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

Chapter 23

When we walked into the main packhouse, I was instantly attacked by arms wrapping around my waist, and I hugged the person back because I knew that it was Bethany.

She sobbed against me and buried closer towards me, muttering, 'don't leave me,' 'don't leave me,' over and over again, and I had a feeling that Georgie, if not Mandy had done something to frighten this poor girl.

I handed Max my staff, feeling him next to me, and picked up the 4'5 female, not even caring that I was only a foot and an inch taller than her. "I am here," I soothed while she wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face into the crook between her arms and my neck. "I am here." I rubbed her back and heard the door opened to my left. "What happened?" I asked, smelling that it was Caden.

"I don't know," he replied, and I could tell that he was telling the truth. He was confused about something, and I had a feeling that it had to deal with the girls that had lived underneath Georgie's "care." "All of them have been quiet and didn't say a word when we picked them up from the house. They are just huddled in the living room except for one, and she is in the bathroom. This one has been by the door, waiting for you to come in."

I nodded my head and laid my head on Bethany's head, feeling her crying start to slow down until it stopped. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting. Forgive me?"

Bethany sniffled and pulled away. She wiped her eyes and studied me, and I had a feeling that her eyes were filled with tears. "Am I going to be taken away from you?" she asked, and I mentally cringed because she would be.

Unfortunately, she wasn't a Wolf and was only Human. I had no idea if Caden would allow multiple Humans to live amongst them for fear of their secret being leaked out to the general public.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "But let's talk about that later, ya? I need to know what had happened the day that I hadn't been there. Ok?"

Bethany sniffled and nodded. "Can you go check on Mandy first, and then we'll talk about everything?" she asked. She moved, and I had a feeling that she wiped her eyes. "I think that she is taking this harder than anyone else."

I set her down when she shifted in my arms because she had indicated that she wanted to be put down but clutched her hand in mine. "Look at you caring about her," I teased, earning a snort and her rolling her eyes. I squeezed her hand, telling her that I was proud of her while she led me to the bathroom with Caden and the two other men behind me.

"Very funny," she said dryly, and I chuckled. She cleared her throat and looked behind us. "I'm Bethany, by the way," she said.

"I'm Max, and this is my dad, John," Max said. He still had my staff in his hands, and I could tell that he was being careful with it, afraid that it would bite. "Aren't you a cutie? How old are you?"

"Eight," she replied. She shrugged, and I had a feeling that she grimaced. "And I am not cute."

"You are too cute," Max said. "I am sure you would be cuter if you smiled." He chuckled when Bethany smiled in a way that he didn't mean. "Not like that," he scolded teasingly.

"Well, you didn't tell me how to smile," she sassed, and I could tell that she was comfortable around him.

Max chuckled again. "I guess I should have," he replied. He looked at me, and I could tell that he was wondering if she was one of the ones I had helped raise.

"Bethany has been my eyes while we lived at the house," I said while I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed it back to indicate that she was safe. "She's had to grow up fast." We all did.

Bethany brushed up against my side before she quickened her pace. She was worried for Mandy, and I knew that the "mother" in her was coming forth, worried about a female's safety that hadn't cared about hers.

"Speaking of eyes," Max said. "Do you want your cane?" He held it out, and Bethany took it from him before she handed it to me.

"It's a staff, not a cane," Bethany retorted. "Get it right."

Caden chuckled. "I see that your spirit hasn't been broken, Bethany," he said. "I am glad."

Bethany stepped a little bit in front of me, shying away from the Alpha male. She didn't say a word while we made it to the bathroom where there was a sound of a crying girl and stopped.

I licked my lips, feeling nervous for some reason because I knew that I might need to go in by myself. Slowly, I took my hand out of Bethany's mumbled something along the lines of going to Max before I knocked on the door.

The sound of crying stopped, and someone cleared their throat. "I am fine, Bethany," the person said. "I will be out in a minute. Go wait for Carley like you wanted to and leave me alone."

"It's me," I said after she was finished talking. "Can I come in?"

There was a pause on the other side of the door, and Mandy's heart rate picked up from fear and something else. "Are you alone?" she asked, her voice soft, barely above a whisper.

Max touched my arm in a signal that we had made, indicating that they were leaving and going to where the other girls were situated. He wanted to let me know that they would wait for me before trying to get anything out of them about their last day.

I stayed silent while I listened to the sound of their footsteps padding away, each one softer than the other, with Caden's footsteps the softest of them all. "I am now," I said when I couldn't hear them any longer. "Can I come in?"

The lock on the bathroom door turned until it was unlocked, and the door opened.

Taking a deep breath in, I clutched my staff tighter and stepped inside, not knowing what would happen and wondering if I had made a mistake going into the bathroom by myself with my abuser.

However, that all changed when warm arms wrapped themselves around my neck, and the person that was hugging cried out of pain and loss.

And the only thing that I did was drop my staff and hug the person back, knowing that they needed the comfort they thought I could bring.

And to be frank, I hoped that was true.