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Chapter Ten
Sawyer
“Are you out of your mind?” Tadeo’s eyes were so wide, I was afraid he might strain them. “What would make you offer something like that?”
We’d fallen asleep at some point in the night, both of us, and I really expected to find our guest had left when we got up this morning. If it hadn’t been so dangerous, with the biggest storm in decades settled in for a while, I’d have been relieved if she left. I didn’t consider her a threat, at least not to anyone but herself. At least the cattle were in the pastures that offered some shelter, with fencing that would keep them close enough to take advantage of it.
“Analise, I’m afraid you may have been injured more than you thought, yesterday,” I said, concerned for her welfare. “As soon as the snow lets up, we’ll send for the healer. Did you fall and hit your head at any point?”
We were eating breakfast, oatmeal with brown sugar and, and drinking coffee at this point, and Analise had made the strangest offer I could imagine.
“No, I did not hit my head.” Analise spoke slowly, as if we weren’t too smart. “I offered to have a baby for the two of you in exchange for my freedom. That’s the entire deal.”
“That can’t be all. We still don’t know anything about you, and I can’t help but believe your suggestion is to deflect our investigation.” I scooped up the last of my oatmeal, not hungry anymore but not wanting to waste it, either. “So, let’s pour another cup of coffee and sit in the living room where we can be comfortable.”
“All right.” Analise slid off her stool and went into the kitchen. She picked up the aluminum percolator Tadeo loved so much and refilled all our cups before placing our bowls and spoons and the oatmeal pot in the sink. She ran water over them then came back for her mug. “Let’s talk.”
We followed Analise to the sofa and all sat down, Tadeo on one side of her and me on the other. “If you’re ready?” she asked, looking from one of us to the other.
We nodded.
As alphas, we were always in charge, yet this diminutive woman had absolute command of the room. This trespasser who we’d planned to interrogate this morning.
“It all started yesterday morning, although it feels like it was a hundred years ago.” She managed to make sweats multiple sizes too big look good. “My father arranged for me to marry a man I despise, the son of an alpha who tried to rape me. He set up this wedding as a birthday present.”
We sat beside her for hours while she shared her story from the escape out of her father’s home and the pursuit through the woods. Her prayers to the Goddess and how she thought she’d heard the Lady a couple of times. Her hands flew in animation as she described the blackberry brambles and the storm in the pass, winding up with arriving in the pasture where we found her.
“Analise, what is the name of your pack?” Trust my mate to get to the point. I settled back to let him handle the questioning for a bit.
“I don’t want to say.” She twisted a lock of hair around a finger. “Please don’t make me.”
“What do you think will happen if you tell us?”
“You might make me go back.” She spoke so low, even inches away from her it was difficult to hear. “And I’d rather die.”
“We’re responsible for every member of our pack,” Tadeo said. “And you appeared on our lands. We need to know everything. What pack are you from?”
I’d probably have reassured her that we wouldn’t send her back, but he wasn’t wrong.
“Will you promise not to tell my father I’m here?”
“No. But if Sawyer agrees, we will promise not to tell him without letting you know.”
“I guess that will have to be enough. Pacific Willow pack. And I was being married into Elder Ridge.”
“To Rod?” I squeaked then cleared my throat. I’d just met Analise, but the idea of her being mated to that pathetic excuse for a wolf made me want to punch him in the face. If he’d been here, I’d have done it. “Does your father hate you?”
“Maybe.” Every bit of the sadness from before was held in that single word.
Okay, it was worth traveling over the mountains to punch him in the face. Twice. And her father.
“And it was the Elder Ridge alpha who tried to rape you?” Tadeo continued. “What’s his name again?”
“Idrick.” She shuddered. “And he probably would deny attempted rape, but I kept saying no and he kept saying yes.”
I didn’t even want to ask, but I needed to. “What stopped him?”
“Someone came by. We were visiting the Elder Ridge pack, and he’d cornered me in the gardens. A couple of older women strolled by, admiring the night-blooming flowers. When they got close, I broke free and ran. I never let him get me alone again, but if I marry Rod, I’ll have no protection.”
“Yeah, I’ve met Rod.” I was getting angrier by the moment. “He’d never stand up to his father and protect you. Does your father know what happened?”
She shrugged. “I tried to tell him at the time, and he brushed it aside. Told me to stop flirting with all the males.”
“Tadeo, you haven’t met any of these people, but we can’t send her back. I’ve met them all.”
He had moved to stand by the window while Analise told her story, but he came back now. “None of us are going anywhere today.” Sitting beside Analise, he took her hand and held it between his two larger ones. “And if my mate says you won’t be sent back, then that’s decided. But you don’t need to leave here, either, and you don’t need to offer to give us a baby just for shelter. We’re not going to take advantage of your distress.”
“No, that’s not it at all,” she insisted. “I want to do this for you. You’ve been so kind to me, and I don’t think I’ll ever have a mate and a life of my own. This way, I can have a baby and know it will have the best life no matter where I end up. Please!”
“Analise, who told you you’re worth so little?” I wanted to hold her and make her feel better, make her realize her value as a wolf and a person. “Because they were wrong. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with my mate for a few minutes in our room?”
