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“I don’t think that’s edible.”

We all stood around the kitchen, looking at the burned mess Aidan had created in the fry pan. He’d said he could make scrambled eggs. He was wrong. I surveyed the broken eggs and milk and splatter over the counter.

“I did offer,” I said, feeling a hollow ache in my chest at the mess. Rick was god knows where, in whatever state I’d left him in, but surveying the chaos made my chest tighten until my breath became shallow pants. Which is perhaps why Peter put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a rub.

“How about you take Flick and Kade down to the mess to get a meal? I’ll clean this up,” he said.

“But don’t you—?” I asked.

I stopped myself. I was not going to whine like a little girl because someone I’d only just met was staying behind.

“That OK, Flick?” Aidan asked.

"Yes, of course,” I said with a smile. “I’ll just need to get dressed.”

You should’ve said no , I thought as I stood in front of the bedroom mirror.

I was a mess of bruises across my face and down my neck, my nose still swollen. I lifted the scrubs top gently, partly due to protesting muscles, partly due to not wanting to see what was underneath.

And I didn’t particularly want others to see it either.

Would their eyes skate past the injuries, ignoring my bald stare until they found a spot of clear skin they could focus on?

Would their smiles be polite, while their eyes indicated they wanted to get as far away from me as possible?

I paused and watched the fear rise in my eyes, followed by a greenish sheen.

I jerked the shirt off. It hurt me physically as much as it did mentally. I just stood there, the top hanging limply in my fingers and just stared.

This is him telling you just what he thought of you.

My eyes took in the static fireworks of bruises up and down my body, explosions that had gone off long after I’d stopped him kicking. He’d gone easy on Kade, I realised. Not enough, never enough, but if he could wreak this kind of devastation on me… My fists balled, my eyes flaring bright green.

He will never get his hands on Kade again.

For once, my wolf’s and my thoughts were one and the same.

This is why we stay, this is why we take mates, strong mates , she insisted.

And how will that make me strong?

You are already strong.

For a moment, I was transported back to that bloody lounge room, my husband lying on the carpet, staining it with his blood. I stalked towards him, my fingers gripping tighter around the ashtray.

You have survived everything. My flashback jumped abruptly back to where I saw myself being beaten into oblivion by my husband. What does the opinion of a few strangers mean?

I ignored the pain now, having to grit my teeth hard as I stripped off the rest of my clothes to stop from crying out. I turned and inspected it, all of it. It burned into my memory, every lash, every cut, and every bruise.

These are battle scars. Walk into that hall the warrior you are.

I tried to keep that in mind as I paused at the doorway of what looked like a huge shed. I looked down when I felt someone take my hand. Kade looked up at me, still looking a little tired, but there was something else in those eyes. “C’mon, Mum,” he said. “I’m hungry.”

Aidan smiled and then started to show us around. “Food’s over there. Just help yourself to whatever you want. You can go back as many times as you like, no one cares. They’ve got a bloody nice dessert bar from memory,” he told Kade with a wink.

“Mum, can I?—!”

“After you’ve had a proper meal.”

“Drinks are over at the bar. You don’t need money,” he said when my hand went to my bag. “C’mon.”

It felt like everyone’s eyes were on me as we walked inside.

They weren’t, they couldn’t be. There were hundreds of people in here, small families and large.

They had to have better things to do than look at me.

My fingers tightened around Kade’s when the first group looked up.

Some smiled to see Aidan, but that soon fell away when they saw us.

Everything I had dreaded walking down here happened.

Eyes went wide before darting away, wanting to look at anything but me and Kade.

Mouths went to ears, and while I couldn’t hear what they said, I could guess at it.

Warrior , I told myself. I wanted to drop my eyes to the concrete floor, take in the legs of the trestle tables, the shoes of strangers as I followed the backs of Aidan’s feet, but I focussed on holding my head high and looking straight ahead, which was perhaps why I didn’t notice the stranger when she approached.

“Aidan, darling! I haven’t seen you in ages!”

My head jerked to the side to see a beautiful blonde woman greet him with open arms. He smiled sheepishly, moving in to hug her.

She seemed to just enjoy that for a moment, and why not?

Like everyone here, Aidan was a good-looking man.

Was she his wife or girlfriend? Probably not, as she took us in with a smile when he pulled back, catching a glimpse of us over his shoulder.

“And who do we have here? I’m Renee, Aidan’s mum, and I am so glad to meet you!”

Mum? Goddamn, I needed to find out this woman’s beauty regime. Aidan looked like he was somewhere between twenty-five and thirty, but so did she.

“Mum…”

“Oh shoosh, if you’ve finally got a lady in your life, I want to know. Don’t mind Mr. Grumpypants. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

Mr. Grumpypants? I cocked an eyebrow at Aidan, who did indeed partially resemble his nickname.

He looked a little flustered, his muscular arms crossed over the front of his broad chest, but I stepped forward and took her hand.

I was done hiding. It hadn’t helped before, and if this was like any other small town, clearing things up with his mum would clear things up with the whole community.

“I’m Felicity, well…I prefer Flick. This is my son, Kade. Aidan and Peter found us by the side of the road just outside of town. We’ve had some car trouble, and…” I didn’t need to explain. Anyone with two eyes could see what I’d gone through. “Ophelia gave us a place here, up on the hill.”

“Near Carissa’s place,” he explained further.

I expected her to brush me off then, mouth some platitude and back away, now that I was not who she thought I was.

Instead, those clear hazel eyes stared into mine, seeing something, but I knew not what.

She saw my injuries, but her smile didn’t so much falter as soften.

Then she straightened and stepped forward, linking her arm with mine, and looked down at Kade.

“Well, I’m just glad my boy was able to help you two. C’mon, we’re just sitting down to eat. I’ll introduce you both to some people, including your neighbours.”

The first thing I noticed as we followed Renee over to a long table was the ratio of men to women. Women seemed to be in small numbers here, placed between clusters of men. Kids sat with adults, a little boy and a girl looking up as we took a seat.

Multiple mates , my Tirian reminded me.

“Everyone, this is Flick and her son, Kade. Aidan and Peter found them beside the road having car trouble on the way back to town, and they’re staying in the empty place next to yours, Carissa.”

Was there a hint of steel in Renee’s voice? I wasn’t sure, but people looked up from their meals and conversations to smile and greet us, like we were just any two people joining the group. I sat down, Kade and Aidan on either side of me.

“So, Flick, what do you think of Sanctuary?” asked one of the men across the table from me.

It’s weird and alien, and I only just woke up here hours ago , I thought.

“At the moment, it seems like a dream come true.”

I’d meant it as a sign of gratitude. I felt like I was equal parts numb, angry, terrified, and suspicious of anything good, but thankfully, long inbuilt social scripts came to the fore and gave me acceptable answers.

I flicked Aidan a sidelong look, something he caught me doing, before quickly looking away.

I was grateful, I had to remember that. We were in one piece, more or less, and we were safe for now. People were going out of their way to be nice to me. I took a deep breath, and then the guy replied, “You hear that, Renee? Your boy is a dream come true!”

“Of course, he is,” she replied, eyes shining. “As I was telling your Sindy all those years ago, but she had to go and settle for Eric.”

“Hey, she didn’t settle for me!” another very tall man said. He reached over and pecked a woman who I assumed was Sindy on the lips. “It was true love.”

“Honey, it works better if you don’t say it in past tense,” she replied, but returned the kiss enthusiastically.

I watched the exchange and the gentle banter that came with it with hungry eyes, and wondered if Sindy knew what she had right now.

But you could have the same.

I wasn’t sure if it was my voice or my Tirian’s I heard, but I remembered Peter’s warm embrace as I slept, his eyes dropping to my?—

“So, Flick, are you thinking about staying a while? Sanctuary’s a nice place to raise kids,” the guy across from me said, I think his name was Greg.

“What kind of skills do you have?” the woman two men down from him said. “I’m Zoe, by the way. I know we’re short-handed in the kitchens, and they’re always looking for more office staff.”

“Everyone quits, sick of dealing with Phyllis,” the man beside her grumbled.

“If you need anything at all, I’m just next door,” another woman a few people down from me said. “I’m Carissa, and this is Scott.” A handsome man with swept back brunette hair and a short beard gave me a wave.

“My son, Jackson, is coming over to look after the kids tomorrow morning,” Greg said. “He could take your Kade as well, if you like. Jackson loves kids.”