In two seconds, he had her in his embrace. It shouldn’t feel good to be held by a stranger. Not one who confused her, threatened her, and scared her so badly. It shouldn’t. But it did.
“It can’t be all that bad, princess. Tell me. How is all lost?”
“My parents are bad people. They’ve done horrible things. But they’re all that I have. And if you keep Nathan from me, they’re dead. Please don’t do that. Please. Please. Please.”
Begging had never gotten her anywhere in life. But she wasn’t above it. Not when it mattered.
“I think you’d better start from the beginning.”
She pulled back to look at him. “Talking about it won’t help.”
“I’m always going to protect you. You’re mine. I can fix this. After I understand the problem.”
Oh God. Could he? She didn’t know about being his. It all sounded crazy. But maybe he could fix this. Was that even possible? She opened her mouth, and the words flew out.
Chapter Three
Cyrus wasn’t certain he would survive it if Betsy kept crying. He’d never felt as completely out of control as he did in that moment. He did his best to fake control, but the truth was the little woman before him could bring him to his knees if she wanted. He had to find a way to make things right for her—even if it means slaughtering villages and burning barns. He blinked. Where had that thought come from? He hadn’t heard—or thought—that phrase since his grandmother was alive.
Weird.
“My parents have done some bad things. Very, very bad.”
He took a deep breath. “We are not our parents. Whatever others say, I don’t believe we inherit their mistakes. What did they do?”
“Stole and sold babies.” She choked on her words and buried her head in her hands as sobs wracked her.
He blinked. Well, he hadn’t seen that one coming. Cyrus was used to solving the problems of others. His pack came to him for everything. Every problem they had, he tried to fix—from repairing hurt feelings between mated couples and managing unruly teenagers, to solving work heartaches—like his sister’s need to work elsewhere, to define her life in some way other than pack. But stealing children? No, that was a new one.
Cyrus placed a hand on her shoulder. He really wanted to yank her against him and drag her back home. He’d gotten to hold her for a minute, but that was all he’d had. For now. She thought she was human, or at least she didn’t yet believe that she was a werewolf, which was close enough to thinking herself a non-wolf. He had to treat her that way.
“Did you participate in any of it?”
“What?” She wiped at her eyes. “No, of course not.”
“Then you’re not responsible for it.” Simple. End of story.
“You don’t understand. Nathan’s father discovered what they were doing at the same exact time I did. And now he’s holding them prisoner at his compound. If I don’t marry Nathan and make him happy every day, then he is either going to kill them or send them to jail.”
“Wait.” He shook his head. “What?”
“Nathan’s father is going to either kill them or send them to jail if I don’t make his son happy.”
Bullshit. “Princess, are you sure? I mean that sounds nonsensical to me.”
“Listen, I can’t explain it. One second I was having the horrible truth of what my parents really did for a living explained to me. The next? Nathan’s father, Franz, arrived and dragged them off. I’ve been living like this ever since.”
Cyrus needed her to understand. “I’m not discounting that is happening to you. I’m sure it is. But something else is going on.” His nose twitched, always a sign of a lie in the air. In this case, he didn’t smell deceit on Betsy.
“Listen, whatever the details, my parents are at risk. I need Nathan to make his call or…” His mate started to hyperventilate. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she calmed, her shoulders sagging a bit. Cyrus knew how to take care of pack, how to make those for whom he was responsible feel safe, secure, and protected. Some of that was inherent. He may have been born with Alpha tendencies and abilities, but it had been Lucian, the former Alpha-prime, who had fostered it in him.
Now, with his mate upset and everything so unsure, he felt like a novice again.
“I understand your predicament.” Not really, but he wasn’t going to press her right that second. “Can you bear to be patient with me for a few minutes longer?”
With any other pack member—and even if she never shifted, that was what she was to him and more—he’d order them to stay still. But he really didn’t want to tell her what to do. No, he wanted her to desire to do what he said.