was he? If he'd called his place and asked to have something ready when she arrived, he had to be agreeable, right?
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