Page 4 of Refuge

“Why didn’t you tell me?” While Eric’s voice had calmed, it still held the authority to make her stop completely. She stayed facing away from him, from all of them.

“Tell you what?” Cole questioned, and she heard him step closer to her. She swore she would bolt if he touched her.

“I tried more than once,” Leeza finally said. She wanted to make sure her voice was strong. “I tried to tell all of you, but no one would listen. All you were concerned about was that someone, Foster Manning, got the better of you.”

“That’s not fair,” Gemma spoke up.

This time Leeza’s head turned toward her. “No disrespect, but you weren’t there. I was. I lived it.” Leeza finally turned toward all of them. “I wasn’t raped. Sherry was raped, not me. I’m glad she left this pack, knowing how you treat women who—”

“Enough!” Eric shouted, the anger in his voice making Leeza jump.

“Truth hurt?” She asked the smartass question and wondered what the hell had gotten into her. She never talked to her alpha like this. Hell, she never talked to anyone like this. Well, that was a lie. She did, at times, have a smartass mouth on her.

“Foster said he raped you, both of you. And I saw what kind of shape not only Sherry was in, but you as well.” Eric seemed confused as he stared at her.

“He lied.” She wanted to addduhbut decided against it. Of course, Foster would brag, lie, and deceive because he was a total lunatic.

“You weren’t raped?” Cole asked, his voice barely a whisper, yet she heard him clearly.

Looking his way, she gave him a hard glare. “Oh, does that change things?” Leeza sneered. “Am I good enough to look at, eat with, talk to….” Her words trailed off, because a sob clogged her throat.

Kile had walked over, his eyes watching her closely. “But you were… I mean we saw the shape you were in.”

Here was her chance to tell her side, finally, yet, the words wouldn’t come. If not for Gemma, they wouldn’t be having this conversation, and in all honesty, she’d been ready to have it a long time ago, but now… not so much.

“Tell them, Leeza.” Gemma walked up, touching her arm. “Tell them what happened.”

The hesitation was long, yet she had to give it to them. They waited patiently. “I was on a run.” Leeza started, her eyes closing then shooting open, afraid of what she might see in the shadows. “I came upon Foster half dressed on top of Sherry. I immediately attacked, knocking him off her. He shifted, and we fought. I failed. He got away, and you know the rest.”

“You didn’t fail,” Kile said, his voice tinged with regret.

“No, you didn’t.” Eric shook his head, then walked to stand right in front of her. “I’m the one who failed you. As alpha, I should have taken the time to listen to you, but instead, I… we just saw two of our females hurt, violated, and for a shifter, there’s nothing worse. Revenge was at the forefront of our minds.”

“And you don’t think Sherry felt that way, that I felt that way?” Leeza looked up at him. “I don’t care what happened to me, but the memory of that bastard on top of her, the look on her face and then I let him go. I’ve never wanted to kill anyone in my life, but him, that bastard… I wanted to tear apart with my own hands. She was my responsibility. I even warned her about him. I didn’t do enough, I should have done more. I should have told you.”

“Yes, you should have, but you stopped him from doing worse. She’s alive. Who knows if that would have been the case if you hadn’t been there to stop him. But it’s my job to protect this pack. That’s what your brother trusted me to do before he died.” Eric frowned down at her. “I’ll find Sherry and talk to her.”

“Thank you.” Leeza gave him a nod, still not totally satisfied, but at least she finally had her say and Sherry would not feel like an outcast when and if she came back into the pack. “But I want to be there when you do.”

“Done. And I don’t do this often, but I apologize, and I promise you that no one in this pack will treat you any different. You’ve brought something up that needs to be addressed.” Eric glanced over her head, and she was sure he was looking at Cole before he looked down at her. “We’ve never been faced with this situation before, but that’s no excuse, and I’d like your help in addressing this now.”

It was the last thing Leeza expected, but she quickly agreed. “Absolutely.” Leeza felt a nudge of relief that her alpha seemed to truly understand. “Again, thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Eric touched her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry this has gone on this long. Next time, come to me, and if I’m hell-bent on not listening, then make me… make us.”

Tears once again threatened, and she really didn’t want to cry in front of any of them. So instead of saying anything, she just nodded. This was all so new to her. She had always had her brother. Their parents had both been killed when they were young. Her brother had to grow up fast, built his own pack, with a few loyal friends, to what it was today, but now he was gone. It was hard for her to depend on anyone other than him. At one time, she was close to depending on someone other than her brother, but that obviously had been a mistake. Her eyes glanced toward Cole, before falling quickly away.

“I’ll help in that department,” Gemma said with a soft smile. “Now come on. I want to show you how to give Ari his medicine.”

Relieved that Gemma was giving her an out, she quickly stepped around Eric to join Gemma. Hearing Eric call out to Cole, she glanced over her shoulder to see Cole disappearing into the darkness alone.

Chapter 3

Cole had to take a minute to digest what he’d just learned. For weeks, he’d walked around with such rage at the thought of Leeza being raped, he consciously refused to even question anything. She was right; she had tried to talk to him after it happened, but he had selfishly shut her out because he didn’t think he could hear what had happened. He’d always find a way around the conversation. God, he was a total bastard.

He was a man who prided himself on keeping those around him safe… protected, and seeing Leeza injured drove him well past the edge. He’d barely looked her in the eyes, but not because of what that bastard had done to her, or what he thought he’d done to her. No, it was because of his own feelings of failure at not protecting the woman who was to be his mate. And it wasn’t just because she was his mate. He knew the first moment his eyes landed on her that he loved her. Yeah, it was that sudden, that dramatic, to where it almost knocked him to his knees. Sometimes it was that way with their kind. It sure was on his part, and he knew without a doubt, she felt the same about him, but circumstances always got in their way. Well, no more. She was his and by damn, nothing would stand in his way.

In hindsight, he could see how his ignorance had made Leeza feel and why she’d reacted the way she had after the attack. It wasn’t because she’d been raped, rather she’d felt the same as him for not being able to protect Sherry, not being able to protect her.

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