Bradford, Bailey Southwestern Shifters 04 Rendered

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door to the right. Closets are those doors over there across from the bed. There s even a little
study through that door. We ll see to it that you and Sean have clothes and whatever else you
need, and Deb will be bringing you both something to eat after Shania checks Sean.
Nathan turned and tapped at his chin with one finger. Is that everything? I think that s
everything, but if not I ll fill you in later or in the morning. Any questions?
Only a dozen, like why and& Well, they pretty much all started with why .
If you re not up to seeing anyone and you don t have to, you ve just found your
mate, after all, and he s hardly in shape for company then don t feel obligated. Except for
Marcus, of course and me. Nathan frowned and that finger tapped faster. I really can t
think of anything else. Oh! Don t feel bad about the room, all the guards got an upgrade
when we moved. How anyone could live in those dreary-ass rooms you all had back in
Cincinnati& Nathan walked off muttering to himself about a certain gay man s lack of
decorating skills.
Alex shook his head and carried Sean over to the bed. He laid him down gently on top
of the gold and red comforter and made sure his head and neck was well supported. Alex sat
on the edge of the bed and debated unwrapping his mate from the sheet wound around him,
but a tap at the open doorway spared him from making that decision.
Alex turned and waved Shania in. I didn t know if I should take this thing off him.
He gestured to the sheet. It was going to have to come off in order for Shania to tend his
wounds. Uh, where do I start?
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You always were a smart man, Shania teased as she ruffled his hair. Alex grimaced;
she always did that and he always hated it. Which was probably why she did it. Grab that
tail end of the material by his shoulder.
Alex did and together they peeled the sheet off Sean. The bruises still looked horrible,
their colour deepening to a purplish black in places, but the ant bites were considerably less
swollen.
That salve is pretty good medicine, Shania murmured as she ran her hands down
Sean s leg, checking the bites and bruises. He should be healing faster, though. These
bruises should be into that green stage, you know, and even the ant bites should be almost
cleared up. He s pretty malnourished, though, so his body might not have the reserves it
needs to heal as it should.
Alex grunted, watching the woman s hands track back up Sean s legs and to his
Shania!
What? Shania replied, not even giving him a glance. You know he s yours, and you
also know I need to check all of him more thoroughly than I could earlier. So stop being
obtuse and help me spread his legs.
By the time the very thorough examination was over, Alex felt a little queasy, and he
was glad Sean hadn t been awake for the humiliating experience. Alex had tried to reach him
several times and got nothing at all. Which reminded him
Shania, can I ask you something real quick about the telepathic link between mates?
Shania stopped halfway to the door and walked back over. You can ask, but I don t
know how helpful I ll be, not having a mate myself.
Alex explained his inability to sense Sean at all mentally, and Shania frowned
thoughtfully as she looked at him. If I had to hazard a guess and that s exactly what I m
doing, so keep that in mind I d say Sean probably developed a coping mechanism years
ago, a way to escape into his mind when things were bad. Kind of disappear within himself,
or withdraw, blocking the pain from reaching anything other than his body.
Alex frowned as he looked at his mate. So, I m a bad thing? Comparable to the brother
who
No. Get your head out of your ass, Shania snapped. What happened today, being
staked out like a sacrifice to the sun god or whatever, that was a very very bad thing. Being
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abandoned by the one person who had admittedly shittily been taking care of him for
probably all his life? That would be an even worse thing. Then toss in a destined mate when
his mind is already swirling with who knows what, and it was probably more than he could
deal with.
I don t understand how Joshua leaving him, short of the manner he did so, could be
worse than the actual way he left Sean there. Alex needed to understand that, or he d
probably say something that would hurt Sean once he did wake up.
Shania took Alex s hand and guided him across the room. In case he can hear us. I
think it s possible, especially if he isn t unconscious so much as he s hiding like I suspect.
Alex nodded that he understood and Shania glanced at Sean as she spoke softly.
If Sean has a victim mentality and I wouldn t see how he couldn t then he s come to
believe he s useless, worthless, at fault for what he s suffered. Some victims of abuse do as I
described, find a way to hide themselves away from what s being done to them. And before
you ask, because I can see the question coming, he stayed, like so many abuse victims do,
because he didn t think he had a choice. Shania stopped and arched a brow at him. Are
you understanding me?
Yes ma am. Alex nodded to top that off.
All right then. Sean could have been too scared to leave, didn t think he had anywhere
to go, anyone to help him or protect him. Just like those poor women, Michelle and
Rosemary. Neither one wants to stay here, they are already begging to be allowed to leave.
Marcus said he d release them tomorrow if they were healed enough. So they will be out of
here. They ll probably find another pack with a jerk for an alpha, or they ll go back to their
original packs and find them a man who treats them like Joshua did. Statistically, in humans
at least, that s what happens. I expect the same in shifters. We haven t exactly set up study
groups, don t have the facilities for it, so I have to go with the information on humans.
Shania shook her head and sighed.
But, back to Sean. He may have been brainwashed in a way by his brother. If you re
told you re stupid and useless and deserve what s happening to you, it s all too easy to
believe it.
Alex closed the door after Shania left and leaned against it, resting his head on the cool
wood. Was he able to deal with the issues Sean might have? Without screwing him up?
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Probably not without knowing a hell of a lot more than I do now, but I will learn. I won t be another
person who hurts Sean or leaves him feeling abandoned and scared.
It would be hard, because Alex would be battling his need to claim Sean as desire
between mates could be irresistible, but he d manage. The idea of causing Sean harm was
unacceptable. Which meant, Alex realised, he needed to have enough faith in himself to do
what was right, to put his mate first.
Turning around and staring at the sleeping or not man on the bed, Alex vowed he
would do whatever it took to make Sean whole and happy.
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Chapter Seven
Sean sat up in bed, scooting back until he could rest against the headboard to get a
better view of the handsome man as Alex entered the room carrying a tray of breakfast foods.
Whether it was the bond between them or the simple truth, he thought Alex was the most
attractive man he d ever seen.
Tall and lean, with thick black hair that set off the light blue of his eyes and classically
sculpted features, the man was perfect. Sean both anticipated and dreaded their mating
which would happen sooner rather than later.
As hurt as he was, he couldn t look at Alex without thinking about fucking, and knew
the visceral would soon trump the intellectual. Not that he was particularly intellectual.
Joshua had told him often enough he was dumber than dirt. He didn t want to think about [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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