This was getting us nowhere.
Slowly, I knelt beside her, put my hand in Valor’s. He raised a brow at me but when I smiled in return, he focused back on Rynn. We sat like that for a very long time before she hesitatingly reached out and lay her hand on mine. With gentle care, I removed my hand and leaned back.
Rynn stared at her hand resting in Valor’s for all of one second before she burst into tears. Valor immediately lunged forward, wrapped his arms around her while she cried and screamed for all the wrong done to her.
It surprised me that she hadn’t shifted, but then it quickly made sense. Valor said pack magic could help her. His contact must have forced her to stay human.
Watching her sob with such fierceness, I couldn’t help but cry right along with her. It was just so sad. How the world could be so cruel to someone as sweet as this one is such a travesty. The only relief I had was that from this day on, her life was going to get better. Valor would see to it.
Her sobs eventually quieted and her shaking lessened. Valor hadn’t let go of her for a second. Her arms were tight around him as she used all his strength to release her terror. Only when she backed away, did he loosen his hold. “I have made a mess of your shirt.” She wiped the tears from her face.
“That is not of any concern. Are you feeling up to seeing more of my home?” Valor asked her.
It was clear what he was doing. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of her breakdown. Didn’t want her to feel ashamed for having done it. It was the right thing to do.
Rynn nodded.
Briggs came over and reached down to help her up. Again, there was no hesitation in her touching him. Valor had her scared silly. Briggs, she welcomed. Something was funny here, and it was something I was going to get to the bottom of.
Rynn came over to me and tucked herself close to me. I took her hand again as we approached the fenced pasture. The horses were the most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen. They looked similar to a draft horse with broad chests, heavy hips, and strong shoulders, but they held elegance. Their manes were long with hair that started at the knee and reached over their hooves.
“Gosh, Valor, what type of horses are these? I’ve never seen anything like them.” I asked.
He whistled, and they all came charging toward us. “They’re Gypsy Vanners. Quite beautiful are they not?”
Kyden reached up and ran his hand along a strong face. “Very.” He was smitten over the white stallion. Tough guy has a soft spot.
Rynn released my hand and walked over to one of the smaller horses. She was a lovely chocolate bay color. The horse neighed a little and snuggled into Rynn’s face, sending her into giggles.
“You have made a friend there,” Briggs remarked as he made his way toward her.
Valor followed close behind. Rynn had better get used to having everyone close to her because I was sure these two wolves would stay glued to her for the next little while.
Once they were a safe distance away, I snatched up the opportunity needed. I quickly glanced at Kyden. “What the heck is with Briggs? He seems bitten by the love bug.”
Kyden laughed. “She’s his mate.”
The stunned shock on my face only made Kyden laughed harder. “Wolves are different than us. Their mates are not chosen as such. Their souls search out their desired mate and when they find it, it’s immediately known to them.”
I glanced back at Briggs and Rynn who stood together petting the filly. “Well, that makes things less complicated. No need to get into the dating scene then.”
“They still date,” Kyden smiled, “and such, but they usually will not bond with someone who is not their destined mate. That is the way of the wolves.” Then, he pulled me into a tight embrace. “You did wonderful in helping her, Álainn.”
Álainn, Kyden’s pet name for me, means beautiful in Gaelic. It was just a whole pile of sweet, wrapped in a little blanket of love. “I like her a lot. I only wish I could do more for her. Sad, isn’t it?”
“Indeed it is very sad. Briggs will make it right.”
When I looked back at Briggs, I saw the truth in that. The way he positioned himself around Rynn was obviously protective. He would guard her with his life and do his best to heal her. “Does she know that he is her mate?” I asked, meeting Kyden’s gaze.
He shrugged. “I am sure she feels it, but she wouldn’t understand what it is exactly. Briggs will likely explain all this to her when she is ready.”
The message was loud and clear. This wasn’t something I was supposed to tell her. Mum’s the word.
A little while later, they came back to join us and Rynn surprised me by saying. “Do you all mind if I have a minute alone with Nexi?”
Briggs smiled softly. “No problem, darlin’. We’ll go start lunch. Come in when you’re ready.”
Kyden lowered his arms and began to back away. I quickly grabbed onto his forearms and squeezed ever so slightly. His grin was devilish, reading my intention. Slowly, he lowered his head and I leaned up to kiss him. To observant eyes, it would be appropriate, but the touch against my lips was anything but. It was filled with heat and the pressure wasn’t a soft kiss good-bye, but a statement of pure lust.
Lord, how I missed those lips.
Since finding one another, we’d never been apart from each other. Right now, I was suffering Kyden withdrawal. As he walked away, he glanced at me over his shoulder. With the heated look he shot my way, his thoughts were definitely in sync with mine.
“How did you know about what happened to me?” Rynn asked, bringing my attention back to her.
“It is an ability I have,” I stated, before sighing away the longing and focusing on non-Kyden related things. “I can read into people. I am sorry I did that without asking.”
She shook her head quickly. “I’m actually glad you did. It feels better to have someone know.”
As much as I didn’t want to go where I was about to, it was the best choice. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. I. Don’t.” She said firmly. “But I think I have to.”
That I could understand. She sat down next to the fence, so I took a seat in front of her as the horses went galloping off, bucking and chasing each other. “Whatever you tell me stays between us, Rynn,” I told her.
Rynn smiled, but there was no happiness in it. “I figured it would.” She reached down, plucked a piece of grass and then looked back to me. “I was working that night.” The color of her eyes faded a bit as she relived that terrible night. “A man came in and there was something about him—something dark. I had no choice but to serve him. It was really creepy. His eyes followed me the entire time he was there. It was just scary, you know?”
I nodded, my voice as soft as my nod. “I bet it was.”
“When my shift ended I began to walk home. I can’t afford a car and my place really isn’t that far so I wasn’t really worried about it. Now looking back, I realize I should have been.” She drew in a deep wavering breath. “I was halfway home, walking past a school when I heard loud footsteps behind me.”
This wasn’t something she had to tell me, I’d seen it in her mind, but I couldn’t stop her. She needed to get this off her chest.
“It all happened so fast,” she continued. “One moment I was walking and the next he attacked me, pulled me into a wooded area near the back of the school. I should have screamed, called out for help, but I was too afraid. Too scared he would kill me.” She gulped deeply. “He told me how pretty I was. How he couldn’t help himself.” She began to cry, her breath gasping through a slightly open mouth, her face growing redder as the seconds passed.
I grabbed her hands tightly and squeezed, wanting nothing more than to erase this pain she suffered, but kept quiet to let her shed the horror.
“I’d never been with a guy before and…” She sobbed harder. “It just wasn’t supposed to be like that. I was waiting for, you know, the right guy.”
She held onto my hands as if they were her lifeline. I gripped them tighter in return, wishing I could have been there to help her. My skills as both Guardian and Witch could have stopped this. Unfortunately, what was done was done. Helplessness surrounded me.
“It hurt—really hurt. He was disgusting. I can’t get the image of him inside me, on top of me breathing heavy. I shut my eyes. I couldn’t look at him while he did that to me. When he was finished, he growled or something like it, and then all I felt was fur. That is when he bit me, then he was gone.” She shuddered deeply. “I just feel so…dirty.”
“You’re sweet and lovely, Rynn. Don’t let him take that from you.”
“I think I’m already gone.” She looked up at me only for a moment before she glanced back to the ground. I had to gulp deeply, her distraught emotions mixing with my own as I shared the torment of her ordeal with her. She felt empty, soulless.
“You’re not! You’re still there. You’re just a little lost right now, but you’ll get it back. You deserve it.”