Victoria felt warm just by having his arms around her. The sun warmed her skin even as the chill in the air kept her frozen. She felt … different, reborn almost.
“You’ll want for nothing, honey.”
He kept talking. His voice soothed her, calming her nerves.
“First we’ll take care of all of these cuts and bruises. I don’t know if you’ll be good for the next full moon to be able to run.”
No, she didn’t want to think about the full moon or what she had to do to this kind, precious man.
“We’re a large pack, but we’re fair.”
Please stop talking. I’m not here to be taken care of. I’m here to hurt you and your pack.
What did Chain want with this man? Scorch had goodness coming out of every single pore of his body.
She heard the muttering, and seconds later they were surrounded by his pack. Their smell invited her in.
“How is she doing?” one of the males asked.
“She’s hurting. Clear a space in the bedroom next to mine,” Scorch said. “Get Mandy. She has dealt with wounds like these before. I don’t want to take a chance on anything.”
He barked orders out, and all the time Victoria felt like she was dying inside. Scorch took her upstairs then through to a bedroom. The room was warm, and he placed her on the center of the bed. “I’m going to drape a blanket over your body. Mandy will be up to tend your wounds.” He moved around the room as he talked. In the light she saw the blond glint of his hair. His eyes were a startling blue, and he had to be three times the size of her.
She watched him go about the room, closing windows, shutting curtains to keep the light out. Men entered and left never once looking at her with anything but sympathy. What kind of pack had she stumbled on? All of the men had a say within this pack. Not once had Scorch showed his true colors. Was he trying to put her at ease? Chain at one time had smelled good. His smell had changed along with his attitude. He was evil through and through. Was she hoping Scorch would be different?
Crap. She was starting to get a headache thinking about everything going wrong in her life.
“What the hell are you doing, Scorch?” A woman charged in the room shouting. Victoria saw her hands were laid on her h*ps with a glare decorating her face.
“Fuck off, Lidia,” Scorch said. There was no real aggression in his tone.
“I’m here for a weekend, and you’re wasting your time on this woman. Leave the pack to deal with her, and now come to f**king bed.”
Scorch turned on the woman. “Get out of this room. If you can’t handle waiting then get the f**k off my property.”
He shoved her out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. “I’m sorry about that.”
Why was he apologizing to her? She was invading his lands and his pack.
Several minutes later there was a knock at the door. A blonde woman entered the room with her head downcast. “I’m sorry to take so long, alpha.”
“Mandy, stop bowing your head in my presence. I’m an alpha, not royalty.” Scorch held the woman by the shoulders, smiling.
“Sorry, I keep forgetting everything. Dale is grabbing my kit. I hope I have everything I need.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Victoria had stepped into some alternate universe where the alpha cared about his pack. Another man entered the room, and suddenly she was left alone with Mandy.
“I’m going to remove this sheet from your body.” Slowly the other woman went about removing the sheet and assessing her injuries. “You’ve been hurt bad. Scorch told me your voice is scratchy.” She tutted as her fingers touched her neck.
Victoria flinched away from her touch once again. She wasn’t afraid, but she didn’t want anyone to be hurt by what she was going to do for her alpha.
“It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you here.”
Mandy went about cleaning every scar that had been reopened. “You’ll heal soon. Some food and rest will see you all fixed in body.” She washed away all the dirt then caressed ointment into her skin. Tears stung Victoria’s eyes at the sweetest care being given to her. This pack was not a threat to Chain at all. None of them smelled evil. They didn’t have a plan to take another pack either.
The woman tutted over her and cleaned away each new cut and bruise. “I can’t do anything about the bruising I’m afraid. I’ll keep an eye on them to make sure there is no long term damage. We’re wolves, so we’re quite resilient to a lot of stuff.” She hummed again, shaking her head. “Whoever did this deserves to die. An alpha wouldn’t be able to do this kind of thing. They’re bound to always protect. They cannot hurt their pack.”
Think again. Chain has discovered a way to hurt me and the whole of our pack.
She kept her lips closed. Chain had a way of knowing when he was defied.
“Were you with a human mate?”
Victoria jerked her head in acknowledgement.
Another tut and a shake of her head. “This disgusts me. I know other male wolves can inflict this kind of damage on other males as they’re not bound by their alpha, but for a human mate to do this, it sucks. Your mate wasn’t female, was she?”
Victoria shook her head. She wasn’t attracted to females.
If she could, Victoria would cry at everything the woman was saying. Chain had found a way to hurt them all without laying a finger on any of them. He’d also made other males in the pack do his killing for him. Male wolves couldn’t attack a woman or rape her. Other female wolves could hurt other females while males could hurt other males. The Alpha was bound to look over them all to avoid such conflict. It was a strange dynamic they lived in.
“There. You’re all better. Or at least, you’re all better for now.” Mandy cleaned away the mess, placed the blanket back over her and sat on the bed. “You rest now. Scorch will bring you some food, but I don’t want you to move unless you have to. Please, follow my advice, or you’ll be in a lot more pain.”
Nodding her head, she watched the woman leave. The moment she was alone, Victoria sat up staring down at her body. The wounds hurt, but the ointment the woman used helped her to feel somewhat normal.
Get out. Run away.
She climbed out of the bed and headed toward the window. Staring out over the snow covered mountains she was struck by the beauty of the scenery before her. She had never seen anything so beautiful in all of her life. The glinting snow struck her to the core. It would be a good way to die. Climbing up onto the window ledge, she looked at the rising sun feeling the chill in the air and the heat upon her skin. Once she killed herself, Scorch and the whole of this pack would be safe. Victoria didn’t see any other way out. This was her only option. Her fear of Chain was absolute. She would do whatever he asked to stop others feeling the pain he could inflict. If she gave Scorch to him, he’d be happy, and the whole of their pack would find some kind of peace.