Page 62 of Hayden's Haven
“She’s doesn’t want to return to your pack. Ever.”
“Is this true, Mila?” Truman asked.
She nodded. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she couldn’t. She had closed down again when confronted with the very real possibility that they were taking her back.
“You’re not safe here. You’ll come home, with us.”
“She’s safe here. No one will touch her,” Damien said, eyeing Hayden for some odd reason.
“Your shifters killed three of mine who were trying to rescue her.”
“They were yours?” Mila asked, stunned. “One tried to rape me!”
Truman looked at Vance for an explanation.
“They were lone wolves that we accepted into the pack. I didn’t have time to vet them well. We were rushing to save you, Mila,” Vance’s voice carried past Hayden, toward her. Hayden wouldn’t let Vance get past him, but that wouldn’t stop Vance from reaching her. “You know I would never knowingly put you in danger.”
She wanted to laugh. Or cry. Her wolf was literally spinning in circles inside of her, not sure what to do.
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Hayden said, still standing between her and Vance.
“Talk to me, Mila,” Vance said, finally side-stepping Hayden. “You know how good it is between us, honey.”
Honey. That’s what he always called her after he beat her, when he apologized. Mila couldn’t breathe as all the memories assaulted her. The beatings, the intimidation, the loneliness.
“I’ll say this much, you have a type,” Vance said with a slight growl from his wolf. He wasn’t doing a good job containing himself. Good, maybe he’d show his true colors in front of Truman and the alpha would finally see the shifter for the cold, manipulative, controlling bastard he was. “You want a white wolf so badly, stick with me, not this murderer.” He sneered toward Hayden.
White wolf, white wolf, white wolf.
“I’m not a murderer,” Hayden said his voice clipped.
White wolf, white wolf, white wolf.Hayden was a white wolf like Vance.
“You killed my men. I recognize your scent. You ripped their throats out.”
“One was attacking her. The other two had attacked my enforcer. They attacked us, not the other way around.”
Hayden backed up. Without taking his eyes off of Vance, he extended his hand behind him to her. When she didn’t take his hand, he turned to face her. The hurt she saw there in his eyes sickened her. She had let him down by hesitating. He was a white wolf, but he wasn’t Vance or Drake.
Mila stepped forward and slipped her hand into his. His fingers wrapped around hers. He never hesitated, but she could see it in his eyes. She had wounded him.
“Damien, we’re leaving. And if she hasn’t already told you, Mila officially requests asylum here.”
“Is that it, Mila?” Vance called. “You’re shacking up with the shifter who murdered his own alpha? He’s just as bad as his brother Drake. The whole family is crazy. Why do you think my family left there a generation ago? I’ll blood-bond you, just like you’ve always wanted. Soon as we get home.”
Hayden was Drake’s brother? Vance wanted to blood-bond? Did anyone ever tell her the truth about anything?
“Damien,” Truman called past her, his voice as sure as ever. “We’re leaving. With Mila. She hasn’t requested sanctuary. Your shifter requested it for her. It’s not the same thing. Even if she did, we need her. She’s our only doctor. You prevent us from taking her and you will regret it.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Truman. While she hasn’t formally requested sanctuary, she clearly doesn’t want to go with you. And she’s doing important work here, work that will benefit shifters everywhere. You don’t need her.”
Mila heard everything they were saying, even recognized how it would help Damien if she spoke up on her own behalf, but she couldn’t. Hayden was Drake’sbrother. He hadn’t told her. What else hadn’t he told her? Hayden had fallen exceedingly quiet in the exchange between the alphas.
Everything made sense now. Why they not only looked alike, but why so many shifters in Damien’s pack hated Hayden. She looked at their joined hands. He hadn’t released her. Would he want to possess her like Vance? Was she trading one bad situation for another?
Mila looked at Vance for the first time. He was whispering to Truman. Whatever he was planning, she couldn’t go back. Finally, she glanced up at Hayden. She backed away from both white wolves, into Damien who steadied her.
Down to three shifters now. Damien. Tess. Callen.
