wasn’t brave; it was an act of desperation. Sooner or later even a craven cur will turn on an abusive master. Not brave.”
Chase took her hands and kissed the back of each in turn, marvelling at her humility. He felt belittled by her courage and strength. And the desire to give her what she deserved came to him in a powerful wave of commitment. His mate would never have to be that afraid or that desperate again. She would always be kept safe. Nothing would ever hurt her again.
Not even him. Most especially not him.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Anna felt like she was moving through some kind of dream. It wasn’t a nightmare, because no one hurt her in it. But it wasn’t pleasant either, because she was ever aware that she was again imprisoned. A nicer, more friendly prison, but a prison all the same.
However, as she sat on Chase’s big bed, feeling the relaxing effects of the alcohol seep into her system, she started to appreciate that this imprisonment was nothing like her last. Sure, she had to stay below ground, but she could come and go where she liked in HQ. Yes, being surrounded by so many men was a little frightening, but because they all looked like Chase, and had what must be her cat ’s instinctual trust, that wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Even at dinner, surrounded by them all, she’d felt okay with it. Not happy, not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, but okay. And maybe the more she was around them, the easier it would get. As long as none of them made a move on her.
And if she really wanted to go out, she could. But only with Chase. For her protection , so he said. Anna hated that word. When Chase had told her not to call the monsters her Protectors, but her Abusers, it had struck a chord. Even though she had used it simply as a label, it still had meaning. While ever she used it, she was denying the horror of what they'd done to her. She didn't want to do that anymore. So from now on, even in her own head, she was going to call them Abusers .
She returned to her last thought about going out. Alyssa went out without Colton. At least that's what she'd told Anna over dinner. Maybe not alone, but she could go out. Surely, once Chase was comfortable with having her in his life he’d relax his rules a little. It struck her that he was desperately trying to placate the cat 's every whim, and by doing so he was letting it behave badly. For a man who was supposedly always so tightly controlled, this seemed an anomaly.
Having spent the last two years totally free, the new restrictions chafed. But there were worse things than sitting talking to her so-called mate, while eating cake and drinking wine. Far worse things.
In the afternoon, Caleb had showed her how to use the internet so she could find and order in bedroom furnishings. Alyssa had hovered for a while, but when a call came in from her Colt, she’d disappeared.
Looking around the room now, she realised that maybe she’d gone a little overboard in her choices. The space was not as large as she remembered it from earlier in the day. And there was a wall sized TV screen to consider, too. But that would be a problem for tomorrow. There was still tonight to get through.
So far Chase had been pleasant company, when he wasn’t ordering her around. It broke her heart to hear about his mother, even though he kept the details to a minimum. The guilt he must feel for not being there was a heavy load to carry, she could sense, and shouldn’t be his to carry. It sounded like his mother had just given up on life when it didn’t go the way she wanted. She didn’t have to wallow in self-pity until she died. That had been her choice.
But that wasn’t something she could say to Chase. He’d see it as criticism of his mother. And it was. The woman had wealth and her health. She could have found some way to be happy. Instead, she’d depended on her son and husband to do that for her. And when they didn’t, she just took the easy way out. The
Chase took her hands and kissed the back of each in turn, marvelling at her humility. He felt belittled by her courage and strength. And the desire to give her what she deserved came to him in a powerful wave of commitment. His mate would never have to be that afraid or that desperate again. She would always be kept safe. Nothing would ever hurt her again.
Not even him. Most especially not him.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Anna felt like she was moving through some kind of dream. It wasn’t a nightmare, because no one hurt her in it. But it wasn’t pleasant either, because she was ever aware that she was again imprisoned. A nicer, more friendly prison, but a prison all the same.
However, as she sat on Chase’s big bed, feeling the relaxing effects of the alcohol seep into her system, she started to appreciate that this imprisonment was nothing like her last. Sure, she had to stay below ground, but she could come and go where she liked in HQ. Yes, being surrounded by so many men was a little frightening, but because they all looked like Chase, and had what must be her cat ’s instinctual trust, that wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Even at dinner, surrounded by them all, she’d felt okay with it. Not happy, not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, but okay. And maybe the more she was around them, the easier it would get. As long as none of them made a move on her.
And if she really wanted to go out, she could. But only with Chase. For her protection , so he said. Anna hated that word. When Chase had told her not to call the monsters her Protectors, but her Abusers, it had struck a chord. Even though she had used it simply as a label, it still had meaning. While ever she used it, she was denying the horror of what they'd done to her. She didn't want to do that anymore. So from now on, even in her own head, she was going to call them Abusers .
She returned to her last thought about going out. Alyssa went out without Colton. At least that's what she'd told Anna over dinner. Maybe not alone, but she could go out. Surely, once Chase was comfortable with having her in his life he’d relax his rules a little. It struck her that he was desperately trying to placate the cat 's every whim, and by doing so he was letting it behave badly. For a man who was supposedly always so tightly controlled, this seemed an anomaly.
Having spent the last two years totally free, the new restrictions chafed. But there were worse things than sitting talking to her so-called mate, while eating cake and drinking wine. Far worse things.
In the afternoon, Caleb had showed her how to use the internet so she could find and order in bedroom furnishings. Alyssa had hovered for a while, but when a call came in from her Colt, she’d disappeared.
Looking around the room now, she realised that maybe she’d gone a little overboard in her choices. The space was not as large as she remembered it from earlier in the day. And there was a wall sized TV screen to consider, too. But that would be a problem for tomorrow. There was still tonight to get through.
So far Chase had been pleasant company, when he wasn’t ordering her around. It broke her heart to hear about his mother, even though he kept the details to a minimum. The guilt he must feel for not being there was a heavy load to carry, she could sense, and shouldn’t be his to carry. It sounded like his mother had just given up on life when it didn’t go the way she wanted. She didn’t have to wallow in self-pity until she died. That had been her choice.
But that wasn’t something she could say to Chase. He’d see it as criticism of his mother. And it was. The woman had wealth and her health. She could have found some way to be happy. Instead, she’d depended on her son and husband to do that for her. And when they didn’t, she just took the easy way out. The
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