Page 29 of Dreams of Magic

Marshall and the other three wolves came back into the clearing with a fifth wolf, but not one of the ones who attacked them. It was a much smaller, red wolf. It was the newest female to the pack, not counting Kenzie.

Her name was Sorcha McKay. She arrived about a month ago from another pack and asked Marshall to join. Aiden didn’t know much about her except that she was very shy and a bit jumpy, but she seemed nice. Seeing her here though, right after they were attacked was a bit concerning.

Marshall mind-linked the whole group so they could all hear.

“We did not catch the two wolves who attacked you, but we did run into Sorcha.”He looked at her with a good bit of suspicion in his eyes.

“Why are you out here? Were you a part of this attack? Are you a fucking spy Sorcha?”

He didn’t pause between questions. Each one sounding more and more angry. Aiden edged a bit closer to him, hoping to calm him a bit. Marshall didn’t get mad like this very often, but he was fuming.

“Marshall,”he said. “Let her answer you.”

He just growled in response and waited for her reply. Looking at her, Aiden noticed the poor girl was shaking. He almost wanted to protect her, she looked so terrified.

Finally, she answered, “I was just out for a run, I swear. Then I came across a scent I recognized from my old pack, so I followed it. I got close just in time to see the two wolves run off and then you arrive and chase after them”.

Marshall growled again. “So, you are saying that you are not involved?”

Sorcha whimpered, lowering her head as if the accusation hurt her feelings. “No Marshall. I would never be involved with them.”

“You said they were your old pack. How do I know that you’re not still loyal to them?”Marshall questioned. Aiden watched as her entire body shuddered and she seemed to close in on herself.

She didn’t answer right away, and he felt more than saw Marshall brace, then he took a breath and using his Alpha tone he commanded her, “TELL ME NOW!”

Sorcha dropped to her belly, exposing her neck in submission, and a small sob escaped her lips. Then, in a voice full of despair, “I am from Black Falls pack. I was their slave and punching bag for years. I only escaped a little over a month ago, and I came here. I came here because I heard you were a kind Alpha. Women are not treated as anything more than garbage there. I have nothing but hate for them and I would rather die than ever go back.”

Ah fuck. Aiden heard a pained sound come from Marshall and he dropped down to his belly in front of Sorcha.

Then, for the first time that he had ever heard under such circumstances, Marshall apologized. One of Marshalls main rules for himself, was to never apologize for something he had to do as the leader of the pack. Now that didn’t include other things, only for what he considered Alpha issues. But this, this deserved an apology and so much more.

He watched as Marshall crawled toward her, staying on his belly the whole way. It was only a few feet, but for the Alpha to crawl at all, was unheard of. Then he touched his nose to hers.

Holy shit. Aiden looked back and forth between them. Marshall hadn’t told him. In wolf form, touching noses is akin to kissing and was supposed to be reserved for your mate only. If Sorcha was Marshall’s mate, they both would have known the moment they met. Yet, they were not together.

She said she had been a slave at Black Falls pack, going off that information, he could only guess that what she had been through was unthinkable. Perhaps she was not ready to be mated and Marshall would never pressure her. But it was obvious that Marshall had no idea what had been done to her.

Black Falls pack was horrible. They knew that Alpha Tate was a monster, but they couldn’t prove it. They had heard rumors about him since before he was the alpha about his cruelty, but when he took over from his father things got much worse. They had a few people who came to the pack asking for sanctuary, which was granted, but they wouldn’t tell them what happened or would only give vague answers.

Now, seeing Sorcha, he knew it was much worse than they thought. He looked at her closer, taking in her fur, her body. There were several places where fur was missing, but he couldn’t quite see why. His guess was that they were scars, which were very rare for werewolves. Their healing abilities usually prevented scars in all but the worst injuries.

Aiden wanted to know what happened to her and he wanted to rip apart the person responsible. If he felt this way about a girl he barely knew, he couldn’t imagine how Marshall was feeling.

He was still lying with her, nose to nose, but they didn’t seem to be talking.

Aiden looked over at Kenzie. She looked very upset. He decided it was about time he got her out of there. It had already been a long day and they still had to deal with the council in a few hours. She needed to get back and heal, maybe get some rest.

“Marshall, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think I need to get Kenzie back. She was hurt and I want to check on her and maybe let her get some rest.”

He saw Marshall nose at Sorcha again, indicating for her to get up. Once they were both standing, he said,“Let’s head back. The council will be here soon.”

As they started back, Aiden noticed Kenzie’s camera on the ground next to a ripped pile of clothes. He used his nose to nudge the strap into a better position, then he picked it up in his teeth. He knew she would be upset if she lost it.

He had a passing thought that it was a shame her dress was ruined. She had looked fantastic in it.

She was in front of him, so he got to watch her the whole way back to the house. She walked so gracefully, almost making no noise. It was beautiful to watch.

When they arrived at the house, she turned around, he hoped looking for him. When she did, she noticed the camera dangling from his mouth and her eyes widened and a big wolfy grin spread across her face, and it made him so glad that he had grabbed it.

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