Page 7 of Bullied Alpha Bride (Wolfshade Brides-for-Hire #2)

The woods are dark, casting shadows so deep that even my wolf’s eyes can’t see into them. The trees are too close together, reaching out to scratch me and claw at my hair.

My chest is bursting with the need to scream, but I don’t dare to make a sound. If I do, they’ll catch me.

Who are they?

All of them—Father, Vince, even Kit—don’t let them get me!

The ground is so uneven, and the spaces between the trees so small, I can’t stretch my legs out to run. Even my wolf won’t rise. She just snarls in my blood, a creature desperate to protect me. Frantic to get out, but held back by vengeful forces.

I shove through some more branches, feeling the threat of capture right on my heels. As I try to run, the trees finally part. With a great sigh of relief, I’m finally able to let my adrenaline loose and bolt.

I only make it a couple of steps before I skid to a halt, screaming and scrambling back the way I came. I end up kneeling in the dirt, looking at the sight before me in utter horror.

My mother’s body.

She’s lying twisted on the soft forest floor as if many of her bones have been broken. Wounds and bruises mar her pale skin, and her clothes are torn.

“Mom?” I whimper, knowing that she will never answer me again.

Suddenly, my hair is grabbed from behind, and I let out a bloodcurdling scream that tears my throat. The pressure on my hair increases as someone yanks my head back to stare down into my face.

Father.

“We tried to reason with her,” he says. “Believe me, I tried. All she had to do was come back with me. We’d pick you up, then return to Grace’s Fall peacefully. As a family.”

Father shakes his head, looking over at my mother’s body, then back at me.

“Even if she needed to be persuaded further and I had to use some more forceful methods to bring her around, I still didn’t want this. But she had to go and fight me. She wasn’t fucking around, either. She meant to kill me.”

I wish she had!

Father shrugs. “It’s regrettable. But at least we found you, and you can get a little closure before we leave. Take a good look. It’s the last you’ll ever see of her.”

“But… what about burying her?” I sputter. “A funeral—”

“She doesn’t deserve one!” Father hisses, yanking on my hair again. “She stays here, in the forest, where the wild animals can take her. I want you to remember this and let it be a lesson to you about escaping! I’ll do the same for you without hesitation. You hear me?”

“Yes,” I moan softly. “I hear you. Please don’t, Father.”

“So long as you’re good, I won’t have to do anything like this,” he mutters. “Like I said, I didn’t want this. I wanted a real family.”

With his grip on my hair, it’s hard to breathe, and with all my crying and screaming, my throat feels shredded. I’m too scared to move, though, in case he decides it’s an attempt to escape and punishes me.

“There you are, old friend,” a new voice speaks jovially from the forest. “What have you got for me?”

No, no… please, God, no!

“Your bride, as promised,” Father says, smiling. “Come and claim her.”

As Vince walks up behind Father, a sick shudder runs through me. It’s so powerful, I almost vomit, but it gets stuck in my throat as Father yanks on my hair again.

That’s why I cut it… I remember now.

Vince leers down at me, his pale blue eyes cold and full of malice. He looks me up and down so slowly that it leaves me feeling dirty.

“I like you on your knees, princess,” Vince says. “For so many reasons.”

The terror and denial inside me collide, and I scream at the top of my lungs, twisting desperately to get out of Father’s grip. To my astonishment, I feel his fingers loosen, and I’m able to stumble to my feet and run.

As I bolt through the forest, the trees begin to blur around me, and the shadows bleed together until I’m running through a shadowy tunnel. The light at the end is very dim and gray, but I race towards it as if it’s the fabled bright light.

Safety, comfort, redemption… do I deserve any of these things?

The tunnel ends abruptly, and I stagger to a stop, looking wildly around at my new location. It’s a nicely furnished bedroom, with a huge bed dominating the center of the room.

It’s Kit’s bedroom.

No… no!

“Lexa,” Kit’s voice is soft, gentle, and soothing. “You came.”

“No,” I whisper, looking up to see him walking towards me from the other side of the bed. “I can’t be here.”

“But you are here,” he says, holding out his arms. “Stay here. With me.”

I shake my head violently, tears pouring down my cheeks. The sensation of being trapped between fear and shame fills my guts and pushes all the air out of my lungs.

“Lexa,” Kit says, coming over to put his hands on my shoulders. “I’d never hurt you.”

“But you did hurt me!” I scream at him. I thrash back and forth, trying to break his grip.

He’s too strong, and no matter how hard I struggle, I can’t get away.

“Lexa, Lexa, stop!”

“Let go of me!”

“Wake up!”

The last two words penetrate my mind with a bolt of clarity. Suddenly, I open my eyes and look around, realizing I’m in Kit’s bed and he’s holding my shoulders.

“Are you okay?” he asks, letting go of me immediately.

“Yeah,” I gasp, lying through my teeth. “I’m okay.”

“You were really stuck. I’ve been trying to wake you for a couple of minutes.”

“Yeah,” I reply. “I have nightmares sometimes. It’s not a big deal.”

Kit shuffles awkwardly as if he’s not sure what to do. The fear and adrenaline from the nightmare are beginning to wear off, and I can feel the awkwardness rising in the room.

I look up at Kit again, wondering what to say. His eyes are so deep and compassionate, I’m tempted to tell him everything, but I stop myself just in time.

I’m strung out right now. This closeness isn’t real.

“Can I get you anything?” Kit asks, and I shake my head.

“No, I’m fine—”

But before I can finish the sentence, my stomach grumbles loudly. I grin and blush, and Kit smiles.

“I was just going down to make breakfast before you had your nightmare,” Kit says. “I’ll get started now. Anything in particular you’d like?”

“No,” I answer, looking away. “So long as there’s coffee, you can’t really go wrong.”

“Okay.”

He shuffles back and forth, and I look up again, wondering what his problem is.

“I found you some clothes,” he says, gesturing vaguely to the dresser. “They’re just there on top. I hope they fit.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, only just remembering that I’m completely naked under the sheet.

I was so tired last night, not to mention drowsy from the hot bath, that I didn’t even think. I just climbed into bed.

It was so nice to finally be on a soft mattress with clean sheets that I immediately fell into an incredibly deep sleep. I spent the entire night lying beside Kit—totally naked—and he didn’t make a single move.

Not what I expected.

“Okay, I’ll head downstairs,” he says, nodding. “You take your time.”

As soon as I hear his footsteps on the stairs, I slide out of bed and run to the bathroom. I almost don’t recognize myself in the mirror. I look haggard, like I aged fifty years in one night.

I probably have. I think that was the longest night of my life.

After I freshen up, I go back to the bedroom to grab the clothes. Kit found me a soft pair of black leggings, a tight blue t-shirt, and a fluffy white sweater. The clothes are a good fit, and I have to wonder where he got them on such short notice.

When I can’t delay the moment any longer, I start down the stairs, and as soon as I get near the ground floor, I can smell the bacon cooking. My stomach does another deep, echoing rumble, and I struggle to remember the last time I ate a decent meal.

When I come into the small, bright kitchen, Kit is humming a little tune to himself while he flips eggs and pokes at thick slabs of bacon. He looks up and grins when he sees me, gesturing to the table where the coffee is already set up.

I sit down and pour a cup for myself, sighing with pleasure as I take my first sip.

This is really good coffee. Not like the weak swill at Father’s house.

“Here you go,” Kit says, putting a loaded plate in front of me. “Dig in!”

I look down at the greasy, salty food, and my stomach shudders a bit.

“Thank you,” I mutter, not looking at him. “It’s a bit much for me, though. I would have been fine with some fruit and yogurt, maybe some muesli.”

“Oh. Okay,” Kit says, sounding disappointed.

“It’s alright,” I say quickly. “I could use some protein, and the eggs are good.”

Silence falls between us as we focus on our food, and it’s not a comfortable one. I end up staring at my plate so I don’t have to look up and think of something to say.

As I’m cutting into my last fried egg and wondering how to leave the room gracefully, Kit’s phone buzzes.

“Oh, it’s about a meeting,” he says as he looks at the phone. “I’ll be heading out soon. Do you want to come?”

“No,” I mumble. “Not really.”

“I can give you my card so you can go shopping. Buy anything you want—food, things for the house, clothes. I had to borrow those clothes from my neighbor, Betty.”

“Thank you,” I answer, looking up at him. “I really appreciate that you thought of it.”

Kit smiles, and the warmth on his face touches me. He’s genuinely pleased to have done something nice for me, and I don’t think he did it just to earn points with me. He was genuinely concerned about my comfort.

“So, if you come into town, you can buy a whole new wardrobe if you want,” he says. “Anything you like.”

“Look, Kit,” I say, sighing as I push my plate away. “I should go with you and get some clothes, but I just can’t handle it right now. I’ve been on the—I mean, I’ve been traveling for a long time, and I just need some rest and time to myself.”

I really don’t want anyone, especially Kit, to know I’ve been running for my life. I’ve had enough complications that I can’t pile his reaction, whatever it may be, on top of this.

“Okay,” he answers. “Did you just want to stay here?”

“I might go for a little walk,” I reply.

Even though it’s risky and stupid, I want to go back to the woods and see what happened to my mother’s body. I know there is very little chance I’ll find anything useful, but deep inside me is a fierce, relentless pain that demands to know what happened to her.

“Sure,” Kit answers, nodding. “We can set you up with clothes later.”

He gets up to rinse his cup, and suddenly, I don’t want him to go. Questions blister on my tongue as it dawns on me that he might know what happened.

He was involved with the patrols! If there was anything to find, he might know…

“Kit!” I say far too loudly.

“Yes?” he asks, turning back around.

“Did you know what… I mean, I left town so quickly. I don’t know what happened to the house or… any of my things.”

My voice trails off as I watch Kit’s expression change. His eyes widen, and all the color drains out of his face.

He looks like he’s going into shock!

What the fuck?

“The house was claimed by pack, the property and contents sold for revenue,” he says, his voice tight. “Your mother… your mother was given a proper burial.”

It takes a moment for those words to sink in. I close my eyes and feel a cold wave of relief rush through me.

Thank God.

“Where?” I mutter, opening my eyes to look at Kit again. “Where is she buried?”

“In the main cemetery. Just a small stone toward the back. Grandfather wouldn’t approve of a full funeral, but I made sure she was laid to rest.”

There is trouble lurking deep in Kit’s eyes, and the way he hesitates between words speaks of a big story he’s not willing to tell. Normally, this would frustrate me, and I would grill him for all the details. But today, I just don’t care.

“I’m going,” I announce, shoving my chair back. “I have to go right now.”

I turn and run from the house, racing down the street towards the edge of town. My emotions are crashing through me, colliding with each other, and I don’t know if I’m scared, relieved, or just plain crazy.

Why choose, when clearly I can do it all at once?