The Alpha’s Curvy Cinderella - Chapter 97: Chapter 97

Grant POV
I held her hand and she smiled softly at me, her long dark hair cascading down her shoulders, her legs moving stiffly. She was in pain, I could sense it and yet she didn’t complain as I slowly led her into the bedroom, although she stiffened as she took in the bed, her eyes widening. I heard her heartbeat increase and her breathing come in short spurts as fear took over, her body beginning to tremble. I let go of her hand and held my hands up, showing her that I didn’t pose a threat, hating how easily she got frightened, even though I knew it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t her I was mad at, it was that bastard Alpha Romero.
“Listen,” I said soothingly “I brought you in here so that you could have a nice warm shower and get clean. Okay. Nothing more. If it makes you feel safer, I can get my mother in here instead” I offered as she stared blankly at me.
It hurt to have to make my offer but considering she’d been sexually abused, I didn’t want her to feel unsafe and I was a male. It made sense she would be afraid, even if we were mates. I needed to take this mate bond with her slow. Especially if I wanted her to accept me as her mate. I didn’t want another rejection, not when I desperately wanted this girl with a fierceness that shocked even me. Something told me that her rejection would kill me. I hadn’t even thought that was possible when it came to Jordan, but with this girl, it was a certainty.
She bit her lip, thinking it over. “No” she whispered, looking at the bathroom hesitantly “That’s okay. Thank you” she added. I walked over and opened the bathroom door. “There are clean towels in there, plenty of shampoo, conditioner, lotions, soaps, razors,” I said frowning “Is there anything else you need?” I asked, wanting to ensure that she had everything she needed.
She hesitated. “Some clean clothes?” she asked quietly. She was still wearing a hospital gown.
I grinned and walked over to the dresser, opening the drawers and showing them to her. They were all filled to the brim with clothes for her. Everything she would ever need, including bras and panties. Mother had made it her mission to find out her sizes and then brought her a completely new wardrobe.
Juliet’s mouth dropped open. “There are shoes in the closet,” I said pointing “and if there’s anything missing just tell me and I’ll make sure we get it for you.”
She looked stunned. She ran a shaking hand through her hair, her eyes still wide. “I can’t believe you did this,” she said shocked. “I’ve never seen so many clothes,” she said longingly.
“They are all yours,” I said smoothly. I pointed at the second dresser “Mine are in there.”
Her eyes lit up. She gave me a tentative smile that lit up her face. It made my heart give a pang. God she was beautiful. She was a lot like Jordan in some respects but there were also noticeable differences. I reminded myself that I needed to stop comparing the two of them, but it was more their personalities, such as their kindness and compassion that were similar, rather than the appearance that I noticed.
“Then I have everything I need,” she said shyly “How long do I have?” she asked, glancing at the bathroom.
I frowned. What a peculiar question. “As long as you want,” I said perplexed “There’s no need to hurry.”
She looked confused. “But I mean, you’re an Alpha, aren’t you? Don’t you have a schedule to keep? Important things to do?
I can’t keep you from them. Surely I must have a timeline to keep to?” she said puzzled.
I frowned even deeper. “No,” I said shaking my head “take all the time you need. Mother and father are taking care of things at the moment and even if I was in charge, you would still be a priority over work.”
Another stunned look. She quietly shuffled into the bathroom. I heard the water running. “Aren’t you going to shut the door? “I called out, the bathroom door wide open still.
“I’m allowed to?” she asked, poking her head out and looking at me strangely.
“Yeah,” I said confused “unless you think you might need my help?” I said quickly, concerned she might still be lightheaded or dizzy. She was still husky-voiced but was managing to speak a lot easier.
“No,” she said quickly, closing the door. I heard the lock click over. I shrugged. Whatever. Strange but maybe she was just nervous?
I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, lost in my thoughts. Time passed by, slowly. I tried hard not to picture her, in the shower, naked but it was difficult, Hades was not helping things by sending me images of what he imagined her to look like. I didn’t mind how much time was passing so long as I knew she was safe. Water was soothing for the soul and she still had blood in her hair, which I imagined was difficult to get out. Finally, I heard the water slowly shut off. A minute later the door opened and she shuffled out, a towel wrapped firmly around her. I sucked in a breath. Now that she was clean, she looked completely different. Her hair looked slightly lighter and I imagined when it was dry would be lighter still. Her bruises were healing. Her eyes were brighter. Her skin was a lovely pale porcelain. She eyed me nervously as she went to the dresser and began to pull some clothes out.
“Can you please turn your back” she whispered, shifting from one foot to the other “so that I can get dressed.”
I obligingly turned my back, listening to the sensual sounds of my mate putting her panties and bra on, my mouth going dry. I heard her shimmying into a dress and then she cleared her throat.
“You can turn back around,” she said quietly.
I turned. She was stunning. Clad in a pastel purple maxi dress it served to highlight her brown hair and dark eyes while accentuating her slight curves and rather perky breasts I noticed with a gulp.
“You look beautiful” I complimented her, making her blush.
“What now?” she whispered, looking nervous, eyeing the bed as though it was some sort of death contraption.
I jumped up. “Now we get some food into you and you tell me and my parents everything about your husband,” I said grimly.
She looked anxious, the color draining from her face. I grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently, willing the color to come back to her face. Ever since she’d told me in the hospital, she’d been a flurry of nerves, wondering if he was coming after her again, if he was going to want her back, if she should have told me anything. She was so stressed that she’d barely eaten any food and I was concerned. Hades was concerned. She was far too skinny and needed to put some meat on her bones.
“Come on,” I said softly, reassuringly, tugging her towards the doorway and leading her gently downstairs. She was barefoot but I’d already learned that she disliked shoes for some reason. It didn’t bother me. It was just one of her quirks that I found adorable.
We headed into the kitchen, sitting at the dining table. I gestured an omega over, smiling at them. “Can we get some juice and some pastries” I requested, Juliet nodding her approval with a small smile.
“Of course,” the omega said smiling at us both and disappearing.
My parents wandered into the room. I’d mind-linked them as we walked downstairs. They sat down at the table, gentle smiles on their faces.
“Good morning, Juliet,” my mother said softly.
“Good morning” beamed my father.
She looked at them tentatively, sipping on her juice as the omega placed it in front of her and nibbling on a muffin.
I cleared my throat, hating having to do this to her. My father mind-linked everyone in the kitchen and ordered them out. He wanted Juliet as comfortable as possible. I thanked him. He winked at me. Juliet looked apprehensive and a little sick. I grabbed her hand.
“Juliet,” I said softly, hating the sheen in her eyes that indicated she was close to tears again “we need you to tell us about your husband Alpha Romero. We were of the understanding that his wife was around his age or slightly younger, not a teenager such as yourself” I said.
She stared at the table. “You can understand our misgivings can’t you” my mother said kindly “We’re not doubting your story, but we do want to understand how it’s possible nobody knew about you.”
“Please” I pleaded with her, her head turning to look at me, a lone tear trailing down her cheek “Please talk to me. I can’t fix this if you don’t. I swear I’m not going to hurt you. I’m your mate. Can’t you try and trust in that?”
Silence. My father drummed his fingers on the table. Maybe she was lying I thought miserably. Maybe there was an ulterior motive for her coming here. I was about to let go of her hand, hating myself for even thinking of it, when she spoke, so low that we had to strain to hear her, even with our sensitive werewolf hearing.
“I’ve been his wife since I turned fifteen years old” she whispered, her nails digging into my hand as I clenched it instinctively.
“That’s not possible, it’s not legal not unless” my mother trailed off, her eyes suddenly darkening, her tone becoming upset.
“Unless a parent or guardian approves of the marriage” Juliet supplied bitterly “and my crack w***e of a mother agreed in exchange for a lot of money which would keep her purchasing drugs for a very, very long time.”
Oh god. How could anyone do that to their child? Literally, sell them as though they meant nothing because their drugs were more important? Tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
“Why” whispered my mother “why would she do that? Why did he want you?”
Juliet took a deep breath. “His first wife died,” she said lowly “and my mother was a good friend of hers. He saw me at the funeral and saw the state my mother was in. She was high as a kite. He wanted me. Knew he could have me for the right price. All it took was a bit of persuasion and my mother was sold on the idea” she said matter-of-factly.
I closed my eyes, trying to hold onto my composure which was hard to do when Hades was close to coming to the surface and tearing everything close to us to shreds in anger.
“But what possible use could he have for you?” my mother said perplexed “that he couldn’t get from another woman?”
“I could give him lots and lots of heirs. Plus he liked the way I looked. I was plumper back then and soft as he liked to call it” she said coldly “I’ve lost a lot of weight with all the abuse I’ve suffered at his hands.”
“How did you end up here?” I asked tightly. I wanted to spare her having to talk about the abuse. That could wait until she was ready.
“He grew tired of me. I haven’t been able to give him any heirs for some reason. I’ve never been able to get pregnant. He was dragging me around with him. He was planning on selling me once he got his hands on this other girl he was obsessed with, Jordan I think he called her but he wanted to get his hands on her first. I ran, while we were traveling and before I could get onto your territory, he caught up to me and beat me. I think he thought I was dead because he spat on me and left me there. I was practically dead” she admitted in a low tone. “If you hadn’t found me, I would have been.”
Silence. My mother’s eyes widened. So did mine. My father sucked in a breath. All of us looked at each other in a panic. The girl’s name. The one that Alpha Romero wanted. It couldn’t possibly be. Could it? “Jordan” we shouted as Juliet looked at us in horror, all of us scrambling to our feet in a panic. No wonder I had thought the name so familiar and why it had bothered me so much, this was the same bastard that had to have wanted Jordan to be a breeder for him! s**t, were we going to be too late to warn her?