Mending the Beast (Awakening Pride #10) - Lacey Thorn Page 0,11

to us are because of who we are, what we’ve done. Some of us are victims, and that’s all we’ll ever be.

Ariel wasn’t a victim. That wasn’t who she was or what she’d always be. She sure as hell hadn’t deserved what had happened to her. No one deserved the hell she’d suffered through. No one. If she’d gotten what she deserved, it would have been a fucking happily ever after with Daniel. She’d give anything to go back in time and meet him before instead of after.

She went through the building, taking visual inventory in case there was anything else that caught her attention. Finding nothing, she stepped out the back door and caught her breath at the sight of a woman standing by the trees, watching as if she’d known Ariel was there and she’d merely been waiting.

Ariel’s whole body tensed as she opened her senses. She hadn’t realized how overwhelming some of the scents in the trading post were until she stepped back into the fresh air. She didn’t sense anyone else, but she’d been tricked before.

“Can I help you?” Ariel called, heading down the porch steps, braced for fight or flight, depending on the woman’s response.

“I’m looking for someone who lives here.”

“A lot of people once lived here,” Ariel replied. “No one does now. Who are you looking for?”

The woman shook her head. “I need to go. Sorry.”

For the first time, Ariel regretted taking off alone. She’d been alone when hunters had found her before. Still, she didn’t feel any threat from the woman. Instead, she seemed fragile, as if a breeze might be enough to knock her to her knees. Her body curled forward as if she were making herself as small as she could. As if she were trying to disappear into her surroundings. God, it was too easy to recall a time when Ariel had done the same.

“Look. I can tell something’s going on. Are you hurt? Do you need help?”

The woman stared but didn’t say anything.

“Know this, if this is some kind of trap to lure me away, it’s not going to happen. I’ll rip you’re fucking throat out and be long gone before any of your buddies can even get to us.”

That brought the woman around. She glanced around frantically, trembling with fear. No. It was more than that. Terror.

“They’re here? Don’t let them take me. Please, God. Not again.” She shook her head with desperation. “Not again. I won’t survive. Please. Please tell me you’re one of them.”

“One of them?” Ariel questioned cautiously.

“One of the good guys,” the woman replied. “I swear I won’t hurt you.”

Ariel laughed then. The woman didn’t look capable of crossing the short distance between them much less mounting any type of attack. She was scared, though. Terrified. Of who? Had she picked Walker’s Trading Post at random or had she been sent there? That thought dried up Ariel’s laughter completely. If the woman was here seeking help, then a shifter must have told her to come. God, how many others had shown up searching for help after they’d all left?

“There’s no one else here, right now. I needed to know if you were alone or if others were hiding and watching,” Ariel admitted and felt a twinge of remorse for the reaction she’d caused in the woman.

“Ask me,” the woman snapped then shook her head. “Never mind. I know you wouldn’t believe me. I don’t even blame you. I’d be the exact type of trap the hunters would set for an unsuspecting shifter. Fragile human in need of help.” She shuddered and seemed to curl even further into herself, making Ariel wonder what exactly the woman had endured and for how long.

“Look. We’re sitting ducks standing out here alone. I can help you—if you’ll let me. But we can’t stay here having this conversation. Tell me why you’re here, or we’ll both head our separate ways.” Ariel didn’t want the woman to walk away. There was something about her, a fragility, that hit too close to home.

After a long moment where the woman seemed to consider her options, which was really only one at the moment, she took a breath and asked a question that had Ariel’s stomach dropping.

“Do you know Thomas Walker?”

The voice was soft, stilted, as if their continued conversation was taking a lot out of her. Ariel went instantly on alert. If it had to do with Thomas, things could go to shit real fast. She didn’t plan to be the next