“I’m sorry, Briella, I didn't mean to scare you. I just don't like seeing you hurt yourself.” I tried to smile down at her and failed.
I didn't understand why this was so damn hard.
“It looked like you wanted to ask me a question?” I prompted.
“Just if I can bathe or shower or something...I feel dirty.”
I closed my eyes as fresh rage swept over me. Of course. I should have offered her the chance to clean herself before anything else. It should have been obvious that she would want to rinse the filth of that place off her.
“Of course.” Half turning my body, I pointed to a closed-door on the far wall. “There's soap and fresh towels in there as well. Why don't you go and clean up, and I will see if there's anything else to eat in this place. We aren't exactly known for our culinary skills. But you seem pretty easy to please,” I joked with a wink. “Do you want something to wear? Raze is finding you clothes but…” Heading over to my closet, I peered inside. Plucking a clean tee, one of my favourites with faded grey material that was soft, I tossed it to her.
“Go and clean up, Briella, and I'll go and find you something else to eat.” I needed to leave the room before she got out of that bed. Seeing her in nothing but my shirt and that scrap of nothing dress would be too much of a temptation. Already I could imagine how soft her legs would feel when I ran my hands up them, spreading them so I could feast between her thighs.
I shook the image away.
Staying in the room while she showered was out of the option, my self-control would break and I would climb naked under the water with her. I wouldn't be able to help myself.
“You're coming back right?”
Her words startled me. Turning with my hand wrapped around the doorknob, I paused. “Of course I’m coming back, Briella. I won’t leave you alone until you are ready to be alone. I promise.”
What would Raze say if he could hear that promise? Would he think I had gone soft? Or would he look at me with the same kind of pity as he had in the alley? Because I was falling hard and fast for a girl I couldn't keep.
* * *
“Tommy?”Raze cornered me the moment I stepped foot into the kitchen. It was late and the clubhouse was unusually quiet.
“Yep.” I didn't turn from my place looking in the giant fridge, not until I heard the click of the door shutting behind him. My head swivelled in his direction.
“We need to talk.”
Straightening up, I closed the door, and the room fell into almost complete darkness, not that it bothered either of us. We could both see in the dark as easily as we could in the brightest daylight. “Talk then.” I knew I wasn't going to like what he was about to say. He would have left the door open if it was anything good.
“You are spending too much time with the woman.”
“Her name is Briella. And she's been here less than two hours, Raze. She's scared and alone. What the fuck do you think I should do? Lock her in my room and leave her there until Levi messages us what to do with her?”
In the darkness Raze's wolf shifted behind his eyes. “She can't be yours, Tommy. You know that. The best thing for you to do would be to stay away from her. Put one of the others on guard duty. And phone Levi now, or send him a message, but do something so she spends as little time here as possible.”
I stared at him in shock. “What the fuck is wrong with you? She’s a sweet girl and you’re being even more of an asshole than usual.” Something was definitely going on. Raze had always been a bit of a self-centred dick, which was why he was exiled by his pack, but he was never heartless.
“Tommy,” he groaned. “You told Acco she is yours. He will check that you have marked her. And when he finds out that you lied, then he will rain merry hell down on us and take her back. Levi needs to know. He will be able to keep her safe.”
“I can keep her safe.”
“The only way you can keep her safe now is to claim her officially. Do you think she is ready for that? Do you think when she sees your true form that she will want you anywhere near her? The girl has been through enough, Tommy. You need to let her go. Let her live her life.”
“Even if that life means sharing Levi’s bed?”
“You don't know if that's the reason he wants her. But if you think she’s your mate, you should want to keep her safe.” He sighed.
“By watching her with another man? Do you even have any clue what that would do to me?” My voice was strangled. There it was. The absolute truth. I knew everything he said was true, but the idea of watching her with another was like a knife in the gut.
“You have been through worse, Tommy. Sometimes I think you forget who the fuck you are. There are only three choices here and you know it. You give her up so she is happy and free. Or you try to protect her from Acco. He won’t ever give up, and you won’t be able to protect her every second of the day. He will take her back, and when he does, he will make sure you watch every single sick thing he does to her body. Could you handle that?” His eyes searched my face as I stood there frowning.
“What's the third option?”
“You take her as your mate and by doing so go against the Legion of Vidar and Leviathan himself.”
