0104
Neah
A new scent hits my nose before I even open my eyes.
Another Wolf that I didn't recognise. I don't know why, but I keep my eyes closed.
Dane must be nearby, he wasn't ready to leave me alone yet. This Wolf couldn't be dangerous.
"Let her sleep, Dorothy." Who the fuck was Dorothy?
"She has babies in her tummy." Raven tells this Dorothy person.
"It makes her tired."
"She's very pretty." A small voice mutters back. I open my eyes to find a young girl inches from my own face. Wide bright green eyes stare back at me. As she smiles, dimples appear on each cheek. "Hi."
"Hi." I mutter, confused. Where had she come from?
She hurries back to the desk and plonks herself in Danes chair, doodling on a piece of paper as she clutches a small teddy bear to her chest.
Raven smiles at me as I swing my legs around and rub my eyes. "Damien is back and he brought us a friend. This is Dorothy."
Dorothy is oblivious to us, continuing to doodle with her tongue stuck in one corner of her mouth as she concentrates. "Does that mean....?"
"No." She cuts me off before I have a chance to finish my sentence.
"He is out there," she points to the door, "with Dane, discussing it." A shiver goes down her spine and she visibly shakes it off.
"What are you not telling me?"
She glances at Dorothy, choosing her words carefully. "The boys weren't Eric's. We think they are....were Jenson's. Remember it all came out about him and Kelsie. It seems that it was going on a lot longer than what he had us believe." "Are you serious?"
"Are they dead?" Dorothy asks without looking up. Neither of us thought she was paying attention to our conversation.
"You don't need to worry about that." Raven mutters
"Was it the monster? The monster killed lots of people." She doesn't even look up as she speaks. "Then my new Daddy found me."
I watch the colour drain from Raven's face until she is whiter than the piece of paper Dorothy is drawing on.
"Your new Daddy?" I ask because I still didn't understand why he had brought her here. I had only been asleep for a few hours and yet, somehow, I had missed so much.
"He broke my bracelet and carried me to a car. And he got me the best food and he told me who you all are." Her bright green eyes catch mine as she looks up. "Al...pha Neah." She puts her pen down and holds up a piece of paper covered in squiggles. "Do you like my picture?"
She had drawn like a two year old. Like me when I couldn't hold a pen properly or control it.
The door swings open. Dane. Damien and Eric stroll in and I watch Damien go straight to Dorothy. "What are you drawing, Dottie?"
"The monster, Daddy"
"Dottie, we have talked about this. I'm not your Daddy, you can call me uncle Damien."
Her face scrunches up as she thinks about it and I see the relief on Raven's face. Being a mother was not something she was ready for just yet and especially not to someone who wasn't her kid.
I'm still not even sure if I'm ready, the only difference is, I was already a mother and my boys would be here soon.
"Everyone needs a Daddy." Dorothy grins
My eyes flicker around the room. Only Eric and my sons had a father.
"Please?" I see tears building in her bright green eyes
I watch Damien squat down next to the chair and before he has a chance to speak, she throws her arms around his neck, sobbing into him.
Looking over to Raven, she just seems so stunned by the whole situation.
Damien lifts Dorothy from the chair, holding him against her as she continues to cry.
His dark eyes look pained and I wondered how often he had helped other little kids.
His past as a human slowly creeping up on him with one little Wolf girl.
Dorothy's sobbing stops and an arm falls from Damien's neck.
She had cried herself to sleep.
"Do you want to set her up in the room next to Raven's?" Dane offers. "I assume you will be sleeping there tonight and will want her close by."
Damien shakes his head. "Holding her is the only way to stop the nightmares." He sways back and forth with her against his chest.
Nightmares. I had lived with them for years.
Fought against them every night.
Eventually, my mind had become so used to them, it became a comfort.
They stopped a few years before Dane came into my life, minus the odd few.
"Where did you find her?" I ask when I hear the subtle snores that confirmed she was actually asleep.
Damien tells us everything. The bracelet that Dorothy had referred to was a chain, keeping her locked up as a pet.
"Did they...." The thought sickened me, "Did they touch her?"
"I don't think so, not in that way at least." Damien tells me. "I have asked as gently as I can in several ways. The most I think they did was watch her crawl around like a dog, lapping water from a bowl. Throwing food at her. Made her sleep in the cold. Though she did have a few bruises."
"Her parents?"
"There were no other Wolves there. Everyone Salem killed was human." He sighs, "She was likely there for years. She's six and she has spent most of her life chained up. Honestly, I'm surprised she isn't more feral."
I was six when all my problems started. Imagine being younger and not even understanding what is happening to you.
"You brought her here because of me." I mutter, looking at the sleeping pup in his arms
"Yes." He doesn't even hesitate with his answer
"What about Salem? He will come right back here." Raven mutters
"I figured she would be safer surrounded by Wolves and Lycans than humans. At least this way, she has a chance of learning who she is. Can you imagine her being with humans and then suddenly unable to control her shift." His response takes me right back to Devon.
I shake the thought away because who knows how much of what he told me was actually true. .
"Okay." I mutter.
"Thank you, Neah, you won't regret it."
Damiens eyes drift to Raven. She hadn't said a lot. "Dane, do you mind holding Dottie so I can spend some time with my mate. We have things to discuss."
"She's your responsibility Damien." Dane warns him
"He will." I interrupt.
Dane glances at me and rolls his crimson eyes as he holds his arms out to Damien. Dorothy snuggles into Dane and something about him holding her makes my heart explode.
He looks alarmed as he stares at me. "Are you okay?"
I smile at him and nod. Maybe everything will be alright.
****
Dane sets Dorothy up on a small fold out bed in our bedroom. Damien and Raven are still busy and it is getting late.
He had missed another pack run, deciding not to go after tonights antics.
Dorothy is still asleep when he lowered her onto the bed. He tucks the blanket up around her and makes sure the little teddy bear is with her too.
I don't know how long I had been asleep before the whimpering started. I sit up, flicking on the bedside light. Dane is already getting out of bed to check on Dorothy. He wasn't particularly happy as he had to wear shorts to bed.
She lashes out as he tries to reassure her, her fingers catching his face.
Small scratches disappear from his cheek as quickly as they appeared.
Making my way over, Dane tells me to stand back.
"She's not aware it's you." I mutter, seeing how tightly her eyes are closed. Beads of sweat hover along her hair line. She starts to cry, repeatedly calling out for 'Daddy'.
"Dorothy," I speak softly. "Dorothy, it's Neah, you are safe."
"Daddy!" She screams at the top of her lungs and our bedroom door is nearly knocked down by Damien.
Her cries settle into quiet sobs as he pulls her into his arms, muttering softly to her.
"Say what you want, Damien, but you've just become a Dad." Dane smirks at him.
****
Raven paces my room, she was starting to move a little better and the limp wasn't so obvious. "What am I supposed to do Neah? He was gone for a month and he brought another woman back with him." "A kid." I mutter. It was far too early for me to be dealing with this.
"I'm not ready to be a mother. I thought he would come back and we would have the best sex session to date but no, he brings someone else back."
"Again, it's a six year old."
"I can't compete with that."
"I don't think he is expecting you to compete. You are his mate."
"She calls him Daddy."
"I am aware."
"It's fucking insane."
"It's not. Not really. He saved her from a terrifying scenario. One that could probably get ten times worse as she got older. He protected her, like a father should." Not like my father.
"I'm jealous of a six year old!" She groans, settling on the big chair by the window.
"Pretty much. At the end of the day, she is more like you than Damien. She will need help guiding her and understanding that she is a Wolf. Damien won't be able to do all of that. Just let her settle in. Give her time." She nods her head, "Look at you being all understanding."
"I know what it's like to fear each day."