Page 49 of His Curse

Just wait until they get the full story.

"Group showers most of the time, but if I was lucky enough to shower alone it typically meant I had just finished a punishment and needed to be cleaned up, so I generally had some sort of help.” I drop the t-shirt on the counter since I'm pretty sure it's Frankie’s, then take a look at the front of my body in better lighting than I’ve had in years. "And no matter what, there was at least one guard standing watch while we did everything, so privacy is sort of a foreign concept at this point.” I lift my eyes and smirk. "Not to mention Iama shifter. I'm used to being naked in front of lots of people on a regular basis.”

They both give me soft smiles, ones full of understanding and appreciation, and just a touch of pity that quickly—thankfully—disappears. The situation I just left, the hell on earth I just escaped from, was horrible but I don't want to be pitied for it. I learned a lot, was fortunate enough to survive it, and I met some amazing people while I was there. No reason to pity me for that.

"I have some clothes for you,” Cora says after a beat. "You're taller than I am but we're built similarly where it counts, so I figured a pair of sleep shorts and tank top would work for now.”

I'm probably only three or four inches taller than Cora, so what she brought should suffice. Hell, a burlap sack would work at this point since I've worn nothing but scrubs or hospital gowns for forty-five years.

"Thanks.” I watch her set the clothes on the edge of the sink. "I'm gonna need a little help with the bandages, though. I can't reach the ones on my back and since they're still a little tender, twisting to get at my side or ass hurts a bit."

Cora nods then looks to Frankie. "You wanna go check in with Ronny? Let him know what we're doing, maybe get an update, and try to round up the boys for a chat in a bit?"

"Yeah…” Frankie looks at me,reallylooks at me, for a few seconds before she sighs. "We want our mates to come over and sit in while you give us any information you can, and tell us your whole story. Is that ok?"

My brow furrows. "Yeah. Why wouldn't it be? I'm gonna need to meet everyone eventually, right?"

Frankie nods. "Yeah but... well, our clan isn't exactly made up of your run of the mill creatures of mysticism. The core group, inner circle, whatever you want to call it, is made up of the biggest males I've ever seen, so I thought..."

Ah, yes.

She's worried about abuse; worried about my reaction to big men and if it’ll turn into a fight or flight thing because of what I went through. And while I appreciate that more than she knows, I was fortunate enough to avoid everything except getting my ass beat on occasion, so I have no real qualms about being around males, regardless of their size.

"Colton..." I clear my throat and hug my arms around my waist because it kind of hurts to talk about him. "He was bigger than the males in my pack, bigger by a lot. I'll be fine around whoever I need to be around."

"It'll just be a few,” Frankie says with a nod. "Most of the core clan is overseas right now, and we don't need to bring anyone else in on this just yet."

Cora pulls a washcloth and two towels from the cupboard. "It'll be a small group to start, maybe six of us at most, and I'll ask Kady to take the twins again so we can focus on—”

"Kady?" My belly flips at the mention of another name I was hoping to hear. “Kady Clearwater?"

Both females nod.

"Kady who's mate is Jack, grizzly shifters with three boys?"

"How do you know Kady?" Cora lifts a thin, dark brow.

I shake my head and try not to get too flustered. "I don't actually know Kady or Jack, but I knew his cousin, Henry. He was the one I met at the diner who told me about Ashland. We were taken together."

"Is he..."

I nod. "Henry passed two years later. He protected me the best he could right up until he couldn't, and I always hoped I'd be able to tell Jack in person what happened to his cousin."

"You will.” Frankie sighs. "Just not tonight, ok? Let's start small and eventually bring everyone else in when we need to. I think it's best we don't tell anyone in the outer circle you're here, not just yet. We don't need everyone panicking, especially without Kai to calm them down.” She puts a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze as heat flares where our skin touches. "Take your shower and I'll check on the boys."

I nod, swallow down about a million different emotions then hug myself even harder. This is probably going to be a lot more intense than I originally thought.

I always just figured I'd get out, find Colton and tell him everything about the lab, then we'd run in and rescue the others before we lived happily ever after.

It didn't really sink in that I'd also be scaring a huge group of people, or telling them that the remaining members of their kinds were gone, or that multiple species have been wiped out in the name ofscience and research.I’m not sure why I never thought that through, but I didn’t and it’s making me question myself more and more.

"You ready?" Cora asks with a sad smile, obviously mourning on her friend’s behalf.

"Yeah.” I turn so she can get to my bandages and decide I don't want this to be a heavy and depressing experience. "You have twins?"

The smile in her voice is clear as soon as she speaks. "Khaos and Dizzkord. They're nine months old."

Vampire names.

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