Hiding: Cyrus POV

I was slightly embarrassed that I'd forgotten, but Leo just laughed it off. Rubbing my back, he started to guide us back to the house,

"We're shopping today, beautiful."

I hummed as we walked through the back doors and headed up the stairs. Once we were in the room, I headed to the bathroom to wipe the blood off my leg. The bite was already healed. Thankfully, it wasn't deep enough to scar. Which is the last thing I need. I heard Leo walking towards me and repositioned my arms to cover my cuts. I turned towards him with a smile and saw that he was handing me the clothes I was wearing before the fight,

"Here you go, baby."

"Thank you."

I took the clothes from his hand, careful not to show the underside of my arm. He walked away after pecking me on the lips. I smiled at his back and closed the door. Quickly getting dressed again, I headed out, tossing the clothes in the hamper. The drive to the mall wasn't exceptionally long. When we arrived, I took my time examining the large structure. I had vague memories from before my family's death of going to the mall with my older brother. Nothing too substantial, though. I knew it was going to be loud and filled with bustling people. Not really my scene, but Leo was determined to spoil me and I had no right to mess with his joy in caring for me. So, I sucked it up and held his arm while putting my usual blank expression up. He smiled at me warmly, kissing my forehead and guiding us inside,

"You have a particular shop you want to go to, love?"

"Not really. It's been a while since I've been shopping."

He pushed some of my hair behind my ear,

"That's fine gorgeous. We'll wander around to a few places and see what you like."

And wander we did. We went to enough stores to make my fucking head spin. But I wasn't too mad though. It was nice to be doted on. That didn't make me any less happy to be back in his car, the back seat filled with bags of varying size and color. I felt like we'd bought half the mall, though I'm sure we barely made a dent. The amount of items sitting in the back seat almost left me breathless. And they all belonged to me, according to a very stubborn Leo, who refused no expense throughout our little excursion. I leaned against his shoulder as he drove, our fingers intertwined,

"Thank you."

My voice was barely audible as I tried to reign in all the emotions swirling in my head. He squeezed my hand before kissing my forehead,

"Anything for you."

I reveled in the statement's sincerity. We pulled up to the packhouse and started to relieve his car of our plastic burden. The sound of crinkling bags enveloped us as we made our way back to our room. It took me three times to get a firm hold on the door so I could let us in. As soon as we were inside, we dropped everything on the floor. The next 35 minutes were spent popping tags, emptying bags, and filling drawers. He really did spare no expense. Some of which made me feel slightly guilty when I realized how much some of the items cost. Leo, on the other hand, blew off my worry with a wave of his hand saying that 'it was fine' and 'money wasn't a problem'. Neither phrase did much for my emotions, though I tried to take it to heart.

After we finished, he suggested I try some on since I was clearly drowning in his clothes. I walked over to the dresser and pulled out some gray boxers and black ripped jeans. I quickly got dressed in the bathroom, seeing as to the fact that I kept his shirt on. The feeling of clothing that actually fit was nice. It felt good and looked good, if I do say so myself. I walked out to wolf whistles as my mate looked me up and down with adoration and pride. This led to me rolling my eyes in response as he wrapped his arms around my waist,

"You are so corny."

"And you, are absolutely stunning."

I gave a soft laugh as he peppered my face in kisses before pressing a firm one to my lips. He pulled back and pressed his forehead to mine,

"C'mon baby, let's go get dinner."

I nodded and let him guide me to the ridiculously huge dining room. Everyone took turns glancing at me, a few of which seemed to size me up. This led to an involuntary growl slipping from my blank face, which led to everyone minding their business. We grabbed our food from the buffet-style array and sat down, thankfully, in the corner of the room that was a tad bit quieter. Noticing how easy it was to observe the room without being a part of it eased my nerves as we ate. Leo watched me carefully, knowing my distaste for loud crowds after our mall trip.

He made small talk at certain points, but most of the time, we simply enjoyed each other's company. He helped take my mind off the fact that I was surrounded by conversation that was mostly about me. Which I was not a fan of. Though, even with his comforting presence, I was still reaching the end of my patience, my nerves slowly getting the best of me. I needed some air. I rolled my shoulders and told him as much. He smiled gently before double-checking if I knew where the door was. I nodded and returned the smile and weaved my way through the tables and out of the room. Unfortunately, I didn't make it far as an unknown male voice called out for my attention,

"Hey, rogue. I wanna speak with you for a second."

Though he'd made the request to speak, as I turned, I saw that he wasn't planning on listening as much as he planned on talking. He had a determinedly stubborn look on his face and, to top it off, he'd brought two other wolves with him. All of which seemed to be warriors, though the one nearest me was much larger. Built like a tank, though he was only slightly taller than I, with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes. Normally, I couldn't care less about why they were here or what they wanted to talk about. I'd listen to them vent with a blank stare and brush them off with a warning glare and be on my merry way.

Unfortunately, I wasn't in the mood. I was on edge, trying to keep my emotions in check and my memories at bay. The fact that he had stopped my escape pissed me off, and the fact that he brought two extra people with him put me on edge even more. Being Marren's personal punching bag and fuck toy meant the very suggestion of me being ganged up on made me more than a little uncomfortable. I swallowed hard, clenching and unclenching my fists, trying, simultaneously, to not attack all three while also keeping myself from having a nervous breakdown,

"What?"

My voice was clipped while I tried to keep my breathing under control. He smirked at my reaction, obviously mistaking my actions for fear or reverence when, in actuality, he was figuratively cornering an injured animal. He looked me up and down in displeasure,

"My name is Kyle. I'm one of the head warriors of this pack."

I held back a snarl. What was the point of this,

"Yes. And."

"That was my mate you sparred with earlier."

My jaw clenched as I spoke through my teeth, my patience for this conversation non-existent,

"Yes. And."

"I thought you should know that just because you beat him doesn't mean anything. Whatever trick you pulled on him won't work on me."

Fuck this shit. I'm done,

"Pick a time and place for me to hand your ass to you as well, for now, fuck off."

I turned on my heel and began to continue my way towards fresh air and freedom. That is, until a hand gripped my wrist, firmly. I barely heard the warrior saying something about' a pup respecting their elders'. The only thing that swirled around me were memories. Painful memories of getting dragged across the floor. Thrown into the wall. Don't touch me! Before I could even process what I was doing, I had the head warrior's face pressed into the floor, knee in his back as I pushed his arm steadily higher. Using my acute hearing to listen to his muscles strain painfully from the position. I knew my eyes were flashing and my canines were bared as I growled quite audibly,

"Don't touch me."

I was trying to calm myself down when strange arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me into a strange scent. I didn't like it. The only thought in my brain was that it's not my mate. This is not my mate. This isn't Leo. I screamed, thrashing around. I couldn't think as my breaths became ragged. I yelled to be put down, screaming for my mate as tears streamed down my face. I don't wanna be used again. I can't take it. I can't. I'll die before I let that happen. I clawed at the arms holding me, but they only got tighter as I continued losing my mind to the panic my brain was inducing. A loud growl cut through it all. For a moment, I could see through the haze of anxiety. Leo stood there, eyes flashing pale yellow, while he bared his fangs. He was livid as he made a beeline towards my trembling frame, glaring at whoever wasn't putting me the fuck down,

"RELEASE HIM NOW!"

His voice held no room for argument. The strange arms let me go and I collapsed into his chest, clinging onto him for dear life as his arms scooped me up and held me close. My heart was hammering against my chest and my breathing was still ragged, but the memories had been forced back by the scent and touch of my mate. Leo continued growling at the trio, but spoke loud enough for most everyone to hear,

"Keep your hands off of my mate! Do I make myself clear?"

He was met with a resounding chorus of 'yes alpha' as he carried me outside and sat on the steps, holding me close. I was still slightly trembling as he whispered comforting words in my ear and traced patterns on my side. My breathing eventually evened out along with my heartbeat, but neither of us moved. Leo had his face buried into my hair as he rocked us gently. He kissed the top of my head,

"I'm so sorry, love. That never should have happened."

I shook my head softly,

"It's okay. It was a lot of things mixed together. My anxiety and their need to show off. It's fine. To them, I'm still just a rogue looking to take advantage of a cushy life."

"But that's not who you are. You're so much more."

"Thank you. But not everyone sees me the way you do."

He sighed and kissed my head again,

"I know. But I wish they did."