Rated M for language, sexual themes, violence, and rape and torture. This story contains no explicit sex. All rape and torture content comes in the form of memories and dialog of past trauma.

*This story is written in Patricia Briggs' Alpha and Omega universe and is solely for entertainment purposes. I have the highest respect for Patricia Briggs and her writing and hope that this story compliments her work. I make no money from this work. Enjoy!

This story takes place after Hunting Ground.

CHAPTER 13

As Nathan parked his truck in front of a big brown house, the girl had to fight to keep the growls in her throat. Lupa had faith that Nathan would work to protect them, but despite what she'd felt from his wolf, the girl wasn't so sure. She felt very vulnerable as he opened the back of his truck for her to climb out. It took a decided effort for her to tuck her tail between her legs and play "submissive" some more.

That's what Lupa thought of what she was doing, and Nathan had confirmed it. Lupa hated it. The girl didn't care for it much either, but instincts honed through years of surviving at the hands of dominant, malicious men told her that it would be safer if they didn't see her as a threat. It didn't make her any less than she was, but it would give her the upper hand if it came to a fight. Lupa liked that part, and the logic made her settle down enough that the girl could think about something other than containing her growls.

"This is the Marrok's house," Nathan was explaining as he led her inside.

Part of the girl wanted to snuggle up under Nathan's arm and feel safe. Part of her could never feel safe while touching a man. Even his kind gray eyes couldn't make him anything other than a man to that part. She followed him through the doorway, which seemed awfully narrow in this form, and into a large room.

She cowered a little when she saw the room because it was either that or start growling. There was nothing unpleasant about this room, but the memories it brought to the surface, memories that she'd dismissed the day after they'd happened, were surging back to make her feel threatened. She knew that she would never let herself be hurt like that again, and that desire to fight was trying to make itself known while she was trying to prevent it.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked, with just a touch of stress in his voice. He took a deep breath like he needed to relax too, and started again, "You're safe here, okay? This is the Marrok's house. Not a single wolf in the whole world could hurt you in this house."

As it had before, that reassurance made her want to curl up at his feet for the rest of her life. He brought her comfort that she had never felt before. She forced herself to bask in that comfort and in his lack of concern and ruthlessly banished the troublesome memories. She focused on the less human side instead. She concentrated on her senses. She could hear a TV or radio upstairs and subtle sounds of movement that was probably just a single person. There were also sounds of movement coming from a room downstairs.

The whole house smelled of unfamiliar wolves, a lot of them, and that tried to raise her hackles before she caught herself and borrowed Nathan's calm again to right herself.

No one will hurt you. The voice spoke inside her head like Lupa, but it wasn't Lupa. It was Nathan's voice… almost. It was the voice of Nathan's wolf.

The girl stumbled slightly and spun her head to stare at Nathan in shock. Having her own voice inside her head was one thing, but someone else's? She hadn't even known that was possible.

Nathan stopped and looked at her uncertainly, "What is it?" he asked, though obviously she couldn't answer. At least not verbally, and she suspected that only Lupa could probably talk to him.

She cocked her head as she considered him. He seemed legitimately surprised and concerned by her stumble and her expression. Was it possible that he didn't know that his wolf had spoken to her or was that sort of thing so ordinary here that he hadn't even realized she would find it odd?

No, she realized. He would have realized if it were the latter. He really didn't know that his wolf was telepathically communicating with her… Interesting… And weird. She shook it off and he seemed to get the message that she was over it because he started leading her again, toward the occupied room on the first floor.

He opened the door and led the way into the room.

It looked like an office, but the girl didn't more than glance at the room before her eyes settled on its lone occupant. He had sandy brown hair and a build that was almost lanky. He was of average height and looked as young as Nathan. Somehow, she'd been expecting someone older. She was two steps into the room when she felt his shock, mild though it was.

"They didn't exaggerate about her size," Nathan said and he smelled… satisfied.

"So I see," the Marrok said softly, rising out of his seat and coming around the desk with a step that was both light and deliberate. In fact, everything about him seemed to be deliberate. "I would like to talk to you," he said directly to her, standing a little closer than she was comfortable with. "There are clothes in the bathroom there. I didn't know your size, so I got a few options. You should be able to find something that fits you well enough."

There was an undertone of command to his amiable tone, just as she had noticed on the phone, but it still didn't seem unpleasant, so she decided to ignore it and play nice. She nodded her head a little and walked into the bathroom, only to find that she was so large in this form she could barely turn around.

There was a lock on the door, though she doubted that it would even slow either of them. Since she couldn't really move in the little room, she decided that she might as well get on with it. The idea of them seeing her naked didn't bother her, except that she was afraid she would read desire in one of them and lose her temper. What really made her nervous about changing back to her human form was that she was so very vulnerable during the time it took to make the change. Plus, she wasn't as strong and her senses weren't so sharp in her human form, though they were still far above anything she'd had before Lupa had become a part of her.

Nathan followed her enough to pull the door shut behind her, for which she was grateful.

Changing, she'd discovered, required very little effort to begin. It was merely a matter of willing it to happen. When she was finally finished, she was lying naked on the bathroom floor, shaking and panting slightly. Her whole body was racked with pain, but that part was only a minor annoyance to her. The real discomfort, was the fact that she felt decidedly vulnerable in this form, though she knew she wasn't. More vulnerable than the wolf, perhaps, but not so much.

This form though, was more closely connected to horrible memories that she kept buried from her conscious mind most of the time. Now, feeling so vulnerable to be in this unfamiliar place with powerful and unfamiliar people, those memories were nearer to the surface.

She found the neat stacks of clothes on the counter, and quickly found that they were all too big. Still, the sweat pants had a drawstring to keep them up and the sweatshirt hung to her thighs, but she actually felt somewhat comfortable in them. She couldn't remember ever feeling truly comfortable in any clothes. The only clothing she'd ever worn were robes and lingerie – at least that she could remember. She knew that her mother must have let her wear normal clothes, but she had very few memories that far back. These baggy clothes felt comfortable on her.

She glanced in the mirror and sighed when she saw her hair, then she flinched involuntarily at the thought that she'd most likely be beaten if her master saw her that way.

She didn't have a master anymore, she reminded herself. There was a brush on the counter, but she couldn't bring herself to use it. She was beaten for touching things that weren't hers too. She stared in wonder as she watched the anger she felt in response to that memory turn her eyes from deep blue to a pale, silvery blue that she had seen looking back at her wolf from streams on a sunny day.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm and she watched her eyes shift back to deep blue. It took her two more deep breaths to make herself open the door and go back into that room.

More to come...

I hope that you enjoyed and would welcome any reviews and/or suggestions.