Zander’s POV
“You are fucking terrifying her Chris, go for a run and calm the fuck down.” My unspoken words seem to pull him back. We are both beyond livid about the abuse she has obviously suffered, but Max is the wilder of our wolves and he is out for blood. The only way to calm him is to let him free in the woods.“I’ll be back soon.” He replies before almost ripping the door from the frame and shifting into his monstrous, pitch black wolf. He leaps from the back deck into the woods and disappears from sight in seconds.Liberty wobbles on her feet and I catch her in my arms just before she hits the floor. My heart races when she buries her face against chest and her silent tears soak my t-shirt. Caleb is beside himself with joy, only because she isn’t fighting me to put her down.“Let me help you little one.” My pleas seem to fall on deaf ears as I take the stairs two at a time, back to her bathroom. Christian and I have had this room ready for years. Since we realised we would share a mate we agreed we couldn’t live with splitting her between us, we would both be with her all the time.I plant her feet on the floor in the recess of the floor under the shower.“Lift your arms.” I take the hem of the t-shirt and lift it up slowly.“I won’t touch you until you want me to, I only want to look after you.” I reassure her gently. Her arms lift above her head. I have to fight to keep Caleb at bay as my eyes take in the vivid green and yellow bruises that litter her thighs, the fucker has left his teeth marks all over her soft, pale skin. As I peel the top higher I fight with my body not to show my natural reaction to having her so close, so exposed. Her ribs are clearly visible beneath her almost translucent skin, silver and pink marks wrap around her tiny body, scars from being beaten with a chain.“Turn.” I tell her after discarding the top on the floor at the top of the steps. When she is finally facing away from me, the anger I’ve been holding down bubbles up onto my face. Her back is divided by the nodules of her spine, more silver and pink scars cut across from one side to the other. I carefully take hold of her hair, without touching her skin, and place it over her shoulder so I can see all of her. Her hands have moved to cover her breasts and most privet area, and her body trembles and rocks as I survey the damage. Sixty seven lashes across her back. I make a mental note, Kendrick will suffer a pain worse than death for every single injury I see on her body. I wave my hand in front of the sensor and warm water tumbles from the ceiling.“It’s so warm and tickles.” A hint of a smile pushes past her embarrassment.“Of course, haven’t you ever had a shower.” I ask, perplexed by her statement of the obvious.“Not since I was very small. Kendrick would just chuck a bucket of cold water at me, scrub me with a rough brush, soak me again and leave me. I forgot how nice the warm water feels.” She moves to stand directly under the water and tips her head back. He did what! My fists clench by my sides, I bite back the rage I feel towards that sick son of a bitch. I can’t let her see the blistering infuriation threatening to erupt. Not when she is letting her guard down. Right now, the first priority needs to be her wellbeing, I’ll bottle my need for vengeance and save it for when I peel the flesh off his bones.“Can I wash your back?” I let her see me take one of those net fluffy things women seem to like so much. I know she will appreciate the barrier between her skin and my touch. My body aches with the need to hold her, to feel her skin on mine. I’m soaked from head to toe, my T-shirt pulls against my skin as I move, my jeans heavy and stiff against my body.She looks over her shoulder and examines my face with her wary doe eyes for a moment before nodding permission.“Let me know if it hurts.” I lather some soap in the thing and start at her shoulders. Her body stiffens and she holds her breath as I work with a feather light touch across her shoulders. Soapy water runs down her back and converges before trickling between her cheeks. Goddess, help me. If she wasn’t so frail I was sure she would break, I would be having an even harder time keeping my instincts at bay. Her body relaxes as I make my way lower, trying to avoid the lashes that still look quite fresh. As werewolves our bodies usually heal so much quicker than this. The doc isn’t sure if the weapon was dipped in wolfsbane, made of silver, or her malnourished state is delaying her healing, possibly a combination of the three. I move to her arms then start making my way around her ribs. Her body tenses slightly but she makes no move to stop me.“Is this ok?” I whisper into her ear as I take a step closer so I can reach around without touching her. She swallows deeply and nods her head. I pull her hair to her back and work the suds over her collar bone, a gentle sweep over and around each breast, then down to her tummy. I don’t know if she realises when she leans against me, but I’m not about to draw her attention to it. A hesitant hand covers my own as I draw closer to her intimate area. She holds over the top of my hand, and I relinquish all control to her as she works the lather between her legs and onto her inner thighs. Her intoxicating scent takes my breath away. Her head falls back against my chest, her eyes closed and the stress and anxiety that have been etched on her face since she first woke up, are no longer there.“One second little one.” I step back and pull off my top before returning to where I was and gently pulling her back against me. Her skin hungrily drinks in my body heat, and she pushes herself closer to me. I have no idea where to put my hands. I don’t want her to freak out, we need to know what she has been through so we can help her heal and know her boundaries. As if sensing my thoughts, she takes my hands in hers and wraps them around her tiny waist so they both lay open and flat. One across her tummy, the other just above it, on her ribs. My cock throbs to life, straining against my jeans. Fuck, this is not the time. She looks up at me, panic flashes through her eyes as my stiffening length presses into her soft, forgiving cheeks.“It’s ok, I would never… not if you didn’t want me to.” The back door opens then closes with a crunch. Yet another door to be replaced. It’s the third day out of the four since Liberty has been here, that one of us has almost pulled it from its hinge
“Little mate, you don’t even know the power you have over us.” Christian breathes through gritted teeth. He is fighting the urge to touch her, to reassure Max she is ok.“Mate?” she mutters. Yeah, I was wondering if she would pick up on that. We have both felt the connection, the sparks on the occasion we have physically connected, but she has never reacted. Probably the emotional trauma, her mind has to be less receptive to us, survival instinct kicking in for self preservation. Christian and I both lift our heads, our movements have been in sync since we were young. Our parents always said it was like we were one mind in two bodies. We spent our childhoods driving them crazy with all the usual twin tricks and practical joke. Christian was always more serious than I, but he followed my lead when it came to mischievous plans. Her hands both lift and cold, delicate fingers slide into our hair, her finger tips send sparks along my scalp and down my spine, tugging at my heart on their w
Liberty’s POV Two mates. Are you kidding me? Two Alpha mates! How the… what… I…We are very lucky, two strong, handsome, Alphas. Justice purrs in my head. Just look at them Liberty, those muscles, the way they look at us, can’t you feel how much they want us? She is practically drooling in my head. That’s the problem, I can feel how much they want me, the last time someone wanted something from me it led to nothing but degradation and pain. I won’t put myself back in that position. I know what you are thinking, they don’t want that, they want to love us Liberty, touch them, feel the difference. Kendrick was a monster, you can’t let him take this from us. We need them as much as they need us. “I need to get dressed before we eat.” And I need time to process this. My tummy gurgles, loudly, and the Alphas stand. The tips of Christians fingers graze my ankle as he rises, sending effervescent tingles up my leg. Justice has a point. Their touch does feel different, it feels good, not d
“Hey, what’s wrong little one?” Zander steps off the last step, leaving me two steps above him. His thumb sweeps a lobe tear from my cheek. “It’s nothing.” Great, so this is how it’s going to be. I just cry at the drop of a hat. How is it I can get through the nightly routine with Kendrick and not feel anything, yet the mere mention of something as mundane as food has me weeping like a pup.“If it makes you sad, it’s something.” He leads me down the last couple of stairs and I find myself pulled against his warm, hard body. His arms wrap around me, one hand cradling the back of my head against his chest. I can’t move, not even to draw breath. My heart pounds against my ribs with such ferocity I’m sure he will have bruises. “Your suffering is over little mate.” He purrs into my hair as his lips settle into a kiss on the top of my head. My limbs begin to relax into his embrace, it feels good to be held like this. “Where is she?” an excited squeal comes from what I assume is the k
“Just leave what you don’t like little one.” He winks and pours drinks for all of us. A comfortable silence falls over the three of them, broken by the occasional moan of appreciation. The food is good, but my appetite is nowhere to be seen, despite the aching hunger. I don’t want to appear rude so I try everything on my plate. One of the dishes makes my lips and tongue burn, Lottie laughs as I grab for my water to put out the fire in my mouth.“Not a curry fan then.” She splutters as she takes another bite of her food.“It burns.” My voice croaks. The water has done nothing to give me the feeling back in my lips. I think I’ll stick to the plain, familiar food for now. I eat a bit more chicken and some broccoli and soon feel full.“Thank you for dinner.” I lean back in my seat and thank Christian. My stomach feels so heavy I doubt I’ll be able to stand any time soon. “You barely ate anything.” Lottie’s off the cuff remark earns her a glare from each of her brothers. “The Doc sa
“This is amazing.” I breath in awe. My feet move automatically, weaving between the deep reclining sofas and high backed, spacious chairs. One of the chairs is so big it could easily fit 4 people on it, the curved back has holes and trays built into it. Christian laughs when I put a hand down one of hole holes to see how deep it is.“That’s for you to put your drink, so it doesn’t spill. The trays are for popcorn, sweets, nachos, French fries, burgers, whatever you fancy really. Not pizza though.” He laughs. My eyebrows knit together, why is that funny?“Zander balanced a whole pizza there once, still in its box. Then he started to fall asleep and his head hit the corner. The pizza flew through the air and hit the wall before sliding down it, all the way to the floor. He thought it was hilarious. That pizza was half mine.” he pouts and looks like he was genuinely sad about his lost pizza and a giggle escapes me. Maybe he isn’t so frightening after all.“When I was little I saw Find
Christian’s POV This morning I never would have expected or dared to hope that by this evening Liberty would be snuggled against me waiting to watch a movie. Our bond may not be complete, but I can sense her seeking comfort from presence. Part of me is overjoyed she would find comfort in my touch, the other part is beyond livid that she has anything to seek comfort for. Her heart is hammering in her chest, and I muffled sniffle escapes her as I take the chance and wrap my arm around her tighter, pulling her as close as I can.“Look at me little one.” I cup her chin in the v of my hand, between my fingers and thumb, and gently tip her head up to face me. A single tear drops from her lashes and lands on her flushed pink cheek. Max starts ranting in my head about the things he will do to that bastard Kendrick when we get out claws into him. The salty sorrow that coats my lips when I lean down to kiss the tear away only enrages Max further and I have to push him as far back in my mind as
“Cozy?” Zand mind links me as he walks in and notices Liberty peacefully reclined against me. “She was a bit emotional. Not sure why, but she seems a better now.” I hear the sigh of relief he breathes out across the room. No doubt thinking the same as I did, she must be feeling the bond more if she is looking to us for comfort.“Zand, move your arse, it’s starting.” Lottie calls to him impatiently. Considering the veritable stockpile she managed to carry on her own, it’s amusing to watch Zand trying to juggle four drinks.“Grab a few blankets from the other ottoman before you sit down, Lottie has put this one out of action.” I bite back my laugh, knowing he must feel a pang of longing, seeing Liberty so close to me. I know I would if the roles were reversed. Its new territory for both of us. When I knew he was in the shower with her earlier Max almost lost his shit. I know deep down that Zand is better with emotions and has a knack for seeing things through the eyes of others. I a