Page 24 of Melissa's Mates (Blissful Bets)

“No, no. Just let it come, Melly. I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m so sorry for your pain. God, I can feel it, and I wish I could erase it. Please let us try.”

At the name, she went even crazier.

“Don’t call her that, Connor. Oh, shit. He didn’t know, Melissa.”

Flashes of her father blinded her. His hands were so large, were always reared back so high when he brought them down at her. She couldn’t hide; there was nowhere to go. She wanted to run away forever. To be away from the monster he’d become. You’re worthless, Melly! You never listen to anything I say, Melly! God she hated that name. She hated him.

Wetness from Connor’s tears hit her face, ripping her from the vision she could see so clearly. Burning coated her throat, and she wasn’t even aware of when she started screaming. She grew still from thrashing, horrified at what had just happened. “I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

Connor looked at her through his bloodshot eyes. “Hurt me? Baby, I hurt for you. Not because of you.” He turned over, placing her between him and Channing. “God, Melissa. I had no idea of the pain you carried. We both share that, you know? Whenever you feel ready to tell me, if you ever feel ready, I’ll be here.”

“What pain do you carry?” Wiping the tears from her eyes, she studied his face while Channing pulled her against his body. She thought about easing away, but she was too tired to fight anymore, and something about him holding her felt right.

“I was born in New Orleans. My father was Alpha. I had a pretty normal childhood. My parents were great, if not a tad bit overprotective, but what kid doesn’t think that? Anyway, I’d just gone through my change at sixteen, and things were starting to get pretty rowdy. Threats were coming in from a rival pack, but at the time, I didn’t take it too seriously. I should have.” Connor took a deep breath. “Sorry, I haven’t ever said any of this out loud before.”

“Go on.” Melissa’s hand reached for his, pulling it to her chest. A look of tenderness swept across his face. He brought her fingers to his lips and returned her hand to be placed against her heart.

“Sometime in the middle of the night, our house was attacked. I remember waking up to the sound of something crashing downstairs. Thinking it was just one of the pack members drunk again, I went back to sleep. The next thing I knew, my mother’s screams woke me. I started to run for the door to see if she was all right, but they made it to my room first. I heard my mother screaming for me to run. The fear...Without thought, I did, and to this very day I regret it.”

“Oh, Connor. If you would have stayed, you’d be dead right now.” Melissa’s breath shuttered as she stared up into his haunted eyes. The vulnerability that she could see broke her heart. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

“Yeah, me too. You see, the remaining pack brought me back and hid me at one of their houses. They wanted me to fight the man who killed my parents, but I couldn’t face him back then. It took three years of them beating me to finally realize I wouldn’t go along with their plan. The day they let me go, I went to him. No orders from anyone. It was all me. Needless to say, he won’t ever be hurting anyone else. “

Melissa kissed his hand repeatedly. She wasn’t sure why, but the need to comfort him during his pain overpowered every thought in her head.

“Would you like to tell me about your past, Melissa?”

She looked into his eyes long and hard. He deserved to know after what he had gone through by telling her his past. Searching for the words to begin her story, she tried to calm the growing panic. To say the words out loud would open wounds she didn’t want to face. But oddly enough, she felt willing to do that for Connor.

Chapter 10

“I was seven when it all started. The beatings, that is. I’m not really sure what happened. I used to think everything was perfect. The first time is still as clear to me today as it was twenty-three years ago.

“My mom was cooking dinner and I was helping.” Melissa took a ragged breath. “She used to make desert every night. I was stirring the cake batter when my father slammed the door. I remember the sound scared me, and I jumped, dropping the bowl. Chocolate mix sprayed across the floor.”

Melissa stared in a trance, seeing everything in slow motion. The plastic bowl bounced, sending the dark color across a shiny white floor. “Where were you earlier? I called, and you didn’t answer.”

The image of her father came rushing forward. “Melissa, honey, go to your room.” Her mother’s soft voice sounded so near. She knew she was speaking the words out loud, but it didn’t stop her from reliving the incident over in her head.

Melissa could see her former self trying to rush out of the room. She’d never heard her father yell that way before, and it frightened her. Just as she passed him, she felt his fingers wrapped in her hair and jerk her back. The pain was excruciating, and she remembered crying out and bursting into tears. A strong smell nearly choked her as her father’s face came inches from hers. Now, she knew it was liquor, but back then she hadn’t a clue.

“Oh no, she’s not going anywhere. She’s cleaning up this mess. What, do you think money grows on trees, Silvia? Someone has to pay for the bills and food. It’s sure as hell not you.”

Melissa could feel her tiny frame pushed down toward the chocolate. She could remember crying so hard the dark color blurred together.

“Melissa, go to your room.”

The voice was so quiet she could barely hear it over her sobs. A hand wrapped around her arm gently, and that’s when she heard it. The crack was so deafening as he hit her mother, she screamed, trying to block out the noise. She could hear her father yelling at her to be quiet, but she couldn’t stop screaming.

Hands gripped her with enough pressure that she thought her arms would be crushed. The shake he gave snapped her head back, only scaring her more. Melissa saw his hand rise, and she could feel herself become frozen in fear, just like the little girl she once was.

“How long?”

“What?” She broke from her daze and looked at Connor. She wasn’t sure exactly how much she’d told. Maybe everything, maybe hardly anything at all.

“How long did this go on? With your father?”

“Oh.” Melissa gave her head a little shake. “My mother committed suicide when I was twelve. Everyone said my father drove her crazy. If you ask me, it was my father who fell off the deep end. Anyway, after that I lived with my father for about a year before I came to live with my grandparents, here in Port Aransas.”

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