Mending the Beast (Awakening Pride #10) - Lacey Thorn Page 0,9

lion, who’d always been a part of him, and deep inside, so deep he almost missed it, he briefly felt the soft rumble of his beast. Then it was gone, making him question if he’d really felt it.

What had they done to him?

Wake up! he screamed again, but once again, it was only in his head. His body remained still with nobody aware of what was going on inside him.

Chapter Three

Ariel wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it hadn’t been the picked over remnants of the place she’d once called home. Walker’s Trading Post was a shell of what it had once been. It didn’t look as if Thomas had made it back after she’d left with Gideon and Griffin. The building was still standing but sported broken windows. The door was obviously broken, though someone had taken the time to try to make it shut. Other than the sounds of nature from the woods, there were no other noises. It was completely empty.

She gingerly pushed open the door, gritting her teeth at the squeal of the rusted hinges. The interior was in even worse shape than the outside. Broken glass littered the floor, making each step hazardous. Ariel was glad she’d worn her steel-toed combat boots. They’d protect her feet and pack a mean punch if anyone tried to sneak up on her.

She’d come back because she didn’t know where else to go. This was the place where she’d started to heal. At least, physically. She wasn’t sure she’d ever started to heal emotionally or mentally. Maybe, she never would. Maybe, she was too broken. No matter how hard she wished, there was no getting back to the girl she’d been. She’d become that person who could define their life by before and after. The person she’d been before it happened, and who she was after. She couldn’t be the before again, but she could remember her.

There was a hidey hole in the bedroom where she’d stayed. She had hidden the few personal things Thomas had found and brought with them but hadn’t bothered to grab them before she’d left with Gideon. Mostly, because she’d always assumed they’d be back.

Gideon wasn’t one to join a group. It had never crossed her mind that he might be taking her and Griffin to join the pride where Clara had gone. Clara Walker had mated Logan Dobson, one of the inner circle of the pride. Then Gideon had fallen for another member of the inner circle, Vic Dorsey. Ariel hadn’t liked Vic at first, because Ariel had felt threatened by the other woman. Gideon had been the one person Ariel could depend on, and it had felt as if she were losing him to the other woman. She’d been afraid Vic would refuse to let her spend time with Gideon, but Vic didn’t have a jealous bone in her body. She loved Gideon and trusted him completely. And Ariel thought Vic might just love her a little, too. Vic had become much like an older sister to her. Hell, those who didn’t know them often thought they were sisters.

Ariel would have loved to have a woman like Vic for her sister. Really any of the women in the pride. They were a group of strong women who supported one another. It started with Abby, Tah’s mate. She oversaw everyone and everything. Tah might be alpha, but Abby was the one no one wanted to disappoint. She surrounded herself with the other mates; Amia, Clara, Kenzie, Vic, Diane, Laura, and Darby. They were all so strong. Ariel wanted to be a part of them, to laugh and joke with them, but God help her, she didn’t feel worthy of being a part of their group. She didn’t feel strong. She felt fucking fragile, and it killed her to admit that even to herself.

Laura had challenged Ariel to put herself back together the day Ariel had shared her story with the other woman. Laura had known who Ariel could be to Daniel, a man Laura thought of as a brother. Ariel had told her the pieces didn’t fit, anymore.

“Then make them fit,” Laura had encouraged her. “Until you do, they win. You’ll always be that girl, bleeding on the ground. And you’re so much more than that, Ariel. You deserve to be more than that.”

“I don’t know how to make them fit.”

“One piece at a time,” Laura had told her. “One at a time.”

So here Ariel stood, ready to confront the past. Maybe. She