Chapter 17

Viv sat in her new sitting room, in their new house, taking in everything around her. She still felt a little disassociated with her body, like her mind wasn’t fully there or it was floating. It had been that way since she had woken up in the hospital. She really wanted to talk to someone, but there was no way she could open up to Mac and she didn’t want to disturb Thomas.

As if he sensed her thinking about him, her phone dinged with a message.

The guys are putting in a grocery order. And a dinner delivery. Does Chinese sound good to you? Or burgers? Thomas asked. She was glad he hadn’t asked about pizza.

Either is good. General Tsao or a milkshake and fries. Both sound good.They actually did sound good. She hadn’t had much of an appetite since she had woken up in the hospital but being here made her feel hungry again.

Awesome. I’ll let him know. Can I come see your room?Thomas asked.

Of course!She typed back. I’m in the sitting room.

“Hey lady. How do you like your rooms? D did good, didn’t he? I don’t know what I expected when he said he bought a house, but it wasn’t this.” Thomas slowly hobbled his way in a couple of minutes later.

Viv stared at her best friend. She was glad he was alive. He was looking better; he still had bruises, but they were quite faded. His eye had been okay once they used the healing potion on it. As a precaution, he had needed to wear a patch for a couple of days, but it was now off. His leg had been set, along with his fingers. He had told her that they had an amazing burn cream at the hospital, and he wouldn’t have many scars. They had used both healing potions and cream on him, so his whip marks and burns were taken care of, along with some of the deeper cuts. His leg and fingers had had their healing sped up, but he still had time to spend in the casts. His body had taken to the healing potions better than hers had.

Thomas sat in one of the chairs, his casted leg stretched out on the ottoman. She was terrified of what to say to him. It was her fault that the woman had found out Thomas was D’s mate. Viv hadn’t been thinking when she ripped the other sleeve off her shirt to brace his broken fingers. With both of her arms exposed, it had been clear that she didn’t have any mate bonds. Thomas had been whipped after that and she knew some of them had cut deep enough to scar.

“I didn’t mean to let her know you were D’s mate,” she said softly, willing her tears not to fall. This wasn’t about her. She wanted to apologize to her friend for allowing him to get hurt.

“Honey. Is that what you’ve been upset about?” Thomas cried, grabbing her hand. “No. No, no, no. This wasn’t your fault at all. She was playing with us. She got a phone call the first day she had us. She was in the room with me and I overheard; they were telling her that D was gay. She knew from the first day that I was his mate, she just wanted to play games. Why do you think she focused more on me until D got me out?”

“Really? Don’t lie to me on this, Thomas. I’ll know. I can’t handle it if you lie to save my feelings,” Viv said sternly.

“Honest, Viv. She was just a crazy bitch who liked to cause pain. There was nothing you could have done differently. You gave up the one bed to keep me off the ground, you helped treat my injuries. You did everything you could. I owe you because you told D to get me out first, leaving you there with her.”

“You were hurt and needed to get to the hospital,” she stated. There had been no other choice in her mind.

“Except then you were hurt too,” Thomas pointed out.

“I…” Viv didn’t know what to say. She didn’t really want to talk about it, and she definitely didn’t want to make her friend feel bad about what happened to her.

“Can you tell me, please? I think it would make you feel better. You know pretty much everything she did to me, and I want to be able to help you too.”

Viv took a minute, wrapping herself up in a blanket that faintly smelled like Mac. “She came back after D left and was angry you were gone. I tried to fight her, but she hit me in the head and knocked me out. I woke up in an empty warehouse or something. It was a big room, windows, a door that I could see, brick. But clearly old and abandoned. There wasn’t a roof. I was chained up, my arms to the old ceiling beams, my feet to the floor, in an X shape. It was cold and I only had my underwear on. I was soaking wet too since she threw a bucket of water on me to wake me up.

“The first two days, it was just her. The third day was when Mac and his team found me. That day, she had brought five guys with her. One left almost right away when she wouldn’t let him penetrate me. She said they could all have a turn when she was done, but they could do whatever else they wanted until then. The vampire drank. A lot. I started to feel lightheaded, but he didn’t stop. They all took turns hitting or punching me. The one was a scorpion shifter and he let his tail out and kept stinging me, all over. Nipples, breasts, neck, I think he even got near my clit. It burned so bad. There was one guy who didn’t touch much, but he had some kind of mental power. I could hear him in my head, filling it with all kinds of images of them raping me, cutting my—cutting pieces of me off. I could feel the pain too, it wasn’t just in my head. He kept telling me how I was just a human, how no one would want me, how when they were done with me that no one would ever want me again. I asked at the hospital to make sure, but they didn’t rape me. She tried, but it seems like Mac got there before she could penetrate all the way.” Viv pulled her legs up, her sore ribs protesting, but she laid her head on her knees, not wanting to look at Thomas.

“How did she…”

“Tail,” Viv answered.

“Oh, honey. I’m coming over to give you a hug, scoot over,” Thomas said. “Now listen to me. Even if you weren’t raped, it was close and you have the mental stuff to deal with from that. I am here whenever you need to talk, or we can find you someone to talk to as well. When you decide to get physical again, I want you to remember that you are loved. You are sexy. You are an amazing person. And tails are fun when used the right way,” he added.

Viv’s head came up. Thomas’ cheeks were red, but he nodded when she looked at him. “D has used his before and it’s…um…it’s a lot of fun. Big fun. Orgasmic fun. I’m not saying you should be jumping into bed with anyone, I just don’t want you to think tails are bad either. Especially if Mac?—”

“Nope. Not going there. He rejected me, remember? I don’t care if he was stalking me and keeping me safe in the shadows. He still said he didn’t want me as a mate.”

“Wait. What?” Thomas looked confused.

“Oh. Right. So. Um. I had a feeling the shadows were watching me. For a while, a little after we saw Mac the first time at the apartment. But they seemed like nice shadows? I felt safe when they were there. Apparently, it was Mac. Watching me at work and on dates.”

“Like a creeper,” Thomas responded. “And you never told us?”

Viv shook her head.

“We’ll talk about that later. But I do want to say something about Mac. He’s a douchebag. I’m not saying he’s not. He acted like an ass. I get he was hurt in the past, but if he got to know you at all, he would have seen how amazing you are. I am not saying you have to give him another chance. I will keep my ‘No Mac Allowed’ rule if you say the word. We can kick him out of the house for good and if you need to, you can stay in the extra bedroom on our side of the house.

“Now. I will say he was gutted when he realized you were missing. I heard stories from D. I also saw him in my hospital room when he realized you had been taken to another location. He was terrified. After you were brought in and were stabilized, he stopped by to give an update in person. He clearly hadn’t been sleeping. When D brought up the house, he jumped at it and asked his uncle for help. He likes to be self-reliant and not ask for help from anyone, from what I understand. But he asked this time. As much as I don’t want to like him because of how he treated you, I do think he finally got his head out of his ass and realized what a great gift he had been given. If you decided to give him a chance and he treats you like you deserve, I’m all for it. If you decide no or he’s a jerk, I’ll block him from this house. I already had this talk with D. He can hang out at either of their houses in Netherworld or go to a movie or dinner, or whatever to see him, but not here.”

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “I’m attracted to him. His scent calms me. Even after everything, I’m still drawn to him. But he hurt me; he was mean and pushed me away with his words and actions.”

Thomas held her for a minute, thinking. “Do you want my opinion?” he asked.

Viv nodded.

“You’re mine, my best friend, my family. I will support whatever you decide. I never thought fate was real, had no idea mates were even a thing outside of those romance novels we read. I will say I have never been happier. He completes me, as corny as that is. He bolsters what was there, encourages me, loves me for me. Even if I have a few extra scars now. Even if I always have a limp, which they don’t think will happen, but if it did, I have no doubt he would still want me. There may have been times where mates didn’t work out, but I think ninety-plus percent of them do. All that to say that it might be worth giving him a cautious second chance. Take it slow. Make him work for it. Make him grovel. But maybe see if you can grab hold of some happiness. See if you can come together and be a couple,” Thomas said. “Only if you want to.”

“Thomas, he didn’t want me when I was perfect before. Well, not perfect, but not all marked up and almost gangbanged. Why would he want me now?”