Hideout

S E V E N

There is mention of attempted suicide and completed suicide in this chapter. If this is triggering to you, perhaps you should skip this short chapter. Thank you.

C H A P T E R

S E V E N 

 A D E L A I D E 

Leo brought a plate of dinner up to me in our temporarily shared room. I sat at the window bench, looking out over the backyard of the pack house and into the trees, which were now shrouded in a light fog with rain coming down in thick sheets.

"Will you eat now?" Leo tested, motioning to the plate of salad and hamburgers. "Or should I feed you by hand?" He sat across from me and I finally lifted my head to look at him.

"I'm not hungry," I said softly, truthfully. "Can I have a sip of that though?"

Leo did have a water, and had already finished off half of it. He nodded and held it out to me. "Have the rest. Really, kitten. You need to eat."

"I'm kind of exhausted after everything. I just want to drink some water and go to sleep."

Leo watched me drink silently, holding his hand out when I finished the water to put the empty bottle in. I did so, careful not to touch him. "You're hurting," he murmured, himself now looking out the window.

"I miss my old room, as stupid and silly as that sounds" I confessed. "I miss my parents."

"What's your old pack's name? I will have them transferred."

My brows lifted. "R-really?"

Leo nodded. "But I'm not going to do so if you keep trying to run away. I'm always happy to add to my pack, and if it would make you a little happier to stay, I will allow it. I'll do my best."

"Are you being serious or are you lying to me?" I asked suspiciously. "I don't want to be played."

He gave me a small smile. "Little one, I promise that I'll try to get your parents here if you try to be a good girl for once."

"And if I decide after all this I don't want to be part of your pack?"

Leo let his head fall back against the wall, closing his eyes. "I've marked you for a reason, kitten. In the hopes that you will choose to stay with me."

"About that..." I started. "Doesn't that kind of screw up you and your mate? What are you going to do when you find her?"

Leo snorted, shaking his head. "I already found her."

"What the hell? Then why-"

"She died the day after I met her. Suicide."

The words died on my lips and I shut up. Yikes. Yikes. "I'm sorry."

He sighed, patting the space in front of him while he set my plate of food on the floor. I scooted towards him a little, gasping when he grasped my arms and pulled me to lay on his chest, between his legs. "I told you I understand your situation more than you think. My mate, Julia, was born without a wolf, and lost her sight over time. She became blind by the time she was ten. Her whole life she was bullied. I met her on top of Bixby Bridge, where she was going to jump. Don't ask how she found her way there, because I have no idea. But I got her down. She didn't recognize me as her mate, I don't think. But I knew it was her. You remind me of her, actually. You are both so sad. Both of your packs shunned you. I didn't get to her in time though. She overdosed on sleeping pills the next day. I found her, actually. She still had tears on her face, the bottle of pills beside her. If I had been just a few minutes earlier..."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled sincerely. "That's awful."

Leo's hand stroked my back while he rested his chin on my head. "You two would have gotten along, I think. I obviously didn't know her for very long, but I got a good feel for who she was very quickly. Once I heard about your story, I knew you were my second chance, to protect someone that I couldn't protect before. I couldn't save my Julia, perhaps I could save you from a similar fate."

"It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have changed anything," I told him.

Leo's arms tightened around my back, holding me closer to him. "I don't know about that, kitten. You never know what little thing you do could change someone else's life."

"You can't change anything now," I said, trying to sit up, but he just held me still. Part of me wanted to fight his embrace, but I got the distinct impression he needed this contact at the moment, especially since he had Julia on his mind.

"I'm protecting you. Doing what I couldn't do for her." Leo pressed his lips to the top of my head. "Go to sleep, little one. It's been a rough day. Tomorrow, I will contact your parents."

I sighed in relief. "Thank you. But there's still a chance that after all this I will choose to live alone, without a pack," I said quietly. "I want to make sure you understand that possibility."

"Don't talk about that now. Just sleep, Adelaide," Leo insisted. "We both need sleep."

After a few minutes of him softly massaging my back, I did just that.

L E O

Adelaide's soft breathing was barely above a whisper, but I could feel it through my shirt, how her chest expanded and softened with each quiet breath. I grinned to myself as I tucked my hands under her top, reveling in the warmth of her tender skin.

"You're my pretty girl now," I mumbled. "Even if you don't realize it yet. Even if you don't want me yet. You're my girl, and I'll make sure of it."

I took her chin between my finger, cautiously tilting her face up. Her eyes were a little swollen after all her crying today. I've never seen anyone cry like she did, and I would never expect to see Adelaide cry like that. The little tigress was so broken today, so miserable.

It would be a struggle, I knew that much. I doubted she would ever get like that again, show such emotion to me and the others. She would toughen up now. And I would still have to find a way to tame my tiger. My kitten.

I held her to me securely as I stood, then scooped her into my arms to lay her onto my bed. Soon to be our bed. My fingers stroked the strange markings on her face, drawing into her hairline where it vanished. She groaned and rolled onto her side, where I caught glimpses of another mark on her shoulder, going under her shirt.

I could picture myself kissing a trail down her back, exploring just where that mark went. I smirked to myself as I pulled the sheets up to her shoulders, but had to remind the horny, possessive part of my brain that she was too sensitive for that now. Besides, we still had a lot to learn about each other. Adelaide needed to know how beautiful she was before she would ever feel comfortable enough to get intimate with me.

"Goodnight, kitten," I whispered in her ear. "I'm going to do better by you now. I promise."