She could sense his confusion when the simple act of fucking was not enough to assuage the tempest.
And because both males and been arrogant enough to force a half-formed link on her, they sensed her total disgust. Her hatred. Her disappointment in their failings as men.
“You need to cool off for a few days.” Toby snarled between clenched teeth, openly angry with her. “Stay out of his reach before you push him to ruin what we have.”
His grip on her arm tightened, the Alpha marching her along like a child who needed to be put in the corner.
But he didn’t bruise. He didn’t yank.
Considering his anger, Toby was downright gentle.
He was even worried.
That did not change how he shoved her out of their building to land straight in the mud.
Knees scraped, the familiar squish of unsteady ground under her hands, Wren took in her first deep breath of outside air since she’d been taken.
It reeked of shit.
Cold air brushing naked arms, wet skirts icing in the cold, she picked herself up… and felt utterly alone.
The long walk home did nothing to ease her distress. Not when neighbors took one look at her and turned their backs.
Everyone knew who she now belonged to.
And reviled her for it.
Planks rocking under her bare feet, heart worn, she dragged her sorry bones all the way to her busted door.
No longer did she have a home. Mud had been tracked all over the floor, items cast aside and broken when looters deemed they held no value.
It was as if she’d never existed. Her life in this sorry den erased.
The scent of her boys did not even linger in the air, the smell of rot and mildew pervading each breath.
No wonder they had all been sick…
She was a terrible mother.
One of her boys lay in the hospital fighting his weak lungs for life. The other had been beaten bloody and left to hang before a gang of thugs.
And this room, this place that had been her home was so beneath what they deserved that her skin itched just standing in its walls.
So she left.
Walking around the sinking skyscraper she’d carved out a room in, she climbed over a fence made of scrap. Her skirt caught, tore, and left a lace trail that ran through soggy mud. She didn’t care. Not when she was so busy hating herself for ruining her boy’s chance at a better life.
Curling up in a place she had spent many of her worst hours, Wren shut her eyes and shrunk in her skin.
“He’s just a kid. A stupid one, but still.” It was the last person she expected to hear. Tawny hair falling in his eyes, Kieran stood over her. In his hand was an empty syringe.
Palm opening, it fell into the mud.
Turning to walk away, he snarled over his shoulder, “Tell anyone I gave it to him and I’ll kill you.”
Chapter 9
Wait!
He hadn’t seen her hands sign the entreaty, ignored her pathetic throat sounds as she fought the mud to stand.
Rushing to catch Kieran before he slipped away, Wren threw her arms around his middle and held him with all her might.
He froze, stiff as stone under her arms, but he didn’t push her away. He didn’t slap her face or snarl.
The Second Alpha only stood there, as if unsure what to do.
Face pressed to his broad back, Wren breathed in the familiar scent of potent male—flooded with a burst of true gratitude and unadulterated appreciation.
Had she words, so much would have tripped from her lips. Had her fingers not been splinted, and had he the knowledge to understand her sign language, she would have told him that she would never forget his kindness to her boy.
“What are you doing?” This strained voice Wren did not even recognize.
Without allowing the awkwardly motionless male out of her grasp, Wren crept from his back to his front—so he might see her face, view her wide, glistening eyes.
All the filth she’d brought with her from the ground smeared his clothing, making it look as if he almost belonged in this dump. As if they were a matched set. And she should have apologized for ruining his clean things, but there was no way she would let him walk away without letting him know how much this meant to her.
Kieran didn’t seem to notice her filth, not when he stared down at her with a complicated blend of emotions playing over his face.
Confusion dominated. Under it sat annoyance. Intrigue. Disbelief. Anger.
She needed him to understand. Ear to his heart, she hugged him not only in gratitude, but because holding someone in that moment lifted such a burden.
He had given her air when she was drowning.
He had saved her from the worst kind of self-doubt.
And he had comforted her boy, even if Alec never understood what had been injected into his veins.