No Substitutions [Welcome To Wolf's Peak] (manxman)

Chapter Five - Time To Come Clean

Casper's POV

I hadn't opened the bakery today, just like I hadn't opened it yesterday. I'd caught sight of Reggie looking through the shop front window three days ago with a lascivious grin. He'd always made my skin crawl from the way he looked at me like I was standing naked in front of him. I'd always refused to take my clothes off to shift when he was anywhere nearby. I'd heard stories about what he would do to captured enemies or people within the pack who crossed Maurice, it made my blood boil and my stomach churn.

I checked the door and windows for the fifth time this morning to be sure they were still locked tight and double checked that my phone was still switched off. I knew I was just delaying the inevitable, Maurice would get a message to me one way or another if he really wanted to.

I walked over to the freezer and scooped some ice into an ice pack and placed it on my pounding head. The stress was eating at me as I sat there in a silent apartment just listening for any noise that was out of place. I shut my eyes and allowed my other senses to take over.

A car pulled in nearby and I could hear a single door closing, only one person had exited the vehicle. Next came the sound of feet on asphalt, the tread was heavy leading me to believe that it was a man wearing some kind of work boot or other heavy shoe type. The steps stopped near my shop below and I could hear the bakery door being jiggled. Someone hadn't expected the shop to be closed but I had a note in the window saying it was closed until further notice. The man shuffled around the side of the building and then came the loud knocking from the downstairs side entrance. I really needed to invest in a buzzer and a security camera that showed me who was at the door.

I stealthily moved downstairs, avoiding the two steps that tended to creak and inhaled deeply when I was close enough to scent who was on the other side of the door. My wolf sat up straight away howling to be let free.

Austin.

I ran to the door just as he began pounding again and roughly opened the locks in my haste to see my mate. The door opened and I sighed in relief. "Austin." I smiled up at him and stepped back ushering him in.

"Hi." He grinned down at me. "I got here as quick as I could. I thought you'd be in the store, why are you closed?"

I inhaled deeply. "It's a long story, let's go upstairs and I'll explain." My stomach dropped to my feet at the thought of what I was going to have to tell him. Would he be disappointed in me? My mate was a strong Beta I doubted that he wanted a weakling who couldn't defend himself from harm.

"Okay." Austin nodded though a frown marred his brow as he moved to follow me up the stairs.

"How is Jason? Is he safe?" I asked delaying the inevitable.

"He's fine. Tired, dirty and in need of a large meal but he and the baby are both safe now."

I reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to my apartment. Looking over my shoulder I ensured that Austin had closed and locked it.

"Take a seat." I gestured to the couch and waited until he was seated before sitting myself.

"Is everything all right?"Austin looked me over from head to toe and moved a fraction closer to me.

I held my hand up stopping him from moving even closer. "Please?" I begged. "Just stay there until I say what I need to say because I don't think I could if you're touching me." He wouldn't want to touch me afterward, not when he found out how weak and pathetic I really am. God, but I really wanted him to touch me though.

"Okay," he said drawing out the word suspiciously.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I wondered where I should start my story and decided that it would be best to start from the beginning. I re-opened my eyes and fixed them on a spot just over his shoulder I couldn't make eye contact with him, not for this.

"My parents moved to a new town when I was seventeen, my dad had been finding it difficult to get work anywhere else but the local Alpha had promised to employ him in one of his local businesses. I was going to be looking into becoming an apprentice baker but we barely had enough money to cover the cost of everything I would need. The Alpha seemed like a nice man when my parents met with him and they packed us up and moved," I swallowed hard.

"When I was twenty-one I'd just finished my apprenticeship and started working for the local bakery. I went out with some of my human friends to celebrate and that's when I met Maurice. He's the Alpha's cousin and he took an instant liking to me. I thought he was very attractive and I was flattered that someone like him, higher-ranking within the pack and good looking to boot, would want to go on a date with someone like me." I stood and paced away from Austin. God this was hard and I hadn't even gotten to the part that was most difficult for me to think about.

"Casper it's okay, I understand." Austin stood and took a few steps in my direction while still keeping distance between us. "You have a history, so do I. I didn't expect my mate to come to me a virgin."

"Oh God," I groaned dropping my head into my hands. "It's not that, I wish that's all I had to tell you."

"What do you mean?"

Stealing myself for what was to come I decided to just rip the metaphorical band aid off. "I moved in with Maurice a month after meeting him. He alienated me from everyone, quit my job for me without my permission and treated me like his possession. If I said no to him or denied him anything he'd hit me. It didn't happen straight away, the first year or two we were happy but then I noticed that we were seeing my friends and family less and less. My phone went missing so I lost a lot of numbers and couldn't get in touch with some of my friends. Finally the beatings became more regular and the damage he inflicted escalated to broken bones and internal injuries. The last time he hurt me was because I wanted to leave him. He threw me down the stairs and kicked me into a bloody mess. He spit on me and left me there. His butler picked me up and put me on a bed until the doctor came. The doctor just drained the fluid from my lung and never inquired as to how I'd ended up so hurt."

Austin's face had drained of all color when I finally looked up at him. I pleaded with my eyes for him to say something, anything. "How did you finally get away from him?"

"I talked the butler into helping me escape. Kyle was more than just the butler he was also Maurice's bed warmer and I was in his way. I got away and came here. I wasted seven years of my life on that man."

"Don't think like that. You're here and you're safe now, I'll never hurt you like that but I know it'll take time for you to trust me." Austin seemed to be trying to make himself look smaller and less intimidating while talking to me.

"It's not that, Maurice has found me. That day in the diner you kissed me before you left and then one of his pack members came out of the kitchen. He threatened me. Maurice has been sending his pets here to test your defenses. He has someone within your pack feeding him information. He's been phoning me, Maurice, he wants me to go back to him or he's going to come here to take me back. You don't want his pack coming here Austin. They're criminals and the things that they do could put the Mafia to shame."

"He's been phoning you? Is that why you haven't been answering my calls?" Austin asked.

"I've had my phone switched off. I saw Reggie, the man from the diner, at the shop window just staring at me so that's why I've been closed too." I admitted.

Austin took out his phone and pressed a couple of buttons before putting it back. "Okay, you need to tell me everything you know about Maurice and your old pack so we can come up with a plan to keep you safe while drawing him out into the open."