“Hey, you…” Torn from her thoughts, Sarah felt her heart jump into her throat when she blinked and the man was suddenly positioned directly in front of her. He wore a weird expression and once she looked him in the eye he wouldn’t let her go.
“I like your hair. It reminds me of sunshine. Can I touch it?” At the admission Sarah went wide eyed. She’d heard that particular cluster of words before. Her hair was still hidden under her hoodie, too, so he couldn’t see it. How, then, did he know? For a while she just stared, oblivious to the people watching them, until the man knelt in front of her.
“I won’t hurt you. I just want to touch your hair. It looks so soft. Come over here.” Leaning forward, Sarah moved her hands to stabilize herself on what should’ve been concrete as memories slammed into her mind’s eye.
This was the boy.
He was
the
boy.
When her palms touched nothing but air she almost fell until his long, bony fingers caught her shoulders. His long arms wrapped around her, turning her so her back rested against his chest. Then, ever so gently, he peeled back her hood to run his fingertips from her hairline to where her tie was.
“So soft… Still exactly what I remember, Sarah.” Whispering in her ear, he inhaled deeply before sitting down to carefully pull out her hair tie. The feeling of his body against hers, of his hand in her hair and his breath on her cheek, was causing her tears to slip out from behind her eyelids unobstructed. She felt such a potent mix of relief and some other, indefinable emotion that she could barely breathe. After a moment, though, a name floated to the surface and escaped a small, crackling whimper.
“Mikael…”
Hearing Sarah, Mikael smiled small before burying his face in her beautiful, thick curls to cry with some sort of privacy. Twelve years had passed since the last time he saw her, and even though he’d only been thirteen at the time he knew. He knew she was the one. Trembling with the force of the emotions roiling inside him, he couldn’t contain his sob and his fingers shook as he combed them through her hair.
“You s- stop-ped coming-g to see m- me…” Lifting her face to look at Mikael, Sarah reached up to wipe her eyes, but even then her eyelids were sunken. She’d always, and without fail, fell asleep when he would play with her hair. It was the only time she felt calm enough to do so without having to pass out. Still, her grogginess didn’t take away from the sweet smile he rained down on her.
“I know. My uncle sent me away. But I’m here now, Sarah.” Humming softly, Sarah accepted that answer with no resistance. Mikael was right, after all, he was here now. They were together. He wouldn’t let her get hurt even when he wasn’t around, so being so close was only the better side of the coin.
“Jesus Christ… I’m so sorry, Sarah. I would’ve taken you with me if I could’ve…” Squeezing Sarah’s smallish body, Mikael disentangled his hand from her curls to rub his eyes with his sleeve. There were so many things he wanted to say but it seemed to get stuck in his throat.
He was a horrible mate and she didn’t even care. It was as if twelve years went by in the blink of an eye for her and she’d only seen him the day before.
“They hurt me…” Mumbling, Sarah turned her face into the soft cotton of Mikael’s shirt to take a deep breath. He still smelled the same, and she liked that. While his hand moved back to her hair she could hear his heart beat stutter in his chest before he whispered a response.
“I know. I know. I’m never going to leave you alone again, Sarah.”
Standing up with his mate in his arms, Mikael finally glanced around to find his Beta, the Alpha and a woman he didn’t know watching him intently. He couldn’t combat the wave of shame that flowed over him, and he didn’t even try to cover it up. Adjusting his glasses just in time to watch Ryan cross his arms over his chest, he knew his superior would be trying to put the pieces together. Even though the others looked clueless, it only made him feel worse knowing even one person knew of his monumental failure.
Mikael had told his story to Ryan when he first stumbled into Alpha Jared’s territory after running away from his parent’s pack when he was thirteen years old. His uncle wanted him to ‘get out into the world’ and decide for himself if he wanted to continue the ugly business of human trafficking. Of course, he might’ve seemed like a horrible person on the outside, but he loved Mikael like his own son. After four months of being ignored by his parents and bullied by their pack members, he wrote his uncle a letter that he was joining a different pack and making something of himself. They kept in contact up until the raid when the old man was summarily executed.
Training his eyes on Sarah, Mikael was glad his uncle kept his word. He couldn’t have let her go, but she wasn’t as bad off as the others.
Of course, Ryan knew everything including the blatant fact that Mikael had left his mate there, all alone and in pain, for the last twelve years. The Beta also understood that he couldn’t just go back and ask for her, though. Unless she was rescued, he’d have to pay for her and then he’d be no better than sex slave owners. Even if he gave her freedom and burned the contract there would always be a record of the sale. She would always be a slave.
“I’m glad we finally found her, Mike.” Once again look up, Mikael smiled small at Ryan before releasing a breath. For the past six months they’d been going from pack to pack that had been involved in the raid and had taken in refugees. It’d all been for this moment.
“So, wait. This whole agreement was about finding one girl?” At the assumption Mikael frowned deeply but Ryan only shrugged carelessly.
“It was one of the main reasons. It was also easier than invading you like we planned to do before Mike came up with this idea. I’m pretty sure Sarah wouldn’t care, of course, but he guilt tripped himself into finding a less stressful solution.” Amusement colored Ryan’s voice and Mikael scowled lightly. This was only one part of a much larger scheme that Alpha Jared had in his quest to become the Alpha of Alphas in the United States. It’d taken a lot of debate and explaining to get his superiors on board with this plan, too. Not only would Ryan be able to scope the place out, but also disarm any hostile thoughts before Alpha Jared gave the signal to attack.
While it wasn’t conventional, it also wasn’t expected. Most packs used methods of attack that were tried and true- but also extremely easy to spot and counter.
“Well, there is that, I guess. So, when will we expect a get together?”
“Soon. I’ll inform Alpha Jared of your cooperation when I get back.”
When Sarah woke up there were still fingers twirling her hair, and she let out a soft groan before rolling to nuzzle Mikael’s shirt. It felt good, better than good, to know she hadn’t been dreaming even though it would’ve been one of the nicer ones.
“Morning, Sarah.” Glancing up with a roll of her eye, she felt her lips tug upwards as he sat with her head in his lap.
“We’re almost home. Been driving all night.” The information made Sarah sigh before turning and twisting until she was on her back against the leather seat of the car she was in. Mikael had changed since the last time she’d looked at him, but it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, she felt like she could stare at his face forever and never get bored. He clearly didn’t work out religiously like the males she’d seen in Julia’s pack, but he was far from useless. She could see it in his eyes- that he had a sturdy place in his pack and people respected him.
“You came back for me.” It was a simple statement but to Sarah it carried the weight of the world. Even after all this time Mikael hadn’t forgotten about her or given up. He’d worked and worked, and when he was done he found her. At her crackling whisper, her voice hoarse and scratchy from misuse, he smiled softly and brushed his fingertips down her cheek.
“Yeah, Sarah, I did. We’re together now.” Upbeat music played softly but Sarah ignored it in favor of Mikael’s voice. It was much more pleasant to listen to. Ever since she’d been rescued she’d had to suffer through people skirting around her in conversation but he spoke directly to her. He acknowledged her. He spoke slowly and clearly, not under his breath in a grumble that she’d hear despite how muddy it was. Rarely did anyone talk to her before or after her liberation in such a way.
“Don’t fuck in my car, Mike. We’ll be on pack grounds in about ten minutes so keep it PG.” Breaking eye contact to glare at Ryan, Mikael scowled lightly even as his Beta grinned, hiding his laugh behind a cough. Before he could offer some witty response, though, Sarah pushed herself up to peer out the window. Almost distractedly he pulled her tumble of curls over her shoulder so he could look at her face. She was seven when he’d first laid eyes on her, and he could still see it in her slightly puffy cheeks and small ears.
Everything else about her had grown, but he’d gotten a lucky break because she was wearing such thick, loose clothes. Anything else and he would’ve had a hard time on the ride back to his pack.
“You’ll like it, Sarah. Promise.” She didn’t look at him as the trees began to thin, but her fingers flexed against his thigh. Anxiety built in her veins, much like the time Sarah had arrived at her previous pack. It wasn’t necessarily destructive but still made her mightily uncomfortable because she didn’t know what to expect. Julia had once tried to explain that there were different kinds of packs, but she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea.
The car came to a stop on gravel and Sarah wasn’t sure she wanted to get out only to be exposed once again to unfamiliar things. Her memory told her of the fear she felt when she was first in such a big, open space. At the time she’d nearly passed out in a desperate bid to condense her surroundings, and that same emotion made her fingers tremble. It was becoming overwhelming even though the door remained firmly shut.
“N- no…” Shaking her head viciously, she clamored backwards until her butt hit the door on the other side of the car. It took only a moment for her to pull her hood over her eyes and curl into a ball, but her breath came in rasping gulps.
“Hey, hey- Sarah, it’s okay. I’m here now. Nothing will happen out there.” Mikael gently wrapped his hands around her biceps but not even that could quell the near hysteria Sarah felt. She would get pulled out of the car and watched. The people here would stare at her in varying degrees of pity and disgust. No matter how badly she wanted to run and hide she’d be poked and prodded with painful things.
“No! No- no! No-!” Screaming her fear, Sarah tried to break free, but Mikael wasn’t going to let her go. Her chest rose and fell hard and rapid and her feet kicked out but even then he wasn’t deterred.
She’d rather be dead than go back into that room with its cold instruments.
“Sarah, listen to me, honey. Listen to my voice very carefully…” Freezing up like a deer in headlights, Sarah squeezed her eyes shut even as the deep, soothing voice caressed the crevices of her brain. It was beckoning her, hypnotizing her with strength and assuredness. Even her wolf lifted its head in intrigue.
“You’re safe. No one can look at you. No one can see you. No one can hurt you. You’re completely, utterly and totally safe. Mikael is with you. You trust him. When you’re with him the world is a small cage. You trust him in your world.”
That voice…
That voice was right. Sarah really was safe. Mikael hadn’t been there when they stuck those horrible things inside her. Cracking her eye open, she stared into his dark eyes and slowly began to relax. The way he was looking at her, with worry, made her feel soft in her chest in a way she’d never felt before unless he was there. She trusted him.
So why was she resisting him?
The question didn’t have an answer but Sarah unfurled her fingers in a silent plea for him.
When Mikael managed to get his mate into his lap, he shrugged off his suit jacket to drape it over her, shielding her. He wasn’t exactly sure why she’d calmed down so fast, but he didn’t really question it. After all, Sarah was bound to have some issues and it was entirely his fault. Even though he was doing what was best in the long run that knowledge would never abolish the guilt he felt for leaving her in the first place. Popping open the door with a frown, he glanced around with the urge to sigh heavily. Nobody was around, and the usually bustling pack house was muted.
Carefully closing the door to Ryan’s SUV, Mikael started for the front of the house before Alpha Jared appeared in his vision.
“Welcome back.” Ducking his head respectfully, Mikael didn’t take too long eyeballing his superior. Jared was a big guy with an absolutely monstrous wolf and the past two days didn’t make a difference on him. His light brown beard was neatly trimmed, his eyes were sharper than steel and even being near him made Mikael nervous. It was a purely instinctual feeling, though, because his Alpha wasn’t the kind of man to hurt him just for looking. Despite his fearsome reputation and the atrocities, he knew Jared wasn’t stupid. Being hot headed didn’t serve him towards his end goal.
“Thank you, Alpha. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Peeking out from the jacket as the words flew over her head, Sarah went a little wide eyed at the Alpha that stood nearby. He towered over her and she’d never seen anyone so brawny. His hair was long enough to be kept in a bun and in the morning light she could see the feint definition of scars he’d accumulated from fighting.