by R. E. Butler
As she listened to Orion talk about his family, a pang of sadness struck her. They were so blessed to have parents that loved them and family that supported them. Who knows what would have become of her life if she’d had the support of her mother. Or hadn’t been given away so cruelly when she was just learning what life had to offer. Shaking the dark thoughts away, she concentrated on Orion’s words.
When dinner was finished, she stood with her plate in hand and Crux took it from her quickly. With a jerk of his head, he said, “Go watch TV and relax. I’ll handle the dishes.”
“I don’t mind,” she said.
“Neither do I,” he answered, gathering more plates in his hands and carrying them to the sink.
She followed Orion into the family room. A large floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace graced one wall, a giant flat screen TV was anchored to another wall, and two black leather couches met in an L shape in front of the TV. Orion led her to the couch that faced the TV and she sat down at one side, leaning against the arm. He sat in the middle. Near, but not crowding her.
“What do you like?” He clicked a button on the remote and the TV turned on, as well as a sound system and satellite box.
“Whatever you like is fine,” she said. Her experience with television over the last few years had been limited to sports and hunting shows. Sometimes her former mate let her watch TV with him when he was feeling in a generous mood, but often she spent the evenings cleaning and doing laundry before going to bed early and hoping that he wouldn’t want to touch her that night.
Why can’t I stop thinking about him?
“How about a comedy?” Orion broke through her thoughts.
“That’s fine,” she assured him. He stopped flipping channels and settled on a show about two women who worked in a diner. A few minutes after the show started, Sterling joined them, sitting on Orion’s other side. By the time the show was over and another one started, about a group of friends who lived in the same apartment building, Crux came into the room. He sat down on the other couch.
For the next hour, they didn’t really speak, just watching the shows and laughing at the jokes. Orion yawned and stretched. “I’m dead on my feet. Sydney, I can show you how to work the remote so you can stay up if you’d like.”
“I’m ready for bed,” she agreed, hiding her own yawn behind her hand. The TV was turned off and they left the family room together. The three men said goodnight to her and she returned the sentiment, walking down to her bedroom by herself.
She paused at the door to the bedroom she was staying in — hers, Crux had said — and looked down the now-empty hallway. Sterling was in the basement, in what they had said was their winter den. Crux and Orion were in their own rooms with the doors shut. The house was entirely silent. She’d never been in such a peaceful place.
Opening the door to her room, she shut it quietly and moved to the dresser, gathering a nightgown and changing in the bathroom. She climbed into the big bed and settled under the covers, far on the right side after she turned out the light.
Why am I all the way over here? she asked herself, forcing her body to roll back over and settle into the middle of the bed. She stretched her legs and arms out, taking up the whole bed, and then giggled at the absurdity of something so simple making her happy. In the dark silence of the bedroom, she listened to the nothingness. The house was utterly quiet. No blaring television. No ugly body noises. No boots clomping down the hallway, signaling that she wasn’t going to be alone any longer. Sleep came quickly as peace settled over her like the warm blanket on her body.
She sat up with a sharp cry, slapping her hand over her mouth to stifle the outburst. She looked around wildly for Byron, sure she’d felt his hot breath on her neck and his rough hands on her body. Breathing hard, her heart pounding in her ears, her eyes adjusted to the faint light from the open blinds and she realized it had been a dream. Still…the dream had felt so real. Rubbing at the goosebumps on her arms and then wiping at the tears that had streamed down her cheeks while she slept, she tried to settle her racing pulse.
A soft tapping on the door made her breath catch in her throat. He’s not here, he’s not here, she chanted to herself, before croaking out, “Y-yes?”
“Sydney, are you alright?”
Her breath came out on a harsh sigh as relief flooded her body. “I had a nightmare, Sterling.”
The door opened slowly and he stood in track pants and no shirt, framed by the open door. “You’re safe here. I designed the security system myself. No one will get to you.”
Her hands dropped to the quilt, her fingers rubbing along the pattern. “Would you stay with me for a while? Until I fall back asleep?”
He nodded, sitting down in the doorway and leaning his back against the door jam. He was so big, he looked squished, but he didn’t seem to mind. He looked at her. “Rest now, Little One, and have sweet dreams until morning.”
“Thank you, Sterling.” She scooted back under the covers and turned on her side, facing the doorway. Her eyes closed and peace returned, with Sterling holding the nightmares at bay simply with his presence. As she slipped back into sleep, she wondered what would happen with her nightmares when she left this home and went to her cousin’s.
When sunlight woke her from a dreamless sleep, she glanced immediately to the door and found it closed, Sterling gone. She didn’t want to feel disappointed, because it surely couldn’t have been comfortable for him to sit there all night, but she would have liked to say hello to him first thing in the morning.
A glance at the clock on the nightstand next to the vase of flowers said it was after eight. She hadn’t slept this late in years. Swinging her legs down, she stretched thoroughly and then stood, picking out clothes and heading into the bathroom to take a shower.
After she cleaned up, she found Crux in the kitchen, dumping scrambled eggs into a bowl. “Morning, baby!” He grinned at her, looking far too handsome for so early in the morning. He had jade-green eyes surrounded by lashes that were thick enough to rival the best mascara, and dark blond hair cut short and styled in a carefree, messy way. He wore a polo shirt and twill shorts, giving her a glimpse of his muscular calves. She remembered easily what he looked like naked, however. Chiseled abs, flat stomach, an adorable outie belly button.
Stopping herself before her thoughts shifted to lust, she greeted him and sat at the table when he gestured towards it. He placed several plates of food on the table, asked how she fixed her coffee, and then joined her, putting a steaming mug in front of her.
“The guys are over at Dante’s house figuring out work shifts for the week. They’ll be back in time for lunch. We normally have dinners on Sunday at Dante’s house. It’s a baro thing. Would you like to go, or are you not up for meeting new people yet?”
She took a bite of scrambled egg and said, “That would be nice.”
“Good. You’ll like Alyssa. She’s a wolf that left her pack last fall.”
“Who is she mated to?” Sydney bit into a piece of bacon that was perfectly crispy.
“All of them.”
The bacon caught in her throat as she gasped in surprise, and she coughed hard to dislodge it. Crux made an alarmed noise and lurched from the table, thumping her on the back until she cleared her throat. Taking a long drink of coffee, she let out a relieved breath. “Sorry,” she mumbled, her mind spinning. Did hyenas share a mate? Sydney didn’t know Alyssa, but she already envied her. If her mates were anything like the three men that Sydney was staying with, Alyssa was one lucky she-wolf.
Crux sat down again. “You scared the crap out of me, Syd.”
She kept her head down, sure her cheeks were blazing scarlet, as she ate a few more bites without mishap. “I didn’t realize that your cousins were in a shared mating relationship.”
There was a long enough period of silence following her statement that she was worried she had said something to offend him. Then he spoke. “All hyena clans share a bride, it’s the way of our people. Three
males for one female.”
She didn’t know what to say, because her mind swam with images of her and the three men, and the way they’d touched her and held her that first night. To have a lifetime of that, well, it would be worth anything.
Raising her eyes to meet Crux’s, she said, “Whoever you end up mating with will be one lucky girl.”
Crux’s mouth worked a few times, as if he were struggling to find the right words but was unable. She switched topics slightly, by asking about the training certificate that Orion had said he’d received. He dropped the subject of mating and told her that he’d just recently received it and had started taking on clients. It apparently was not a requirement for someone to become a personal trainer, but Dante and his brothers liked to use only certified trainers and Crux had been happy to take the online course.
After breakfast, she helped with the dishes even though Crux protested, and then they went for a walk outside. The yard outside of the home was neat, with mulch beds lining the front walk, a covered back patio, and an outdoor kitchen complete with two large grills and a big navy blue umbrella that shaded the cooking area. The yard continued for a few hundred feet and then the woods took over. There was a path that split in two directions, one going toward the other hyena home and the other straight into the woods. Crux took the path to the right, which forked after a while, and he turned down the left path.
After about ten minutes of leisurely walking, the path ended in a circular clearing with a large pit in the center that had burnt wood in it from a past fire.
“This is our baro’s fire pit. We’re not tied to the full moon like wolves; we shift when we feel like it. Dante’s clan shifts on the full moon because of their mate, so we have been shifting then as well. Sometimes we burn carcasses to honor our ancestors.”
She liked that they would shift with her and she wouldn’t be alone in an unfamiliar area. She stared down into the pit, which was about four feet deep and eight feet wide.
“The pack I grew up with celebrated the full moons with a bonfire. The alpha would be the last one to shift. When the whole pack had shifted except for him, he would light the bonfire with a torch and everyone would howl. Then he would shift and lead the hunt.” She’d hunted for two years with her home pack, free to go anywhere in her shift and hunt anything she wanted. The last six years she’d had to shift and suffer being chained up in the backyard like a dog because her mate believed she’d run away. Never getting a chance to run free in her shift had left her emotions riled up and her body aching every full moon.
Crux touched her shoulder and she looked up at him. She realized that she hadn’t flinched when he touched her.
“The full moon is in a couple of weeks. There’s plenty of small, quick animals to hunt around here, and deer, too.”
“Sounds great,” she said, smiling up into his beautiful jade eyes. Freedom in her human form and her wolf form didn’t just sound great, it sounded like the most fantastic thing she’d ever heard in her life.
Chapter 8
When Crux and Sydney walked back into the house, Orion was waiting for them in the family room. He patted the space next to him. Immediately she tensed and her blue eyes filled with worry. He put her fears to rest right away. “It’s nothing bad, sweetheart. Dante was able to get in touch with the relo group yesterday, and they forwarded on your information to your cousin. When we were there, he got a text from your cousin asking for you to give her a call.”
She relaxed quickly. “Oh!”
Crux sat down on the coffee table. “When was the last time you talked to your cousin?”
She looked thoughtful. “My mother and her cousin were close when they were younger. My cousin, her name is Jan, met a wolf in college who was from a pack in Alaska, and she followed him up there. I always got cards from her at Christmas and my birthday, but I haven’t seen her since I was fourteen or fifteen.”
Orion knew it was luck that the relo group had gotten Sydney’s background information and found Jan. From what Dante had told them, most she-wolves that were relocated had no family that could, or would, help them.
He opened the saved numbers he had inputted on his cell, found Jan’s, and handed it to her. She pressed the button to dial the number and looked at him tentatively. He smiled encouragingly, even though he didn’t feel like smiling. Her contact with her cousin could only mean she would be leaving that much faster. Only a day with her, and already she was the center of his thoughts. He hadn’t liked leaving the house for the morning to work on their schedules for the next few weeks, even though he knew she was safe and under Crux’s watchful eye.
“Jan?” Sydney asked, her voice trembling slightly.
With his extra-sensory hearing through his hyena nature, he was able to hear everything that was said. He didn’t want to eavesdrop though, so he stood and motioned to Crux, and the two left her to have some privacy.
He opened the refrigerator and pulled out two sodas, handing one to Crux. Popping the top, Orion said, “Did she say anything about her past while you were out walking today?”
Crux shook his head. “Not really. She told me about the pack she grew up in and their full moon celebrations.”
Sterling came up from the den, and when Orion explained that she was speaking to her cousin, he frowned deeply and leaned against the counter. Orion was a little jealous that Sterling was the one that had been able to help her with her nightmares, but he didn’t begrudge him the time spent with her. They stood in silence for several minutes, and then Sydney called for him. He returned to the family room and found her crying, holding the phone out.
As Orion lifted the phone to his ear, Sterling came into the room, glowering like he could physically destroy whatever had made Sydney cry. He stopped just a foot from her and held his hand out, and it hung there for a long moment before she fell into his arms and wept. Orion forced himself to concentrate on the voice on the other end of the line.
Jan said, “Is Sydney okay? She just started crying and I told her to find someone for me to talk to.”
Orion said, “My brother is helping her calm down. She’s pretty shaken up. My name is Orion Stone. My brothers and I rescued her.”
Jan breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for helping my cousin, Orion. I’m certain that I upset her further than she already was, but I asked if she wanted me to tell you what I found out and she said yes.”
“Okay,” Orion said, watching as Sterling maneuvered Sydney to the couch and sat down next to her. Crux came in and knelt on the floor in front of her.
Jan wove a tale of a young woman who got pregnant and had a child that she never wanted. She treated the child like dirt, never physically abusing her but hurting her all the same. “I offered to let Syd come and live with me and join my pack when she was eighteen, but Maggie told me that she’d already made arrangements for Syd to live somewhere else. When I pressed her about it, she refused to tell me any more and then stopped taking my calls. I called the night of Syd’s eighteenth birthday, hoping to be able to talk to Syd about leaving her mom and coming to stay with me so she could have some freedom and be happy, and was told she was already off to college. I called many times over the next year, trying to get answers, but never got any. And then one day I got a call from the alpha of Maggie’s pack. Maggie had been killed in a car accident. I flew there with my mate and talked to the police, and they believed that it wasn’t an accident at all, that Maggie had been murdered. I think that’s why Syd’s so upset right now. She never knew that her mother had been killed.”
“Shit,” Orion said, glancing at Sydney. She was curled up against the arm of the couch, resting her head on her bent arm and holding Sterling’s hand so tightly that her knuckles were white.
“Exactly. There wasn’t much in the way of money except for a small insurance claim that would have gone to her mate, George. He skipped town as soon as the police started investigating and they haven’t seen him since. I immediately asked about Sydney, and after a wh
ile, with some help from the police, I got the alpha to tell me that Syd’s mom sold her to another alpha to become his grandson’s mate. He didn’t know who the alpha was or where the pack was located. Only George knew, and he was long gone. I hired several private detectives, but it was like she just disappeared. I worried,” Jan’s voice cracked and she paused for a moment before continuing, “I thought she might have been killed. I couldn’t believe that Maggie did such a cruel thing to her. If she were alive, I’d rip her to pieces. But I wanted to thank you for rescuing her. When the relo group called my alpha because a relative of mine was in trouble, I knew it was Syd. I just wish she could come now. As it is, we’re not going to be able to leave or have her come here until the end of October. She said she was okay with staying with you guys that long. Is it okay with you? I can contact the relo group and ask them to find a pack for her to stay with.”
Orion’s beast roared in his mind and he barely managed to withhold the snarl. “She’s welcome to stay with us, Jan. We’ll take good care of her.”
“Good. My mate has a contact that was going to make Syd fake identification so she could start her life over. If you give me your address, I’ll ask the male to just send the items to you so she can have them now.” She asked him to take a picture of Sydney and send it to her by text so it could be used to make the photo ID.
Orion gave her their address, and she promised to get it out as soon as possible. After reassuring her that Sydney was okay and promising to have her call in a few days, Orion ended the call and sat down on the coffee table, absorbing the information Jan had just shared. Of all the scenarios that he’d considered for how Sydney had come to be in such a horrible situation, a cruel betrayal by her mother wasn’t even on the list.
