Because of Them

Bonus Chapter 3

Mike Ledger walked the halls of the home, gripping the flowers tightly in his fist. He sucked in deep, shaky breaths. There was no way she was going to want to see him, but he had to see her.

He was surprised to find out that she was no longer in the hospital, and grateful for Alpha Christian for setting up these group homes fit with all the professionals the girls that had been in his dad's care would need to heal.

He found the room the nurse directed him to. The door was open, and he stood awkwardly until she noticed him. She was so beautiful. His stomach twisted painfully.

"I know you don't want to see me," he said softly. "I just had to make sure you were okay."

"What do you think?" she asked, standing up. "I was tortured and raped for months while my mate just sat around and watched."

"I know," he whispered, voice hoarse. He was tired. "I couldn't let them know. They would've killed you, or taken you away."

"You could've let me go, just like you did with Luna." Her wide blue eyes were filled with pain, and every bit of it was his fault.

"Tom already suspected it was me that let Luna out," he mumbled. "You came after her, and I couldn't-"

She huffed, "I don't want to hear it. You shouldn't have come here."

He noticed her bag was packed, and the room was bare.

"You're leaving?" Mike asked curiously.

"I'm fine," she admitted. "I'm ready to move on. I don't need to spend the rest of my life being watched and held captive like before."

"You're not-"

"How would you know?" she snapped back.

Mike chewed on his lip anxiously. He knew he was never going to be able to fix this, but he sort of hoped that coming here would mend things a bit.

"Besides," she continued. "Aren't you supposed to be in jail?"

He felt stupid coming here, and he shuffled his feet. His heart had been left somewhere in the hallway, or maybe it was in the bag she was taking with her. One thing for certain was that it was no longer with him, and he was lost. He was a horrible person, and he didn't deserve her.

"I went for a few months," he said. "I guess that saw that I wasn't a threat and let me out. Warrior Wilder checks on me almost weekly, and I volunteer for community service."

She turned and sat on her bed.

"I hope they don't do that with the others." He knew she meant to say it strong but her voice shook and he was desperate to comfort her.

"They won't," he sighed. "Where will you go?"

She shrugged, and he knew that meant she didn't want him to know. He took that as his cue to leave. He dropped the flowers onto her little table.

"My number is in the card if you ever need me, Marilyn."

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Author Note - I wrote Mike and Marilyn a short story. If you're interested, drop a comment and I might publish it, if enough people want to read it!