6. Rejected Goods

He traces his fingers over it which causes me to shudder, a mixture of pain and the tantalising feeling of his skin touching mine, his voice is low as he whispers “Who did this?”

I had seen what he was capable of with Maddox, with my hesitation he grabs my good wrist “Ashley, I will not ask you again, who did this?”

My lips barely move, but Daryl still registers the word “That fucking lowlife” I was shaking now, his grip was tight around my wrist, this was it, he was going to reject me because I was damaged goods.

“When?” but his eyes are back on the branding and before I have a chance to answer he speaks “The day I found you, that was why you were running, you were trying to escape them from any more abuse”

I cry and not like before, it is the only thing I could think of doing and Daryl looked genuinely shocked as the tears fell thick and fast as I bawl my eyes out. I had kept everything bottled up for so long and this is what had pushed me over the edge.

Beta Jax leaves the kitchen hastily, most likely not wanting to deal with a sobbing female, Daryl drops my top and holds me, pressing me against his warm body, the heat was oddly comforting and as I calmed down he finally spoke “Ashley, you need to show me everything?”

Gulping, I slowly nod, it wasn’t the way I wanted to reveal myself to my mate and it just goes to show that he didn’t look at me at all when he was helping me get dressed, which I kind of respected him for. Daryl closes all the blinds and makes sure the door is locked “May I?”

It seemed odd that he was asking after he had just pulled up my top without my permission. I nod and he unzips the hoodie and carefully removes it over my broken thumb, he then unties the joggers and lowers them, my legs were littered in scars, many had faded whilst others left faint pink marks. He said nothing as he thoroughly inspected my legs. Moving on to the tshirt he carefully pulled it off, taking in the branding that was on my stomach, his eyes did that weird flash but he continued to say nothing.

He caught sight of my right breast which had a rugged scar running right through my nipple and he frowned, I knew he wanted to ask but he still said nothing and walked behind me. His fingers trailed over the multiple scars on my back as well as the dent where a chunk of flesh was taken. I hated it when someone touched the marks yet it was different with Daryl, I wanted his fingers all over me.

“What is this?” Daryl’s words make me jump as it is the first time he had spoken since looking at my body and he lowers my knickers slightly, his fingers start to trace something on my lower back, making me jump as I get an electric shock.

I know he felt it too as I spin to look at him “What is it?” I ask alarmed

“You have some kind of blue mark” he raises an eyebrow at me and I try to see what he is looking at but can’t see anything “Stay here” he leaves me in the room and heads out and I pull the tshirt back on, it was freezing in here. Daryl comes back in with two mirrors, he holds one behind me and one out to the side, there on my lower back was a deep blue crescent that I had never seen or noticed before.

“What is it?” I ask, I was worried, I had never noticed it before and no one had ever said they had seen it.

“I am not sure, what does your wolf look like?” I shake my head shrugging my shoulders, I had never shifted, I was taken as a slave before I was old enough to shift and then I had always been too weak to call my wolf forward “You have never shifted?” when I shake my head again he begs me to start talking more. “You have to talk to me Ashley”

This time I nodded but I didn’t know where to start and when I did, it all came out in a massive rush “I was taken too young, never shifted, they beat me and then there was you and you helped and now I am here” I throw my hands over my mouth, I felt like I had said to much and I was going to get beaten.

He could see the fear on my face and as he lifted a hand I closed my eyes bracing myself for the beating, instead his warm hands encased mine and he pulled them away from my mouth. Peeking out I could see him staring at me “You don’t have to hide your words from me”

Surely it was a trick, I didn’t know whether or not I could believe him, so far he hadn’t beaten me but he had still locked me up although in much better conditions, I go to speak and he waits expectantly but nothing comes out of my open mouth and I close it again.

“Now let’s talk about this blue crescent” and I feel his thumb tracing it

“Okay” I whisper and he smiles

“You have never seen it before?” I shake my head

“Nobody has said”

His dark eyes rested firmly on my face “Are you a virgin?” I knew what he was getting at, the scar on my nipple showed that others had seen me naked. My head moves up and down, would he reject me if I wasn’t “Good. They didn’t do anything like that to you?” and I shake my head, my eyes wide at the thought, it was one thing Maddox made certain not to happen and I was at least grateful for that.

“Good, I want you to be mine and mine only” I gulp, the thought of losing my virginity had always scared me, I didn’t even know what to expect.

Daryl lets me get dressed again and helped with tying the joggers, he asked me to come with him to his office and I nodded, walking quietly behind him, the plush grey carpet comforting my bare feet, I smile, I had never felt such a nice carpet beneath my feet.

As he sits down in the office chair, he holds a hand out towards me, I don’t accept at first because it is not clear what he wants, did he want me to get something, put the phone in his hand, maybe a pen or pencil.

I look around the room and spot a notebook and pen on the cabinet and grab them, carefully placing them in his hand, when he looks up from the paperwork, he raises that eyebrow at me and looks between me and the notebook “Did you want me to write something?”, now I was confused,

“I didn’t know what you wanted” my voice was shaking, I had screwed up, he wanted something else, shit, what was he going to do to me.

Daryl puts the notebook and pen on the table “Give me your hand” I step a tiny bit closer and put my hand carefully on his and he grabs it and pulls me onto his lap. “I wanted you with me” but my body is stiff on his lap, I can’t relax, it might be some kind of trick.

He sits with his hand around my waist whilst reading through some paperwork, every so often he tells me to relax but I can’t, I have to be ready at all times.

He moves me slightly so that I am sat sideways on him and tells me that he is going to search for the mark that is on my lower back and he runs his fingers over it, I hadn’t even noticed that his hand had found its way under my top and in the top of my knickers.

I watched as he searched on his computer, he was looking at marks that represented other packs, not all packs had them, only some did and Daryl explained the mark I would be left with when he marked me would be a red crescent.

Shit, I had completely forgotten about that, I had been so worried about my virginity, I had forgotten the marking process. I say nothing and continue to watch as he scrolls through the images and then I see it a very small dark purple crescent on a baby’s lower back.

Daryl doesn’t see it until I point it out and when he clicks on it, we are both stunned by the headline ‘Royal baby kidnapped’ there are other links that go on to say how the baby was the last of her kind and crucial to the existence of the royals, the next link says that the baby is expected to be dead.

Daryl falls silent but his fingers continue to trace the crescent on my lower back, the feeling becomes oddly comforting and I finally lay myself against his chest, neither of us speaking. I close my eyes, it cannot be true, it just cannot be true.