The Blind Werewolf Princess (1st book of Werewolf Series)

Chapter 28

"So," I began and pulled Bethany onto my lap when she was near me. I looked around the room with unseeing eyes at the girls gathered. "Would anyone like to start?"

The girls stayed silent and looked at each other. Their whole bodies were tense, and I knew that they didn't want to say anything in front of the three men that were gathered.

"Caden said that he would help u- you all," I soothed, chanting from "us" to "you all" since I did not need help. I was adopted and did not go through the pain of yesterday.

"What about you?" Bethany asked. "Do you not consider yourself one of us any longer?" There was a twinge of hurt in her voice, and it broke my heart. She did not move out of my arms, but I had a feeling that she wanted to so that she could look at me.

I bit back a sigh of relief because I was not sure if I was in the clear or not. "I did not think you would consider me as one of everyone," I said slowly. "I was not there yesterday, and..." I trailed off and shrugged.

"Well, you're still one of us," Bethany said, and there were murmurs of agreement from the people gathered around us. "You have been through this sh- stiff for almost eighteen years."

I nodded and relaxed slightly. "Good catch, Beth," I said, and she rolled her eyes and scowled.

"But you are one of us," she said, and I nodded. "Don't ever forget that, ok?"

I smiled and nodded. "Ok," I said. I sighed and rubbed Bethany's arm. I grew serious. "But you can trust them. They'll do what is right."

Again, they stayed silent, and I had a feeling that they looked at each other. They were all nervous, and I wasn't sure if it was because of them or if it was because of me.

"She locked all of us in the basement," Mandy said, her voice barely above a whisper. "She had gone insane, screaming and yelling at us. She threw stuff at us, and there have been some... injuries."

I turned my head towards her, my heart pounding harder in my chest. Anger filled my body, and I had to make sure that I didn't squeeze Bethany, even though I wanted. "How bad?" I asked, my voice hard and left no room for argument.

"Not bad," Mandy said quickly. "It was only a few scrapes and bruises, but there are no broken bones."

"Who was injured yesterday?" I asked, and a few people raised their hands. I frowned when no one said a word while they put their hands down. "You do remember that I am blind, right?" I asked. I waved my hand in front of my face while I made a face and earned a few chuckles in response to my antics from my companions. "Who has been injured?"

"Me, Mia, Mila, Hayley, and Courtney," Bethany said. "I think I am the one who had the worst injury out of all of us." Nervousness filled her voice, and I had a feeling that it was because of a look she had gotten from one of the men.

I squeezed Bethany reassuringly, making sure that I didn't hurt her even worse, and looked in the direction of Caden. "Will you need photos of the injuries caused by her?" I asked. "Will that help put her away for child abuse and endangerment?"

"It should help," Caden replied. He cleared his throat, sensing the tension in the air of those that were gathered. "Would you all mind if we did give you a check up? My p- uh, doctor will give you an examination with Carley in the room if it makes you feel better."

"I will have the examination done, too," I said, looking at the group, "that way, you all know that it will be fine." I turned my gaze back to Caden, feeling him already staring at me. "I want those that have been labeled as unadoptables to be checked out fully. I want to make sure that there isn't anything that we're missing and make sure that there aren't any lasting side effects."

"There might be one," Bethany said, her voice barely above a whisper, and I knew what she meant.

They had been through trauma, stuff that could and probably had affected their mental health. It wasn't just the physical we had to worry about but the mental.

There could be signs of suicide that I didn't know about or whatnot, and I prayed that there wasn't. They didn't need this to affect them for the rest of their lives, for they were still young, with the oldest child being fourteen, not including Mandy or me.

"We can help with the mental health aspect, too," Caden said, and I shot him a grateful look. "However, that will be up to the person. If they want the help, then we will offer it to them."

"Will you do it?" Bethany asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She was looking at me, and I knew that she wanted to know if I would take the help for the mental health aspect.

I set my jaw and made sure to keep my face blank and heart level. I wanted to tense and change the conversation because I knew that if I opened up about the abuse that I had been through, then I'd have to tell them about stuff that I did not want to talk about. I did not want to explain how I knew about Supernatural Creatures to a stranger or what I do with them.

"Please?" Bethany asked, and her voice was soft, and it melted my heart. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it, and I knew that she would feel more comfortable with the idea of talking to someone if I said yes.

They all would.

I sighed and nodded. "Ok," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'll talk to someone, too."

"Promise?"

"Promise."