TW: Description of DV abuse
Ivan
"Not really much out here, is there?"
The quiet took control of the walk to Nefra's house, the desert eerie and more barren than I'm used to. Manitou Springs can be just as still, but the mountains have a distinct energy. The difference isn't bad, but makes things more obvious.
Nefretiri didn't say much on the drive. She'd stared out the window, lost in her own thoughts.
'Today was a lot. I can't push her anymore.'
"Not really," she asked me to park in front of the dollar store instead of her house, and I hadn't argued. However, she refused to let me carry her. Now, she's limping up the hill, and I'm still fighting my wolf and myself not to do something about it. "Aztec isn't as big as Farmington…"
"Right…" I had so many questions, but I didn't want to sound like a guy on a speed date. "So, Nefretiri… where's your place?"
"It's up here… And you don't need to use that name if it's too hard. You can call me Diana… everyone else does." There's a hint of bitterness, as if she's used to no one bothering to say her name properly, which annoyed me. I loved her name.
"Why, Diana?"
"It's my middle name."
Yaya might have something to say about that.
'Probably say it's the will of the moon goddess and proof of destiny.' I already imagined the old she-wolf's triumphant smirk. 'She'll rub it in that she was right.'
The name's unique, just like the woman attached to it.
'Why use something ordinary?'
"No, I like Nefretiri… Nefra…" I don't know why the nickname came to me, but I liked it. "It's… less formal, but still your name."
She didn't respond, but I caught the shadow of a smile. I'd take that as a win.
Nefra's even more guarded than me, hiding so much of herself under the water's surface. That she'd broken down earlier isn't something she'd meant to do, and it showed how much pressure she'd been holding onto. I needed to stay calm, something I didn't want to do, but I would for her sake.
"Can I ask you something?" I need her to answer at least one question.
'Everything else can wait till later.'
"I guess."
"How… do you know about us?"
Nefra stopped, turning to face me. Her long calico hair hid some of her face, but I didn't miss the moment of panic and then resolve.
The question might sound simple, but it would give me a lot of information. Humans don't know about us—not the actual version. We make great fiction and conspiracies, but they don't understand how our society works.
Nefra did.
She'd known what to look for.
"I'm a sorceress."
I was not expecting that.
"Well… now I feel a little deflated… I'm just the Alpha of a pack." I meant it as a joke, but it fell flat. Inside, I was panicking. Shit. Now what? Nefra was a sorceress? How did I handle that? The pack might not take that well. Fuck, what about the other tribes?
"It's not a big deal," Nefra shrugged and kept walking, her head down. "I'm not powerful."
'Nice going, Ivan. You made your mate think she's worthless!'
She moved faster, not wanting to talk, and I kicked myself.
My people have a grim history with magic. None of that was Nefra's fault, though.
I'd thought like an Alpha, not like a mate, and she'd sensed it.
Now, I'd put a wedge in an already complex situation.
If I can't move past what I'd grown up believing, how can I expect Nefra to trust her safety to me? She'll never come back with me at this rate.
'Shit.'
Nefra's house turned out to be a one-story red brick ranch that wasn't nearly good enough for her. It's nice enough, but the Luna of a pack should live somewhere that reflects her status. This seemed too ordinary and didn't fit Nefra at all.
Werewolves choose their permanent homes based on their mate's desires. Like wolves, the female selects the den for her comfort and security. Nefra and I just met, but it's obvious she's not either.
"You don't have a key?" I found it strange that Nefra took me towards the back of the house instead of the front, and then I noticed the bars covering all the windows, which only deepened my suspicion. That would make sense if we were in a denser populated area, but not out here.
"Not for the front," she admitted, crouching beside a potted plant, pulling out a key. "Ricky doesn't know about this one."
I already hated this guy.
'If there's no need for bars to keep people out, then he set them up to keep her in…'
This isn't a house. It's a prison.
Now, things make more sense.
Nefra's afraid of a man who's willing to go to extremes.
That still didn't explain everything, especially if she's a sorceress, but I'd be more cautious going in.
Is he part of our world, too? That would make sense.
The security system looked sophisticated, but there aren't cameras. That made less sense. Shouldn't you want cameras, too, if you're paranoid enough to have a keypad to get into your house?
Unless he's unwilling to have any evidence. What is this guy doing? Does it go beyond Nefra's imprisonment?
"I'm guessing he's clueless about you having the codes." I stepped inside behind Nefra, and the unmistakable smell of bleach hit me.
"No, he doesn't," she confirmed, carefully shutting the door. "The guy who set it up for him didn't know why he wanted it, so… he gave me a copy of the codes and the extra keys. The front and back doors are on two different servers… Ricky's not the greatest with technology… So, I take advantage of that."
"Smart," I'm not surprised. Smart girls have always attracted me. Of course, my mate's brilliant. "That is… a lot of cleaning supplies."
We're in the laundry room, and it's jarring. This house is more organized than my packhouse.
There's at least twenty bottles of bleach on shelves, multiple all-purpose cleaners, and even a few with no labels. Everything looks spotless, nothing out of place, making it seem like a human hospital.
Is this Nefra's need or the bastard who kept her prisoner?
Nefra didn't seem obsessed with cleaning, but what if I'm wrong? Maybe my mate liked things organized, which would complicate things. My life was a mess, and I'm lucky to keep my office in a state of organized chaos.
"Ricky's OCD…" Nefra refused to look at me, turning on the light in the hall before leading me to the rest of the house.
"What time is he supposed to be back?" I wanted to meet this guy and introduce him to my wolf.
"No clue…" Nefra turned on every light, revealing a normal-looking house that seemed too clean to live in. Did she have to clean this all by herself? "It depends on how pissed off he is. If he comes back alone, it'll be about midnight. If he's… got company, then it'll be earlier."
"Company?" What did she mean?
"His mistresses," That horrified me, but Nefra said it as if it's nothing.
"Wait, he has mistresses. As in plural?" I grabbed her arm, stopping her in the hallway between the main house and the den.
"He has a harem," she's numb to it, and it broke my heart. Nefra didn't care that the man she's with had other women and brought them to their home.
It's not in a werewolf's nature to cheat. We're the creatures who mate for life. Sometimes cheating happens, but it's rare and becomes a massive scandal in a pack.
This? This would disgust any wolf.
"Tell me you're kidding." I wanted it to be a lie, but I don't think she'd joke about something like this.
"I'm too cold…" A hint of bitterness laced her voice, but no genuine emotion remained. "If I was better at it, then he wouldn't need to find anyone else, but I'm too lazy to try to… I don't know how to treat him right."
"Bullshit!"
How could anyone think that of Nefra?
She's warm and passionate, and I would challenge anyone to say she's cold.
We'd only shared a kiss, but that's enough to tell me Nefra doesn't do things halfway.
I've never experienced something so intense from something so gentle.
Nefra kissed me because she wanted to, and it left me weak in the knees. She could've asked for anything, and I would've given it to her just to get another.
"I don't care… If they have him, I don't need to pretend I'm interested." Shrugging, Nefra moved away, opening the door to the main bedroom.
That's when I got my first hit of his scent.
My wolf growled, fighting me for control again, wanting to come out and confront a man who wasn't even here. His hatred was immediate, and so was mine. Something about him pissed me off, and I didn't understand it.
"What do you want to take?" I expected her to want clothes or documents, but from a glance at the bedroom, I saw nothing that belonged to my mate. "Don't worry about clothes. Just grab something for a day. We'll buy you anything else you need."
"You don't need to do that," she smiled, walking to the closet to grab a large duffel bag.
"But I want to… Like I said. I want to show you what you and I can be together. How can I do that if I'm not caring for you?"
The surrounding smells were agitating me.
A man's musk mixed with the scent of several females. At least seven, but none are Nefra's.
'Nefra wasn't kidding. He's got a harem,' I'm disgusted, but also afraid.
My recent past isn't clean.
What if Nefra rejected me for it? She's experienced this hell, why risk it with someone who's proven to disappoint?
"Fuck!" Nefra fell on the carpet as she tried pulling something out from under the bed.
"Where?" Picking her up and setting her on the bed, I grabbed her leg, examining it without taking off her jeans.
"It's nothing."
"It's not nothing," I growl, tired of pretending. "You're hurt, and I've tried to respect your boundaries, but this is serious."
"It's fine..." She tried pulling away, but that only caused her more pain.
I was done.
Nefra screeched as I ripped her jeans off. Her safety was more important than a pair of cheap pants I could replace tomorrow. That didn't stop Nefra from trying to cover herself up, which didn't work.
I was faster, and she wasn't in any state to fight back. She didn't want me to see, and when I pulled the cover off the bed, I saw why.
"Stop..." Nefra tried to sound firm, but her voice sounded pleading, which didn't help my rage.
"I'm going to kill him," I promised, scanning both her legs and grinding my teeth as I counted every single bruise.
Old and new bruises litter her legs, the worst across her thighs and her right shin.
'The bone's broken.' I stared at the distorted flesh, finding it harder to hold back my emotions. 'She must've been in so much pain. Fuck, I should've had Danny check her when I had the chance.'
"What are you doing?" Nefra demanded, grabbing the sheets desperate to hide. "Please... stop!"
I was busy taking off my jacket and shirt and tossing them to the ground.
She didn't want me to see any of her injuries.
'She'd rather assume the worst of me than let me see what he did to her…'
I couldn't bear it. My mate, my Luna, was ashamed of something that was never her fault.
"Shh, I've got you," I promised, even as I ripped off her top. As more of the truth appeared, I had to fight the urge to growl. "You don't need to be scared. I won't hurt you."
The bastard was treating her like a punching bag. There were very few spots that didn't hold the memory of violence, and her shame became mine.
This should never have happened.
I should've protected her!
"Please... don't..." she begged, helplessly pleading with me to stop staring at her.
Without a word, I climbed onto the bed, pushing her onto her back, pinning her against me.
At first, I did nothing, just lying on her, letting my skin touch hers to ease the pain. Then, as she relaxed, I started working on her shoulder, away from her neck.
My wolf was three seconds away from shifting, wanting to claim her. He kept insisting she'd heal faster if we claimed her.
That's true, but I won't be doing that.
All I want is to give her some relief.
"What are you...?" Nefra gasped as I kissed the bruise, letting some of my saliva coat the area. The effects instantly take over.
"Werewolves have some of the best healing properties in the supernatural world. Sharing it isn't hard to do... Hold still. This will feel weird."
Before she could protest, I got to work, pressing myself against her, kissing and licking every bruise I could before sliding down her body.
At first, she protested, which I could handle. We'd only met today, and this was intimate. It's why we didn't do it for everyone.
However, as she felt the pain die, those protests became soft moans and sighs of relief. That was harder to ignore; my mind was going to places where I had no right to go. Nefra was my mate, but I'd never force her to do anything she wasn't ready for, and we were leagues away from anything that intimate.
If only my wolf believed me.
"This will hurt..." I breathed, finally getting off her when I reached her stomach. "I... need to set the bone."
"Okay..." her voice was just as shaky as mine, and it had nothing to do with the pain.
'Goddess help me...' I prayed, the smell of arousal hitting my senses. 'Give me strength.'
I think I was wrong.