Page 31 of The Beta's Heart

“You dumbass!” I shook my head. “Why didn’t you stop her? Or step back if you didn’t want to push her away?”

“I was in shock, Sissy! Neither Wyatt nor I realized what they wanted until she touched me, and by then it was too late! Posy thought we were flirting back with them!”

“You two fuckers shouldn’t be allowed out without a leash and a muzzle,” I muttered.

“Look, Mase already tore into us good and proper, so I don’t need to hear another lecture, okay? And certainly not from my kid sister!”

“I hope he told you to treat all girls like they’re flirting with you from now on.”

“He did. Like I said, we gave her a nice surprise, which made her happy, and she said she forgave us when we apologized.” He stopped and rubbed the back of his neck, then continued with a rasp inhis voice. “I also oweyouan apology. We all do. We should have given you a heads-up about Posy. About what she’s been through.”

“What do you mean?” I leaned forward, my heart pounding.

He took a deep breath, his eyes darkening with pain.

“When we got to Green River the other day, we found our little mate being beaten by her father. Garnet and Quartz ended Alpha Kendall Briggs immediately, of course, but Posy passed out from the pain. He’d struck her on the face hard enough to break her jaw, Sissy.”

“Oh my Goddess!” I felt a wave of horror wash over me, but something told me her story was about to get worse, and I was right.

“While waiting for her to wake up, we interrogated her older brothers and learned that Alpha Briggs kept her locked in a dark room and only let her out to cook and clean for him,” Cole went on. “For the last six years, she’s been abused and starved and isolated from the pack. At least, that’s what we know so far. I’m sure there’s plenty more, but unless she decides to tell us, we’ll never know all of it.”

I covered my mouth with my hand, feeling sick to my stomach.

“She has so many scars,” he continued, his voice trembling. “Her father made them with liquid mercury and silver. The worst one, though, is a brand in the center of her spine right above her waistband. KAB. Kendall Allen Briggs. His fucking initials, Sissy!”

“That’s... that’s monstrous!”

“As for Lark, her wolf, she’d just woken up from a three-month coma after being poisoned by wolfsbane.” My brother’s eyes filled with tears as he finished the story. “She told Ash that her bastard father fed it to her as a punishment for trying to run away.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I listened to my brother’s heartbreaking confession. I wanted to scream, to rage against the cruelty Posy had endured, but I knew I needed to be strong for Cole.

“I had no idea,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “I can’t believe she went through all of that.”

Cole’s sobs grew louder, his shoulders shaking with the force of his grief. I moved to sit beside him, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close.

“It’s not your fault,” I murmured, trying to comfort him. “You couldn’t have known.”

“But we should have,” he choked out, burying his face in his hands. “We should have been there for her, and we weren’t!”

“Well, you’re here for her now, so help her heal. All of you. I will, too.” I held him tighter, my own tears mingling with his.

“Can she?” Cole asked, his voice breaking. “Can she heal from something like that?”

“Of course she can! It’s going to take time and love and patience, but she’ll heal, especially if her mates are by her side every step of the way.” I looked into his tear-filled eyes and squeezed his hand.

“Damn right we will be!” Now his eyes blazed with determination, and I knew my strong, bear-like brother was back to normal, despite the tears drying on his cheeks.

“I’ll be there, too. If she wants me to be, that is,” I added.

“I’m sure she will,” Cole told me, his voice steadier now. “Thanks, Sissy. Not only for listening to me vent and all, but because it would mean a lot to herandus if you two became friends.”

“I feel the same way.”

“Good, because you’re invited to dinner tonight, and we need to get going before our were-pig brothers start without us.”

“Cole!” I scolded as I jumped to my feet. “You could have told me that first, doofus, and spilled your guts while I got ready!”

“You look fine. Throw on a pair of shoes and let’s go.”

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