Reclaiming His Abused Mate

Before Healing

A few weeks had gone by since the funeral and it was safe to say the honeymoon period of peace and friendliness was wearing thin between the kids. the squabbling and arguments had ramped up fairly soon, and Mia and Devin had had their hands full solving mini problems between the kids. Mia's mother kept insisting that it was normal, but Mia was feeling overwhelmed by it all, and after an especially heated dinner where Gwen and Gregory had managed to sneak an entire soda bottle full of ants into Benjamin's spaghetti, she had raised her voice and sent all the kids to bed in shock. Devin had tiptoed out to the living room in full retreat as well, and Mia was left alone with her mother to clean up from dinner. They hadn't had a lot of alone time together since Devin had moved in, and Her mother had been waiting for a few moments of privacy to tackle some difficult subjects with her daughter, but was unsure if now was the time, after such a difficult dinner. Still, She had been spending a lot of time with the kiddos, and felt her concerns needed to be voiced.

"Mia, honey, I know things have been kind of chaotic lately, while the kids are settling in and starting to feel safe, It will get better, I promise you."

she began, as Mia Started the sink for dishes, and she wrapped the leftovers for the fridge.

"They got along so well before now, and my kids have never behaved like this before mom, I don't get it at all " Mia said, her exasperation clear.

"Of course they haven't! Mia, those kids were not unaffected by Eaton's temper. They stayed quiet and obeyed him out of sheer terror at his reactions if they did not. This behavior you are seeing? This is normal kid behavior. This is what you want to be seeing! It means they are getting comfortable, they are feeling safe, and are trusting that Devin and You will not hurt them if they act out. I'm sure Ben and Cole are feeling more free too, Their mother was strict and unwavering, though no where near what your three went through. You hang in there, and be patient." She paused, and took a deep breath. Mia said nothing, thinking and mulling over what her mom had said. Hesitantly, Mom continued. She wasn't sure how to approach the real concern she had, it was much more delicate than the younger kids rambunctiousness of late.

"Honey, The only one of the children I am truly worried about is Raine. She hasn't come out of her shell, it's been a couple months now, and she is still being quiet and timid and obedient. I worry . . " she hesitated, but pushed on, " I worry there may have been more abuse from Eaton there than you are aware of. Maybe, a different kind of abuse, even."

At first Mia felt anger building inside of her. How dare her mom suggest Raine had been abused in that way, without Mia noticing? But a still, small voice from deep inside of her whispered that perhaps her mom was right. every move Mia had made over the past decade had been watched so carefully, controlled so meticulously. In all those efforts to keep appearances of normal for the kids, had she missed something? Something terrible?

When she finally did speak, it had been quite a few minutes, and her mom was wringing her hands anxiously, worried what her response would be.

Tears began falling slowly down Mia's face as she turned to her.

" What if you are right mom? What if he was hurting her all that time, and I didn't know it? What do I do to help her now? She probably hates me!" Neither of them has noticed Devin come into the kitchen. He walked up to Mia and wrapped his arms around her,

Eaton's comment while Devin had been imprisoned in that cabin running through his head. He had to tell Mia what Eaton had said, for Raine's sake. He hoped like hell that nothing had already happened to the quiet girl who had her mother's eyes and such a sweet, caring attitude most of the time. But he, too, had had his suspicions. He kept holding her while he talked.

"Mia, while I was in that basement, some things, disturbing things, were said. I, I thought he was goading me, but I've been worried it was more.

Mia, He said he was going to kill you, that you had outlived your usefulness in being a wife and making pups, but that Raine would make a perfect replacement. And the look in his eye, when he said it." he choked up for a moment and had to clear his throat. " There was nothing remotely father like about it."

Mia looked up at him, and then back at her mother. She could feel Ava's anger rising toward the surface. Pointlessly, because they couldn't kill Eaton again. He was already gone. Now, they just had to figure out how to help Raine.

"What do we do?" She asked. "How do we help her?"

and inside, she asked herself, how would she ever be able to forgive herself for staying and overlooking such a terrible abuse happening to her baby?

Reeling from the emotions filling the room, it took a few moments before they realized the kids were calling out around the house, sounding frantic.

Suddenly, Raine appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, looking worried and a bit scared.

" We can't find Cole." she said, her eyes darting from one adult to the other. "He's missing, he never came upstairs from dinner."

All Mia could see in her head was the eyes from the wolf at the cemetery, and fear filled her. They had to find him, and quickly.