Wolfie immediately stuck his nose between her legs and she snapped at him, not wanting him to touch the swollen and aching part of her. He yipped and jumped back, circling her until he neared her head. She lowered hers, showing him she was sorry for her innate reaction, for pushing her new mate away. He approached at her submission, licking her ears and head, and she returned the favor, displaying her love with each pass of her tongue over his thick fur.
Wolfie barked and hopped away, dashing a few feet before repeating the process, as if begging her to follow. And Cougar gladly did. This time, she let him take the lead, bounding through the forest, following their trail back toward the house, the cool wind blowing in their faces.
Matching her stride for stride, Cougar growled when the scent of another wolf drifted into her nostrils. Male. Not shifted. Still man.
She bounded ahead of Wolfie, cutting him off and forcing him to stop. Cougar growled lower still, pure menace imbued in the animalistic sound, keeping him still. Her tail flicked of its own accord, anger and protectiveness pushing her toward the edge. Stranger wolf wouldn’t hurt her new mate. Cougar could and would submit, hurt, and even kill, if needed. She’d done it before and she could do it again—if she were left no choice.
The crackle of leaves and twigs being broken reaching her acute ears caused her to immediately turn her attention to the man coming toward them. Teeth bared, back on her haunches, she was ready to pounce. Cougar dug her claws into the cold-hardened earth, just waiting for the man to make a wrong move.
The stranger coming into full view made her muscles tense. A single flicker of aggression and she would rip his throat out.
“Brand?” the unknown wolf called to her mate. Knew his name. But it could be a trick. She had to be alert. Malcolm had tricked her. Hurt her. Locked her up. More times than she cared to remember, and he’d been someone she knew.
Cougar growled and advanced…cautiously.
Thick fingers dug into the fur at her nape, grabbing skin and scruffing her, holding her back. She turned her head and nipped, teeth coming inches from the tender skin of her shifted mate restraining her. She jerked her head, mad as hell at Brand for keeping her from protecting them.
Cougar against this wolf. Cougar would win. Cougar killed
Bear.
“Easy, Cougar. Just my brother. He’s not going to hurt me. Easy now.”
Some of the tension faded, but nevertheless, she narrowed her eyes at the man, this wolf, Brand’s brother. She sniffed the air, separating the scents of her mate from this stranger. He smelled like her mate, but not as good, not as appealing.
Cougar finally relaxed and Brand released her. She turned and rubbed her muzzle against him, nearly toppling him with the force. He chuckled and hugged her neck before rolling to his feet from his kneeling position, hand stroking the top of her head while he addressed his brother.
“Dean, this is Cougar, my Simi’s counterpart.”
Not ready to shift back as her mate had, Cougar approached the other man, this Dean, sniffing the air as she went, searching for any sign of malice, but she found none. Cougar nudged his outstretched hand and allowed him to pet her, fingers gently combing her fur.
“Nice to meet you, Cougar.”
She turned, flicking her tail, showing him she wasn’t afraid of the new wolf, and returned to Brand’s side.
Dean crossed his arms, staring at Brand. “
Your
Simi? Would this be the woman who caused all the trouble? The reason I’ve had to deal
all
morning with leaders of Pack and Flock? Not to mention, the humans? Hmm?”
Cougar fixed her gaze on Dean. She wondered if Brand’s brother knew what really happened. When the other man’s met her stare, some of the color left his cheeks. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair, a gesture quite similar to Brand’s. “Okay, okay. I won’t pass judgment until I have the whole story. Can we go to the house? Talk through some of this?”
“That work for you, Cougar?” Brand asked, beautiful in his naked glory.
She sniffed, a bit annoyed, but in the end acquiesced, then nudged Brand’s leg.
Brand started forward and toward the house, his hand resting on her head, stroking her fur the entire way. The only time they weren’t touching was when he was gathering their clothing along the way. Even that seemed too long.
Arriving at the patio door, Brand sent Dean on his way. “Go inside, we’ll meet you in the den.”
Dean arched his brow. “Really?”
“Yes, really. My mate, my rules. Regardless of your status, until she’s comfortable, she shifts with no one but me.”
Brand’s brother tilted his head in an almost imperceptible nod of agreement before turning and leaving them to go into the house.
Their
house. Simi and Cougar had a place to call home again. A great one. Providing her with shelter and food and warmth, but most importantly, a kind and caring mate. One that was true and real, unlike anything she’d ever had with Malcolm. She swore, then and there, that she would never be a slave, not for anyone, ever again.
Cougar relinquished her hold, reminding Simi to stay alert, to protect herself against the brother, this Dean, if need be. Cougar didn’t trust him, not entirely, just yet. But if their mate did, shouldn’t she?
Brand held her clothes, staring at her naked body, taking every inch of her in. But his gaze was warm and gentle, full of love and affection. And he never pushed her. She liked that. And though she had mixed feelings about it, he was also giving her time. To heal, to learn to trust again. Hopefully, to love again.
Both clothed and out of the cold, they padded through the house, hand in hand. He touched her constantly, not intimately, but just enough to remind her that he was there.
They entered the den, a comfortable place with huge couches that invited her to take a long nap wrapped in Brand’s arms. An enormous flat screen television graced one wall, broadcasting the day’s news. Simi listened to the reporter talking about an escaped bear and such, the zoo official making promises to never let this happen again, protesters calling for change, and then…then an image of Dean’s face filled the screen. She made out the title “Mayor,” in bold, white lettering, against a blue background on the bottom of the screen, just below his shoulders.
The reason for Dean’s frustration from earlier sank in, and oddly enough, it sort of soothed Simi and Cougar. She understood why. Because he’d dealt with her mess, her kill, on a public and political level.
She approached, sliding to the end of the couch closest to the chair that Dean occupied. “I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble. He…” She bit her lip before she continued, “He left me with no choice. I defended myself. He would’ve…”
Brand settled in next to her, arm around her waist and tugging her into his lap, pressing her head to his shoulder, his shirt absorbing her tears. “Easy, little one. Slow and easy. Tell us what happened. Dean is Alpha of Pack, so if you’re willing, I think he should know what happened.”
“You haven’t told him?”
“No, Simi. I wanted you to have the opportunity first.”
She struggled, wanted out of his arms. It embarrassed her, shamed her and Cougar, how she’d allowed Malcolm to mistreat them for so long.
Brand tightened his hold, not letting her flee. “I know, I know what you think, but it’s not true. It’s not your fault. I don’t know what that shifter did to you, but look, you survived it, whatever it was. That’s what matters the most.”
“I also think that the dead body of
that
shifter in the shelter also matters just a little bit.” Dean’s sarcasm was hard to miss. Brand growled at his brother, a sound she’d only heard once before, when they’d fought Bear.
Dean threw up his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The stress of this re-election…damn it…everything’s just getting to me right now.” He sighed and slumped into the chair. “This peanut gallery’s listening and will keep his mouth shut, okay, Simi?”
She nodded and laid her head back on Brand’s shoulder, closing her eyes, letting memories that she’d buried long ago resurface, apologizing to Cougar before she pulled the images from their mind. “Bear’s name was Malcolm Hastings.” She furrowed her brows. “My parents introduced us when I was fourteen. He was sixteen then. I guess we flirted some, like kids often do. But before I knew it, my parents forced me to spend an inordinate amount of time with him. It wasn’t long after that he told me we were mates.” She smoothed her palm over Brand’s chest when Wolfie growled, soothing him. She frowned and breathed deep, adding, “My parents sent me off with him when I turned sixteen, I think. And then, I was moving in with him before I even knew what was really going on.”
Her parents had literally shoved her out the door, clothes in tow, telling her she belonged to Malcolm now. That she wasn’t their problem anymore. That she was no longer wanted…or needed by them.
Shock clearly displayed on his face, Dean asked, “They just told you to leave? At sixteen?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I was told that I belonged to him, to Malcolm. That I was,” she glanced at Dean, “his property. Uh-huh. He would call me that. Said his parents had pretty much
bought
me for him. I didn’t understand, but the male members of Pride demanded I listened to my parents. It was my duty to do as I was told.” Simi shrugged, her neck and shoulders tense. “So, confused and scared, I felt I had no choice but to go with him. At first he was kind, I guess…but then a year passed, and the yelling started. Then came the rules. Tons of them. One being I could never let Cougar out, ever. Made me do all the chores, cooking, cleaning…screamed at me for not doing it right and doing it too slow, that I was a worthless excuse for a mate. Wasn’t allowed to have a single friend…couldn’t have contact with anyone.”
Brand stroked her back, helping to ease the kinks in her muscles. “Then came the hitting. He kept hitting and hitting and hitting. He didn’t have to have a reason…I was his property to do with as he pleased. Cougar tried to tell me that mates didn’t hit. That it was wrong. I tried to listen, I really tried…”
“Shh. It is wrong, little cat. Very, very wrong,” her mate murmured in her ear, pressing a reassuring kiss to her temple.
“One day, he nearly killed us. Beat us too much. Broken bones, collapsed lung, so much blood. He was so mad too…screamed at the top of his lungs that it was my fault he had to take us to the hospital. That I was weak and stupid.” Simi closed her eyes for a measured moment as her mind replayed the violent images from that frightful day. “When we got better, healed enough, Cougar said we had to run, hide, escape. That if we were to stay, he wouldn’t stop until we were dead. So for once in my lifetime, I listened to her and we ran as fast as we could. I was so scared, but Cougar was so strong.”
Dean rubbed his face, palm scratching against the stubble on his cheek. “And then he found you at Satisfied.”
She nodded. “I don’t know how, and I guess it doesn’t matter much now, but he did find me. Came to finish what he’d started. But Cougar fought and killed him. And…I’m not sorry for it.” She jutted her chin. “Stubborn,” as Malcolm had called it, but he would never be able to call Simi that ever again.
The alpha wolf leaned forward, the change in his demeanor distinct, power radiating from every pore. “And you shouldn’t be. I’m sorry I was upset earlier. You had every right to defend yourself. Your life.” Dean’s attention moved away from her and fell on Brand. “I’m calling it a valid kill. There’ll be no punishment handed down, but we should acknowledge her as a member of Pack at the Gathering tonight.”
Simi shook her head. “I belong to Pride.”
Alpha’s expression softened. “You’re with Brand now. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re with us. But it’s your choice. Should you choose to become a member of Pack, just know that we’ll stand behind you to the end.”
In awe, she snapped her attention to Brand. “Really? Pride can’t take me back?”
Dean snorted. “Would you want that? Where were they when it mattered the most? Look, Pack is strong, and we’ll be here for you…no matter what.” Alpha leaned forward, hand touching her leg to lure her focus. “Simi, how long were you with Malcolm? How old are you now?”
She bunched her eyebrows, mind whirling, forgetting her age for a moment. “Thirty-five. So…way too long.”
Alpha’s breath came forward in a gust, Cougar inhaling the scent, remembering it as the unique smell belonging to Pack’s supreme protector. His voice hoarse, he whispered, “About nineteen years since your parents…” Dean didn’t finish the sentence, but by the distressed look on his face, Simi guessed he disapproved with their actions.
“Yeah. Like I said, way too long.” Her mate’s arms tightened, holding her close.
Dean rolled to his feet and held out his hand. She took it, allowing herself to be pulled to hers, and they embraced in a gentle hug. “Welcome to Pack, little sister.”
Then and there, she felt accepted, cared for. A mantle of belonging settled over her. One that she’d never known when she’d been a part of Pride. Making her feel whole, cracks from years of abuse beginning to be filled, the healing started.
Dean kissed her temple and released her back into Brand’s care. “I’ll see you two tonight at the house? At six.”
Brand nodded.
“Good. Flock’s attending.” Dean winked at her. “It seems you’ve made quite the impression on the leader’s son. They too have offered to be Simi’s protectors.”
“Like hell.” Brand growled and she soothed him with soft touches, petting him.
“I agree. We’ll let him know she’s now part of Pack.”
Simi snuggled into Brand’s body, absorbing the warmth he had to offer.
“One more thing,” Dean said, bringing his index finger up to his lips.
“Yes?” Brand asked.
“Not you—Simi. What lies did my brother tell you for you to be with him?”
“Shut up. Leave before I have to hurt you,” Brand fired back.
Simi laughed, smiling so wide her mouth hurt.
“I’m going, but not because I’m scared of you.” Staring at Brand, he added, “I have things to do and people much better looking than you to see. Bye, Simi, bye pain in my ass. See the two of you at my place.”