by Lacey Thorn
“So my blood awakened his beast?”
“And seeing you helped to unleash it.”
“It all makes sense when you put it like that,” Tah agreed. “So what about the shot the Professor gave him? Are you saying it didn’t do anything?”
“No, I believe it assisted. It most likely helped the genetics kick in faster, lending a hand in Finn healing quicker. It aided what already existed,” Gideon said.
“You saved my life,” Finn said, turning to Laura. “And you helped me unleash the beast and become one with it.”
“I…” She shook her head, emotion overwhelming her. A part of her had died that day when she’d felt him slip away, a big part. Since then, she’d just been going through the motions, more than willing to risk her life to save others. She’d been ready to die. What if it had happened? She would never have known Finn survived or the role she’d played in saving him. All those moments she’d screamed inside, asking why she was still alive… Now, she knew and counted her blessings. Finn seemed to pick up on what was going through her and pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
“I want to do a few more tests, but…” Gideon caught everyone’s attention when he paused. “I think we may be on to something here. She may have given us a key we’ve been searching for.”
“What kind of key?” Tah asked.
“I think I might know something we can try to use to help Logan, a way that might allow him to unleash his beast.”
Chapter Ten
They spent the day in the labs with Gideon while he ran test after test, asking question after question and driving Finn crazy. It didn’t help that Ariel hovered, shooting dirty looks at Laura the entire time. His mate never commented on them, and she ignored Ariel for the most part. Finn found himself losing his patience with Ariel even though she’d come to mean so much to him.
“Do you have a problem with my mate?” Finn asked Ariel.
“Finn,” Laura chided.
“Is there a problem?” Gideon broke off from what he was doing to join the conversation.
“That’s what I’m asking,” Finn said.
“Ariel?” Gideon asked.
“She left you to die,” she snarled.
“She saved my life,” Finn countered.
“I was there when you confronted her. I heard what was said, just like everyone else did. You should have ripped her throat out.”
A rumble rose from Finn’s throat. Laura put her hand out, touching his chest and easing him.
“We didn’t know everything then,” Laura told Ariel. “I’m sure Gideon can fill you in on what we’ve learned when the tests are done.”
“I know all I need to know,” Ariel sneered.
“Why do you hate me?” Laura asked. “At first, I thought it was because you wanted Finn to be your mate, but that’s not true. Your mate’s right here, and you don’t want him.”
Finn felt a jolt go through him at that revelation, and it was obvious Gideon did, too, by the way he jerked around.
“That’s not true,” Ariel said.
“It is.” Laura seemed to take Ariel’s reaction as confirmation to whatever she was thinking. “You’re hurting him. I don’t know if you realize that or not. I thought maybe you were selfish, but I don’t think that’s it either. I think it’s fear.”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” Ariel challenged.
“We’re all afraid of something,” Laura countered.
“Your mate is here?” Gideon said. “Who is it?”
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Ariel yelled. “I don’t have a mate.”
“We all have a mate somewhere,” Finn said.
“I don’t,” Ariel vowed.
“Why do you hate me?” Laura asked again.
“Because,” Ariel yelled.
“Why?” Laura pushed.
“Because he saved you,” Ariel screamed. “He saved you.” Sobs caught in Ariel’s chest, and everything clicked in Finn’s head. The things Gideon had let slip about how Clara’s Uncle Thomas had saved Ariel, how she’d woken up screaming. The way she avoided people. The way she clung to those she trusted.
“Jesus, no,” Finn whispered, horrified.
“And no one saved you,” Laura said softly. “Oh, Ariel. I’m so sorry.”
“Stop it. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not broken. I am worthy. I didn’t deserve what happened, and I’m not a victim!” Ariel turned and fled.
They all stood there for a long moment, processing what she’d said. Then Gideon moved.
“Let her go,” Laura said. “You can’t help her right now. This… What happened to her… She has to work through it.”
“Thomas told her sometimes people get what they deserve. She woke up crying from one of her dreams, crying about what happened to her.” Gideon looked at Laura, and Finn saw the sorrow in his eyes. “I wasn’t there. I was the one who gave her comfort. Thomas told her some people were destined to be victims.”
“He was pushing her to deal with what happened,” Laura said. “From what I see, she still hasn’t. She won’t heal until she does.”
“Thomas shouldn’t have said those things to her,” Gideon admonished.
“Maybe, she needed to hear them,” Laura countered. “Maybe, he was trying to get her to realize she wasn’t those things. So he told her she was.”
Gideon looked at her. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Tough love is hard, but it’s still love,” Laura stated.
“She was so broken when Thomas found her,” Gideon said. “He brought her back and told me to take care of her. She bled for days, cowering away from me at first. She’d wake up screaming. She’d fight me, but I couldn’t leave her like that. I’d hug her and just hold her until she quieted. She’d beg me to protect her, to keep them from touching her. Eventually, she got to the point that she’d wake up crying out for me. Then she just woke up. I thought she was doing okay.”
“Dillion said she was expendable,” Finn said.
“Dillion?” Laura asked.
“He was the shifter who attacked when we were in Colorado,” Finn said. “He wanted to kill Clara. Instead, he hit Zane and Logan with a strain of feral fever virus.”
“Jesus!” Laura exclaimed. “What happened to Dillion?”
“Ariel killed him,” Gideon said.
“Good,” Laura said.
“How do I help her?” he asked.
“I’m not sure you’re the one to help her,” Laura suggested.
“Do you really think she’s afraid?”
“I know what she’s been through. With one big difference,” Laura said. “Gabriel saved me. Thomas was too late to prevent what happened to her. I can imagine what she survived, but I didn’t experience it. I was lucky.”
Finn reached for her, pulling her against his chest. He couldn’t not touch her. Visualizing what she’d told him, thinking what could have happened if Gabriel hadn’t shown up, knowing what Ariel had survived. He felt sick. His beast raged for blood. He wanted to hunt down the men who’d hurt Ariel and make each of them suffer.
“How would she not know fear after what she went through?” Laura asked.
“Who’s her mate?” Gideon asked, but Laura shook her head.
“That’s for her to tell you, not me,” Laura said. “I’m going to go check on her. She might not know me, but I think she’ll relate to me more than anyone else here.”
“Be careful,” Finn said.
“I will,” Laura promised and gave him a quick kiss.
“I’ll come looking for you as soon as I’m done here,” he told her.
She nodded and headed out of the lab, leaving Finn with Gideon.
“She was raped,” Gideon said and swallowed.
Finn felt the bile rise in his throat as he nodded.
“I knew; I just didn’t want to accept it,” Gideon admitted. “I keep thinking the worst of Thomas. I let Dillion plant the seeds in my mind. Even Clara doesn’
t think as highly of Thomas as she once did.” Gideon blew out a hard breath and rubbed his hands over his face. “So many people are quick to point out what they see as his faults. Then Laura comes along and puts it all in a new light. Maybe, his methods weren’t perfect, but his heart was in the right place.”
“There’s good and bad in all of us, Gideon,” Finn said. “Thomas is the same. Look at everything he’s been through. Losing his mate and child. Losing his brother. Being captured and tortured repeatedly. Knowing that hunters were actively hunting for him, not just because of what he is but for who he is. It all had to take a toll.”
Gideon nodded. “I told myself I would search for him once we got everyone here. I think I need to keep that promise. I need to go look for him.”
“Talk to Tah about it. I know Clara wants to find her uncle. I’m sure Kenzie would, too. Our numbers are growing. I’m sure it would be easy to get a group together to trace Thomas,” Finn said. “First, I think Clara would appreciate if you helped her mate, and though, Laura might not say it, I’m sure she’d agree.”
“She already gave blood to help us figure out a way to help him. You know, it was right in front of me the whole time, and I never saw it,” Gideon admitted.
“What?”
“Abby needed a transfusion to help her with her pregnancy. Diane is the same. The answer is in the blood. It’s always in the blood. Laura’s blood woke your beast and saved your life. What if, all this time, the one thing Logan needed was Clara’s blood?”
“Then we’re lucky,” Finn replied. “If it doesn’t work, you’ll keep looking. It’s what you do. It’s what the Professor does. It’s what Diane does. We’re damn lucky to have you guys, and every one of us knows it. Now, get back to work while I go find my mate,” Finn teased.
“You’ve got a good mate, Finn,” Gideon said. “Take care of her.”
“I plan to,” Finn answered and headed out. He opened himself up, but it wasn’t Laura he connected with, it was Murphy. He felt his brother’s rage and sorrow and headed out at a run.
* * * *
Laura took her time searching for Ariel. She had an idea of where the other woman might have gone but wasn’t sure. She didn’t know Ariel very well. She had mostly stayed by herself or stuck close to Gideon or Vic. She avoided Daniel, and if what Laura thought was true, then she understood that avoidance much better. He had a hard road ahead of him if he wanted to reach his mate. Ariel might have healed from the physical, but the mental and emotional pain she’d suffered were still there.
Laura found her in the barn, up in the loft. She sat with her legs dangling out one of the windows, staring out over the land. Laura hesitated only briefly before taking a chance and sitting beside her. She didn’t speak. Instead, she waited for Ariel to acknowledge she was there.
“I’d been on my own for a year when they found me. I was arrogant. Thought I knew everything, but I never saw him coming.” Ariel reached for a loose piece of hay and began tearing it apart.
“They’re good at making you feel like they care about you, like they’re the friend you’ve been waiting for,” Laura said.
Ariel nodded. “I was with him for three days before they…before it happened. I guess they were searching for the males.”
“That seems to be the way it works,” Laura agreed. “Find the female then go from there.”
“How far did they get with you before Gabriel showed up and stopped it?” Ariel asked.
“I was staked out on the ground,” Laura admitted. “There were two male shifters. They’d drugged them.”
“How many humans?” Ariel asked.
“Three. Two of them were lookouts while Erik made sure the male shifters stayed focused on me.”
“He slapped at you, concentrating on your breasts and sex?” Ariel asked. “Showing them what was on offer.”
“Yeah,” Laura agreed.
“There were three shifters with me,” Ariel said. “Two of them must have known each other. They teamed up and killed the other guy. I’ll never forget the way they tore him apart. I was terrified, wondering which one would be the one to come after me, but they didn’t fight one another. They turned on me instead.” A tear dripped down Ariel’s cheek.
“I’m sorry, Ariel. I’m so incredibly sorry for what you went through,” Laura whispered and the other woman shuddered.
“You know what I remember most about that day?”
“No,” Laura barely managed to get out. The pain Ariel was feeling was so thick, so strong, it was as if it were another entity sitting with them.
“The way they kept apologizing as they took turns raping me. I could see the fury at what the drugs were forcing them to do in their gazes, but the hunger was there. They didn’t want me. I was just the tasty meat laid out to entice the beast. I’m not even sure they realized what they were whispering as they took me, but I still hear it in my nightmares. I’m sorry. Over and over again. I’m sorry while they took turns tearing me apart. I hate that phrase. It makes me sick.” She glanced at Laura. “It was the first thing Daniel said to me. He reached for me, and I flinched. It was instinct, even though I knew who he was. He saw me panic. He cupped my face, and it felt so perfect. Then he brushed his thumb over my lip and said he was sorry. Just that. I’m sorry. And I couldn’t run far enough away.”
“Oh, Ariel.”
“I lied earlier. I am broken. Some days, I think there are parts of me that will never heal.” Tears streamed down her face. “The two shifters took turns raping me until the hunters decided it was enough and killed them. Then they turned on me.”
Laura shook her head in denial. “Hunters don’t rape shifters. They wouldn’t soil themselves by taking one of us.”
“They must not have gotten that memo,” Ariel told her, voice going hard again, and Laura recognized it for what it was. It was Ariel’s way of locking it all inside. It broke Laura’s heart to watch Ariel struggle to maintain control over her emotions. They bled through anyway. “When they were done, they left me there to die. I wanted to die. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me, to bury me so deep that no one would ever find me. Then Thomas was suddenly there. He was so gentle then. I almost convinced myself that I saw him shed a few tears over me.”
“He freed you.”
“He wrapped me in a blanket and took me back with him. And gave me to Gideon. He was the one who held me when I woke up from dreams so real I swore I felt them touching me. He was the one who was always there for me. Gideon might not have saved me, but he helped me put myself back together.”
“Did he?” Laura asked. “Because you don’t seem back together to me.”
“I don’t think all the pieces fit anymore,” Ariel said softly.
“Then make them fit,” Laura encouraged her. “Until you do, they win. You’ll always be that girl, bleeding on the ground. And you’re so much more than that, Ariel. You deserve to be more than that.”
“I don’t know how to make them fit,” Ariel admitted, and it broke Laura’s heart.
“One piece at a time,” Laura told her. “One at a time.”
She held out her hand, offering friendship she wasn’t sure Ariel wanted from her. The other woman stared at it for a long moment then slowly lifted her hand and took Laura’s. It was a start.
Ariel went back to staring out at the landscape, but Laura turned and found her mate with her gaze. She knew he’d heard what Ariel had shared with her. Just as Murphy had, though he remained hidden somewhere in the shadows. Both men were enraged by what had happened. Even more, they were hurting for Ariel, their heart’s breaking at what she’d endured.
Daniel needs to know, Finn said in her head, and she nodded. Ariel needed her mate to help her heal, and the only way he could was if he knew just what his mate still dealt with. Daniel had had the misfortune of saying the exact wrong thing to Ariel when he’d first seen her. Hopefully, it was something they could get past. Daniel deserved happiness, and Ariel… Laura had a feeling she needed
to learn how to live again.
Chapter Eleven
It was dusk by the time Laura and Finn made it back to her house. She’d sat with Ariel for a long time, neither of them speaking. She sensed the other woman just needed someone to be there, so Laura had stayed with her. Finn and Murphy had left at some point, but her mate had shown up immediately when she’d left the barn. He hadn’t said a word, just pulled her into his embrace and held her. She knew what he was thinking, though. If not for Gabriel, she could have suffered the same as Ariel had. Laura had known she was lucky that day, but Ariel made her realize just how lucky.
“I want to hunt them down and kill everyone who was there,” Finn admitted once they were inside. “Even the shifters.”
“They were drugged,” Laura reminded him. “They were victims.”
“It’s hard to remember that, considering what was done.”
She nodded. “I know, but they all three died that day. They were used then slaughtered. As for the hunters, from what I’ve heard about Thomas, I can’t imagine he let this go unpunished.”
“You think he hunted them down?”
“I do,” she said. “He seems the type who would.”
“Yeah,” Finn agreed. “He does.”
“I don’t know about you, but I could use a hot shower,” she said, giving a big stretch that had her rising on her tiptoes.
“Sounds good to me,” he agreed, wrapping his arms around her and tugging her back against his chest.
“Does that mean you want to wash my back?” she questioned with a purr, lifting an arm to loop around his neck. She needed Finn. Needed to feel his touch on her skin. Needed to wash away the horror of what Ariel had shared with the exact opposite of it, with love and passion.
“Among other places,” Finn crooned, trailing kisses down her neck.
She turned in his arms and walked backward, leading him toward the bathroom. She reached for the hem of his shirt along the way, and they removed it together, tossing it aside and starting on hers. They left a trail of clothes down the hallway, arriving at the shower wearing only their underwear. He kept running his fingers along the lace edges of her panties while she bent to start the water. He took advantage of her change in position and brushed his fingers farther under the lace, dipping between her folds.
