Abandoned Treasure
Lingering Effects

Nicholas (Nathan Storm) Parker’s POV

December 24, 2006

I got up as my mate scratched at the garage door. “Nora, why not just shift back and use the bathroom? It would be much simpler and more dignified than the litter box.” She chuffed at the new name. “You need to start getting used to it. When we leave this place, we must have our identities and backstories down pat.”

I’d given her a bit of latitude thus far about staying in her wolf form. I didn’t know whether it was her wolf wanting out or her human side wanting to hide, though. Nothing good had happened as a human.

I opened the door from the kitchen, and she ran into the garage and over to the tray with the litter. A minute later, she was trotting back to the kitchen. I placed the steaks into my cast-iron skillet, the rest of the fixings sitting on the table. Nora sat next to the stove and looked up at me. “Dinner in ten,” I told her. “There’s still time to shift and eat like a person.” She whined at me. “What? I’m busy in here if you’re shy. Take a quick shower and get dressed. It’s Christmas Eve. We can have a nice dinner, sit in the living room, and watch the original Grinch while sipping hot chocolate.”

She looked into the living room, where I’d hung a stocking for each of us over the fireplace. Wolves weren’t Christians, but neither was most of the holiday. Wolves love to eat and party, so Christmas gets celebrated with a few modifications. I could see the gears in her head. “I have cheesecake for dessert,” I told her.

That did it. Nora ran down the hall and into her room. A few seconds later, I heard the door close, followed by the shower running. I smiled as I turned the Porterhouse steaks, basting them with melted butter before adding a pinch of seasoning. I plated the steaks and was busy pouring the Beringer cabernet when I heard a door open.

“Wow,” I told her. “You look a lot better.” That wasn’t difficult, but what else could I say? Her bruising was nearly gone, and I could tell she was walking better. She stood at the entrance to the dining room and looked over the table. She had on flannel sleep pants, a long-sleeve T-shirt, and moccasins. The loose clothing couldn’t hide the shape of her body, though.

“This looks nice,” she told me nervously.

“Please, sit,” I told her. The table wasn’t big, but I’d put our plates on the opposite ends of the long direction so our feet wouldn’t accidentally touch. Nora was still skittish and wanted to control where and how we made contact. My manners would have me pull out a chair for the lady, but I held back and scooted my chair back instead. I sat first, waiting for her to join me.

I put some blue cheese dressing and shredded cheese on my salad, leaving them in the center for her. She picked ranch instead, with extra cheese and some sunflower seeds. When she was about to dig in, I lifted my wine glass. “Nora, a toast?”

She looked at me, then picked it up. “To what?”

“To our first Christmas together. May it be the first of many happy days.”

I leaned over the table, extending my glass until she met my gesture. We both took a drink of the red wine. “Thank you,” she said with a tear in her eye. “It’s…”

“It’s all right, Nora. Take your time and enjoy our first real meal together.”

It wasn’t a night for deep conversation or loving glances. I made small talk, slowly drawing her into the conversation as we finished our salads and moved to the steak. I watched her face as she bit into the rare cut. Her moan of pleasure set my blood on fire. My wolf and I couldn’t wait to hear that sound from her while making love. “Soooo good. Who taught you to cook?”

“My Mom did, but my father taught me to grill and smoke meats before they passed. Mom insisted I know how to care for my mate when I found her.”

“That is rather modern of her.”

“Yeah, Mom was ahead of her time. She grew up in the Oxbow Lake pack in Minnesota. Dad didn’t meet her until she was twenty-four.”

“Is that late for a Pack wolf?”

I nodded. “Mom was afraid her mate wouldn’t allow her to go to school, so she talked her Luna into skipping all the Pack Visits by other unmated males until she graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Dad was pissed when it took three visits to replace her, but it worked out for them.” I smiled a little at the memory. “It made him extra possessive when he scented her. Mom wasn’t more than three feet away from him for the next two weeks. He even followed her into the bathroom.”

“My Mom was a choice mate,” she told me. “Rogues don’t get to do Pack visits, so the chances of replaceing your true mate are near zero. They loved each other, and we were happy. I didn’t expect anything different for myself.”

Nora had grown up in a much different environment than I did. I should have expected her feelings on true mates to be different as well. “What do you think about being my mate?”

She dropped her fork on the plate and looked down. Had I gone too far? I sat back and sipped a glass of wine, waiting for her answer.

“My wolf and I are not in agreement yet,” she told me. “She wants to forgive you and move on. I’m struggling to think of you as somehow different from the other males in your Pack. I know far more about them than you.”

It was fair. “I wish things had started differently, but please know that I’ve done what I could when I could. I’ve done all I could to bring you safely out of that situation.”

“Well, don’t you deserve a gold fucking medal,” she bit out angrily. “A lot of good THAT did me. Tell me, Nicholas. Did you fuck any of the Pack slaves before I found you?”

“Yes. I didn’t enjoy it. I knew deep down it was wrong, so I never did it again. I regret listening to the wolves who taught me it was normal. Bitterroot is a fucked-up Pack from the top down.”

She looked up at me, anger in her eyes. “I talked to her about you. She said you were quick and gentle, which is high praise in our quarters. It was still rape. Even among the rogues, there is only one penalty for rape.”

I wasn’t going to argue. “I was wrong. I’ve tried to make amends.” The polite dinner conversation was over, and I didn’t know if it would return. I’d finished my plate, so I put it in the sink while she finished. The turtle cheesecake was sitting on the counter, and I sliced and plated that while she finished. I stopped five feet from her, holding my hand out for her plate.

“Thank you for dinner,” she said as she handed it over. I put it in the sink, then brought the cheesecake over for us. I’d put fresh chocolate and caramel syrup over it, making a heart pattern on the plate. “This looks fantastic.”

“It tastes better,” I replied. It did, and I enjoyed watching her reaction to eating it.

She didn’t speak until the dessert was gone. “I need time and space, Nicholas. I have a lot of baggage to unpack.”

“I’m in this for the long haul, Nora. I’ve read some books about women rescued from sex slavery, and they all say it isn’t quick or easy. I can’t wave a wand and make what you suffered disappear. I’ll do anything you need to help you recover and move on with our lives together.”

She wiped her face with the napkin and set it down. Her hands were shaking a little. “Being like this at dinner, sitting so close to you? It’s hard for me. My instincts say men want to hurt me, and I should get away. My wolf says to get close and never let you go. I can’t do either right now.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Shift and relax,” she replied. “It is easier for me to be close to you as a wolf. I’m sorry, it just is.”

I nodded. “Go. I’ll clean up and join you in the living room soon.”

We watched my two favorite Christmas movies, Grinch and Die Hard. She allowed me to pet her, and the night ended with her curled up on the bearskin rug as the fire burned down. I shifted after she was asleep and curled up around her. She woke up, licked my face, then went back to sleep.

My wolf was giddy as we fell asleep. Progress!