The middle one who was tall and lanky. His eyes were a muddy brown and watched closely.
“Obviously not yours, Bade,” Keith said.
I tried to hide in Keith’s neck. Tears were streaming down my face again. I didn’t know any of these men. They weren’t my father. They didn’t smell like him.
“No, Beta. She isn’t.”
“Caine? Brady?”
They shook their heads.
“Who do you belong with, little Colette?” Keith asked.
“She lived with her Dad,” Griffin said, “but she isn’t going back.”
I didn’t bother to correct him. Daddy wouldn’t let them keep me.
“She probably misses her father. Didn’t you miss me, Griff?” Isaac asked.
“No!” Griffin growled loudly. “She can never go back to him.”
Griffin moved close to me and touched my leg. In Keith’s arms with Griffin’s comforting touch, I never felt safer.
“Griffin.”
The tone held a warning.
“He beats her. And she is mine!”
The men were silent and watched me closer.
“Lettie, is that true?” Keith whispered gently.
I nodded. With that small gesture, a deep protective rumble issued from the men there, collectively.
“She can’t go back,” Keith said.
“No she can’t.” Isaac agreed.
“Then, how do we decide?” Bade asked.
Decide what, I wondered. My head shot back and forth listening to them. They were speaking but their words went over my head. I fidgeted in Keith’s arms getting frustrated.
“She’s mine! Why aren’t any of you listening?” Griffin said defiantly. The men turned their stern gazes to Griff. He was slowing petting my dangling leg.
“You pack-bonded with her, didn’t you?” Isaac asked. Griffin nodded.
“How could that happen?” Caine said. Annoyance edged his words. I knew what was next. Anger. I heard the same pattern many times before with my father. I pressed my face into the crook of Keith’s neck, trying to hide. Beatings followed anger. And I was so tired my bones felt heavy. I wasn’t sure I couldn’t take another beating.
Griffin’s father came quickly to our defense.
“They were together. They broke her arm and who knows what else. They’ve been through hell and back together. What did you expect? If they are pack-bonded, we can’t just separate them.”
“You would say that, Lupen, since you’d be gaining another female.” Caine growled.
“You know what it means to pack bond. We don’t know for sure what will happen at this age, in her condition. She could die. These bonds are too rare to risk something happening to her,” Isaac said. His eyes flashed yellow. They reminded me intensely of Griff in that moment.
“Get your young and get out. The hunters will be back, soon. Keith, keep Colette close. It’s time to leave this hellhole.”
Keith started walking, and Griffin followed.
“Don’t worry, Lettie. You’re part of the pack now. You belong to us now. We will love you forever, little one.”
I had no idea what Keith meant about the pack, but I snuggled closer. His grasp tightened as we left.
* * * *
Over the next few days I found out more about Griffin and his people. Werewolves. They were all werewolves, and they said I was like them. Isaac, Griffin’s father and Alpha of the pack, explained werewolves to me. He told me that I had a wolf living inside me, or I should. But it wasn’t until Griffin shifted in front of me that I really believed.
I stayed with Keith, who took over explaining things to me. Isaac frequently had to leave on pack business. So Keith explained to me that he was Isaac’s second, a Beta. The stronger the wolf, the more dominant the wolf and the higher they were in the pecking order. Keith was always gentle and I learned that no decent dominant would hurt their pack mates. Keith even worked patiently with me to connect to the wolf hidden in my body and soul. It took a while, but I found her eventually. She was quiet. Subdued. The beast within had lost her fire.
On my fifth night at Keith's, I woke with a whimper. Curled beside me, Griff reached out and patted me in his sleep. It was usually enough to reassure me. Not tonight, though. Since I had arrived I had been sleeping in the same room as Griff. Keith and Isaac refused to jeopardize of our fragile bond. But I was growing stronger.
One night, when my bones and skin ached and itched, I crept from bed and tiptoed downstairs for a glass of water. Keith's house didn't have rules like my father’s, but I was still cautious. Before