“Why are you so scared, little one?” I hold up my arm for her to see. “It’s okay. I’m not mad.” Her shoulders start rising and falling as her breathing becomes erratic.
“It’s okay,” Caleb finally speaks up. “What happened to your wolf?” She shakes her head violently. Why is she so terrified of us? More importantly, how the hell is she hiding her wolf like that?
“I’m not a werewolf.” The rushed words barely have any sound as they leave her lips.
My eyes narrow at her. “Don’t lie to me, little one.” I try to keep the threat out of my voice, but it’s still there. The moment I hear the admonishment, I regret it. She’s fucking terrified. I shouldn’t be giving her more reasons to fear me.
“She left me,” our scared little mate whimpers. “I’m not latent anymore, she won’t come back.” She gasps for breath as her body shakes. “Please, she won’t come back.” I feel my heart hollow as my wolf whines in distress.
“Please what, little one?”
“Please don’t beat me.” Her sad blue eyes burrow into mine as she begs, “Please don’t hurt me again. I swear she won’t come. She’s dead. I can’t shift. I swear I can’t shift.” Her words are barely coherent, but I’ve heard enough that I understand her terror. I close my anguished eyes. Now I get why she hates me and it shreds my insides.
If I could bring my father back to life, I would.
When I killed him, it was for me but if I could do it again, I’d torture him first for her.
“It wasn’t me.” I choke the pitiful words out. I was just a child, just a pup, but I knew what my family was doing. I knew what my father did to those kids, but it took years for me to gather the courage to fight him. Years of listening to their tormented screams. He recorded everything as proof of their identity when he sold them on the black market. As I grew older, he made me watch. First the videos and then in person. I’ll never forget their haunted eyes as my father and uncles beat them mercilessly, forcing their animals to the surface. His large hand on my shoulder kept me pinned in place as he made me watch. Even as I vomited in revulsion, he insisted I needed to see it to be a man.
The day he handed me a weapon to do as he told me, as my Alpha commanded, was the day I fought back. I bludgeoned him with the bat he used to break his victims’ bones. By the end of our battle, we’d both shifted and he lay in front of me coughing up blood with what little life he still had left. Before he could heal, I ripped out his throat; his hot, sticky blood gushed into my mouth before spilling onto the floor. The only regret I’ve ever had in my entire life was not stopping him sooner. If I hadn’t been so scared of dying, I could’ve saved nearly half a dozen children. I never once had any remorse over killing him. Not until today. I wish he were still alive so I could kill him for her. So she could watch as her tormentor took his last breath.
“It wasn’t me. It was my father.”
“Just stay away,” she cries and I swear my heart breaks.
“It wasn’t me,” is all I can answer, the words only a whisper.
Caleb’s consoling hand on my shoulder brings me back to the present. Back to my sobbing, shattered mate. She’s so fucking damaged. My heart aches for her. I reach out my hand to her unable to stop myself, but she backs herself into the corner like a scared animal. Her rejection is deserved as I drop my head in shame. I take a deep breath and square my shoulders.
Now that I know why she’s been acting the way she has, I can make this right. I’ll fix this.
I meet Caleb’s eyes. “Bring her to the bedroom.”
Part IV
Their Mates
Dom
“What the hell, Dom?” Even though he’s screaming in my head, Caleb looks back at me with a neutral expression.
“She’s scared. I’m going to fix it.”
“By tying her up?” His shocked tone is laced with disapproval. “She’s scared out of her mind, you sick asshole!”
“Knock it the fuck off,” I sneer with disdain before calming myself and adding, “you know I’m not going to cross the line.” He presses his lips into a thin line, his hands clenching into fists before quickly relaxing and then he looks back at our mate. She’s still huddled in a ball shaking uncontrollably, intently focused on ignoring us. As though we don’t exist if she can’t see us. She’s got the blanket cocooned around her like it’s going to protect her. I shake my head at the sight of her. Nothing’s coming in between us, little one.
“Tying her up is crossing the line.” His low growl is fortified with an unspoken threat.
“Bring it on, motherfucker.” The low growl I thought was inaudible awards me with a small whimper from our mate. One that shreds me. “I’m doing this for her.” I leave him with anger pouring off of him in waves. With long, determined strides, I make my way to the other side of the estate. I need to gather rope from the dungeon. I couldn’t care less if Caleb doesn’t like it. She may be both of ours, but that isn’t going to stop me from doing right by her on my own. She needs to be subdued and reconditioned. Now that I know what she’s been through, all bets are off. Our mate isn’t a scared little human afraid of the big bad werewolves. No, she’s an abused, latent wolf in desperate need of being given a kind, devoted touch. Except she’s shown she’ll fight us tooth and nail before she lets that happen. She’ll do anything to keep us away because she’s petrified. All of her past experiences have her on edge and frightened.
I scowl thinking of what she’s been through. My chest tightens and my throat constricts. My poor mate. Fate’s one cruel bitch. She’s scared of me and by extension all of us, simply because I look just like my father. Just like the man who bought her and tortured her. She’s been taught to fear the very sight of me. I know just as well as her what he’s done and seen how his victims look at him with sheer terror in their eyes. That’s how she looks at me. I clench my fists and grip on to the rage and resentment; better that than the sadness threatening to destroy the last bit of hope I have of claiming my mate.
She may have learned to fear my presence, but I can retrain her. I’ll have to tie her down at first so she can’t hide from me. That way she won’t be able to ignore me or run from me anymore. I nod my head as I collect what I’ll need. I’ll soothe her and relieve her of her agony. Instead of the pain and fear she’s used to, I’ll condition her mind to crave my touch and her body to want me. She’ll let go of the past once she can see her future with me.
Then there’s the issue of her latency. Her wolf was there. I heard the poor broken creature whimper in pain; she reached out to our wolves. But somehow Lizzie held her back and hid her. She vanished; there one split second and gone the next. We couldn’t hear her or feel her or even scent her. It doesn’t make any sense. I should know, since latent shifters were my father’s main perversion. You can’t hide your wolf. They’re always able to be heard, felt and eventually seen. Even if you’re latent and can’t shift, there’s always something that will bring your animal to the surface. Lizzie, my sweet, haunted mate, is not latent. She’s something else and I have no fucking clue what. But her wolf is in there somewhere and my own wolf is chomping at the bit to get to her. He knows she’s hurting and he claws at me to protect her.
If only it were that easy. If only you could protect someone from their past.
My strides pick up as I get closer to my mate. I’ve only been gone a few minutes, but I don’t want to miss a thing. If her wolf comes back, I want to be there for her. I want to be there for Lizzie every step of the way.
First thing we have to do is tell her we’re her mates. I don’t know if she’ll know what that means or what she remembers from her pack, but I’ll figure it all out in time. I’ve got forever with my mate and today is just the first day. There’s no way I’m going to let her deny me. I’m not going to let her, or her wolf, hide from us anymore.
“You tell her yet?” I silently question Caleb as I push the door open. The room looks just like the kind of room I’d expect any typical twentysomething to h
ave. Caleb made sure to get everything set up exactly how it was for them back at their apartment. These girls really love the color pink. It’s everywhere with splashes of yellow and the occasional pale shade of teal. Lizzie is still huddled in the cream-colored damask comforter from the guest room. She’s right in the middle of her bed with her head resting on her knees, nuzzled into the blanket. She’s got her arms wrapped around her legs and she holds on to them like they’re her anchor. When she hears my boots thud against the wooden floors, she lifts her head slightly and her red-rimmed, blue eyes peek through her dark, thick lashes at me. The soft movement of her shoulders becomes rigid with fear.
Her eyes dart to the rope in my hands and terror flashes over her face. Her kissable, pouty lips release a small gasp and she quickly backs away from me, crawling on her hands and knees to the headboard and pushing her side up against it. She wraps her arms around her bent legs and hastily rocks her body, resting her cheek on her knee so she can keep her eyes on me. Her big doe eyes are drenched in panic and tears fall carelessly down her reddened cheeks. She sniffles before swallowing and saying in a small voice, “Please don’t.”
With his arms crossed, Caleb stands in the corner on my right; the corded muscles in his neck and arms make him look like a rock-solid beast. At least he has a tight smile on his face. Although that’s obviously not doing anything to calm her.
“Nah, I figured you’d want to be here.” I glance at him and then walk slowly to the edge of the bed. I sit my massive form down and feel the soft bed dip. Our little mate lets out a squeak. Caleb follows me but doesn’t sit.
“I tried to sit when you left and she freaked out.”
“This’ll help her.” I see him slightly shake his head in my periphery. “Just don’t get in my way then.”
“Don’t fucking make me.”
I clench my teeth and ignore him. Our mate hasn’t heard a single word of our silent dialogue and I don’t want her to think I’m pissed at her. At least I don’t think she has.
“I want you to come sit by me.” It’s a simple request. My words come out as soft as they possibly can. She stops rocking and stares at me for only a moment before burying her head between her knees as she shakes her head in denial. I resist the urge to growl, not at her disobedience, but at the former pricks who did this to her. Instead I pat the bed next to me and calmly repeat myself. “I want you to come sit by me.” I look at Caleb and then back to our scared little mouse. “We have something very important to tell you and I want to be able to hold you when you hear it.” Caleb’s lips turn up at the corners. I don’t know if he’s trying to force a smile onto his pretty-boy face or whether he’s trying to hold one in.
Caleb stalks closer to her and slowly drops to his knees at the foot of the bed. His tall frame hovers over the mattress as he bends to offer his upturned hand to Lizzie. “Come on, baby girl, I want to hold you too. Let’s go sit with Dominick.” She doesn’t even lift her head to meet his eyes. Her blond hair swings across her back as she shakes her head, adamantly refusing our requests.
“Let’s just tell her.” I hear Caleb’s words in my head, but instead of responding silently I continue to speak out loud so our mate can hear.
“I don’t want to tell her until I can hold her.”
“Stop being so fucking stubborn.” He continues his silent conversation.
“I’m not being stubborn; when I tell her that she’s my mate, she needs to be listening. She’s not listening to anything we say.”
“She is listening; she doesn’t want to obey. There’s a difference, Dom.”
“I know there’s a difference. She’s hearing us, but she’s not really listening.” I glance back at our terrified mate before looking Caleb in the eyes. “You want to claim her on the full moon?” He squirms uncomfortably.
“You know I do. But I don’t want to scare her.”
“Too late.” I speak out loud, but he doesn’t follow suit.
His shoulders slump in defeat. “I don’t want to give her a reason to fear us.”
“She already has one.” Frustrated with all this pussyfooting around, I question him, “Are you going to help me?” He grits his teeth and clenches his fists, but then he gives me a slight nod. I take a deep breath and crack my knuckles before turning to fully face our mate.
“Hey, Lizzie,” I say and stare at the back of her head. She stops moving but doesn’t turn to me, and she doesn’t respond. I know she’s terrified, so it doesn’t make me angry—in fact, it’s exactly what I expect.
I sigh and say as casually as I can, “If you won’t listen, I’m going to have to tie you up, little one.” Her breathing hitches, but other than that I get nothing. I’ll give her one last chance. “Come here. Come sit next to me so I’ll know you’ll hear me.” I pat the bed and continue to stare at the back of her head.
“How are we doing this?” Her lack of a response gets Caleb to finally relent.
“Well, do you want to get your eyes clawed out or have your nose kicked in?” A small grin plays at his lips.
Devin
I place featherlight kisses along Grace’s bare neck as she sits perched on the granite countertop of the large island in the center of the kitchen. I don’t want to let go of her, but I know she’s dying to get back to Lizzie. I breathe out deep and resign myself to feeding her and then taking her to her room. I’m vaguely aware of Dom’s and Caleb’s anxiety. They must be going to Lizzie, which means our mates’ room is set up.
Dom’s feelings are more of a painful anxiousness whereas Caleb’s are hopeful but tinged with apprehension. I block them out. They don’t need me interfering. They’d better come up with a plan soon to tell her that she’s their mate. I don’t think I can wait like I’d planned to. Keeping this from her is tearing me up inside. It’s easy to see when she’s overthinking it all. I know the moment I explain it to Grace, everything will fall into place for her. Our bond is already strong, as it should be between mates, but she’s still holding back and that’s a problem I’m unwilling to allow to go on much longer.
She pulls my shirt down her thighs, covering herself from me, and glances around the large kitchen. I could tell she was shocked by how modern her new home is. She probably expected to live in some shack in the woods. I reach for the cheese and butter in the fridge. After spending a year watching her, I know she makes grilled cheese whenever she’s stressed. I made sure to stock up on groceries before we went to the offering. I want her to indulge in anything that will offer her comfort. Once she’s settled, she’ll have all the comfort she’s always wanted.
I set the ingredients by the stove and glance back at her as I reach for a pan. She avoids my gaze and bites her lip, nervously looking around the room again. Her eyes linger on the doorway to the hall. Doubt filters into my mind each time her attention focuses on an escape route. I swear to God if she runs from me again, I’ll lose my shit. As long as I’m touching her, she seems fine but the moment I step away, it’s like our bond doesn’t exist. That’s an indescribable pain. Doesn’t she feel that as well? There’s so much I don’t know … all because she’s human. This is the first instance in nearly a century for our kind to mate with humans from what I’ve heard in the whispers from other packs. It’s not common, but it’s not completely unheard of either.
“What are you looking for, sweetheart?” I keep my voice even. As if I don’t know she’s thinking about bolting even though it’s written all over her face. She peeks up at me through her lashes and meets my gaze head-on. Well that’s a good sign at least. I see her noticeably swallow.
“I was keeping an eye out for the … others.” The jealousy is unexpected. My nostrils flare and my breathing picks up in anger. I can’t school my expression fast enough. Her gaze drops to the floor and she hunches her shoulders. She doesn’t realize it, but she’s trying to shield her neck from me. Yet another thing I don’t like. It takes far too much effort to compose myself. This isn’t what we’re told to expect. Especially for an Alpha�
�s mate. Again, doubt lingers.
“Why are you waiting on … others?” I can’t say anything else without giving away how pissed off I am and this level of aggression is not for her. Imagining someone else walking in on her like this, and her attention being given to them … a pack member and not her mate … dressed as she is … The fact that Dom and Caleb are sharing their mate has gone to my head. I turn my back to her and put the pan for her goddamn grilled cheese on the stove to heat. I have to work hard not to slam the drawer shut after I grab a butter knife.
“I … I …” Her stammering isn’t helping to calm me down. “I don’t want to see them.” My shoulders relax at her admission.
“That’s a hell of a lot better than what I was thinking.”
I turn back around to face her before I ask with all seriousness, “Are you afraid of them?” She shakes her head “no” while her beautiful hazel eyes meet my gaze. Nodding, at least I know I chose well for who would accompany her when I couldn’t. Lev, even if he is younger and less experienced—he’s soft where the rest of us aren’t, charming and easy to talk to. He has patience where I don’t, and more importantly, he’ll protect her.
Satisfied, I nod, letting my gaze drift down her body.
She’s so fucking gorgeous covered in just my white T-shirt. I have a perfect view of her pale rose nipples through the thin fabric and I’m not sure if they’re hard because she’s aroused or if she’s cold. Maybe it’s both. Her bare feet dangle from the counter and her ankles are crossed. She looks so sweet and innocent. The blush that rises to her cheeks proves she’s not so innocent as her gaze lingers on my chest, then moves lower. I watch her lick her lips before her eyes meet mine again. My sexy, knowing smirk makes her roll her eyes.
Damn, I love her confidence.
Her eyes dart to the far edge of the counter as the small smile on her lips fades. I follow her line of sight and my brows pinch. I’m not sure if it’s my laptop or something else that’s caught her attention, but I’d be willing to bet she would do anything now to tell the people in her hometown that she’s all right. Which can never happen. Never. There are laws in place and her silence is required.
Wounded Kiss (To Be Claimed Saga Book 1) Page 9