Past

LAKE

Crackles of the fire ignite my heart as Derrick just looks at me with wide eyes. I can hear his heart hammer against his chest.

I avoid his gaze and uncomfortably shift. My body is still reacting from Derrick’s touch and his wolf reaching out to mine.

“What did you just say?” Derrick asks, almost as if he didn’t hear me. “Say it again.”

I clear my throat and speak louder. “We’re mates.”

Derrick engulfs me in his arms. My eyes are stuck staring at the sky. I can tell his body is reacting to me as much as mine is to him.

“Derrick…” I try to push him away, but his stonelike arms pull me even closer. Derrick is quick to nuzzle my neck. I can feel hot tears on my shoulder.

“So many years,” Derrick breathes out. “I’ve been waiting for you. I distracted myself with so many things instead of looking for you.”

I squeeze my eyes tightly as the memory of Drax with Morana and Henry flashes by my mind.

“Morana, right?” My words almost get caught in my throat. This time, when I pull away, Derrick lets me.

My eyes are welling with tears. Every time I think happiness is right around the corner…

“Morana was a childhood friend.” Derrick lets out a rough sigh. “She was there for me when I was rejected by my pack’s alpha and turned rogue. Lucy and Morana stuck by me.”

“So that gives you the ability to crawl into her pants?” I growl. Tears are hot down my cheeks. I’m angry.

“It was years ago.” Derrick grabs my arms and tries to pull me to him. I refuse and struggle against him.

“When Henry was born, Morana and I knew our relationship was a mistake. I expressed that I wanted to find my mate. She agreed, and now here we are.”

“She kissed you right in front of everyone, Derrick!” I argue. “In front of me! And then you invited her to your tent!”

“Firefly, Morana craves attention.” Derrick sighs. “She loves messing with people. As far as her being in my tent, Morana slept in my bed, while I slept outside in my wolf form.”

I look at Derrick with narrow eyes. His eyebrows are knit together in a line. Lynne is urging me to trust him.

I let out a strong and frustrated sigh. Derrick and I are stiff in our now paused struggle.

“Please, believe me,” Derrick pleads. “I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

The stiffness in my arms slowly disappears as Derrick pulls me into his arms. Again, the warmth of his skin is enough to help me relax and clear my mind.

I weigh my options in my mind. I’ve finally found my mate, and yet, I’m hesitant about him. I mean, I have a right to be, but Lynne is getting restless as she urges me.

“I believe you,” I say. “No need to worry about the past. Besides, we have a witch to catch.”

Derrick chuckles against my head. His arms are loose around me now.

We stay with each other like this for the rest of the night.

~The sun shines through the dusty window of the wooden shed. My wrists are bound with old rusty handcuffs chained to the ceiling above me.~

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~My body is strung up with my arms above my head. The floor beneath my feet is covered in broken glass from a bottle of alcohol smashed against my head last night.~

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~My body is bare, with only a pair of musty underwear to cover me. All across my stomach and thighs are scars from his having his “playtime” with me.~

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~“Look how beautiful you look, Moonlight,” he walks into the shed with a gleaming smile on his face.~

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~I drop my head and look at the ground helplessly. The dried blood from the gash across my forehead has forced my right eye to remain shut. My hair is stringy and matted as it lies past my breasts now.~

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~“You need a bath, my love.”~

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~I scream as I’m lifted off the ground by a pulley system he’s rigged over the past few weeks. My shoulders have been ripped from their sockets every time I’m raised.~

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~He pulls out a bucket of strong-smelling bleach and splashes it over my body.~

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~The raw, open wounds that remain on my legs and upper torso begin to burn. Steam rises from the deeper gashes in the shape of a large J on my thigh caused by his wolf.~

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~I scream bloody murder. Tears fall down my face and onto the floor. He scoffs and lets my body slam on the splintered wood.~

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~“How many times do I need to tell you?” he growls loudly, “Say thank you for everything I do for you.”~

~

I wake up in a cold sweat beside Derrick’s sleeping form. The fire is still going, and the forest around us is still.

I gather myself and let out a shaken breath. I lift Derrick’s heavy arm and drape it over my waist. His breath brushes against my forehead as I try my best to drift back off to sleep.