“Brie?” Puppet asked with a confused frown. “Is that my name?” Nickolai stepped forward and nodded. This was the first familiar face for Brie. The first person she recognized from before the Master had taken possession of her.

“Don’t you remember?” Nickolai asked, still standing several feet away. Too many feet as far as Puppet was concerned. Brie, she thought to herself with a shake of her head. Brie was her name.

“I don’t remember anything about my life before my Master bought me. But I do remember you. My strong soldier. My Nickolai.”

Brie watched him take another few steps forward and reach out a trembling hand but he stopped inches from her waiting cheek. The look in his eyes told her that he was afraid. Only she had ever been able to read Nickolai, and now, even after years of being apart, she could still read him.

He was afraid and she thought she knew why. The trembling in his hand told her that he was avoiding touching her, for fear that she would disappear. For fear that she wouldn’t really be there and this was all a trick of the light and the brain.

Brie closed the remaining distance between them and leaned her cheek against his rough, calloused hand. Her eyes slid closed as the sensations washed over her. So long it had been since she had felt this. For so long she had known only cold, wicked evilness but now she was once again feeling the tender caress of her Nickolai’s hand on her skin.

Grange understood that privacy was needed for the reunited mates and so he motioned for Farrah to come with him and led she and Dawn into the cabin, closing the door behind them.

Grange laid Trig on the floor and grabbed a small pillow from the couch to support his head.

“What happened?” Dawn asked. She grabbed a blanket off the sofa and tossed it to Farrah who frowned but then tied it around herself to hide her nakedness.

“Those men found us. Trig was so brave.” Farrah replied with a small smile as she studied his drawn face.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Trig whispered and Dawn and Farrah both gasped in surprise when his eyes fluttered open. “That was a nice rest but do you think you could get the chunk of lead out of my chest?”

“Sure thing.” Grange replied. He turned to Dawn.

“I need to go get that mess took care of before anyone else finds it. Can you handle this?” Grange could tell Dawn wanted to say no but instead she squared her shoulders and nodded.

“Yeah.” Grange kissed her brow and then went out the back door of the cabin. Dawn couldn’t help but blush and follow the movements of his sleek, naked body until he was out of sight.

She looked down at Trig’s injuries and felt bile rise in her throat at he sight of the bloody holes between his ribs and on his shoulder. She swallowed hard and looked up at his face.

His brown eyes were shining with pain, his skin pale and slicked with sweat. She grabbed a small swatch of cloth she’d been sewing off the sofa and laid it over Trig’s waist to save her eyes from traveling in that direction.

“I guess I’ll have to get a knife or something to help get the bullet out. I hope that will….” Dawn didn’t have time to finish her sentence before Farrah reached forward, a long, sharp claw forming at the end of her finger.

She stuck the claw into the hole in Trig’s chest and Dawn covered her mouth with her hand and nearly let out a cry of shock when she began fishing around for the bullet.

Trig’s jaw clamped shut tight and his eyes widened as his muscles tensed and his tendons bulged.

It only took Farrah a matter of seconds before she was pulling her fingers from the hole with what was left of the bullet pinched between them.

“Got it!” she said with a proud, happy smile. Trig took several long deep breaths and then managed a weak smile as his blood covered the floor beneath him.

“Good job, sweetheart.” he managed to gasp and Farrah beamed with pride.

***

“How are you here?” Nickolai managed to whisper as his thumb stroked his Brie’s soft jaw. “Your father said you were dead. He told me you were dead.”

“My father..?” Brie asked thoughtfully. She thought back to her memory. The man, she had always assumed was her father, telling her that Nickolai was dead and then selling her to her Master. Her Master had handed her father a good deal of money and then taken her away.

“Do you remember him?” Nickolai asked.

“I remember his face, though I did not realize for sure that the memory was of my father.” she replied. “He told me you were dead.”

“That makes no sense.” Nickolai stated and then he shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about that right now, I just want to hold you.”

“I want to be held by you.” Nickolai pulled her into his arms and felt his legs begin to shake as he held his Brie’s soft, small body against his own.

So long it had been since he had felt this kind of peace. The peace that only Brie had ever given him. Why had Colin lied to him? Why had her father told Nickolai that Brie was dead? Why had he told Brie that Nickolai was dead?

“Walk with me?” Nickolai asked and Brie nodded as she breathed him in.

“I’d follow you anywhere, Nickolai. The same as I always did.” Nickolai smiled and then jogged over to where he had left his trousers. After pulling them on and using his discarded shirt to clean the blood from his face and nose the best he could, he took Brie’s hand and led her into the woods, toward the pool of water that was a favorite of the pack.

“So pretty.” Brie gasped as she looked at the sun sparkling like diamonds atop the water. Dragonflies darted about while birds sang in the surrounding oaks and pines. Wildflowers danced in the breeze, filling the air with their fragrance. “For so long I saw nearly nothing other than stone walls.”

Nickolai tensed as his grip on her tightened.

“Were you with that elf, Brie? Farrah told us you were called ‘Puppet’ there.” Brie swallowed hard and snuggled deeper into his embrace. Safe and loved. Those were two things that she felt with Nickolai that she hadn’t felt in a long long time.

“Yes. My Master.” Nickolai growled and spun her around, putting his hand under her chin and forcing her gaze up to him.

“You have no master!” he stated fiercely. Fear flashed in Brie’s gray/green eyes and Nickolai forced himself to take a deep breath to calm his temper.

“You have no master, my Brie. You are not with that man any longer and you never will be again. You are back with me where you belong. Where you should have been all these years.”

“I love you, Nickolai.” Brie whispered. Nickolai smiled and ran his hand along her cheek before pulling her face up and bending down to brush his lips gently against her own.

Brie sighed and slid her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Nickolai knew they still had things to talk about. It had been nearly a century since they had even seen one another but right now, kissing her like this, it felt as if she had never gone away.

He remembered the softness of her lips, the way she purred in the back of her throat when he kissed her and the way her fingers sunk deep in his hair, looping the strands around themselves. He remembered the way her body fit so perfectly up against his own and how her softness had always made him feel stronger and more powerful.

He held her closer, deepening the kiss and moving his hand down along her shoulder. She was dressed in only a thin, dirt stained, white cotton gown that barely fell past her knees and was sleeveless so the soft skin of her shoulder could be felt beneath his hand.

His heart began to thunder faster, his blood pumping hotter as his hand searched lower still and cupped her full breast in his hand. His hand recognized the weight and the feel of her against his palm. A growl formed in his chest, coming out against her lips but then he felt her stiffen and her moans of pleasure became moans of fear and panic.

She fought against him and Nickolai quickly broke his hold and let her go.

“What is wrong?” he asked as gently as he could, though his nose was hurting and he currently had a throbbing in his trousers.

“Nothing.” Brie promised quietly, suddenly looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry.” Nickolai studied her and felt a rock settling into the pit of his stomach.

She had never shied away from his touch before. As a matter of fact she had always been very eager and passionate with him. Farrah had said something about ‘Puppet’ being the Masters favorite. That he took special care of her so she could satisfy him and not stink up his bed.

A rage unlike anything Nickolai had ever known filled his soul. He had been trained, coached, from a young age to never show his emotions. Never lose control. Always stern and always stoic was how he’d been taught to be, but now he lost control.

A growl, that was more roar than growl, burst from his lips, thundering through the trees and filling the peaceful afternoon. Brie winced and stepped away from him as he shook with the intensity of his anger.

“He touched you, didn’t he?” his managed to ask through his clenched teeth and tense jaw. Tears filled Brie’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Nickolai. I never wanted to be unfaithful to you! He made me… Please believe me!” she pleaded as she clung to his tense arm. Nickolai shook his head and yanked himself away from her touch.

He had done that to her! He had let that man have her! She was his mate and it had been his job to keep her safe! He shouldn’t have just taken someone’s word that she was dead! He should have checked for himself. He should have taken the time to find out what had happened.

Because of his failures as a mate, his Brie had been prisoner to a man who had used her. Who had brainwashed her. Caused her to forget everything she had once known and had touched her body as if it belonged to him!

“I think I should get you back now.” Nickolai growled and then he turned and stalked away, giving Brie no choice but to follow as silent tears ran in rivers down her cheeks.

Nickolai did not want her any longer. She couldn’t blame him. Not after another man had touched her body the way only her mate should have. She should have fought against her Master harder and she had in the beginning but the pain of the beatings had been too much and she had learned that it was easier to simply lie there and let him take what he wanted.

When Nickolai had been touching her she had suddenly remembered the feeling of the Masters hands on her and that had caused her to panic. She wanted Nickolai to touch her again, make her forget, but now that would never happen. Her mate was done with her and the worst part of it was that she did not blame him.

***

It hadn’t taken Grange long at all to clean the mess. Thankfully the miners had attacked Trig and Farrah close to an abandoned pit that was nearly a mile deep. Deep enough that no on would ever find the bodies.

He had shifted, tossed them all in, raised his leg over them for good measure and then headed back toward the cabin. He needed a good bath but figured that Dawn would need one as well so they might as well take one together.

He shifted back to his human form, grabbed his trousers off the ground beside the road and pulled them on. He was about to go inside and get Dawn when Nickolai came striding out of the woods with Brie trailing behind him, crying silently.

It was clear that Nickolai was in a rage. The man was shaking and his fists were clenched. His eyes were narrowed to barely more than slits and his jaw was hard. Grange was surprised, to say the least. He had never seen Nickolai’s face and posture show emotion with this much intensity.

“What’s going on?” Grange asked.

“I’m going after him. I’m going to kill him for what he did to my mate.” Nickolai growled, his voice low and deadly. Brie seemed surprised to hear this.

“What?!” she exclaimed as she came around him and put her hands on his chest. Nickolai stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at her. Brie saw it then, beneath all the anger and rage was a sadness and a guilt so profound that it stole her own breath.

“Nickolai, you cannot go after him. I finally got you back. We are together now. The past doesn’t matter… Unless.. Unless it matters to you.” Brie whispered. Grange knew she needed reassurance but it was clear that Nickolai’s anger was too great for him to notice anything other than his urge for vengeance.

“I trust you to watch Brie while I am gone.” Nickolai said, turning his gaze toward Grange, and then he began to walk away once again, moving Brie out of the way with one arm as he went.

Grange stepped in front of Nickolai and shook his head.

“No. You will not leave.” he stated firmly. Nickolai met Grange’s eyes and the two stared hard at one another. The tension was thick in the air and the air practically crackled.

“I will avenge what happened to my mate.” Nickolai growled. Grange nodded.

“I agree but this is not the way.” Grange replied.

“Get out of my way!” Nickolai yelled. Grange was shocked by the outburst but stood his ground. He didn’t care how angry Nickolai was, he wouldn’t allow a member of his pack to rush off and commit suicide.

“I am the alpha here and I say you are not going anywhere.” Grange insisted. He noticed Dawn, Trig and Farrah come out onto the porch but before he could tell them to stay back, Nickolai lunged at him.

Grange caught the smaller man but Nickolai was good at fighting and he swung up his leg and caught Grange in the temple. Grange growled and realized that Nickolai was starting to shift. Grange beat him to it and then pinned the other wolf to the ground.

Nickolai snapped his jaws at him and Grange quickly closed his teeth around Nickolai’s neck, stilling his movements. Both Dawn and Brie ran forward, crying for both of the men to stop.

Grange finally felt Nickolai’s body sag beneath his own and the other wolf whimpered his submission.

Grange jumped away from him and shifted back just as Dawn came running into his arms.

“Are you okay?” she gasped and Grange saw the gold in her eyes and knew she had barely kept herself from shifting as well and jumping to his aide. He simply nodded in response and kept a close eye on Nickolai who had shifted back as well and was getting to his feet.

“I apologize, alpha.” he said, bowing his head. “I will not lose control like that again.” Grange just shook his head.

“Why don’t we all just go up to the porch and talk this through?” he replied before leading Dawn that way.

Nickolai took Brie by the arm and turned his back on the porch to give him what privacy he could.

“I’m so sorry, my Brie.” He saw the tears on her face and gently smoothed them away with his thumbs. “Why are you crying so?”

Her big, sad eyes looked up at him and her small fingers ran over the hard muscles of his chest.

“I just want you to know that I understand.” she replied quietly. Nickolai frowned.

“Understand what?”

“Why you are angry with me.”

“Angry with you?” Nickolai whispered with shock. “I am not angry with you. Never with you.” A line creased in Brie’s brow as she studied his face.

“But you are angry…” she replied slowly.

“Yes. With me. With that elf. With life for being so damn unfair to you. I should have kept you safe. I failed you, my Brie.”

“No, Nickolai, you did not.” Brie replied as she laid her cheek against his tense jaw. Nickolai leaned against the touch and Brie smiled. “There is a lot going on that I don’t understand but what I do know is that I love you. I have loved you all these years and that will never change. You are my strong soldier. My Nickolai.”

Nickolai pulled her close and kissed her hair.

“I missed you so.” he whispered.

“Nickolai, come on now.” Grange called from the porch. Nickolai turned just in time to catch the trousers that Grange threw to him. Nikcolai pulled them on and Grange nodded.

“Come on then, you two, we have a few things to figure out. And then I believe a trip to town will be in order because we‘re running out of clothes.”