8. Leonardo
Leonardo
The fact that there was only one bedroom in this cabin was crazy.
Not only that, but it was open to the space below.
So every move I made, I knew that Sandro heard.
And the same for me. I heard the man down on the sofa moaning.
What in the fates? Why? Why would the guy lie down there moaning while pleasuring himself when he knew I could hear him?
That was so incredibly messed up in all ways.
I was right here. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t take care of things for him.
The man was hot as fuck, and I had nothing against a little mutual pleasure.
But nope. The asshole decided that he was going to self-pleasure instead of spending time with his beloved.
I rolled my eyes at the situation. Not that anyone could see me.
It was dark in the cabin except for the moonlight filtering in through the many windows.
That was another thing. I didn’t like it to be so bright in my bedroom, but I didn’t have a choice here.
The cabin was almost nothing but windows.
I was too busy being irritated with my mate to realize that something wasn’t quite right. That was, until he grunted, and then I heard it. It was faint, but I still heard it. I froze, held my breath, and then I heard it again.
“No. Please just end it,” he whispered out. Only I didn’t think he was actually whispering.
I tossed the covers back and was on my feet in a second. “Sandro?” I said out loud.
“No. Make it stop.”
I hurried down the stairs and was now thankful that the moon was as bright as it was.
“Sandro?” I said again as I rushed to the sofa, where he’d insisted on sleeping.
It turned out that the sofa actually folded out into a large bed, but it couldn’t be nearly as comfortable as the massive bed upstairs.
“Sandro?” I said again as I reached his side.
I reached out without a thought and touched his shoulder.
It was soaking wet, and I was suddenly terrified that he was either sick or something was seriously wrong.
“Sandro? Can you hear me?” I asked as I gave his shoulder a gentle shake.
I placed a knee on the bed to get closer in hopes of waking him up, but that might have been a mistake.
I yelped when I suddenly found myself on my back and was staring up at deep red eyes and had claws pressing into my neck.
“Sandro!” I shouted before instinct took over and my leopard pushed himself out. It was the fastest I’d ever shifted, and my leopard let out a loud growl before hissing and then swiping at Sandro’s clawed hands.
I slowly backed up on the bed, hissing and growling low in my throat, completely in defensive mode. I growled again, this time a bit louder. I was crouched, ready to pounce and put Sandro on his back if needed, but I really didn’t wish to hurt my mate.
“Leo?” Sandro said, but his voice sounded scratchy and not really as it had all day.
“What…” Sandro looked around, then lifted his hand and stared at it.
I growled at the sight of his claws. Immediately, they disappeared, and Sandro held out a hand toward me.
“Please tell me I didn’t hurt you. Please.
I…” Sandro gasped, and then I heard him breathing heavily.
“Please tell me. No, I can’t have hurt you.
Please no.” He gasped again, then let out a sound that I could only describe as a torturous cry.
Instinctively, my leopard relaxed, and the desire to comfort our mate overcame me.
I moved closer, pushing him back with my head.
Sandro’s arms wrapped around me, and I let myself be pulled close to him.
Sandro cried into my furry neck, and I was left not knowing what to do.
Did I shift and talk to him? Did I let him have his moment of holding me in this form?
I had no clue. I just knew that he needed me, and I was going to let him hold me as long as he wanted.
“Mi perdoni. Mi perdoni,” he said over and over. There was nothing I could do to communicate with him while I was in this form. I was still unsure if I should shift and talk to him or not.
“I would never hurt you, Leo. Never. I wasn’t here. My mind and body were back in that warehouse, and the pain. I…” Sandro’s arms tightened around me, and I heard him sob again. I let him hold me. I truly didn’t know what else to do.
We lay there on the makeshift bed for I don’t know how long.
Sandro kept repeating over and over for me to forgive him and that he was sorry for what he’d done.
Eventually, the crying silenced, and his hold against me loosened.
It didn’t take me long to realize that Sandro had fallen asleep.
My poor, traumatized mate. What had he gone through?
He’d mentioned that he had been stabbed and shot.
I’d heard those words, but I don’t think I realized just how absolutely horrible it had been for him.
I was dumb. Of course it had been horrible. Worse than that. And he’d been reliving that moment. Or moments. He’d said they’d tortured him. He’d been in hell and had wished for death. I could understand that more now.
So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and I wasn’t sure I knew how to process everything.
Yesterday, I was still planning on my escape from the pride.
Now I was on a completely different continent with my mate.
I was in my leopard form while he held me as he slept.
Had I brought him some form of comfort, or was he simply holding me because he’d felt bad about attacking me?
I knew now not to approach him when he was having one.
I’d had close calls before. I was a shifter in a shitty pride.
I’d been attacked before. But I honestly hadn’t expected it from Sandro.
He was my mate. I didn’t think I’d ever have to defend myself from my mate, of all people.
But if I thought about it logically, he probably didn’t think I was me.
He wasn’t here in Banff with me. In that moment, he was wherever he’d been held and tortured.
I huffed and rested my head against the top of Sandro’s. At least my leopard could be comfortable in any position. Not that I was uncomfortable. Sandro’s hold was no longer tight, but he still had his one arm slung across my body while the other was under my neck. It wasn’t a terrible position.
I lay there, unable to sleep, trying to figure out how I could help my mate.
From what little of himself he had revealed to me, he seemed like a sweet man.
But it was now obvious that he needed to talk to someone about everything that had happened to him.
Was Rio that person? Would Sandro be upset with me if I reached out to the warlock doctor?
He’d given me his number for a reason, hadn’t he?
Did Rio already know about Sandro’s nightmares?
Sandro started moaning in his sleep again, and I moved a paw across my body and chuffed quietly several times.
I couldn’t exactly hold and comfort him in my shifted form, but I didn’t know if I was actually safe in my human form.
If Sandro hurt me, I knew it wouldn’t be on purpose. But how did I help him?
I couldn’t sleep in my shifted form every night.
It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable. My leopard loved being out, and he really loved being surrounded by our mate’s scent.
The fact that Sandro was rubbing his scent all over my fur made my leopard very happy.
But this was impractical. Not only that, but eventually, Sandro would claim me, right?
And then I would go into heat, and then there would hopefully be a baby.
He was going to need to feed, which meant biting, and that meant claiming.
And that certainly wasn’t happening in this form.
I moved my head and paw to see if I could get out from his hold, but Sandro moaned as his hold tightened on me.
Nope. I wasn’t going anywhere until my mate fully woke.
Would that be sometime tonight? Or would it be in the morning?
It was already morning. Or I guess some considered it the middle of the night, but still. It had been an incredibly long day, and I was tired, but would I be able to fall asleep? I closed my eyes, let out another huff, and tried to shut my thoughts off so I could get some rest.
Today had been more than eventful, but it hadn’t been terrible, actually. Sandro had taken me into town, which ended up not being far at all, and we’d visited a bunch of little tourist shops. We’d bought nothing but lunch, but with the time difference, it was technically supper for us.
I realized that I wasn’t turning my thoughts off, and I was reliving the day with Sandro.
If I were in my human form, I would smile about the majority of it.
He was… I huffed. He was such a gentleman.
He was attentive, curious, and sweet. He’d asked me if I wanted or needed anything several times, and when I heard his stomach growl, I suggested finding somewhere to eat.
We’d eaten at this adorable restaurant, and the food had been nothing like what we had in Italy, but it was amazing.
I was definitely a fan of bacon cheeseburgers now.
I closed my eyes again, not realizing I’d opened them, and tried to relax my mind. It had been an incredibly long day, and I was exhausted, but my leopard was worried about our mate. How could we help him? Was that even possible?