Jaded Hearts
Chapter 4

Taylor

“Hey, love, are you hungry? The pack should be having breakfast now if you want to join them.”

The pack? Was I ready to meet them all? I’d only just accepted Matt as a wolf fifteen minutes ago. “When you say, ‘the pack,’ how many is that?”

“Our entire pack is around seven hundred. We’ve grown a lot in the last few months, but everyone has their own homes on our land, so maybe ten to fifteen people should be here now.”

Okay, that wasn’t too bad. I could handle fifteen people. “Sure, that sounds good. And I am hungry, but do you think I could get some clothes? I don’t want to meet them in your T-shirt.”

He did the weird eye thing that I remember was called mindlinking. “Alaia will bring you something of hers in a few minutes.”

He walked over and pulled me against his chest. “You never answered my question last night.”

Last night was insane, what question was he even talking about?

“Will you be my girlfriend, Taylor? Will you keep yourself for only me, and let me give you everything you could ever want?”

Ohh, right. That question. “Well, I thought it was implied, but yes. I would love to be your girlfriend. Will I have to fight off wolf chicks when they hear that you’re off the market?”

He laughed at my wording. “Shewolves. And no, we all understand how important a mate is. They may shed a tear or two, but they’ll get over it.”

“Somebody sounds full of themselves,” I replied with a laugh.

“Alaia’s at the door with your clothes, babe.”

I didn’t hear her knock; how did he know? “The linky thing?”

“Mindlink. And no, I can smell her. We have really strong senses.”

I walked to the door, and sure enough, Alaia was there with a chubby baby in one hand and a sundress and sandals in the other.

“It’s going to be hot today, so I figured this would be best. We look to be about the same size.”

I took the clothes and looked at the tag. Yep, they were perfect. “These are great. Thank you. And who’s this little angel?” I asked while gently stroking the baby’s head.

“This is Alexander, but we call him Alex. He’s the youngest of the twins, and he’s hungry, so we’re off to breakfast. We’ll see you down there.” Alex smiled and grabbed my finger in his chunky little hand.

“He’s also a flirt, just like his fathers. Tell Matt to watch out; this little guy will try to charm you away from him in a heartbeat.”

She placed him on her shoulder and walked down the hall, and he smiled at me the entire time. When I went back in the room, Matt was sitting on the bed, scrolling through his phone. “I met Alex, and he’s adorable. I also think he was flirting with me.”

“I don’t think he was; I know he was. He’s not even six months old, and he’s already a lady’s man. He knows a beautiful woman when he sees one,” he replied, never looking from his phone.

“I’m excited to meet the rest of them. Can I take a quick shower before we go down?” He slowly raised his head and looked over at me. I thought I had done or said something wrong.

“The thought of you naked, wet, and soapy in my shower has been a dream of mine for six months. Make sure you lock the door, tesoro. Otherwise, I won’t be able to promise to stay out of there.”

My body shivered. I didn’t want him to stay out here; I wanted him naked and wet in the shower alongside me. “Why don’t you come shower with me? Water conservation, and all that.”

He growled, and his black and green eyes flashed for a moment. “You don’t know what you’re asking, Taylor.”

What was he talking about now? “Matt, get up and get your sexy a*s in that shower now. I know exactly what I’m doing.”

I walked to the bathroom and turned the water on as hot as possible. As the room began to fill with steam, Matt slowly walked in and closed the door. “Are you sure about this, princess? I don’t want to take advantage of you. I want you to be ready, and I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”

“We’re taking a shower, not making a baby. At least not yet. I want to see all of you, and I want you to see all of me.” I took a few steps back, reached down, and wiggled my thong over my h**s and down to the floor. Matt’s eyes never once left my body. He made me feel like a goddess.

Then I grabbed the hem of the shirt and pulled it up over my head. I didn’t have on a bra, so I was completely bare and exposed to him. The steam danced around my skin, battling with the goosebumps that were trying to form.

“Your body is beyond compare. Can I touch you?” he asked in his deep, husky voice.

“My body is yours, touch all you want.”

He walked forward and placed his shaky hands on my shoulders, then slowly ran them down my arms. “It’s like silk …”

When he reached my hand, he pulled it up and placed a k**s on my palm. His free hand snaked around to the small of my back. Having him touch my bare skin was incredible. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. His hand roamed a little lower until it was firmly on my a*s. The two fit perfectly together; his hands were absolutely made to touch me.

He squeezed a little harder, but the feeling didn’t excite me, it scared me.

No, no, no. Please, not now.

I froze just a bit as Matt started to loosen up and explore more of my curves. My hands began to shake. I tried to stay here with him, with this man who had my heart, but I couldn’t fight my past. The memories came flooding back.

It hurt. He was hurting me, and he wouldn’t stop. I begged and screamed, but he just hit me to shut me up. My shirt was torn away, leaving me bare and cold. Then my skirt, then finally, my panties. I shut my eyes and prayed that it wouldn’t hurt too bad. I knew I couldn’t stop him, so minimal pain was all I could hope for.

He rubbed his hands between my legs, and when one of his fingers entered my body, I shut down. It was the only way to protect myself.

“Taylor?! Taylor, baby, please. Open your eyes. Look at me!”

His voice was different. He sounded so sweet now. I opened my eyes, and it wasn’t the monster I was expecting. “Matt? Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I thought I was over it. I’m so, so sorry!” I felt the tears pour from my eyes as sobs almost collapsed my chest.

Matt grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped me in it before carrying me back to the room. “Shhhhh, don’t cry, sweetie. And don’t apologize. I promise you I’m not mad at you. I love you.”

“No, I ruined it. I wanted you so bad, and I just lead you on. Who does that?!”

He pulled my face up to his and wiped away the tears. “Someone who’s been hurt. Taylor, did someone hurt you? Please tell me. I won’t be mad at you, I swear.”

I looked at him and debated what I should do. I wanted to leave my past behind me, but it was casting a shadow over my future. I needed to let it go. “Yes.”

He began to shake with rage. He wanted to kill, and he didn’t even know who it was yet. “Tell me, tesoro. Tell me everything.”

And so, I did. For the first time since it all happened, I opened myself to the pain and let it all out. “My high school boyfriend, Drew. He attacked me one night and tried to rape me.”

* * *

Matt

I felt when Taylor’s body language changed. She was with me one second, then she shut down and shut me out. I was so relieved when she opened her eyes and looked at me. She was still shaking, but she was seeing me and not whoever it was who had done this to her.

I prayed that she’d say “no,” that no one had hurt her, and she was just nervous about being with me the first time.

No such luck.

“My high school boyfriend, Drew. He attacked me one night and tried to rape me. We had been dating our junior and senior years, but I was never ready to have s*x with him. At first, he seemed okay with it, but as time when on and I still couldn’t, that wasn’t the case.

He touched me one day, and I stopped him, so he punched me in the mouth. He said I was a tease, and I deserved it. And I believed him.

Then a week or two later, we were going out to the movies, and he didn’t like my outfit. He said I was trying to replace someone new to replace him. That was the first time he really beat me. I had a black eye, two cracked ribs, and a sprained wrist. Obviously, we didn’t end up going anywhere that night.”

Find him and kill him. NOW! Ask her his name, Matt. I want his f*****g name!

I was battling with Logan. He was moments from taking control and killing everything in his path.

“Are you alright, baby? I don’t have to tell you this if it’s too hard,” she said while holding my hand.

She was worried if I was alright? I should be asking her that. I needed to calm down so I could offer her the comfort she needed. “Don’t worry about me, sweetheart. You can tell me.”

“Okay. Well, this went on for more than a year. I knew he was cheating on me; he didn’t hide it. He said I wasn’t taking care of his needs, so he had the right to f**k who he wanted.

Finally, Morgan talked me into breaking up with him, and I did, but he wouldn’t accept it. He thought I was sleeping around, and it infuriated him that he wasn’t the one I was doing it with.

He stalked me for a few months after graduation, and I was able to get a restraining order against him. Morgan and I got our own apartment a little farther away from home, and I thought I was done with him.

One night, Morgan left to go grab a pizza, and I was home alone. About five minutes after she had left, someone knocked on the door, and I assumed it was her and that she had forgotten something. I didn’t even check.

As soon as I opened the door, he hit me in the face so hard my vision blurred. B***d was everywhere, and he threw me on the couch and began ripping my clothes off.

I was called all kinds of filthy names and was told that this was all my fault. Or that he knew I wanted it. I heard him unzip his pants before he stuck a finger inside me. I just braced myself for the pain, but nothing happened. It turns out that Morgan had forgotten something and came back for her wallet.

She found us just in time and was able to get him off of me. He ran away while she was focused on me, but they found him a few hours later.”

I didn’t know what to say. Never would I have thought that my mate would experience something this terrible. But now I understood the comment she’d made when I would tell her that I’d never hurt her. “I’m so proud of you, tesoro. You have no idea how much. You’re a fighter, and you survived.”

“Do you still want to be with me? I know it’s not ideal being tied to someone with mental and emotional scars.”

“Don’t ever question that again. Everything about you is ideal. Everything, okay?”

She smiled and wiped her eyes. “Okay.”

“Good, now go take that shower, and let’s go get you some food. I’ll be out here waiting.”

She started over to the bathroom when I got an idea. “Taylor? What is your ex’s name? I need to know so that I can always keep you safe.”

She looked like she didn’t want to say, but then she changed her mind. “Drew. Andrew Witt.”

I smiled at her, and she continued to the bathroom and shut the door. Now it was time to go to work. I would replace Drew, and he would pay for this with his life.