arms. Her legs give way, and I hold her up, stroking her hair and whispering words in my native tongue. She will tell me what happened when she is ready, but for now she needs my strength.
She can have it.
When she is done, soft and pliant, I turn her and help her wash, scrubbing at the blood and dirt caked onto her beautiful skin until she shines like the most beautiful jewel in the world. She looks up at me when I am done with a soft smile on her mouth.
“There, perfect once again,” I murmur.
“Thank you,” she whispers, as we put her back together again. When we leave the shower, she is back to her usual, monstrous self. “I have no clothes, it’s a good job I don’t seem to get cold.”
“I would offer you mine…” I lift my shirt up and she snorts. It’s basically rags, so I leave it with her shirt, but slip on my trousers after she assures me she doesn’t want them.
“I don’t mind being naked, it makes me feel stronger...better. Like I know they can’t touch me, it’s our most vulnerable state yet when I feel the strongest,” she tells me as she grabs my hand and twines it with mine. “Let’s get our army, Jair.”
I love the way she says the name she has given me. Like a pet name, it has a softness in it that the rest of the world doesn’t get to see. Our own private sweetness.
We head back out into the corridor and the wolf falls into step next to her other side as we pass cell after cell as we wind around the dungeons. “What are we looking for?”
She stops suddenly, head tilted. Frowning, I listen and then I hear it—crying. It’s soft and wispy, definitely feminine and far away. I look to Dawn to see that her eyes are black. They flick to me and I realise I am now holding hands with her monster, not her, so I hold on tight, my own fangs dropping. She turns away and leads me towards the cry. It gets louder and louder until we are outside a cell that looks like all the others.
“Blood,” I murmur, sniffing the air and scenting the copper tang. “Human.”
Letting go of my hand, she stabs her hand straight forward. I move to intercept, to protect her from hurting herself, but she throws me away with a thought. I hit the wall just as her hand plunges through the metal with a screech. She looks at me as I get to my feet, a look that tells me I need to trust her in this. So I nod and stand behind her, although it is hard. I am used to being the first person through the door, uncaring of my safety, but these protective instincts towards my mate are strong, a continual fight between defending her and letting her do what she needs to.
With a shriek she warps the metal and flings the easily four-hundred-pound door away like it is a feather. We both peer into the dark as the cries suddenly cut off, a small scream coming from a form huddled in the corner.
“No, no, not again, please,” comes the soft voice. It’s weak and afraid. The whole cell stinks of fear and blood.
My fangs descend farther, and the human woman whimpers, burying her head into her knees and rocking back and forth. We step inside and I glance around to see the bucket in the corner. Ignoring the stench of piss, I spot the rotting food on the tray next to the door. But then something else hits me.
“Two, two heartbeats,” I snarl, looking around for the other person as the wolf snarls behind me, drawn by my anger.
“She’s pregnant,” Dawn says softly, and I look over to see she is right. The woman’s belly is rounded, her face raised now, pink and dirty, her tears leaving white tracks down her plump face. Her eyes are a deep brown, her hair a mucky, greasy brunette. She is naked, I note in a clinical way, and her feet are also bare and covered in dirt.
Blood coats the soles of her feet as well as her thighs. “Dawn.”
She nods, crouching down before the woman as I block the wolf to try and help calm her. “Hello,” she begins, but the woman cries and jerks away. “I won’t hurt you, I’m not here to hurt you. Look at me, I’m not with them.”