Page 74 of Refuge (The Wanderers 2)

Ariel smiled at her. “I was like that at first too. I promise it’s real, and you’re going to be fine.” She gave Cora a hug and then left.

As she stepped into the hallway, she wasn’t surprised to find Jeremy leaning against the gray wall. He looked concerned, and she couldn’t blame him. She didn’t know him as well as Tarin or Layla of course, but what little she knew had always been good. He was one of the best.

“Hey.” He swallowed. “She okay?”

“Yeah. It’s going to take some time. She’ll have trouble trusting you. She, uh… She thought she would be expected to sleep with you. Like she’d been assigned to you.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened in horror. “Fuck.”

“It’s okay. I explained that you would never touch anyone without their permission and certainly not someone vulnerable who needs help and kindness.”

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll be very careful to make sure she never feels threatened by me.”

Ariel met his gaze. “It’s not really my place to tell her secrets, but Jeremy, she’s never been treated kindly in her life, especially not by men. The nomads she was with had kidnapped her and Cora, and not to do their cooking and cleaning.”

Jeremy winced and ran a hand down his face. “Jesus.”

They all knew people with stories like Cora’s and Grecia’s. It was not unusual. But it was always sad. “She never expected to live or be permitted to even look at that baby. The men didn’t care if it lived or died or even if she did. They would’ve sold the baby if it had been born alive.”

“No wonder she hasn’t named her yet.”

“Yeah. Now you understand better.”

Jeremy nodded. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure she knows she has free will here and I’m nothing more than a friend.” He glanced at the door, but he was shifting his weight back and forth.

Ariel touched his arm. “It’s okay if you like her as more than a friend. I get it. She’s gorgeous and very sweet, but don’t let her know you’re interested in her yet. Let her come to you. She’s going to need a lot of time. She may never be able to.”

Footsteps caused Ariel to look down the hallway to see Tarin approaching. He looked concerned.

“Everything okay? Did you find someone to help with breastfeeding?” Ariel asked.

“Yeah. Julie will be here soon. They’ll send her straight to your apartment when she arrives,” Tarin told Jeremy. “We have a problem though.”

“What?” Ariel shifted her weight, her spine tingling. She didn’t like his look or his tone.

“Those other two men who were with Cora and Grecia found the body and lost their shit.”

Ariel gasped. “How do we know that?”

“The council sent two men to go bury the body properly, but when they arrived, they found two men nearby, grumbling and having a tantrum. Our men didn’t approach or show themselves. They simply listened to the ranting. Those two assholes vowed to scour the entire area until they find whoever killed their friend and retrieve their women.”

Ariel winced. “Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“What does the council want to do?”

“They’re meeting about it now.”

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