Chapter 10: Jericho

I'd been shocked when she said Deke had been her first kiss, but I was elated at finding her untouched. But her pleading shattered my heart. To hear her beg for a quick death instead of a chance at life told me everything about how she had suffered at the hands of her old pack. At how they made her accept dying so easily. Rage ran deep in both me and my wolf and I felt it matched by the rage from Deke and Ash. 

"What the absolute fuck has Montgomery been telling that pack about us? And why? We aren't a nearby rival." Ash sounded furious.

"Dark Moon pack. I've heard some stories about how they treat their wolves, but I never thought they were true. My wolf is calling for blood. To have hurt her so badly for her to beg for a quick death when most people beg to just stay alive?! To have made her feel like she's ugly, worthless, and unworthy of any softer emotions is unthinkable! Ash… Deke… we gotta do something. We need to keep her near us. I think I'd lose my mind if she leaves and disappears. My wolf would lose his mind."

Inside my wolf was clawing to break free, to run to Dark Moon and tear out their throats and bathe in their blood. I had heard about Brad Montgomery and his sadistic behavior, but I'd always thought it was a rumor, and an outrageous one at that. To find out that he was so cruel to Zoey made my blood run cold.

"Fuck…"

"What's wrong Jer?" 

"I just remembered some of the rumors about Montgomery's son. And they aren't pretty. Branding, whipping, and so much worse. With all that I've heard about him, she had to have glossed over what he and that pack did to her when she said she had scars."

I heard Deke's growl fill the room.

"I'm going to kill every one of them that hurt her. Slowly and painfully. They don't deserve any mercy."

I even shivered at the pure hate in his voice. I've only heard Deke sound like that once before and that was when he swore vengeance against the wolves that murdered his sister Aubrey. 

Ash grimaced. "I know one thing. I'm not killing her. We're fucking keeping her and showing her exactly how worthy she is. How special she is. Fuck. I already know all three of us'll be in love with her soon. I can't deny it. She's our mate. I have no idea how that's possible and honestly, I don't care. But I know it's going to take time for her to accept that she's loved and wanted, especially after how she's been treated."

"Damn straight. Can I tell her she's not gonna die, Ash? Please?" I waited anxiously. I knew they could feel my need to be the one to soothe her this time.

"Go for it, Jer."

I smiled and looked into her sad eyes as I pushed away from the desk and knelt down next to her by the chair. I reached out and brushed some of her hair back from her face. My stomach clenched when she flinched as if she was expecting a blow, as if she was expecting me to hurt her and kill her right then and there. 

"Don't worry, my lovely lady. You're safe here and you're more than welcome to stay and live here in Silver Falls as part of the Silver Moon pack. Although I NEVER want to hear you ask for death again. You're too important, and my heart can't take it."

My breath caught as her eyes and face lit up. She was utterly breathtaking. And then she had to go and stop my heart completely as she threw herself into my arms, knocking me on my ass and then onto my back. She straddled my hips, and she kissed me hard, her tongue against my lips just begging me to open my mouth. And I could no more deny the lady who was stealing my heart than I could deny my next breath. As soon as my mouth opened her tongue was inside, tasting me and dancing with my tongue. I moaned at how good she tasted, and it took everything I had to keep from claiming her right then and there, marking her as mine. 

My wolf whined in protest as she pulled away, breaking the kiss. I hissed as she rained kisses over my face, her movements causing her hot pussy to rub against my hard cock through my pants. I grunted as I gripped her hips and held her still, her pussy pulled tight against my cock.

"Gorgeous lady… if you don't stop moving, I won't be held accountable for what happens next."

She giggled as she sat up and it made my heart beat faster to see the happiness in her face. She was still straddling my hips as she looked over at Ash. She flushed slightly at the hungry look on his face. He was the only one who hadn't kissed her yet and I could feel his desire through our bond. 

"A... Ash… can I really stay?" She stuttered on his nickname a little and I knew she'd never had the chance to be so informal with an Alpha before. The sheer hopefulness in her voice made us all smile.

He nodded and gave her a grin. 

"Yes. Of course, you can stay. You can live in this town for as long as you want. You'll always be welcome in our territory as a part of our pack."

She gave a whoop of joy and jumped up and dashed to Ash and flung her arms around his neck and hauled him in for a kiss. I winked at Deke and we both grinned like idiots when we felt his utter shock at how good she tasted. 

She let Ash go after a few minutes and looked at us. 

"Thank you all so so much. You don't know what this means to me. I've never had a place to call home before."

Deke came over and helped pull me up from the floor. But we both stumbled when Ash dropped a bombshell on us.