Chapter Three

Emmaleigh

Three Days Later

When I wake up I know that I am most definitely not in the Hunters’ compound anymore. The problem is I am also not dead, or at least I hope I’m not. My body aches and my throat is on fire. Isn’t the pain supposed to end once a person dies? Perhaps this is purgatory?

The door to the room opens and my instincts take over. Rolling from the bed I crouch in the corner, keeping my back against the wall. My gaze collides with that of a petite but curvy blonde woman. In her hands a tray of food that smells so delicious my stomach growls loudly.

A soft smile curves the woman’s lips as she places the tray on the center of the bed. Stepping back, she takes a seat in a fuchsia wingback chair next to the window. We study each other carefully, we are not quite sure how to approach or feel about each other.

Fear and trepidation hold me captive in my spot. Is this a ploy by the Hunters? Are they stooping so low as to use other shifters to do their dirty work for them?

“My name is Peyton,” the woman says. “I am the Luna for the Katu pack. My people found you in a cell in the Hunters’ compound and brought you here.”

I stare at her in disbelief, struggling to believe anything she is saying. What are the chances that Rose was right? That we would get rescued the same day I finally gave up living?

“Rose?” I croak out, the word painfully falling from my lips, my dry throat scratching.

“She is also here,” Peyton smiles. “She has made fast friends with some of the other women and is spending time with our pack elder.”

I nod, slowly standing from the crouching position I was holding. I allow myself a moment to take in my surroundings. The room is small but well-furnished, decorated in white with a few accents of fuchsia and royal blue. I can’t remember ever seeing anything this pretty. Even before I was taken from my pack, I never had anything like this. The walls are painted a light purple color and I feel like crying at not having to see white walls anymore.

“You’re safe here,” Peyton says, standing from her seat. “Eat and relax. If you want to shift and go for a run I’m available to join you—if you want—until you know the area a little better. There’s a bathroom across the hall if you feel like grabbing a shower and I’ve put some clothes in the dresser for you.”

I stare at her in disbelief. What kind of place is this? Why are these people being so nice to me? And then it hits me. I have lost all faith in humanity. I fully expect everyone that comes into my orbit to hurt me.

My heart breaks and a tear rolls down my cheek.

Peyton looks at me sadly but doesn’t approach me. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

She closes the door behind her and I take a seat on the bed, staring at the food she brought me. I appreciate the gesture and grab a piece of bacon when my stomach rumbles. I have no idea where I am or who these people are but I need all my strength if I intend to find out.

After finishing half the food Peyton left, I glance out the door to make sure it’s not a trap. Once I’m sure no one is waiting to ambush me, I head across the hall to the bathroom.

Inside, I lock the door behind me, making sure to keep everyone out. The shower is huge, tiled in white with glass walls on either side. Slipping the dirty t-shirt and shorts from my body, I step beneath the spray, allowing the luxurious water to wash away the dirt. Praying that it will take every painful memory with it as it flows down the drain.

But I know that the damage done to me, mentally and physically, will remain with me for years to come. Under the spray I allow myself a private moment of pure weakness. Sliding down the tile wall, I sit on the floor with my arms wrapped around my knees and cry. I weep for the woman I once was, for the life that was ripped away from me, for the friends and family I may never seen again, and most of all, I weep for my wolf. Lost to me forever.

****

Nico

My wolf makes his impatience known with every single minute we spend away from our mate. I fully understand the compulsion to storm Caine’s house and make sure she is safe, but I need to give her time to acclimate to her new surroundings. None of this is going to be easy for her.

Goddess only knows what those monsters have put her through in the time she was held captive. If what Rose said is true, she has spent years in captivity living through horrors that most people can’t even imagine. It drives me insane just thinking about someone hurting her. And those are only the things I can imagine.

“I know this is difficult,” Calum says as he walks up to the porch of my house.

I’ve been sitting out here staring in the general direction of my Alpha’s house. The building that holds my mate. Constantly debating what I should or should not be doing.

I stare at him in disbelief before I remember all the drama that followed once he and Talon found out they were fated mates. I may have it a little easier. After all, my mate isn’t already bound to another as Talon was.

“I hate not knowing if she is okay,” I say dejectedly.

“You could always go over there,” he says taking a seat beside me.

From the cooler between the seats, he draws two cold beers before handing one to me.

“I can’t. I don’t have control over my wolf or myself at the moment. I don’t want to scare her,” I explain. “Peyton promised to let me know if there is any change. At least I know she is awake and eating.”

Calum nods, sipping his beer. We sit in silence for long moments, both lost in our own thoughts before I ask the questions that have been haunting me since the moment I found Emmaleigh in that prison.

“What if whatever they’ve done to her has broken her? What if she can’t ever trust anyone again and chooses to refuse me?”

It feels like my rib cage is constricting as every word passes my lips. Like my own body is trying to kill me for simply thinking these thoughts. My wolf howls in utter pain, denying my thoughts. He wants to find our mate and prove to her that he can protect her from any danger out there, but I know we need to wait. We don’t know what she has been through, and being faced with an irate wolf may have her running from us instead of toward.

“What if she is strong? What if everything she went through has made her a survivor and not a victim? What if she is a fighter?”

Shock courses through me. I never took into account that whatever happened to her didn’t break her. I simply assumed that after five years of torture, she would be broken inside. But what Calum says could be true. After all, the same things that break some make others that much stronger.

“I don’t have the answers or the reassurance you need from me, my friend,” Calum replies. “What I do know is that the Goddess always has a plan. Neither of us would be where we are now if it wasn’t meant to be.” Calum nods as he speaks, convinced by the truth in his own words.

I nod as well but my heart doesn’t believe a word he is saying. Why would the Goddess put my poor mate through all this suffering? It just doesn’t make any sense.

My phone chimes in my pocket and I check the message, hoping for more news on Emmaleigh. But it’s something more pressing.

“We need to head to Godrick’s. There is something wrong with Thomas.” I say, already standing. My beer discarded on the little wooden table.

Calum is quick to follow my lead and we hastily make our way toward Godrick and Keela’s home.

Outside, Keela stands holding the twins, laughing like a loon. She hands one of the boys to Calum and leads us inside.

“Will you stop laughing!” Godrick shouts from the kitchen. “It’s not funny.”

Rounding the corner I almost swallow my tongue. Behind the counter is a grey wolf the size of a horse. And on his back is Joy, Keela’s two-year-old toddler. She is giggling and smiling, clearly unaware of the danger she is in.

“Damn woman,” Calum whistles behind me. “What are you feeding these kids? He’s huge!”

Thomas has been staying with them since arriving at the compound. He hasn’t spoken a single word since arriving and the consensus is that he doesn’t speak at all. And now he is a giant wolf and it’s clear that none of us are prepared to handle a situation like this.

Keela shakes her head as another round of laughter peels out of her.

“What happened?” I ask Godrick, hoping for some clarity because this sure as shit isn’t a normal situation.

“I have no clue!” He throws his hands up in the air and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him frazzled. The big man is always cool, calm, and in control, but this development seems to have thrown him off his game.

Thomas growls lowly at the movement and Godrick lowers his hands and his voice. “From the moment he came to stay with us three days ago, he has shown insane protective instincts toward the children. It’s understandable, if he grew up in the compounds he would want to protect those younger and smaller than him.” He sighs and takes a seat at the kitchen table, never taking his gaze off the wolf and his adopted daughter.

“What’s this, then?” Calum asks, gesturing to the scene.

“Godrick was playing with Joy,” Keela interjects. “She was running and shrieking…” Another bout of laughter cuts off her words.

“He must have thought I was going to hurt her because he shifted,” Godrick continues.

“And put you flat on your ass so he could take Joy,” Keela points out, clutching her side. “And now he won’t shift back or let us take her.”

I can’t help myself. I start laughing too. It doesn’t help that Godrick is sulking like a teenager.

“What’s going on here?” Caine asks as he walks in to find us all laughing.

I point toward the direction of Thomas and Joy. I can see the shock coursing through him the moment he sees the massive beast and the giggling toddler riding him like he’s a bloody pony.

“I can’t get him to shift back,” Godrick says, with a pout I wouldn’t have believed if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. “I thought you could compel him.”

“I could try,” Caine replies. “But he’s an Alpha as well, the power is pouring off him so it might not work.”