Author's Note:

Hello!

It feels like forever since I last updated. It's been a crazy week at home and at work. Being a mommy isn't an easy job (Exhaustion mode activated). I think it is safe to say that I look at my parents with the upmost gratitude. They have done so many tremendous things for my siblings and I. Taking a little time in appreciating them is always well worth it!

My schedule for this week is crazy – I will be away on starting on Thursday and will not return until Tuesday. Therefore, there will not be any updates during that time.

Leila

Isabella Carson

It seems a little unbelievable that he was really dead. Again, Malcolm stayed true to his words. He fought for me, maybe leaving him ten years ago was the wrong choice. I should have given him my trust but can you blame me? I was terrified of Pete and the things he was capable of. The male lycan was a heartless bastard. He was a sadist and narcissist. He manipulates people to believe he was superior to them. Although, his trick didn't work on Malcolm.

I am not sure if Alexine will ever learn to trust again. The female lycan before me looks broken as ever. As if there is nothing left inside of her. When I took her to the guest bedroom, she took cautious steps as if everything was a trick and that she wasn't truly in fact free.

But was she?

Even after Pete's death, he had already accomplished what he wanted with Alexine. He made her fear for her life. He managed to pin her down under his thumb and watched her become weak.

In my hands, I carried a pair of my clothes for her to change into. She was my height just what Pete wanted. I imagine she carried a little more weight like me but now she was thin as a skeleton.

"Alexine," I said softly and she turned around to look at me. I pointed to the spare bathroom. "You can shower in there. Here are some clothes you can change into. They are yours to keep."

She nodded and slowly took the clothes from my hands before walking to the bathroom. When I heard the shower running I walked over to the fireplace and threw a few logs into the fire that was already started before we arrived. The room was quickly cleaned with new sheets for Alexine.

Ten minutes later, Alexine walked out of the bathroom looking so much better than before. All the dirt and stench had been cleaned off her body. Her pale skin a complete contrast to the night. She had her arms wrapped around her body. The cream sleeping gown I brought for her now hung on her body loosely.

"If I wanted to leave, would you let me?" She asked meekly.

I frowned, "Do you want to leave?"

She shrugged, "I-I don't know. I don't know how I feel. I-I just want to feel safe."

"You are safe. The lycans here will not harm you." I assured her. "You can trust me. I know how it must feel right now but there are better lycans out there. Not everyone is like Pete."

She took in a large breath before exhaling slowly like she was calming her nerves. She pointed to the bed.

"Will I be sleeping there?" She asked.

I nodded. "This is your room."

She walked over and sat down on the large queen size bed. Her eyes stared into the fireplace as she caressed the warm comforter underneath her.

"Pete never let me sleep on the bed. He always made me sleep on the floor with no rug, blankets, or pillows." I walked over and sat down next to her. Together, we both looked into the fire.

"Alexine, I know it will be hard for you. I am sorry for what you had to go through." I whispered guiltily.

"It's fine. He's dead and there is no need to be afraid any longer." She murmured before turning to me. "How did he choose you?"

It was easier for me to speak now about what happened than before. Malcolm taught me that I don't need to be afraid and there was no reason to be. I will show Alexine the same.

"My mother came upon his land. He took a liking to her and quickly took her in. Pete didn't waste time at all. That night he raped my mother. He did repeatedly even after she was pregnant with me. My mother uses to tell me it was so painful that there were times she will bleed so heavily." Alexine's hands tightened into the comforter. I placed my hand over hers to provide her comfort and assurance.

"When I turned twelve he took me for the first time. He came into my bedroom and forced me to do things to him. I bled heavily that night. It was so bad, I remained in bed sick for several days after. My mother cried so hard those nights. She would do everything to keep him away. She tried to satisfy his sexual fetish to keep him away from me but Pete was growing tired of her. He was fixated on me. He will take her and then beat her to the point of unconsciousness before coming to me. She wouldn't be able to save me then. It was this way until my mother tried to save me."

"He killed her that night," Alexine finished it for me. Her cheeks streaked with tears. She sobbed and fell into my arms. I wrapped her tightly around me. "He killed my parents too."

I whispered comforting words to her but my heart was in so much pain. Those memories are so hard to speak out loud but it was the only way to heal. I needed to let it go.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"He killed my father while my father fought to get to me. He ordered a soldier to take me to his bedroom. I could hear my mother's scream for him to stop. The cries of my father as he tore my father apart. When he took me that night he called me by your name. I was confused at first until I started asking around." Alexine opened a little bit more.

I hugged her tighter around me. "It's okay. You're here and you're safe."

Alexine cried in my arms until she couldn't cry anymore. Her hiccups died down and her eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep.

The bedroom door creaked open and Damon's head poked out from behind it. He looked from me to Alexine and remained on the small little female lycan next to me.

"She looks better now," Damon whispered softly so that he didn't wake Alexine.

"She will never be the same." I glanced down at her.

Damon walked further inside the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He stood before us and simply looked at Alexine.

"She's beautiful," Damon admitted.

I nodded, "Very."

"She was afraid of me." Damon's voice hardened and his eyes darkened from remembering an earlier event.

I nodded again, "You can't expect her to trust so easily."

"She trusts you." Damon pointed out, glancing at me in a new light.

"Because we are so alike." I reasoned with him. Damon rubbed his face with his hands in frustration.

"Izzy, I want to help her but I know it is not a good thing that I do." He changed the subject.

I looked at him curiously. "Why do you want to help her?"

"She's so small and fragile. I don't know what it is but something inside of me is driving me to protect her. I don't know this feeling. She's a stranger yet here I am, wondering how she is doing." Damon muttered and waved his hand towards Alexine.

I moved slowly Alexine back into the bed and pulled the comforter over her. She whimpered and snuggled into her pillow for comfort. When I turned back around Damon was much closer now. He had that look in his face. It was almost as if the whimper tore him apart and all he wanted to do was fight her demons.

"Damon," I pulled him away from Alexine. It still too early for him to be near Alexine yet.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and turned away from Alexine. I grabbed onto his arm to stop him from walking out. There was something going on. Alexine needed to learn to trust again. By the look on Damon's face, I knew he would do anything to protect her. I don't know what it was about Alexine that stirred something in Damon that I haven't seen before but I knew that Damon is good for Alexine just as Alexine needs Damon.

"She is extremely broken and maybe beyond our imagination. She really had it rough. I was in the same place as her and the only way for me to escape was I had someone by my side. I will do everything I can for this female lycan. To me, she is already like a little sister. If you want to do the same, I suggest you think about what you can do for her to trust you."

"I don-"

"If you don't want to help her then that's fine, Damon, but make a choice and stick with it." I scolded him. He can want and then pull away. Alexine doesn't need that. She needed stability, a hard foundation that can support her falls.

Damon clenched his fist at his sides. I can see him fighting a battle within his mind. A second later, he glanced at Alexine and his eyes softened. The hard set in his face fell away.

"I could walk away," He started. "but I can't. I want to be there."

I smiled. "She might be worth the fight."

~~

After leaving Alexine's room, I headed to my old bedroom. I opened the room to see it destroyed. Broken furniture everywhere and the bed was torn apart. Immediately, I knew who did it. I can also see no one was allowed to step into this room to clean or touch. He left it as a memory of when I left him.

I walked over to the broken dresser and pulled out one drawer. In the drawer was a black velvet box wrapped in an old white handkerchief. In the box was a golden pendant bracelet that was intricately designed given from my mother. When I left that night, I left in a hurry. I left this behind. I am surprised it is still here.

Holding Alexine, it made me remember my mother and how she used to hold me while I cried to her. I never realized how she must have felt when I retold her what Pete did to me until now. The anger, fear, shame, and guilt was overwhelming.

I ran my fingers over the design on the bracelet before slipping it on. It made me feel closer to my mother. The floor creaked behind me and I spun around to find Malcolm looking at me.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked, looking around the room. His eyes replaying what he had done to the room.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. His scent wrapped around me like a warm fog, taking away what I was feeling at that moment.

"Thank you for believing me—for protecting me," I whispered into his chest.

He sighed and propped his chin on my forehead. "mo ghràdh (my love), I will do anything for you but what are you doing in this room?"

"I needed to get something," I told him before pulling back and lifting my hand to reveal the bracelet. "It was my mother's. I didn't take it with me but here it is."

He nodded and kissed the top of my forehead, "Let's go to bed."

I allowed him to pull me out of the bedroom and towards his that was on the other side of the corridor.