Lessons in Love

Chapter 71: Guests

POV: Riley Campbell

When we got to the trail head, Sam, Rick, and I shifted out. Ben didn’t. I picked up his clothes for him and carried them back. “I think Abby should see a doctor before we go to the packhouse.” I said to them. All three of the boys straightened their backs. I smiled at how they were willing to protect her after only knowing her a short while. Abby stopped walking and stared at her companions in horror at the idea of being separated from them.

“One of them can come with you if you’d like.” I said to her. She looked at each of the boys.

“I’ll go,” Brian said.

“Nah,” Chris piped up. “I’ll go. You need the shower more than I do.” He gave a cheeky grin. Brian looked appreciative and relieved as he followed the men to the packhouse with Devin in tow. I took her into the hospital, and the nurse put us in a room right away.

“How long since you’ve been turned out?” I asked Chris.

“About a month. Brian got us to the gates at Ridgeline with an older woman from Vine Valley and a guy in his mid-twenties from Mount Selene who’d been walking in circles for months. Devin and I thought Brian was doing something special and decided to stay with him, help him out.”

I smiled at that. “That’s very admirable. How about you, Abby? How long have you been gone from Flain River?” Abby didn’t respond.

“Abby and I didn’t know each other very well, but we went to the same high school. We had English together. She stopped coming to class about two weeks before we got turned out.” Chris replied for her. “That about right?” He looked at her.

There was something in the way she looked at him, like she didn’t realize he’d noticed when she’d gone missing. The corner of her mouth twitched up, trying to smile as she nodded. The smile faded instantly as the door opened. She jumped and grabbed Chris’s hand tightly.

He smiled affectionately at her. “It’s okay, it’s just the doctor.” He gave her hand a squeeze. The doctor looked her over. Chris was a gentleman through and through. He kept hold of her hand but looked away when the doctor opened Abby’s shirt and looked under her skirt.

“You’ve got an infection in the cut on your arm.” The doctor said. “I’m going to give you some medication for that. Other than that, you’re in one piece. You’re safe now, so you can go with Ms. Campbell and get cleaned up once I give you the meds.” Dr. Morris smiled at her. “Ms. Campbell, can you come with me?”

I gave Abby and Chris a smile before I followed the doctor. “Riley, I’m worried she’s been sexually assaulted. She has bruising on her inner thighs and vaginal area. The way she’s clinging to that young man in there, I don’t think he did it, but you may want to question the group you said you brought in.”

While the doctor grabbed the meds, I relayed the information to Ben. He cursed and growled when I told him. I walked Chris and Abby to the packhouse to find Ben and Rick waiting in the lobby with stern expressions.

“Abby, I’ll take you to your room now.” I said. She looked back at Chris, nervous to leave his side. “It’s okay, Chris will be in the room across the hall.” Abby nodded and followed me upstairs. I heard Rick say something quietly to Chris as we reached the second-floor landing, followed by Chris growling loudly. Abby jumped and spun around, meeting the young man’s eyes.

“Sorry,” he called up the stairs. “It’s okay, go on.” He forced a smile to his face, snd Abby reluctantly followed me down the hall.

“Those boys are very protective of you.” I said softly as I opened the door. “Have they taken good care of you since you ran into them?” Abby stepped into the room and looked around. She took a deep breath. “Bedroom and bathroom are this way.” I pointed to my left. She followed me. “So have they?” I asked again.

Abby ran her hand over the bedding, tears in her eyes. She looked at me and gave a shy nod. “Y-yes.” She managed to say. “They are good people.” Her voice was a whisper, but I was inclined to believe her.

“I’m going to find you some clean clothes and I’ll be back in a moment.” I smiled at her and left.

Rick was showing Chris to his room when I came out into the hallway. “Is she okay?” Chris asked.

“Thanks to you boys, I think she is.” I said with a smile. He breathed a sigh of relief and went into his suite.

“The other two reacted the same way when we talked to them.” Rick said quietly as we walked back toward Ben near our suite.

Ben pulled me into his arms as I approached him and kissed the top of my head. “Brian said Rogues had her. He found her tied to a tree. She fought him at first when he tried to free her. He’d thought she’d been beaten because she had bruises on her face when he found her. The poor kid looked ready to vomit when we confronted him about the rape.”

“What do we do for her?” Rick asked.

“We let her climatize to her surroundings. I’ll talk to her, see if I can get her to open up, but that’s really it. Just let her know she’s safe her.”

The maid crested the stairs carrying armfuls of clean clothes. I took Abby’s back to her room and set them out on the bed for her. Rick and Ben took care of the boys. An hour later, I brought Abby down to the dining hall where the boys had already gathered. We walked in, and the conversation stopped. The three young men stared in awe at Abby.

Abby’s long, dark red hair was tied up. Her pale blue eyes darted around the room nervously, but she smiled shyly when her eyes met Chris. She gave me a shy nod of thanks and made her way to stand next to him.

“Please, take a seat.” Ben smiled at them. He held his hand out to me, and I took it, giving him a smile and kissing him on the lips quickly before taking a seat. The four teens stared at me like I’d sprouted another head. “Is there something wrong, gentlemen?” Ben asked sternly.

“No sir!” Brian spoke up quickly, averting his eyes from me to Ben. “I don’t think we realized Ms. Campbell was your mate, is all. We’re not used to seeing mated women in the field, sir.” He said with a bit of a blush.

Dinner was served to the awe and amazement of our guests. “We don’t eat like this every night.” Ben said with a smile. “But we figured you all could use a real meal. It’s been a while for all of you, I’m sure.” Brian rubbed his forehead and took a shaky breath. The other three dug in, groaning in satisfaction.

“Is there a washroom?” Brian asked quietly.

“I’ll show you.” Ben said, standing up. Brian kept his eyes down, his head lowered as he followed Ben out of the room. It wasn’t hard to see that the poor kid was overwhelmed.

“You were all in school up until recently. Would you like to start up again?” I asked. “We have a boys’ school and a girls’ school at the moment.” I saw Abby’s back straighten at the realization she’d have to go to school without the boys who’d become her safety net. “I teach all the same subjects, but I run a special combat program for the girls. No experience necessary. We take all levels.” I added. “Maybe you could come by tomorrow, meet some of the girls in the afternoon.” I smiled.

“I’m happy to offer the same for you guys.” Rick added. “Training for the boys takes place on the large field outside. The girls are still training indoors for the moment. None of our girls have ever been trained before. Most women here who know how to fight aren’t originally from the area.” He noted dryly. Abby seemed interested but nervous. Chris and Devin listened politely but were more interested in the steak dinners in front of them. Rick and I talked up the schools and the extra curriculars. Each of them seemed to gravitate to one part of the program or another.

“So, you’re just going to take us all in?” Chris finally questioned.

“Why wouldn’t we?” I asked.

“We’re … well we’re technically Rogues.” He said with frustration. “You literally found us in a cave an hour ago, and now you want us to just live here and go to school like it’s nothing.”

“Chris,” his brother nudged him. “Shut up, man.” Devin whispered out of the side of his mouth.

“It’s okay to be suspicious.” Rick said. “We bring you in here, feed you a steak dinner, offer you a place without really knowing you. I’d be suspicious of me, too.” He admitted honestly. “The offer doesn’t come without its drama. Our pack is in a bit of a fluid and … mildly precarious situation right now, and you have the right to know that before you make any decisions.” Rick told them an abridged version of our recent problems. They were shocked, but clearly, it created a bit of trust.