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We pull up to the FBI clinic, which is solely used for these missions. The women hug the blankets to secure them against their bodies as they’re ushered into a large room while I carry my mate to one of the couches. Carly sits next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. My mate’s eyes are still closed. The room is modernly decorated with couches and chairs, a television, an area for children, and a coffee station. Once they’re all seated, I signal to the men to return to outdoor duty, so no one gets into the place who doesn’t have clearance. Kyle stands outside the large room.

I pull a chair to the middle and sit to reduce my large stature. All eyes are on me, except for my mate’s.

“Ladies, we are preparing food in another room. Is pizza, okay?”

Some shrug or nod, while the rest remain quiet, still holding onto fright.

“I just want to say how sorry I am for all that you went through. Everyone who rescued you, and those working here, will try to make you as comfortable as possible.”

I pause, eyes scanning the room, and I see their shoulders relaxing.

“After you eat, we’re going to have you evaluated by doctors. We’d also like to take some pictures and samples from your nails, hair—”

They all sit up, looking at one another and fidgeting, clearly upset over what I said.

“Please, ladies. Nothing will be done without your consent. An evaluation would be beneficial to you, but if you don’t want pictures and samples taken then let the medical team know and it won’t be done.”

They sink into the couches and chairs.

The red hair woman from earlier asks.

“Excuse me, Larc. Who are the people evaluating us?”

My eyes soften even more, and I respond.

“They’re doctors and nurses who work for the FBI.”

“Thank you.”

I smile.

“You’re welcome. May I ask your name?”

“Louisa.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Louisa. I’m just sorry it was under these circumstances.”

She offers a shy nod.

“Does anyone have any questions?”

The young girl who is standing in the corner, belts out.

“I want to go home.”

“What is your name, sweetheart?”

“Dorothy.”

“Well, Dorothy, we’re going to try and get this done as quickly as possible.”

She starts crying. My large frame is too imposing, so I gesture her over. She runs to me, and I place her on my lap, hugging her. All the women watch me rock Dorothy, whispering she’s safe now. Her head rests against my chest, sitting sideways on my lap. I reach over to the table, grab a granola bar, and hand it to her. Dorothy angles her head upward and smiles at me. It fucking melts my heart and coils in my stomach. Who the hell could want to take this little girl’s innocence? I hold her close, asking if she wants me to open it, but she rips the wrapper off, tossing it to the floor. She chews the bar while snuggling into me.

A woman who has cuts along her jawline, asks in a scratchy voice.

“Mr. Larc. Can we take a shower?”

“Larc is fine. Yes, after the exam. We have private showers and a pair of scrubs along with sweaters.”

She whispers a thanks.

“May I have your name?”

“Tara.”

“Nice to meet you, Tara. Once everyone is showered and spoken to, we’ll talk to you as a group. At that point, if you have a home to go to, we’ll contact your family.”

Tara perks up.

“What about those of us who don’t have a home?”

“We can discuss that afterwards. No one will be tossed aside or left to fend for themselves if they don’t have a place to go.”

With all questions answered, we serve the women pizza, which they inhale as if they haven’t eaten in weeks. After eating, one by one each of them enters the examination rooms, and then they shower. My mate is the first to be evaluated. Our pack psychiatrist from the community is here to take notes of the victims. I’ll talk to her later regarding her observations.

Dorothy remains on my lap in the dining room while an agent questions her. She was kidnapped on her way home from school about three months ago. Since the women protected her by offering themselves, she hadn’t been assaulted yet witnessed everything. She lives two states away. Human traffickers have tentacles across the country and internationally. When we take down one trafficking ring, another one pops up on the radar. It’s a never-ending cycle. My hatred toward male humans increases after each mission. It’s horrific what these men do to women, children, and other men.

Halfway across the room, I watch Carly help my mate from the examination room to the showers. So far, she hasn’t said anything, nor has she opened her eyes. Over the years, I’ve learned from these interviews that the women disconnect themselves from the assaults. They emotionally shut down so they don’t have to endure what’s going on with their bodies. Maybe this is what my mate is doing.

Louisa approaches me, evaluated and cleaned, twisting her fingers in front of her. “Larc?”

I gesture to a chair.

“Yes, Louisa.”

She points to my mate and sighs.

“Ivy is still disassociating herself from what happened while going through these procedures.”

“Ivy.”

The name caresses my tongue, and I feel a flush of warmth throughout my body.

“You know her?”

Louisa nods.

“Yes. She had it worse than any of us.”

My hands ball into fists. Vomit climbs up my esophagus, so I swallow it back down. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as my nostrils flare. Louisa pushes back her chair. I close my eyes to calm the volcano brewing inside. I can’t lose my shit here. These women have seen enough. When I open my eyes, Louisa’s are wide with fear.

I fold my hands in my lap and apologize.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Her body eases, and she shifts to Ivy. “Louisa?”

Her head whips back to me.

“Can you give me some information about Ivy?”

She offers a small shrug as she states.

“I don’t know a lot about her.”

I lean my forearms on the table and fold my hands. The gesture is simple, but enough to calm Louisa.

“Do you know where Ivy is from?”

“Not specifically. She doesn’t talk much. All I know is her boyfriend sold her to a rich old man, which I heard from one of the kidnappers.”

In my head, I keep repeating to keep calm, while I continue to question her.

“Those men were the buyers?”

“No. They are paid to either kidnap us, or like in Ivy’s case, hold us hostage until the buyers give instructions as to when and where each of us is to go.”

“Do the buyers know how these men treated all of you?”

She shakes her head for emphasis.

“No. The kidnappers already got their money, so they take advantage of the situation.”

I blow air out of my mouth. This is fucked up. Not only were they bought, but their kidnappers raped them. Who knows what kind of kink their buyers are into, so these women were in for a lifetime of torture.

“About Ivy. Her boyfriend sold her. What did you mean by ‘she had it worse than any of us’?”

“She’s beautiful and submissive, so they all took their turn with her…sometimes more than one at a time.”

Another knot twists in my gut, the air dense with agony.

I stand and hold up my finger.

“Can you give me a minute, Louisa?”

I’m walking away before she nods. Outside, I tear off my shirt, shredding it, and run into the field behind the clinic. It’s not far enough, so I continue into the patch of forest nearby. In the middle, hidden by shrubs and trees, I release a deep howl for the pain I feel for Ivy. My mate. An anguished cry follows and soon I’m on my knees, hammering my fists into the earth. My breathing is erratic. They hurt her. Defiled her. She’s mine. I’ll hunt down every single motherfucker connected to this ring. Tear every limb from their bodies. Sever their dicks. Hearts wrenched from their chests and crushed by my bare hands. When I look them in the eye, they’ll know exactly why I’m there.

Leaves crackle behind, causing me to turn swiftly to see Kyle. He slows his pace and mind-links me.

You okay?

No.

I get to my feet and pull myself to my full height as Kyle tosses me a shirt.

What happened?

Ivy. They destroyed her. My teeth clench. And I’m going to get every one of them.

Ivy is your mate? I nod.

We’re staring at each other, hands on our hips. Kyle might not agree with Ivy being my Luna, but he definitely agrees these men should suffer. The missions are horrendous, yet knowing we’re able to save some of these victims is what keeps me going. When my breathing tapers, we return to the clinic.

Everyone is fed, showered, and interviewed, except Ivy, who is only showered. She refuses to open her eyes, speak, or eat. The FBI take Dorothy and five women to be reunited with their families. Louisa, Tara, Ivy, and a teenage girl by the name of Mandy remain in the large room. Ivy rests against the couch. I run my hands through my hair, exhaling slowly.

How am I going to reach her?

Will she come with me?

“Mandy, Louisa, and Tara, can you please give Ivy and I a minute?”

They leave the room, and when the door closes, I dull my movements and crouch in front of her. She lets me take her cold hands in mine.

I whisper, “Ivy.”

Her eyes open but are downcast.

“Could you please look at me, sweetheart? My name…”

Ivy meets my gaze, and I stop cold. Those eyes. They’re incredible. My mate has eyes the color of amethyst. They sparkle against her pale skin.

My thumbs rub over the top of her hands, and I smile. “Hi.”

In a voice as fragile as bubbles, she responds, “Hi.”

There’s a warmth in my chest, hearing her faint voice.

“My name is Larc.”

In a bird-like whisper, she says, “I know.”

Her eyes still rest on mine.

“Do you have anyone we can contact?”

Without any emotion, she says, “No.”

Inside, my body is jumping for joy, but outside, it reflects her shattered demeanor.

“Then would you like to come live with my family?”

A tear streaks down her cheek. Not thinking, I lift my large hand, using the pad of my thumb to wipe it away. The odd thing is, she doesn’t flinch at my baseball glove-size hands.

I give her a moment and then her withered voice seeps out a simple yes. My throat clenches, and I swallow down my happiness and relief. No matter how ecstatic I am knowing my mate is willing to come live with us, it doesn’t negate all the misery and psychological damage she has suffered. I pat her hand, stand, and gesture for the other women to return.

Once they’re seated, I say.

“Ladies. The other women left to reunite with their families.”

My body softens as I make eye contact with each of them. I ask if they have any safe place we can bring them to. Unfortunately, they all shake their heads while looking down into their laps. It’s gut-wrenching to learn these women are castaways. The safety they should have in this world doesn’t exist.

“Louisa, Mandy, and Tara. Since I’m not about to leave you alone in this world, I’d like to invite you to join Ivy and come live with my family.”

Tara’s eyes glisten, and her voice cracks when she asks.

“Your family?”

“Yes, along with our large community. We have acres of forest land. My family and others make up the community, including women and men we rescued from situations like this one who had nowhere else to go.”

Ivy’s attention is on me while the other three glance at one another and whisper.

Louisa clears her throat and asks.

“Would you want us to…work the streets?”

I shake my head at her question.

“No, Louisa. You’d be family there. You’ll have a place to sleep. We’ll get you clothes, and we share in the meals. We’ll expect you to work around the place though, such as cleaning, gardening, sewing, working the rentals…”

“Rentals?”

“There’s a nearby lake we own. We built small cabins by it for vacationers. There are boats and other water sports equipment. There’s a lot of outdoor activity, which is why the cabins are rented year round.”

They all smile, except Ivy.

Mandy announces.

“Larc, I love to garden.”

“There you go. We have a large garden area and several greenhouses. Everything we grow is used in our meals and the food down at the restaurant/clubhouse by the cabins. Plus, we bring stock to the store we have in our nearby town.”

Louisa cuts in.

“I’m not the best, but I can sew. I’ve had to fix some of my torn dresses.”

“That’s great, Louisa. We can always use more people to mend the clothes.”

Tara tucks herself into the chair, and mutters.

“I’m not good at anything.”

Louisa gives her a hug and Mandy pats her knee.

I smile at their small gestures, and respond.

“Tara, I’m sure we’ll find something for you.”

All three hold hands and give the okay.

“Before any of you commit...”

They huddle closer to each other, and my eyes slide across them to Ivy.

“There’s one major catch to it. This is for life. There’s no leaving our community in search of something better.”

Again, the ladies look at one another.

“Once you say yes, there’s no changing your mind. It’s for ours, yours, and the FBI’s safety. Our missions with the FBI are secretive, so anyone getting wind of what we do can affect future operations.”

Mandy asks.

“We can never leave?”

“Yes, of course you can. We have a store in the nearby town, and our community is welcome to leave for extracurricular reasons. You just can’t live elsewhere.”

Tara speaks up.

“That sounds extreme.”

“Not necessarily. We have a lot of things in our community, too. Whatever you’re looking for outside of our place, we most likely have it, or we’ll have a discussion and possibly set something up. It might sound constricting, but it isn’t. We thrive by helping each other out, have fun together, and enjoy nature.”

Louisa stands, holds out her hand, and says.

“I’m in. It’s sounds like a place I want to grow old at. I’ve been a prostitute for years. Shoved into a matchbox apartment above an off-track betting isn’t something I care to return to. Your community sounds beautiful. I’m ready for some fun and peace all in one place.”

I shake her hand.

“Wonderful! It’s nice to have you as part of the family.”

The other two follow suit. Mandy lost her family to a fire, and Tara’s been homeless for a year. It’s understandable for them to hesitate, yet after hearing what we offer, it’s paradise compared to where they’ve come from.