Chapter 18
Thane
What the hell am I doing? Flirting? Am I flirting? That isn’t me. I am not a flirt. “Why do you keep glancing at your phone Thane?” “I am just checking on Ayla, making sure she is getting settled Cyrus.” “Oh, how is our little wolf?” “She is not our little wolf. Not our anything. And don’t call her that.” “Right. Not our anything. Seems like your nothing has you preoccupied.” “I just want to make sure she isn’t freaking out in a panic and feels comfortable. Now can we drop it please?” “Sure, thing your excellence.” “Oh, shut the hell up.” I say and throw my stapler at him. He has a point. I am preoccupied. It is difficult to concentrate when you were just told by a gorgeous omega that she is naked and probably dripping with water. That thought has Ronan pushing against my
mental barrier.
“How is the prisoner today?” I ask my beta. “Oh, he’s finding his forced hunger strike uncomfortable. I had one of the healers patch him up a little before we work him over again. Whoever he has sworn allegiance to must be pretty powerful for him to go this long without talking. I mean, I cut some piggies off and he didn’t even squeal.” “Well, keep pressing. I think I will pay a visit to him later. I want to ask Ayla some questions first and see if she has any idea why they kept her so long, then see what that shit stain has to say about it.” “I also need to go see Eric; he said he has a few ideas of what we can do to help Ayla reconnect with her wolf.” “When that fine as shit omega gets her wolf back, we may have a problem on our hands Thane. There are very few omegas in the pack. If she doesn’t find her mate, we may have a competition on our hands, or worse.” Just the thought has Ronan snarling in my head. Before I know it, my eyes are flashing gold and a small growl starts to form in my chest. “If any shifter endangers her in any way, I will rip their damn heads off. She has been through enough.” “Calm down captain. Oh, maybe if her mate isn’t in the pack, I can service that honey at the heat clinic.” “Shut your damn mouth before I rip your freaking head off Cyrus.” I snarl and he just laughs while getting up. “You better have a conversation with Ronan about your little wolf, he seems quite agitated by the idea of me knotting that tight little…” “Get the hell out Cyrus.” And with that he laughs again leaving.
The day drags on. Meetings on building projects within our pack town. Map meetings over potential raid spots. Calls made to informants. The list goes on. I travel down to the clinic to meet with Eric. He seems to think more pack involvement and having Ayla around our wolves will help her reconnect with hers. I may agree, but I’m not sure how long it will take her to acclimate here with her trauma. It could be days, weeks, months before she is comfortable enough to meet others. I just have to hope that by me being a calming presence and consistent with meeting her needs, that she will trust me enough to meet others. I am not sure where to start with asking her questions. I have a million of them, all of them hold the potential to cause her a panic attack, which I don’t want to do. All of them hold the potential to provide me with answers, which I desperately need. All these years not knowing which shifters are responsible for my own trauma constantly weighs on me.
I find myself lingering outside of Ayla’s door, pondering this very predicament. I just need to asks the questions and hope that I am enough to keep her grounded. Maybe if she meets some other rescued shifters, she can see how well they are doing and start her own healing journey with their help. I knock on the door a few times, hopefully not waking her up if she is still resting. “Ayla, it is Thane little wolf. Can I come in?” I hear the lock slowly disengage and take it those beautiful teal eyes. A color I still haven’t quite figured out in a wolf shifter. She looks breath taking in her simple jeans and a tee. The clothes are a little loose on her, but that’s expected. Her long white hair is braided over her shoulder. A low hum starts in my chest as Ronan flashes me images of wrapping that long white braid around my fist several times. She must notice my internal battle because she quickly lowers her head to the ground blushing. That damn blush.
“Do you feel rested little wolf?” She nods her head “yes” and gestures for me to enter her room. “You look rested and I am glad to see you found the things you needed. Let me know if you need something.” She walks away into her bedroom and reenters with her note pad quickly writing something down and turning it to me. “Haircut. What you don’t want your hair dragging behind you Rapunzel?” “She smiles and nods her head “no.” “Well, we can get you a haircut, but please don’t cut it all off. It is too beautiful.” She blushes again and writes “ok” on her notepad. “I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. If you don’t want to answer any you don’t have to, but it would really help me out if you could.” She nods “yes” and sits on the couch. I take a
seat next to her.
“These may be difficult questions, but they are important. Lets start with the shifter we took writes I just call him warden in my head.” “Has this warden been around you the whole time you have been missing?” she nods her head “yes.” “You never heard anyone call him by a name?” She nods her head “no.” “Okay, have you been in that same building this whole time?” she nods her head “yes” again.
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from. Do you know his name?” She nods her head “no” and “Were there other shifters taken with you?” she nods her head “no” but writes “other shifters were kept there too, but they don’t stay long.” “Do you know where they went Ayla?” she starts to breathe heavy, but writes “no.” “Did the warden tell you what happened to the other shifters they trafficked?” she takes a few seconds and writes “he said they were done with them and finished them off.” That revelation confirms that we are hunting the same trafficking group. Not some amateurs and not different shifters. They always use them and then kill them. The memories have me staring at the floor trying to pull myself together more than I care to admit. She must notice because I feel a slight touch to my left shoulder and realize her little snow–white hand is resting there. Her eyes offering me reassurance. Damn it, I need to get it together. “Do you know why they kept you so long and not the others?”
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