Page 12 of Witchblood
“A little,” Liam said. “Mostly military and books as refreshers since.” He crossed the room, then put the toilet lid down and waved his hand toward it. “Sit.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but did as asked. Part of the stitches were under the cloth I’d just pulled on, but not much. Who’d decided to get the stranger a pair of bikini briefs? Not the second, for sure, and not the daughter. Liam nudged me to turn my hip up toward him, his hand going so far as to cup my ass so he could view the stitches under the light of the bathroom mirror. I had to work to think about non-sexy things, like dying of a concussion, or waking to find little girls in my room, rather than having an incredibly attractive Alpha werewolf kneeling beside me and touching my ass.
His poking at the stitches hurt a little.
“I thought you said you had training?” I complained.
“They aren’t ready to come out yet. At the bottom edge of the wound, the wolf’s claw dug into your muscle. That part is healing slower than the rest. You shouldn’t be walking around on it. There’s no infection, which is good, just a tightness of the muscles. If you run on them now they will tear and reopen the entire wound. If you had a werewolf’s metabolism you’d already be healed.”
“Sorry, I’m not a werewolf.” I felt like I’d been apologizing my whole life for not fitting in their exclusive little club.
“I meant that it needs more time to heal.”
“You just want to keep me here. What are you waiting for? Is Felix on the way to pay you for keeping me in one place?”
He set me down, then leaned forward to tug the socks he’d brought onto my feet. “He knows you’re here.”
I stiffened and felt my heart begin to race in immediate terror. The leviathan perked up again, preparing to strike as the weight of anxiety began to settle into my chest. Liam threaded my feet through the bottom of the pants and tugged them up to my knees. He wrapped an arm around my waist and hauled me to my feet with almost no effort, then pulled up the pants. He had to smell my terror, feel me tremble. Hell, he could probably hear my heart racing.
In his arms, the panic attack didn’t come. Rather it teetered on the edge, almost there, just not quite strong enough to take control.
“He won’t enter my territory. You’re safe here,” he said quietly, not letting me go. His breath brushed my ear. I had an urge to throw myself into his arms and beg for his protection.
“I’m not safe anywhere.” It had become the truth of my existence. The reason I ran. I thought thatApawould protect me. He was the strongest werewolf in North America. Maybe in the whole world. And yet he couldn’t stop Felix. If the Volkov couldn’t stop him, no one could.
“You don’t believe I can protect you.”
“I don’t need anyone’s protection.” Couldn’t trust anyone but me.
Liam sighed. “Felix has asked for entry into my territory. He says he wants to talk to you. Just talk. Do you want to speak to him? I can arrange a supervised meeting.”
“No.” Absolutely not. If I spoke to him, I might cave. I might forgive him and go back. There was no other horror in my head worse than returning to be the little fox hidden away and despised.Raped and beaten for disobedience.
Liam nodded, but didn’t let me go. He was breathing heavily. Something had bothered him. But he was strong enough to be an unmovable wall against me. I couldn’t tell if he was aroused or annoyed, though I’d probably have smelled his arousal. Finally he let me go, and I almost whined when his body heat left me. He picked up the edges of the T-shirt I was wearing, and pulled it unceremoniously off over my head. I waited for him to give me the other shirt or attempt to dress me again, but he just stared again at my tattoos, and my bare chest.
“You’re too thin,” he said after a minute. “You need to eat. I can count all your ribs.”
His words hit me like a fist in the gut. Of course he wouldn’t want me. Once again I was basking in delusions. No one really wanted me. I wasn’t beautiful or desirable. I was a possession. They just wanted to control me. I had to remember that.
“I should go,” I said, snatching the clean shirt from him and scrambling into it. My back still ached but a lot of the bruising had eased. The sleep and food had recharged my own magic enough to help with the healing. Tomorrow, wherever I was, I’d be cutting the stitches out myself and back on the road. If I could spend some time in contact with the earth I could speed the healing, but first, I had to find a place safe enough to rest.
“Come eat. It’s lunchtime,” he said, finally stepping away and heading toward the bathroom door. He left the door open, and when I followed, I was surprised to see the bedroom door open, too. There was a dining room and kitchen connected as one giant room outside the small bedroom they’d given me. Korissa was cooking bacon. It smelled amazing. She had a heaping plate full of the crispy slices and was adding to the pile. There was also fresh baked bread, toasted with a bit of butter, bright red tomatoes, crisp lettuce, and a jar each of what appeared to be homemade mayonnaise and mustard. I practically salivated, but stayed behind Liam.
At the huge dining table sat Carl, Dylan, and at least a dozen other wolves I didn’t know. All eyes were on me. “He doesn’t look like much,” one young-looking wolf said. “They whisper about him like he’s some sort of demon, mystical and elusive, but I could take him.”
Liam glanced in his direction and the wolf cowered. “Sorry, Alpha.”
“Sebastian Volkov,” Dylan said. “Welcome to the Northern Cascades pack. Don’t mind Marlow. He’s never been tactful. I’m sure you’ll find your time with our pack enlightening, even if it isn’t always restful.”
“I’m not staying,” I said. Liam put an empty plate in my hands, added four pieces of toasted bread to it and nudged me toward Korissa. I picked up the jar of mustard, sniffed it then set it down to scoop it onto the bread. I’d never been a mayonnaise fan. I added lettuce, tomato and a bit of bacon, not wanting to be a pig even though I already had two sandwiches on my plate. Liam added more bacon to my sandwiches until they were a heaping stack I would have to take apart to fit in my mouth.
“You’re pushy,” I grumbled at him as he added a handful of raw, sliced veggies to my plate.
Korissa laughed and nudged me. “I’m told that’s a normal thing for an Alpha, but I’m glad it’s not just me he’s pushy with.”
I took my plate to the table, sitting as far away from the rest of the pack as I could. One of the female wolves got up and started to bring trays to the table, the bread, the bacon, and the fixings. It was odd that Liam had wanted me to eat first since I wasn’t pack.
Korissa sat next to me. Her grin huge. “Bacon is the only thing I do well. Dad had already started, but I’m good at bacon.” She snagged a couple slices of bread and began to build a sandwich almost twice the size of my own. “I can mix bread okay, and make cookies, but dad is the better chef.”