Rain and tears mixed on her cheeks and dripped off Vivian’s chin as she stumbled her way through the forest, with only the nearby trees to hear her sobs.
She’d made a near fatal mistake today, one she’d thought would save her life, but it had brought only shame and pain.
Kissing Rafe had been pivotal for her, but it hadn’t shattered the Earth for him in the way she’d hoped it would. He’d eased away from her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and faced off with the bullies who had been teasing him about being gay.
He’d admitted to their accusations and destroyed her pre-teen crush in one swoop.
It had been foolish to think one kiss would make him want to mate her, would make his desires change. While it had been embarrassing, it paled compared to what was waiting for her when she got home.
Her father had heard of what she’d done, and rather than demand Rafe mate with her to save her reputation, he’d gone on a rampage about her stupidity.
She’d read one too many Victorian novels and fairytales where men had honor and decorum, and even a smattering of respect for women.
Her father’s words rang out in her mind as she bumbled over dirt and tree roots in the dark.
“You fucking whore! How could you do this to me! What did you think would happen? That I’d be proud? He’s a faggot and you threw yourself at him!”
“And he rejected her,” her brother had added with an amused snort.
“Get out of my house until you’ve learned to show me the respect I deserve, or I swear to God the second you turn eighteen, I’ll mate you off to the first of my friends that asks for you.”
The remembered threat had her crying all over again. How was she to escape this life?
Her face burned from where her father had backhanded her. Her clothing clung to her from the pouring rain she’d been tossed out in. And misery consumed her soul.
The light from Rafe’s cabin came into view, like a warm beacon. He might not be thrilled when she turned up at his door, but she knew he wouldn’t leave her to the elements.
She drew closer, making out the shapes of the small building. Black trim enhanced small square wood panel siding. The tidy covered porch called to her, offering some shelter from the elements. Two plastic chairs were under the overhang, with a corn broom between them and the green front door. The porch light was on, giving her a bit of hope on this dismal night. Her shoes were wet, nearly making her slip on the wooden planks beneath her.
Drawing a fortifying breath, she raised her hand and knocked.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Rafe who answered, but rather his best friend, Elliot. Hulking, giant six foot seven, Elliot.
Vivian took a step back, but Elliot took one look at her face and muttered, “Shit.”
Likely swollen, her face was probably turning a nasty shade of purple by now. She was about to ask for the homeowner when Elliot called into the house for Rafe.
Dark-haired, beautiful Rafe appeared. He sucked in a breath when he saw her. “Shit. Your dad do this because of what happened today?”
Nodding, she burst into another wave of tears.
He shut the door after her, and motioned for her to stand on the doormat and remove her shoes. Elliot rummaged for something in the kitchen freezer and returned with a bag of peas.
Taking the bag, she put it gently against her face, and glanced way up at him. “Thank you.”
The pity in his eyes was almost more than she could bear. People got out of the way when Elliot walked through a crowd, yet here he was, looming, staring down at her with compassion and worry.
Feeling like she needed to say something to ease his concern, she told him, “I’ll be okay. It’s not the first time. It’ll heal.”
His nostrils flared, and his jaw locked, and for a moment she was a little terrified, until he bent down and swept her off her feet. He strode through the cabin and deposited her on the bathroom’s threshold. “Rafe will get you something dry to wear.”
A few minutes later, she was standing in the bathroom in one of Rafe’s shirts. He was an eighteen-year-old wolf shifter; she was a twelve-year-old girl—the shirt swamped her, but it was warm and dry and smelled like Rafe.
She brought it to her nose and inhaled. Instantly, it brought her some measure of calm. She was safe here.
Placing the bag against her face once more, she ignored the mirror and turned toward the door, silently pulling it open.
In the small living room, Elliot was pacing, while Rafe sat in an orange and brown striped armchair that looked like it belonged in the 80s.
“We can’t let this sit, Rafe,” Elliot was saying. “He can’t get away with this!”
“There isn’t anything we can do right now,” Rafe’s voice was smooth and calming.
Elliot stopped his pacing and looked pointedly at Rafe. “Bullshit.”
“He’s pack beta, Elliot. You challenge him, and you challenge Thatcher. You want that? You really want to deal with that headache?”
“He hit her, Rafe! Her face is black and blue. She’s barely twelve years old! You want to just let him keep doing it? Turn a blind eye?”
“Of course not,” Rafe sighed, becoming irritated.
When she’d shown up, she hadn’t expected to ignite such a dramatic reaction from them. Challenging her dad, the pack beta, would be a big deal, a huge deal. It could get them killed, and that was the last thing she wanted. If Rafe was gone, so was any chance of salvation for her.
“Rafe’s right. It’ll be okay, Elliot. It isn’t like this all the time. I’ll just be more careful from now on.”
Elliot looked at her as though she were deranged. “That’s no way to live.”
“What I did today was foolish. And I’m sorry.”
Rafe stood up and crossed the room. “Don’t apologize.” With a knuckle beneath her chin, he raised her gaze to his. “What you did was brave and compassionate. I appreciated your concern. And I’ll always be your friend. You can always come to me, or Elliot, but right now, you’re young. You haven’t even gone through your first shift.”
“That’s coming soon,” she objected. Her first shift would soon arrive with the onset of her menstrual bleeding. She could sense it coming.
“Don’t wish away your innocence, or your youth. And please,” Rafe stressed his words, “don’t pin all your hopes on a man, on your mating. Please, try to figure out who you are first.”
She looked down at her bare feet. “He threatens to mate me off to awful people. His friends, or Jessop,” she said, referencing the pack alpha’s terrible offspring.
Rafe raised her chin once more. “That’s a long way off. He’d need Thatcher’s permission to do that before you turn eighteen. I think it’s an empty threat.”
Elliot snorted. “Rafe’s probably right on this one. Norman is full of hot air. You come to us if you’re worried, though.”
“Okay.”
Rafe pulled her in for a hug. “Is your dad going to come looking for you?”
“Not tonight. He told me not to come back until I showed him some respect.”
Elliot collapsed into the armchair Rafe had vacated. “He deserves no respect.”
Vivian hid her smile.
Rafe chuckled before nodding to the stairs. “Head up there and sleep.”
“But…”
“I’ll sleep on the couch and don’t even argue with me about that.”
Tears, this time happy ones, built in the corners of her eyes. “Thank you.” She glanced around him to Elliot. “Both of you. I promise I won’t make a habit of this.”
Elliot frowned. “You come for help whenever you need it, girl. You got that?”
When she didn’t answer, Rafe interjected. “That’s the promise we want from you. You come for help when you need it.”
Nodding, she blinked back tears. “Okay. Thank you.”
She grabbed Rafe for one more hug, needing the extra comfort.
Twenty minutes later, with her head on Rafe’s pillow and her body nestled between his sheets, she was nearly asleep when they started to argue.
“They can’t keep doing this!” Elliot hissed. “We can’t let it continue.”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, we do! You and I know it.”
“Keep your voice down,” Rafe demanded. “She’s sleeping.”
“The things Thatcher and his buddies get away with, it has to stop.”
“How?”
“You know how. It’s time, Rafe.”
“No, it’s not. I don’t want it.”
“Why not, Rafe? Why the fuck not?”
“I’m scared.”
There was silence for a moment.
“You think I’m not? He killed my dad. Your parents.”
Who? Vivian wondered. Who are they talking about?
“Doesn’t that terrify you? He wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to us.”
“He can’t,” Elliot stressed. “So what’s the real reason? Why are you being a chickenshit?”
“I. Don’t. Want. It.” Rafe whisper-roared the words, his venom strong. “I don’t fucking want it, Elliot. I don’t want this pack. I don’t want this. This isn’t what I want. Don’t you get that?”
They were quiet again.
She almost didn’t hear Rafe when he said, “It isn’t fair.”
“Heroes aren’t born, Rafe, they’re made. And that girl up there, she needs you. They all need you, despite what you think. Despite what you want.”
Vivian could imagine them, squared off, ideals very different. Desires unique, and needs unmet, just like the rest of the pack. Was Elliot trying to talk Rafe into mating with her? Sacrificing what he wanted for her happiness?
This morning that would have made her ecstatic, but now she wouldn’t sacrifice Rafe’s happiness. She would be better, perfectly behaved, and not give her father reason to mate her off. Maybe he’d even let her find her fated mate.
Hey, a girl could dream.
A noise downstairs drew her attention as one of them sat heavily on the couch. “Can you just go?”
“You have a duty to these people.”
“I need more time.”
“And until then?”
“We keep doing what we’re doing. Put out the fires, fly under the radar. Don’t give him a reason to eliminate us.”
“You could change all of this!”
Rafe sighed. “Could you just go? Please, just go home, Elliot.”
A moment later, the door shut. Rafe shuffled around downstairs, locking the door, running the faucet, opening and closing the freezer. Finally, he shut off the living room light and settled onto the couch.
The next morning Elliot and Rafe began construction on a treehouse, one just for her. A getaway for when she needed an escape.