Page 2 of His Wild Attraction

Fuck Gary.

Anger filled me when I thought of that piece of trash I’d married. I took a calming breath and clutched Sammy’s hand in mine. He yawned and pressed his head into my thigh, and I swallowed down my emotion.

My sweet, sleepy boy, you’re okay. I’ll make sure you’re safe from now on. I will never be weak again.

That was my promise to my son, and I would keep it. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

“Hi, I’m Meredith. Welcome to St. Elizabeth’s. We’re so glad you’re here now.” A kind-looking woman with gorgeous red hair and green eyes came to meet me.

“I’m Ellie. This is Sammy,” I said, and she bent down and greeted my shy son with a smile.

Sammy hid behind my leg at first, but eventually he came out of his shell, coaxed by cookies and toys.

“Want to tell me about it?” she asked when he was distracted.

“Where should I start? With how stupid I am for letting myself be a victim?” I said, my self-loathing evident.

“No. You’re not stupid, Ellie. And yes, you were victimized, but that was a moment in time out of your whole life. You can choose not to be a victim. Coming here was the first step,” she said, her voice rich with sympathy.

“I never thought I would end up in a place like this,” I confessed, hating that I sounded weak and naïve, and maybe even a little judgmental.

“Ellie, no one expects this or plans it. At St. Elizabeth’s, we believe everyone deserves to feel safe. It’s our mission to help families like you and Sammy move from a place where you lacked the basic security everyone is entitled to, to a place where you can breathe freely again. Let me help you both. Please,” she implored.

Meredith’s big green eyes filled with compassion, and more than that, I could sense the basic goodness inside of her. She wasn’t judging me, even if I was.

And she wasn’t pitying me.

That was important to me.

You have no idea how important.

It’d been so long since anyone had offered to help. Longer still since I felt seen. I sucked in a shuddering breath and felt the tears pricking my eyes.

She was right.

Gary was a monster. But I wouldn’t be his victim.

I couldn’t allow him to have that hold over me. Not when I had Sammy to think about.

So, on that bright spring afternoon, I told my entire story to a complete stranger, and sought shelter for me and my son.

And it’s the first best decision I made since leaving him.

CHAPTER ONE ELLIE

It all started when I stepped into a pile of cat shit.

Yeah, cats used litter boxes, but only when they're clean. Some cats were pickier than others, according to the internet, and everyone knew the internet was always right.

I had a system in place. I scooped daily and changed the cat litter every eight days.

Rocky was still technically a kitten. Only nine months old, or so the animal rescue place had said. He shouldn’t require more frequent cleaning than that.

It was a jumbo sized litter box, for Pete’s sake!

Meredith had been kind enough to allow pets in the Morristown housing where Sammy and I recently moved. It was an offsite location from the Manhattan branch of St. Elizabeth’s Shelter for Women and Children.

Sammy and I were residents there for a couple of months, but Gary had found us and started sending letters with thinly veiled threats. He showed up twice, harassing the poor employees who worked there, some of them volunteers.

---