I woke up again in a strange room, this one softly lit by a lamp in the corner, but I lay in a comfortable bed instead of sitting on a hard chair. Everything hurt — my back burned with an unhealthy fire, and my muscles ached all the way to my bones. Memories came back to me in a blur of faces and sounds and smells, but panic didn't follow. I vaguely remembered a girl with wild dark hair sitting in the chair next to the door, though it seemed I was alone when I woke.
Trying to sit up only created spikes of pain in my back, and I bit back a cry. When I tried to roll to my feet, I nearly fell. Before I could try again, the door cracked open and light flooded the room. I braced for more bad news, more fighting, someone dangerous, but instead the big blonde guy from before — the lion — eased into the room. He turned on another lamp so I could see better but wasn't blinded, and smiled. "You're awake. How do you feel?"
"Terrible," I said, but it came out more of a croak. And I wore someone else's clothes. His clothes. The entire room smelled like him. I was in his bedroom, in his bed. My thoughts clicked a little too slowly. I started to move again, needing to get space, but the pain in my back erupted and I froze, not wanting to cry out.
He took a deep breath but didn't move. "My name is Edgar. I don't know how much you remember, but you're free. The guys who sold you are dead. We found a bag with your name on it in their rooms, I figured that was yours?"
I managed to nod, still watching him warily.
"Good. There weren't many clothes in it, though." He shifted his feet, almost nervous, and I held my breath. Edgar gestured around the room. "You were hurt during the fight, so we put you in here to make sure you could rest. The clothes you wore were ruined for the most part, so my brother's mate put you in some of mine."
Brother's mate? "The girl with the weird eyes?"
A smile made him look younger, less hardened. "Yes. That's Eloise. She's a gorgon — part Medusa. She paralyzes people, on purpose and on accident, so we had her guard you. Plus, she was madder than a wet hen and we didn't want her to misfire."
"Great," I said, a little weakly. A Medusa? Who the hell were these people? "Who are you?"
"I'm Edgar. Edgar Chase." He cleared his throat, then pointed at the side table next to the bed. "There are some painkillers in the bottle over there. You haven't healed much, though, so our medic might need to bandage your back again."
Painkillers. I glanced at the small bottle, then shook my head and steeled myself. I'd been through worse. I'd been in far more pain and managed to fight through it. I couldn't let this guy see me so weak and afraid. Weakness would get me killed. It didn't matter that his scent, the way he moved in the room, reassured me rather than making me panic. He didn't worry me, didn't make me nervous. I braced myself for the pain and gritted my teeth, forcing myself to sit up so I could face him a little more like an equal. I should have been worried that he didn't worry me more.
"No pills," I said, and my voice came out like gravel. I still felt disoriented from whatever that damn alpha gave me, and the room blurred around the edges even with the extra light. But deep down, part of the disorientation also felt like relief. I felt safe, for the first time in a very long time, even if the rational part of my brain knew there was no good reason to feel that way. The wolf part of me wanted to curl up with him in bed, but the wolverine part of me didn't trust his motives. I cleared my throat and held up my hands to fend him off, even though he hadn't moved from where he stood near the door. "Just — explain what happened. Please."
"Okay. May I sit?" He didn't move until I nodded, which made me eternally grateful. He settled into the chair near the door, and I wondered where the crazy-eyed girl went. She might be a good friend to have, all things considered. But Edgar Chase, with the short blonde hair and the shadow of a tattoo behind his ear, looked like a good friend to the wolf. I tried to listen as he started talking, slow and easy, but something about his eyes kept distracting me. "They put you in the Auction, then knocked you out when you tried to escape. I fought for you and won, and we were in the back room to complete payment when you woke up. You said you hadn't gone willingly, and when the alpha tried to escape, we fought. My brothers and I, and our allies, were here to stop the Auction, or at least the part where women were sold against their will. So we fought them, and the organizers, and the rest of the men who wanted to buy girls."
My throat closed — the others. I vaguely remembered a dark room with other women, crying and whispering and plotting. I blinked to clear the memories and the sudden disorientation as that memory felt more real than the soft warmth and comfort of sitting in a room with him. "There are more, locked up. Waiting."
"We found them," he said, gently. So careful and calm, even though his knee bounced with barely-controlled energy. "They're fine. It's late, so we're staying here until tomorrow morning. They're in some of the suites down the hall, if you'd rather stay there?"
The knee-bouncing grew a touch wilder, and he gripped his other leg as if it might fly off completely. I considered the safer option, staying among the women, even if I knew that wasn't really possible. Something about him calmed the wolf part of me, at least, and so far he'd been more respectful and careful of me than anyone I could remember since...
I shoved away the thought and cleared my throat. "It's okay. If you don't mind me staying here. I'll stay here."
Relief washed over his expression and he relaxed a little in the chair. "I don't mind. At all. You're welcome to stay." He watched me closely for a few heartbeats, then took a deep breath. "We've cleared out all the people who were just here to meet someone, and we'll deal with the bad guys tomorrow. The Alphas Council will adjudicate what happens to them. Hopefully something distasteful. But we can talk more about that tomorrow. You need rest."
"Why did you fight for me?" The question escaped before I thought how it would sound, but once it was said, I couldn't unsay it.
Edgar looked thoughtful, at least, before he answered. His knee stopped jiggling when he thought. "Well, two reasons. You seemed familiar, and I wanted the chance to see if we knew each other from somewhere. And you were determined to make your own mind about where you went, particularly when you threw that guy over your shoulder, and I didn't like the idea of those guys telling you what would happen. So I figured I could convince them to stay out of your way."
It all sounded good, but I still lay in his bed. He'd still bought me. Part of me rebelled against feeling anything for this man, even knowing my heart died with Jake years ago. Edgar might say all the right things, and give me space, but that didn't make him any different from the other assholes in the crowd who wanted to buy a woman against her will. I moved slowly to shift my weight, desperate to ease the ache in my lower back, and he nearly jumped out of the chair.
I squinted through the light and the pain, still wobbling, and began to reconsider the painkillers. It might be worth it, just to sleep. "They gave me wolfsbane. So I couldn't shift."
"The medic thought that was why you weren't healing." Edgar ran a hand over his short hair, and a tattoo peeked from his wrist as his shirt moved. "It should wear off soon. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you want to shower or change?"
It was almost enough to make me smile. He seemed so desperate to help me, and for no reason that I could understand. "I think I'm okay. For now."
"Good." He glanced over his shoulder at the door, and I wondered who waited outside. More of his brothers, maybe, or girls with crazy eyes. Edgar eased to his feet. "I'll be out there, if you need anything. Just shout and I'll hear you."
"Are you —" I stopped myself, flushing with embarrassment as he paused and looked back at me. I felt like an idiot, some child scared of the dark, but there was no hope for getting any rest if I lay there alone. Maybe I'd been able to sleep earlier because the girl sat in the room with me, and her breathing reminded me I wasn't alone. I chewed my lower lip and concentrated on tracing the stitching on the heavy down comforter. "I don't like the dark. They kept me alone, in the dark, and I can't — Would you mind, I mean... If you could stay for a little while, I wouldn't mind. Would appreciate it."
Imagine, asking a stranger to sleep in the same room with me, just so I wouldn't scare myself with bad dreams. I rubbed my forehead, already so disconcerted I couldn't look at him as Edgar took a deep breath. "Of course I'll stay. Of course. This couch looks more comfortable than the floor out there anyway." And he smiled.
I flushed as I smiled back, then tried to compose myself. I couldn't let my guard down yet. Definitely not around him and his easy smile and soft voice. This one was more dangerous than any of those loud assholes. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome." Edgar moved quickly, efficiently, to pull a couple of pillows and a spare blanket from the top of the closet, making a simple bed on the couch before kicking off his shoes. He surveyed the room once more, then froze as I groaned and tried to lay down once more. "Do you need anything?"
"New skin," I wheezed, but propped myself up on my side, leaning forward against a pillow to relieve the pressure on my back.
He smiled but hid it, turning off one of the lamps before fussing with his cell phone. "I can't help with that, but the wolfsbane should wear off pretty soon and you'll feel much better."
I both hoped and feared he was right. When I closed my eyes, though, I wasn't in the hotel room. I was in a much darker, more dangerous place. It took a long time before I relaxed in the half-light, even with the rough cadence of Edgar's breathing.