Running in Fear: Abandoned

Remi hid behind the trees and watched Jaycee weeping over his brother’s grave. Her tearful words broke his heart. He'd screwed up big time right from the beginning. He’d promised himself he would treat his mate with love and patience, and instead their first time together had happened due to deception. If any man had done what he had to his younger sister, he would have killed him.
I’ll make it up to her, Pierre, I swear.
You’d better. She’s been through enough to be treated like a common slut.
Remi flinched as if he’d been struck. His brother’s ghostly words sent a chill down his spine.
“You heard him too?” Dane walked up to him and stared out at their mate.
“Yeah, and he’s right. We have a lot to make up for.” Remi nodded at Jaycee. “She deserves better than what we gave her.”
Dane stepped forward, but Remi grabbed his arm. “I’ll get her. Let her say her goodbyes. I’ve got men stationed all around her. No one will get even close. I’m going to take her for a run and try to make up for some of the damage we’ve caused.”
Remi let go of Dane’s arm and watched Jaycee rise. She stared right at the place they stood. Her eyes were swollen and red, her hands balled up at her side. Remi could have sworn she was staring at him. Her gaze moved back up to the house and she rubbed her arms. He could see the rise and fall of her chest.
His bones cracked and his fur replaced hair as he shifted to his wolf state. “I thought I would take her to my home. Let her get to know me. I’ve instructed the guards to follow at a distance.”
Dane nodded and shifted. He ran in the opposite direction of their mate.
Remi jumped out of the woods. With his full attention on his mate, Remi was determined to make everything up to her.
She shifted to her small wolf form. Her head hung low, waiting.
“I thought maybe we could go for a run. I’d like to show you something, if you have time.” He licked the side of her neck and nudged her towards the east.
“You don’t have to do this, Remi. You’ve already staked your claim. I’m yours.” Her voice held tears and regret, but no condemnation for what he had done. She stood next to his larger frame, but her eyes were on the ground, not on him.
Barry, one of the guards, stepped out in front of them. “I’ve brought you the clothes you requested.” He laid the backpack down on the ground and disappeared into the woods.
“I didn’t know if you wanted to run or maybe take a walk.” He sat down and watched her shift back into her human form. Her small body shook from the cold air. She grabbed the bag and searched for her clothes.
Remi shifted again. Then he covered her body with his and blocked the wind. “You have such a beautiful body.” He skimmed his hand down her back to cup her ass cheek. “When I see you walk into a room, it takes my breath away, my heart rate increases, and I want to lock you away in our room. So no one will ever hurt you again,” he whispered into her ear after she pulled on her sweater.
Jaycee turned and gazed up at him while she slid on her jeans. “Thank you, but I’m nothing special. I’m just a woman who wants the love of her men, and wants to belong somewhere.” She reached down and slid on her thermal socks. She slipped her small feet into her boots.
Remi grabbed his clothes and dressed quickly. He stared at her. “You have our love, Jaycee, and a home.” He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her to him. He needed to comfort her.
“Do I? Look behind you, Remi. What do you see?” She nodded at the huge cabin behind them. “You know what I see? I see a pack house, Dane’s house. I don’t see a home—one created out of love. Sure, it’s beautiful, a showcase really, but where in that house is there any part of me or of us?” She moved out of his arms and started walking.
“Out of all the places and people I’ve met over the last six years, I’ve only come across two real homes, where I can actually say I wish it was me in that home. Look at that home there, Remi. What do you see?” She pointed to the cabin through the woods on their left.
He wrapped his hand in hers and studied the home. “I see a woman shoveling snow, children playing out in the snow, Christmas lights strung up crooked…” He laughed and shook his head. “It kind of reminds me of my dad, when he was trying to hang the lights on our house. Mom just laughed the whole time. Every time he’d get one row of lights on, one of the lights would go out. Boy, did he cuss.” He smiled and stared down at her.
Her eyes filled with tears, and there was a small smile on her lips. “That’s what I’m talking about. In all my life, I’ve never had that. Parents who took the time to do something as simple as hanging Christmas lights. Even now, at night, before you three come to our bed. I hear you out in the woods with the pack, running and playing. But have you asked me to join? Have you introduced me to any of your friends? Sure we have sex, but do we love? You tell me I take your breath away when I walk into a room, but do you show it to me? A hug here, a knowing smile, you know, little things.” She glanced down at their joined hands and raised them. “This is what I mean, but in public. Not when we’re alone only.”
“This way, baby.” Remi pulled her to a worn path further in the woods. “You have to give us time, Jaycee. It’s only been one week since I’ve claimed you. I’m new to this, and right now I don’t want to share you with anyone. I don’t know if I could control the beast inside me if some man even glanced at you the wrong way.”
Jaycee stopped and looked up at him. “I can promise you one thing. I would never, and I mean never, be with another man. You three are enough for me. I just wish…” She turned to walk away, but he turned her and held her face in his hands.
“What do you wish? If I can give it to you, I will.” He kissed her lips softly and pulled back.
“It’s nothing. So, where are you taking me?” She reached up and traced her finger down his face.
“I’m not going to forget, but I’ll wait. I thought maybe you could help me go through my house. We can pick anything you want and bring it to our home.” Remi turned and nipped her finger.
“Hey.” She laughed and started walking again. “You mean, the big bad wolf is going to let little old me into his den?” she teased, but then stopped dead in her tracks. They had broken through the woods and his house stood before them.
“My God, Remi, it’s beautiful. Did you build this?” She walked around the house to the front.
“Over the years, I’ve needed time away from the pack. I’d come up here and work on it. Even Dane would come here and help me. Mark installed the porch and the swing.” He nodded at the huge wooden swing, which swung from the cedar rafters. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and set his head on hers.
“This is a home …” she whispered.
A single tear dropped down on his hand and he turned to see tears in her eyes. “Why are you crying?” He wiped the tears that fell. “You’re killing me here.”
“Have you had any woman here?” She glanced down at her feet, her body quivering, while she waited.
He lifted her chin with his finger. “No, mon amour, there has never been any woman here. Only us men. It’s a place for us to get away, and my haven.”
“Do you think we could make this our home? I mean, I love Dane’s place, but it’s also part of the pack's home. This could be our home together.” Her gaze filled with hope, daring to ask.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up. He hugged her hard. “You haven’t even seen the inside. You might hate it.” He kissed her nose and carried her up the stairs, across the threshold.