Savior of the Wolves

Sophie’s POV

I knew going back to my room wasn’t going to help her. The information that she received, that we received today, was more than one person should have to bear. Mom and dad agreed to let us use the hidden rooms under the house. I had to try something to ease her anxiety.

She didn’t say a word as we left the room. She was shutting down with me. Just after I was getting through to her. She almost looked like she was accepting her fate.

But I didn’t see fear...I saw sadness.

I didn’t tell her where we were going. She was lost in her thoughts. Blindly following me. I kept looking at her. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t think I was the one who could.

As we entered Dad’s private office, I sat in his chair and only then got a peculiar expression from her. I leaned way back in his chair because I’m not nearly as tall as my dad and reached my foot out to the block I was looking for. When I kicked it, the door panel opened, and I hopped up.

I pulled the hidden panel open and held her hand behind me as I guided her down the stairs in front of us.

“Mom. Where is Aiden?” I asked her secretly while leading Jess down the steps.

“Your dad has your brothers confined. They were not themselves this morning.”

“Well, someone needs to tell her. She’s hurting. It’s pretty cruel if you ask me,” I fussed at her…or whoever it was that made that decision.

“I’ll speak to your father. I believe Josh can be let out. He has calmed down. If your father feels that he’s safe, I’ll send him to you downstairs. Maybe that will help. We can’t chance letting Aiden out though. He grew so angry with his restraints that he shifted on the guards.”

“Okay, so what? He’s pissed I imagine.”

“Then he turned off all links. Your dad can’t even reach him....to calm him down.”

“Or control him,” I argued.

“Sophie!” she huffed.

“Mom, we’re almost downstairs, just do what you can,” I pleaded.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, while footsteps continued behind us. As we left the stairs, fifteen men trailed closely out behind us.

Up ahead of us was the archway that opened up to my sanctuary. Well, it wasn’t really mine, but I was the only one of his children who couldn’t spend long outside so dad brought the outside to me.

If she hadn’t been told the most horrific news in her life, I’m sure she would’ve been as excited as I first was when dad brought me down here to show me that it was finished.

It had a subterranean pool that looked like a lake, a huge fitness room with every piece of modern equipment, a hot tub, a movie room, ice baths, private suites, and next to the fitness room was a gym. We used to play dodgeball in it when I was little, but mom said it had recently been used as a ballroom after a marriage ceremony. I had often envisioned that. A newly mated couple, dancing without a care, under the protection of the house and rock walls surrounding it. Such a romantic time seemed so fleeting now.

I didn’t say much, I simply led Jess around. Hoping something would capture her interest and even though she stopped and stared at the lake, she just shook her head when I asked if she wanted to swim.

“How do the ice baths work?” she asked out of the blue.

I got excited that she was interested, “I know it’s stored with clean ice after each use. It’s really good for rehab, sore muscles…”

She stopped me mid-sentence, “I could use that.”

“Okay,” I said with less enthusiasm. She wasn’t excited, she was still hurting and instead of finding something fun to do, she was picking something that could help with her injuries, but it could also numb. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was her plan.

“Let’s do it,” I faked more enthusiasm for her sake. “Guys, a little privacy please,” I instructed our detail and each one turned their back to us.

“With them there?” she asked shyly as she nodded her head in their direction.

“Oh, I’ve done this for years. There’s no way one of them would look. Like ever!”

That didn’t help. She looked terrified to strip off.

“Here,” I said, throwing my clothes on the floor, “my back is turned, get in the one next to mine,” I offered as I threw a leg over the tub wall.

I began to lower into the ice, inch by inch as I held my breath. As the ice touched my shoulders and penetrated the rest of my body below, I could barely breathe. “Holy shit,” I screamed, keeping my back turned.

Everything grew quiet. Then she yelled and I couldn’t help but look.

“Holy shit’s right,” she laughed, as I saw her wide eyes now staring at me as she took deep breaths to calm herself. The ice was up to her shoulders now too.

I began to talk to fill the quiet. I could tell she wasn’t up for talking back, so I just told her more about the pack and my friends that I couldn’t wait to introduce her to. I somehow had the need to show her what life here could be like. The special parts. Not the confusion and danger.

Who would’ve ever thought a bath of ice could heal...the soul and heart that is? As we shivered and laughed at one another, I saw pounds of pain drip off her into the ice.

I felt a deep happiness in just knowing she felt any amount better. There was a deep friendship I felt with her almost instantly. Unlike any I had known before.

“I’m not sure if I can handle this much longer,” her teeth chattering through every syllable. “What’s the limit on how long we should stay in here before we get hypothermia?”

“That’s a good question,” I laughed as my mouth quivered.

“I say we don’t kill me any earlier than necessary and maybe try the lake if that’s okay?”

I pretended to not feel the weight of her comment and smiled saying, “Yeah, that may be a good idea. I can’t feel my mouth anymore.”

“Yeah, me either,” she laughed. It was quick but it was still a laugh. That made me smile.

“You can get out first and yell when you’re in the lake.”

I could hear the ice sloshing around her as she exited her bath and suddenly, I heard a crash against the wall by the stairs.

The voices of the detail came to life as they formed a barrier between us and the noise.

I held deathly still in the ice as I saw a wolf come around the corner. It was crouched low, slowly walking towards Jess. She was standing on the floor in shock and completely naked.

It was Josh. His eyes were locked on her body. He wasn’t acting aggressively. He was acting protective but was in shock at her appearance.

Then, everything seemed to play out in slow motion as another wolf came in behind Josh and it looked straight at Jess. His head spun toward Josh as his lips snarled, exposing his teeth just before he crashed with Josh against the wall.

The two were feral. I could feel it. They were uncontrolled at the sight of her this way.

I jumped out of the ice, grabbed our two piles of clothes, and grabbed her hand, dragging her behind me...as she watched them biting ferociously at one another. She was crying frantically as I drug her into one of the suites, locking the door behind us.

My detail began beating on the door, “Are you both okay?”

“Yes, stop my brothers,” I demanded, then my detail’s growls filled the air.

We both began to hastily throw our clothes on until I froze. There was suddenly complete silence outside of our door.

I put my ear to the door, trying to hear something, but the door was reinforced, and our abilities gave us the only means to hear through them. But even that was difficult.

Jess couldn’t hear anything going on out there after I slammed it behind us.

“Is she okay,” Aiden linked to me.

“Yes, are you?” I linked back, pretending to still be listening at the door.

“I don’t know sis. Dad’s chaining us.”

“What the hell are you talking about? How dare he…”

“He didn’t command it. We think it’s the right thing to do.”

“But she needs you…”

“God, I know. It’s killing me! I feel it. Every damn second I breathe. That magic isn’t shielding me from whatever is going on anymore. Soph, when I saw Josh looking at her...like that...I wanted to kill him.”

I gasped.

“What is it?” Jess asked.

“Take care of her Soph.”

“I will.”

“They’re gone,” I said, turning to face Jess. She turned into my arms sobbing.

“Is he okay?” she asked through tears on my shoulder.

I didn’t have to ask which brother she was referring to. I knew.

“He’s okay,” I replied. I didn’t know how much to say or not say. I questioned so many things. Will too much make things worse? I didn’t have the right answers and was pretty sure that no one could do or guess any better than I was right now. So, I decided to be kind. To her.

She needed to know he was thinking of her, so I told her. “He asked me to take care of you. Right before they had to take him away again.”

Was I right or wrong?

I don’t know but she clung to me even harder.