AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you know that during the time you and Zoey stayed at Mercy Village Group Home that I was there too?”
“You were?” she replies, trying to focus her attention on my wolf.
Gray nods, sitting on the coffee table in front of Layla and Alaric, pulling me to sit on his lap. I see my dad’s lips twist in disgruntlement at the elaborate show of PDA, but to his credit, he doesn’t say or do anything.
“I was,” Gray answers, rubbing my back with his hand as if needing to touch me while never breaking eye contact with Layla. “I remember when you and Zoey came to live in the group home. You were so broken, both of you. I didn’t need to know the specifics of what happened to you prior to you coming to live at Mercy Village to know that you both suffered one hell of an ordeal, so when I heard that the gunshot wound you had on your shoulder was caused by your stepfather, I wasn’t surprised,” he continues, running his hand up and down my spine comfortingly, as if reminding me that those days are in our rearview mirror now. “Yet there was something about you, Layla,” he says. “Something that gave you this silent grace of fortitude. At the time, I couldn’t put my finger on what drove you, but I can now.”
I swallow dryly as he pulls his gaze away from my sister’s face to stare into my eyes.
“It was you, little doe. Your sister would have fought death itself to protect you and keep you out of harm’s way, and somehow, even back then, I knew you were going to be my saving grace, just as you were hers. That’s why I kept an eye on you from the start and did everything in my power to make sure that horrible place would never touch you. That your sister’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. I would keep you safe when she couldn’t. I’d make sure that they couldn’t steal your innocence like they stole mine.”
“I love you,” I whisper before planting a chaste kiss on his lips.
“I don’t understand,” Layla interrupts anxiously. “What do you mean about keeping Zoey safe? About maintaining her innocence?”
Gray’s silver gaze falls away from mine to look somberly at my sister and her husband. I count my heartbeats as the perverted truth starts to make its way to the surface, defiling the air around us.
“Fuck.” Alaric is the first to curse, tightening his hold around my sister’s shoulders as she starts shaking like a leaf when the same realization dawns on her.
She stammers incoherently in utter shock. “Are you saying… Do you mean… They didn’t… They couldn’t have…”
“Yes, they could,” Gray deadpans. “And they did.”
“Oh my god!” Layla cries out, covering her mouth with both hands.
Alaric holds her close, his blue eyes turning a cold shade of ice. “Did they hurt my girls?” my father demands.
“Never. I made sure of it,” Gray retorts.
“You were just a pissant kid yourself. How the fuck did you make sure of it?”
“You know how,” my wolf replies without missing a beat, the painful answer piercing my heart.
A deafening silence blankets us as both Alaric and Layla stare at my love in a whole new light. Yes, there is a glimmer of misery and pity in their gazes, but there is something far more tangible in there too—respect and kinship. They are finally seeing my wolf through my eyes. With his confession, he just made a dent in their hearts, a gap that will be filled with nothing but tenderness toward him from now on.
“Then I guess there is only one question I want answered,” my father growls furiously, making me grin at his protective reaction. “Who do I have to kill?”
“Actually, that’s what my man and I have been working on. Gray and I have been able to obtain a ledger with most of the group home’s clientele,” I begin, only stopping when I see my sister wince.
Layla has never led a charmed life.
She knows as well as I do that bad men prey on the weak. We’re living proof of it. But she’s a mother now, and that changes things. Thinking that someone would ever be able to hurt a child in such a horrible way, strip them of their very essence, and then leave them as a shell of their former selves is something she will never condone, and now that she’s learned that the man I love bears the scars of sacrificing himself for us, for me, it’s going to take her a minute to believe in the world again.
My wolf kisses my forehead and continues for me, sensing I’m unable to.
He tells them everything.
How he was abused at the home, both physically and mentally.
How, to this day, the pedophile ring still exists, leaving more victims in its wake.
He tells them how we have murdered guards and clients alike, crossing each name from the ledger one by one until someone tells us who is running the show. After what feels like hours, my sister starts to regain color in her cheeks, processing Gray’s accounts of the past few weeks. Once he’s finished, my father looks ready to burn down the place.
My sister, on the other hand, looks more composed.
“I think I’ll have a glass of water now,” she says, poised.
“Are you sure you don’t want something stronger, love?” Alaric questions, still concerned.
