My heart sinks to my stomach. I think she’s finally about to tell me something that can help me figure out what happened to her.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Her voice is small, scared. I know not to push anymore.
It’s late. I haven’t looked at the time, but I imagine it’s well past midnight. With everything she’s been through, I can only imagine how exhausted she is.
“I think you should get some sleep.” I pick up the tray and set it on my dresser.
I open the drawer and grab a T-shirt to hand to her. She looks at it for a moment before slipping it over her head and unwrapping the towel from around her.
“Listen…” I try to figure out how to say what I want to. “Would it be all right if I sleep next to you? I promise I won’t touch you. I just want to make sure you’re all right during the night.”
Addison stands gingerly, gripping the frame of the bed to steady herself as I fold over the duvet and reveal the soft sheets below. I watch her as she bites the corner of her lip, contemplating.
“Okay,” she says as she climbs under the covers and lets me fold them over her shoulders.
She sinks into the bed with clear satisfaction in her eyes. I can’t help wondering if she’s ever been in a bed as comfortable as this. Even the thought of what she might have had to sleep on before is enough to send a sharp pain through my chest.
Thinking of everything she endured before I found her is infuriating and heartbreaking all at the same time. I feel the anger in my veins, pouring not only through me but my wolf, too.
I climb into bed beside her, lying on top of the cover, and stare at the back of her neck. It doesn’t take long before her body gives in to the comfort, and I hear her soft breathing as she sleeps.
I wait here with her for a while, not counting the minutes but just making sure she’s comfortable before climbing out of bed as quietly as I can. I leave the light off as I sneak out of the room and tiptoe down the hall toward the living room.
As expected, my entire family is still sitting around talking among themselves. As soon as they see me, the conversation comes to a sudden halt. It’s clear that my mate was the topic of conversation.
“Any news?” Declan asks.
I take a seat on the couch beside Nora and run my fingers through my hair.
“What happened to her?” Tara asks, nervously biting her fingernails. Kyran grabs her hand and pulls it away. It’s a nervous habit she’s been trying to break.
“I don’t know. I’m as clueless as all of you.” I lean back with a sigh and shake my head. “She didn’t want to tell me anything. But she’s afraid. I don’t know if she’s afraid of something or someone, but she’s terrified.”
Declan stands to start pacing the room. I can already see the gears turning behind his eyes. A lone wolf on our territory was found covered in bruises and ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. Someone was holding her, that much we all know. But why?
“What is this going to mean for the pack?” Declan asks, thinking out loud more than anything.
“We shouldn’t worry too much right now,” Tara suggests, trying to be a voice of reason in everything. “She’s clearly in shock and still has drugs coursing through her body. After she sleeps and starts to recover, we can get more information. We don’t know anything right now for certain.”
I nod my head in agreement. There’s no sense getting worked up about something we don’t know about.
“Tara, come on,” Declan says, shaking his head. He grips the back of the armchair he was sitting in. “If somebody was holding her, they’ll be looking for her. That much I’m certain. Why else would she have been running to that point of exhaustion?”
“We need her to talk as soon as possible.” Kyran nods in agreement. “If we don’t know what we’re up against, we’ll be underprepared.”
I can hardly listen to them as I lose myself in my own thoughts. I agree with Declan. It’s very clear someone was holding her against her will, and they’re going to want her back for whatever reason. Maybe they don’t want her talking about them to authorities, or maybe they want her for something else entirely.
Until we know what that is, we don’t know how to move forward. But at the same time, I can’t even imagine forcing her to tell me something she’s so afraid of.
I can see it in her eyes every time I ask her. Whatever she ran from, she doesn’t want to think about that anymore. She wants to move on, and I want to let her.
Declan and Kyran start putting together a plan to warn the bear shifter clan nearby, letting everyone know what’s happened. Tara and Nora talk about other people in our pack that they can go to in the morning, and Cole is on his laptop searching for missing people who might resemble Addison.
If we don’t know what we’re up against, they at least want to make sure everything is secure within both of our packs. We need to be prepared for anything.
The planning comes to an abrupt stop when a bloodcurdling scream sounds from down the hall.
I’m on my feet, running toward Addison the second it registers, not sparing a moment away from her.
