Alpha's Mate

Chapter 5

Quin stood in the doctor’s office waiting area and waited with Devon while the doctor examined little Ruby.  She had at least been beaten, and maybe more.  The girl had been afraid to talk in front of the males, and when the doctor ordered everyone but her mother out of the room, Quin had reluctantly gone.  He wanted to make sure the girl knew she was going to be protected and safe from now on. 

Devon stood next to him talking quietly about the orders he had given all the Enforcers.  They were to go from house to house and explain the new procedures for while in public.  From now on, no female was going out alone, and children were to remain in their parents’ care at all times.  The men were being gathered for a meeting later tonight so they could tell everyone at once, why the new security procedures had been necessary.  He wasn’t looking forward to standing before his pack and explaining that a young female wolf had been attacked right on their doorstep.

The outer door opened and Cami stepped in, along with Tey, one of his loyal Enforcers.  He looked at the woman questioningly.  Why had she come here?

Cami thought about standing by the door and waiting for Devon to finish talking.  However, she decided she wanted to give Quin the right impression, and so she went and stood next to him reaching down and holding his hand.  She was trying to give him silent support, but he was having none of it. 

He wanted everyone to know she was the new Alpha; Cami had come to him when he needed her, and it had to be a sign.

“Devon, this is Cami.  Cami, we have a situation here, and I’m thinking you may be able to help us.  Margie's daughter, Ruby, was attacked this morning when she went to open the restaurant, and we are trying to protect the rest of the females and children.  When do you think you will be ready to move in the bookstore?  I think it would keep everyone in the same place, without them going stir-crazy staying in their home all day, and help you at the same time.  The kids would love looking at the books while the women help.  What do you think about that?” Quin asked.

“I’m ready.  I have the entire inventory in a storage locker a block away.  I was just waiting to sort the lease issue out.  I was originally scheduled to move into the building last week, when the owners sold it out from under me,” she grumbled.  “I could have things organized in the next day or so.  I have to get the shelves and stuff put together and there was the coffee bar I wanted in the back.  I was going to have a carpenter come in and give me a quote.”

“Well, we have a carpenter in the pack.  I would also venture to guess that you would have more help than you wanted if we announce at the pack meeting tonight that you needed some men for manual labor.  It may help them take out their frustrations by pounding on something,” Devon said quietly.

Quin nodded, and thought for a moment.  “Devon, give us a minute.”

His best friend grinned, and turned to talk to the man who came into the office with Cami.  They pretended as if they couldn’t hear what was going on.  Cami almost laughed, she knew enough about wolves to know their sense of hearing was excellent.

“Cami, I really wanted to give you time and distance.  I’m trying to do this right,” Quin started and Cami shook her head.

“Quin, we have to deal with the situation now.  Let’s just say that I have a lot of questions, and really may suck as an Alpha, but for now, I am all in.  No one hurts a little girl and gets away with it,” she said with determination.

Quin smiled and closed his eyes briefly thanking whoever sent her to him.  She was going to be the perfect Alpha b***h.  “Thank you,” he whispered into her hair and then kissed her cheek.

“No thanks needed.  How is Ruby?” she asked, blushing because Quin put his arm around her.

“We are waiting for the doctor to come out.  She was beaten pretty badly.  I don’t know about anything else,” he whispered.

Just then, the door across the room opened and an older gentleman stepped out into the room.  “Alpha, I had to sedate Ruby.  She has a broken arm, and a few cracked ribs.  When I tried to examine her further, she started screaming and refused to allow me to touch her.  Her mom tried to help, but the girl panicked.”

Quin growled, and looked at Devon who growled also.  Beating a girl would be bad enough, but Quin didn’t think he could contain his friend, or himself, if she were sexually assaulted.  There was one thing his packs had always been taught, and that was to protect the women and children.  He had failed.

Quin felt Cami's hand on his arm and turned to look at her worried gaze.  “Let me talk to her, please.  I just want to see if I can help,” she whispered, and Quin thought for only a moment before nodding.

Cami stepped forward, smiled at the doctor, and said, “Through here?”

“Yes,” he acknowledged and opened the door for her.

Cami stepped through the door into a small examination room.  Margie was sitting against the wall trying to hold herself together, and patting her daughter’s hair as she laid on a table sobbing.  Margie looked up, surprised, and then tried to smile.

“Margie, I’m Cami.  I wondered if I could talk to Ruby for a few minutes?” she asked and waited while the woman got up and leaned over to whisper into her daughter’s ear.  The girl was no more than eighteen, and Cami held her breath while Margie soothed her for a few minutes.

When the woman stood up, nodded, and then held out her hand to Cami, she released the breath she was holding and approached the opposite side of the bed.  She didn’t know what she was going to say, until she looked at the girl and saw the look on the girl’s face.  She remembered the same look on her face, when she stared in the mirror the day after her mom’s husband had tried to r**e her.

“Ruby?  My name is Cami.  I just wanted to see how you were,” she said softly.

The girl turned and stared at her, she seemed to be unable to focus on her, but Cami was sure she was listening.  Through the swollen black eyes and puffy cheeks, the girl looked at her.  Cami noticed the doctor had made a makeshift cast on one arm, and had cleaned her as well as he could.  She was black and blue from head to toe.  Before this had happened, she was sure the girl had been a beauty.  Unfortunately, you couldn’t tell it now, from the way she had been beaten. 

“I’m fine,” the girl struggled to get out of her swollen lips.

“Good,” Cami said and then took the small stool next to the bed and sat down.  She took the girl’s uninjured hand gently and spoke softly, “I don’t know you very well, but I wanted to tell you something.  When I was young and living with my mother, she drank a lot.  There were days that she wouldn’t even know I was there.  When I was twelve, she met this man.  I thought that maybe for once she would find someone who would take care of her so I wouldn’t have to.  Of course, that didn’t happen.  He began to notice that I was changing when I was fourteen; when I was fifteen, he did not even bother to hide his interest.  On my sixteenth birthday, he came into my room, told me it was time that I became a woman, and earned my keep around the house.  I will never forget his smelly breath or the weight of his body when he tried to kiss me and pinned me to the bed.  I remember thinking this could not be really happening.  It took me a few minutes to also realize that no one was going to save me.  I had to save myself.  You know you have to do whatever you can, to stay alive.  I really thought he was going to kill me when I said no.  He was so mad, and he started slapping me.  I did what I had to in order to get away.  When I ran down the hall to my mom, she told me it was my fault and kicked me out.  I know this is nothing compared to what you are going through.  I want you to know, it was not your fault, whatever you did to stay alive, was okay.  Your mom loves you, and your father is not mad at you.  He is mad at the situation.  Ruby, you have to tell the doctor what happened so he can help.  If you don’t want to tell him, then tell your mom and me, and we will tell him.  Don’t let them win now.  You made it, and now we are here to help you and take care of you,” Cami said.  While she was talking, her mother had come around to her side of the bed and had laid her hands on Cami's shoulders.  As she had told her story, Ruby’s mom had wrapped her arms around her shoulders and held her, while she struggled to tell her daughter her story.  The unexpected comfort from a stranger had almost been too much.  She wanted to help the girl and instead, she was finding comfort for her own past.

Ruby watched her with tears rolling down her cheeks; she tried to talk a few times.  Cami waited patiently as she held on to her hand.  Finally, the girl composed herself enough to talk.  The first words came out as a whisper, then it was like the flood gates opened, and she began to get stronger and stronger.

“I was going to the restaurant to just take a delivery.  We live right above the restaurant, so it wasn’t as if I had to go very far.  I never go by myself, but Mom and Dad were getting ready and the bell buzzed.  I figured the bread man came early.  I opened the back door, and someone hit me in the face.  I don’t even know what they looked like; they started hitting me right away.  They hit me, not stopping no matter how loud I cried.  I yelled for help, but they laughed at me, saying if anyone else came out, they would take care of them too.  Then one of them kicked me in the stomach, laughed, and said since I was on my knees already he had something I could do.  They pulled at my jeans and I thought they were going to r**e me.  I screamed and kicked.  One of them pulled my underwear.  He was kissing me and sticking his tongue in my mouth.  He kept saying he knew I would love it.  Before he could do anything more though, something scared them.  The one who was kissing me whispered in my ear he would be back to collect.”  The girl sobbed.

Cami closed her eyes briefly, thanking God she hadn’t been r***d.  The assault would be bad enough to get over, but a r**e would’ve been devastating.  Cami then began to get angry for the girl.  Whoever these men were, they were going to pay, she vowed in her head.  She knew the girl didn’t need to hear that declaration right now, so she talked quietly to her about what she was feeling.  The helplessness and the anger were going to be there for a long while.  Margie helped by telling her daughter she had done everything right, fighting and yelling.  She told her it was not her fault, and she and her father were not angry with her.

They talked for a long while, before Cami felt it was a good time to get the doctor.  He needed to look at the scratches on her legs before they let her go home with her mom. 

Margie kissed Cami on the cheek, and whispered her thanks in her ear.  Ruby clung to her hand and asked if she would stay.  Cami said she needed to get the doctor, and talk to Quin, but she would be back.

Cami stepped out of the room, made sure the door was closed before she cried and sank into a chair that was next to the door.  She felt Quin come and hold her while she cried for herself, and the young girl in the room. 

“Baby?” Quin said into her ear quietly.

Cami shook herself and stood up.  She looked at the doctor and told him what Ruby had told her.  The doctor nodded, then looked at Cami curiously while she ordered him back into the room and told him what he needed to look at.

Quin nodded behind her, and the doctor nodded and told her he would wait for her to come back into the room before he proceeded.

Cami turned in Quin's arms and looked at him.  “I need to be with her,” she said simply and Quin nodded.  He looked over her head and instructed Tey to remain in the waiting area until Cami came out.  He and Devon were going to the office to arrange for the pack meeting.

Cami nodded, kissed him lightly on the lips, and then turned to go back into the room.  Quin smiled as he watched the woman brace herself, and then pull the door open.  He had been given such a great gift in the woman who had been chosen as his mate.  She was strong, and didn’t even realize she had already stepped into the role as Alpha.  Both Devon and Tey looked at him with approval.  Tonight he would introduce her to the pack, and then after he would claim her, and she would be his forever.