The Broken Wolf
Chapter 57

I lean back in the spray of the water and let it hit my hair, sighing as the warmth rolls down my aching muscles. Between my body changing and activities with my mate, I realized just how sore I was when I stood up getting out of bed. It’s not necessarily bad, but it was definitely unexpected.

Seth has been unbelievably kind and caring towards me and I think back to that time he told me he’s only that way with me. I replace that difficult to believe about a man who spent nearly two weeks kneeling down and tying my shoes for me, though.

I lift my arms to wash my hair and my back begins to ache at my shoulders. I twist a little trying to get some relief, but it’s not working. I hear the bathroom door open and close and Seth pulls back the shower curtain, stepping into the shower with me. He gently turns me around and begins to rub my back for me.

“That feels amazing,” I say, almost a m**n and I hear him chuckle from behind me. “I don’t understand why I’m so sore.”

“You’re using muscles you haven’t used before,” he tells me, continuing to rub my sore back.

I laugh a little bit. “I’m using muscles that I didn’t even HAVE before.”

“That’s fair,” he says and I can hear the smile in his voice. “Are you OK, though? I can feel some discomfort through the bond, but I’m not exactly sure what’s hurting you.”

“I’m just sore,” I tell him, turning my head to look at him over my shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. This is helping.”

He leans forward and k****s his mark on my neck. “Good. Let’s get you clean.” Seth helps me finish washing my hair, and happily cleans my body for me.

“No more activities for today,” I tell him shyly and he leans down, kissing my forehead.

“I know,” he says, moving to wash my left arm. “I can feel how tired and sore you are.”

I look up at him and give him a weak smile. “Would it be ok if we just stayed here tonight? I’m not sure I’m ready for people to see me, yet.”

“Of course,” he says, and continues to wash my body for me. “All done, love. Go dry off. We’ll do whatever you’d like while we’re still here with your pack. You’re making the decisions regarding what and how much you want to tell the world.”

I nod at him and step out of the shower, wrapping myself in a towel and begin to dry my hair with another. I wrap my hair and go out to the bedroom and move to grab some of my pajamas, but I see Seth’s clothes off to the side and decide I’d rather be in his shirt from earlier. I slip into it, buttoning the buttons up. It’s huge, all the way to my knees, but it’s comforting to be wrapped in his scent.

I sit at the vanity and take my hair out of the towel, frowning at my appearance. I really don’t think I like my curly hair. I’ve had the same hair since I’ve been here, and now, it’s just suddenly different. I know I’ve changed a lot, but nothing else has been as big of a change as this. I make up my mind to get rid of it and pull out a brush and hair dryer, getting to work to straighten the curls out.

Seth walks out of the bathroom and looks at me cautiously- no doubt from the emotions he can feel from me. He smirks though, when he sees his shirt on me, and puts on a pair of sweatpants, keeping his chest bare. I feel like I’ve been brushing my hair and drying it for hours and, to be honest, it’s killing my back, but I keep on until it’s completely dry.

“All done, Love?” he asks me and I just shake my head at him.

“I’m honestly not even sure. I just don’t like it.” I tell him, a little angry.

He furrows his brow at me in confusion. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It just reminds me of them,” I say, my voice barely a whisper. “I’d change my eyes back, too, if I could.”

“Is this from a memory?” he asks me as I plug in a straightener.

“Yeah,” I tell him. “I have some, umm… concerns, about Benjamin.”

I can feel his curiosity immediately and something else. Maybe it’s just his need to protect me, but I’m unsure. “I don’t think I’m in any danger,” I tell him and the feeling eases a bit. “I just… I think I should talk to our dads about it. You’re too close to it.”

“Molly, if it’s serious, I need to know,” he tells me and I know he’s right. It’s just more feelings though and I don’t want to deal with them. Not now, anyway.

“I remember hearing them fight one night,” I tell him and he’s looking at me with his full attention. “I didn’t understand it then, but knowing what I know now, they were fighting about getting rid of me. Lily didn’t want to, but he told her she had to.”

“They were trying to keep you safe,” he tells me, trying to comfort me.

I shake my head at him, knowing the truth now. “He didn’t want me around. He blamed me for Jason’s death, and did until they got rid of me. Lily told him he would regret it. I think she planned to convince someone to adopt me the whole time just to weaken him.”

Seth takes a deep breath and looks at me through the mirror as I continue to straighten out my hair, trying to hold back tears. He walks over and kneels next to me, taking the straightener and sitting it down and turning me to face him.

“Molly, look at me, please,” he asks me but I can’t meet his eyes. “Molly,” he says again, reaching up to wipe away my tears, finally giving up on me looking at him and he pulls me tightly to his chest. “You were just a little girl. A tiny little girl who wanted to play, as sweet little girls do. It’s not your fault, Love, and it never has been.”

I nod against his chest, openly sobbing now. “It was terrible. I can remember him constantly sending me back to my room. I remember him telling Lily she had to send me because she couldn’t control me.”

“Oh, my love,” He says as he squeezes just a little tighter and brushes my messy hair back from my face. “He didn’t deserve you in his life. Whatever happens with them, you’ve got two parents here who adore you, and two new ones that are so happy to have you.”

“And hopefully before too long,” he says, bringing his hand up and gently placing his hand on my stomach, “We’ll have a pup of our own that will love you more than anything in this world.”

“If anything happens,” I begin to ask him, “I need you to promise to never send our kids on their own. Whatever happens, no matter how horrible, one of us will always stay with them.”

“I promise, Molly,” he says, kissing me gently. “I promise that I’ll never ask you to leave our kids for anything. If something happens, I’ll replace a way to keep one of us with them. They’ll never be left alone.”

I nod against his chest and sniffle, his words bringing me some amount of comfort. He seems to understand just how much it means to me, and for that, I am grateful.

“I can’t wait to have kids with you, Molly,” he tells me with a smile. “You’ll be so cute pregnant.”

“You’ll take care of me,” I tell him, not asking a question. Taking in a deep breath, letting his scent comfort me more. “You’ll probably smother me.”

Seth chuckles slightly and the sound of it, while my head is laid against his chest, causes me to giggle along with him. “There’s no doubt about that. I’ll do everything I can to make pregnancy easy on you so we can have a whole litter of pups.”

“My three brothers had the same mom,” I tell him, smiling at the thought of them. “Pregnancy with an Alpha’s child can’t be all bad.”

“That’s true,” he says, placing a k**s on my forehead. “Maybe you’ll be lucky like their mom. Can you imagine having three boys?”

I shake my head and smile at him. “You need a little girl,” I tell him, pushing his wet hair behind his ear. “With the way you’ve taken care of me, you need a little girl to love.”

“I don’t think I’d stand a chance against two of you.”