14. Apryle

Chapter 14

Apryle

I want to find out more from Savannah, but I also don't want to push her. She has been through hell, and the last thing she needs is me demanding more from her.

I hug her tight, and she clings to me, as if she's terrified to let go.

You don't have to worry. I'm never letting you go.

I can feel her bones through the thin shirt draped over her tiny body and anger bubbles in my veins. We killed those assholes too fast. We should have made them suffer more.

Movement has my head lifting even as I keep Savannah pressed against me. I let my shoulders slump as Tessa and Abel step into the room. Tessa's bump is pronounced enough now that it is clear to anyone with eyes that she is pregnant. She smiles as Sawyer stands and moves from the couch to a chair so she can sit, and Abel moves behind her.

We're only missing Jackson and Dove now, but the pair have maintained a distance from the rest of us, and I don't blame them for that, considering everything that transpired.

Tessa's curious gaze finds mine, her eyes drifting to the claiming mark. A smile spreads across her face as she mouths, "You and Kye are good?"

I nod and I'm filled with warmth that she seems so happy about this.

My attention moves to Savannah as she buries her face in my side.

Her fear of people breaks my soul into a million pieces. Little kids shouldn't fear anyone.

"Savannah, this is Tessa," I tell the little girl. "She won't hurt you. No one here will."

Savannah eventually lifts her head to look at Tessa and her swollen belly. Tessa's hand rests over her stomach, her smile soft. "Do you want to feel?"

Savannah looks up at me, and I give her a reassuring nod. It's enough to have her come to stand in front of Tessa. She holds her hand out to the little girl, who hesitantly takes it and lets Tessa guide her palm against her stomach.

"In a few weeks' time, she should start moving inside me." Tessa's smile warms me in a way I didn't expect.

Before we came to Callum's compound, I'll admit I wasn't the easiest person to deal with. In fact, I was a bitch.

I pushed my coven away, scared of rejection and betrayal. I did the same with Kye, but I'm realizing that not everyone is out to harm me. I want Savannah to come to that same conclusion. I don't want her experiences to leave her closed off to the world around her.

"It'll move?" Savannah sounds horrified by the thought, which makes the rest of us laugh.

"Yeah. As the baby runs out of space, I'll feel her move more."

Savannah pulls her hand away and clutches it to her chest even as she continues to stare at Tessa's stomach. "How did it get in there?"

Oh, shit . That's not a question I'm equipped to answer.

"You see, Savannah, when a mommy wolf meets a daddy wolf—" Sawyer starts.

"Don't," Kye growls at him, baring his teeth.

"What?" His expression is perfectly innocent, but he knows exactly what he's doing.

"You know what, asshole."

Sawyer smirks. "When you're old enough, Sav-Sav, I'll tell you all about it."

Kye's eyebrows come together. "You are not telling her shit."

I can't help but grin at how overprotective he sounds already.

"Easy, big guy. Retract the claws."

Savannah comes back to me, hugging me close. "Am I staying here?" she asks after a moment.

I want to answer yes, and it almost slips out, but there are other factors to consider. What if she has a family that is missing her? What if she belongs to someone? The thought of letting her go makes my stomach churn, but she deserves the best, and that may not be with me and Kye.

My chest aches as I ask, "Do you remember where you came from, Savannah?" I stroke her hair back from her face, and she leans into my soothing touch.

"No."

"Do you remember anything about life before that room?"

Her brows draw together, creating a little V between her eyes. "I don't… I don't know."

My heart breaks. "It's okay, sweetie. You don't need to remember."

She clings to me as if I am the one who is going to save her. "You're not going to send me back to that horrible place, are you?"

The fear threading through her voice is not an act. Savannah is genuinely terrified that I might give her up.

"You're not going back to the facility. You're staying here with us."

She softens in my hold, her little body relaxing against me. I know it is going to take a lot of time for her to get over the things she has suffered—in fact, I know that all too well. "Is everyone here special?" Savannah asks, tracing a line over my jaw and up to my cheek with her finger.

"Most of us have gifts," Halle says from my side.

"What can you do?"

Halle gives her a warm smile. "I can make things better." Slowly, she takes Savannah's hand, turning her arm over to reveal the bruise there.

I smell the magic, feel the power surge through the air even though she's only using a small amount. Savannah gasps as the purple mottled mark on her arm disappears, leaving behind unblemished skin.

"How did you do that?"

"Magic." She wiggles her eyebrows at her. "Do you know how to work yours?"

Savannah frowns. "I don't want to."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," I say to her as her fingers twist into my shirt like she's anchoring herself to me.

"I don't want to hurt anyone."

My chest feels impossibly tight at her words. "Have they made you hurt someone already?" She burrows into my side, burying her head into my chest. "I promise you're safe now. No one will ever make you do anything you don't want to again. And we can teach you to control your powers."

"Your magic isn't something to be scared of." Roux says.

Savannah glances at me and Kye before she peers at the other women in the room.

"Sometimes. When I get angry, I get this heavy feeling in my chest."

Halle leans toward her. "That's why we have to learn to control our powers, Savannah. We can't allow ourselves to get out of control because then we can hurt people we care about." This comes out laced with regret and I know she's thinking about Dove.

Savannah yawns. The heaviness of her eyes means she's barely keeping them open.

"You need to sleep." I stand, holding my hand out to her. Kye comes to his feet as well. "I'm going to take her back to the house so she can sleep."

Through our bond, I say, Stay here and find out what's going on. They wanted my blood for a reason, and they wanted Savannah's too. We need to know why and who they wanted to give it to.

He frowns at me, and I understand why when he answers, I don't want to leave either of you.

We're safe in the compound. I fuss with Savannah's hair while we have our unspoken conversation. We need information, Kye.

Reluctantly, his agreement comes through the bond. He kisses me, uncaring that we have an audience, and I return it with the same feeling. It scares me how fast he has become my person, the one I need and rely on.

The kiss says everything we both feel—our hopes, our fear, and our adoration for each other. When we part, I press my hand to the side of his face, the other clutching Savannah's. The three of us together feels right, as if it was always meant to be this way.

"Thank you for always taking care of us," I say softly.

He seems embarrassed by my compliment, and I get the impression no one has ever thanked him for anything.

"You're welcome," he murmurs. "If you need me?—"

"I know."

I pull back, and holding Savannah's hand, I lead her out of the building. It's turned cold overnight, and the chill soaks into my bones as I guide Savannah toward our home—or at least the place I'm beginning to think of as home.

She's quiet, maybe thinking about things or just tired, I'm not sure, but I let her have her silence. She needs to digest things and realize how her life has changed.

I desperately want to create a safe place for her and for all of us. I'm tired of fighting, of looking over my shoulder all the time. I want a life.

This is as close as I've ever been to having one, and I don't take that for granted. If I die in this war, at least I will have experienced something good. When I step inside our building, I feel happy.

Taking Savannah's hand, I lock the door behind us and lead her up the stairs to the bedroom. She's barely keeping her eyes open as I help her out of her borrowed tee and into one of Kye's. It's so big on her it drowns her tiny frame, and the length of it has her giggling, which makes me smile.

I hate how we came across her, but she already feels like an intrinsic part of our lives.

I grab one of Kye's shirts for myself, relishing the faint scent of him beneath the smell of the laundry detergent. Slipping it over my head, I keep my panties on before I crawl into the bed.

Savannah is already beneath the blankets, but I tuck them around her to make sure she is warm. She nestles into my side, and I brush her hair back over and over in a rhythmic movement that has her eyes fluttering.

"Do you think my mommy misses me?"

Her question breaks my heart. Considering how hybrids are treated, I guess it's probably a good thing she doesn't remember anything about her past. My parents allowed me to be tortured because of what I am. Halle's mom was taken and brainwashed into becoming a soldier for the Order. Jackson and Dove believe they have a child that was stolen from them while they were captive of that white-haired bastard.

So many lives ruined and changed because we are seen as less than human. I try not to let my anger bubble to the surface. I don't want Savannah to think it's aimed at her, but the injustice I feel for my kind runs through my veins like poison. It adds fuel to the fire already burning in my gut.

"I think she misses you very much," I tell her, not having the heart to give her the reality of our situation.

Chances are her mother was either tau and is now a captive of Revna's whacky followers or she gave up her daughter to become a science experiment. Neither scenario has a good outcome, and it's kinder for Savannah to believe whatever fantasy she needs to.

Savannah lies back, staring at the ceiling. Demons dance in her eyes that have no right to be in a child so young. "Do you remember your mommy?"

This is not a trip I want to take, but I also want Savannah to keep talking. She may remember something that can help us.

"My mom was… complicated. She didn't want to be my mommy."

Savannah seems disappointed by my answer. "I don't remember mine. I don't remember anything." Her little brows furrow, as if she's trying desperately to find the memories she's lost. It's a tried and tested method these animals use on us. Mind control, wiping our pasts away so we forget what we're fighting for… It's cruel on an unprecedented level.

"It's okay, honey. Don't try to force things to come back to you."

She huffs out a breath. "They told me I only had one mommy anyway."

"Who?" I ask, even though I can guess the answer.

"Revna. They talked about her a lot."

I stroke her hair. "Do you remember what they said?"

Her nose wrinkles as she tries to recall. "They said… They said she's trapped somewhere."

It is as if a bucket of ice-cold water has been thrown over my head. On the surface, her words don't seem troubling. They seem like the ramblings of an overactive imagination, but they make me feel fear I haven't experienced since my pack tortured me.

"Trapped where?"

Savannah shrugs. "I don't know. They said lots of times how important I was. They pricked me all the time. And then one day they just stopped. No one came for a long time. My tummy was so sore, and I cried, but still no one came."

I grind my molars together, not sure if I want to explode or sob at her candor. "I'm sorry, Savannah. That will never happen again."

She glances at me, hope in her eyes. "Because you and Kye will keep me safe, right?"

I nod, feeling the weight of her expectations on my shoulders. How can I keep any of us safe? Even so, I make that vow because she's a little girl who has been through hell and she needs the reassurance.

"I promise we'll do everything we can to protect you. You'll never feel hungry or be pricked again."

I press a kiss to the top of her head, smelling the scent of the shampoo the girls used when they cleaned her up. Beneath that, I can smell her wolf, faint, as it is in pups. I can smell her magic as well, the unique fingerprint that makes it hers.

"I'm scared, Apryle."

I hold her close, pulling her against my chest as if she were precious glass that I am afraid might shatter. "You don't have to be scared. Me and Kye, as well as the others here, are working to build a safe future for our kind. You'll never have to worry about anything. You'll be able to live a normal life, find your mate, if you have one, have pups if you choose to. You can be anything you want to be, Savannah." I mean every word. It makes me more determined than ever to create a safe space for the generations that will follow. They should not have to suffer the same way we have.

"I'm glad it was you who found me," she says, yawning and revealing rows of crooked little teeth.

"I am too," I reply. "Savannah, do you know how old you are?"

She frowns at the question, as if trying to remember. When she doesn't answer, I whisper, "It's okay. We'll figure these things out together."

She yawns again, this time closing her eyes, barely able to keep them parted. It doesn't take her long to fall asleep, and I keep stroking her hair as her breathing becomes soft. Only once she is deeply asleep do I let myself drift off too.