Page 29 of Rivers and Roads

I leaned my forehead against the center of his back and breathed out a sigh. “Please,” I said again.

I wasn’t sure if it was the word or the touch that broke him, but he took a shuffling step that almost knocked me off balance. He moved stiffly into the bathroom, and I let him feel the water several times before he went pliant enough to undress.

There weren’t a lot of supplies in there, but a bottle of pearly-thick soap sat on the edge of the porcelain, and there was a soft washcloth folded on the back of the toilet. I eased Zane over the lip of the tub, but instead of standing, he sank down under the spray. Drawing his knees to his chest, he bowed his head forward, and I watched the water run off him in a filthy brown stream.

He looked pathetic—beaten, starved, defeated under the water. They had stripped him to nothing and left him a shell of himself, and nothing made me want to kill more than this. My hands were shaking as I wet the cloth and poured soap on, and as I began to lather his skin, he let out a small noise.

Gratitude, maybe, which only made me feel worse. He shouldn’t be thankful for a kind touch, or to be cleaned. I ignored the pressing ache in my gut as I thought about all the other Wolves they had taken. They had done this to Bryn and likely countless others. But I didn’t think it was all of them. They had been up to something else—something we didn’t quite understand yet—with Kor.

Their tortures were probably creative, and the gods only knew what horrors would come of it.

Still, thinking about it now wasn’t doing either of us any good. I lifted his arm away from his curled legs, giving him a proper scrub. He was cooperative at least, and only whimpered when I began to wash around his slow-mending wounds.

It had to be chemicals that had kept him from healing, because he was half-shifted still, and the wounds should have closed almost immediately. I wanted to know how the fuck they managed it—to keep him half a beast, but unable to access the most vital part of our defenses.

“Zane,” I said quietly.

He stiffened, and I wondered if he recognized his name or if he was just reacting to my voice.

“I want to wash your hair and face, okay? Can you look up?”

He didn’t respond, so I gently pushed my hand through the curl of his arms and touched his chin. After only a little prodding, his head lifted, and I stared into his eyes. There wasn’t much there, but I could see something in them—a small whisper of the Wolf he’d been. He wasn’t lost, and the thought hit me like a blow to the sternum.

If I was patient, I could bring him back.

I let my mouth soften into a smile as I took the cloth and began to scrub at his face. His beard was thick from weeks of growth, and the grime on his cheeks was more stubborn than the rest of his body, but it came free, leaving his skin pink from the heat. I dragged my thumb over the edge of his jaw, and he sighed, leaning into the touch.

“It’s over,” I told him, then laughed because that was such a fucking lie. “You’re safe and they can’t get to you now.”

He stared back at me, and his tongue pushed past his fangs, dragging over his lip. After a beat, he turned his head into the spray and opened his mouth, drinking the warm water down in huge gulps. I winced, realizing I had neglected his thirst and hunger, but he did this with such joy, it was impossible for me to stop him.

He didn’t quite look at peace, but he looked calm for the first time since I got him out of that room. When he was done with the water, he sat back and shook his head, spraying me with water. I made a noise of outrage, and he met my gaze—not quite with a smile, but with something almost playful in his eyes.

“Real fuckin’ cute,” I muttered.

He huffed out through his nose, then leaned back against the edge of the tub and I let him luxuriate before I finally turned off the water. At that, he sat up with a betrayed look, but I held up the towel in one hand, and offered him my other to stand.

“Come on. There’s actual clothes for you to change into, and I need to get a look at your wounds. Then we can eat.”

Zane let me pull him from the tub and towel him off, and it was the first time I really acknowledged his nudity. His cock and balls hung thick and heavy between his legs—not even remotely aroused, but they were there. I had thought about him occasionally when I got myself off—a sort of forbidden fantasy I told myself meant nothing.

But now, being close to him—the heady scent of him affecting the Omega change within me that still hadn’t faded—I felt a warmth in my belly that was both needy and terrifying. I turned away when he made a soft, curious noise, and I hurried down the hall with him close at my heels.

I gestured to the clothes on the bed, then I laid out the medkit on the dresser and spoke without looking back at him. “If you can change, that would be a huge help. I’m going to see what Kor left us.”

I didn’t check his progress as I rummaged through, but there wasn’t much. Wolf medkits were normally for near-fatal emergencies. Shit to close up bullet wounds and counteract human poisons. It was all-too rare for us not to heal from shallow cuts, and all that I could find was a bit of rubbing alcohol and some gauze pads.

“This isn’t gonna help much. I…” My words died when I turned and found Zane lying on the bed, spread eagle. He was still naked, his palm gently rubbing over his dick, which was still limp, but he smelled faintly of arousal. “Oh…please don’t,” I whispered softly.

He peered one eye at me, and I shook my head, though that didn’t stop him.

“Put your clothes on, Zane. I’m going to make some food, and you can’t stay naked this entire time. You will literally murder me when your mind is back if I let you do that.” I could only hope that was the case, because I would take being murdered if it meant he would come back to me, and I left him like that as I rushed into the kitchen.

I came to a stuttered halt at the counter, letting my claws out, digging into the granite. My cock was showing vague interest in the naked, beaten, unfairly hot Alpha in the other room. It was nature, I told myself. This wasn’t something I could control. The last vestiges of Omega hormones were leaving my system, and they were just…reacting.

Still, I had to take several more deep breaths to regain control, then I turned to the task at hand. Doing this would at least give me a way to take my mind off him as I prayed to any god listening that he’d just get dressed and stop this quiet torment.

There was enough fresh food for me to throw together a couple of sandwiches stacked high with meat. Zane probably needed something simple. I couldn’t begin to imagine what they’d been feeding him, and I knew his body would take a while to adjust. But I had no doubt he was half-starved, and with any luck, I’d get him back into fighting condition before Kor arrived with backup.

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