Hycinth
The water pounded onto my skull, hot and burning. Steam billowed in the space around me, clouding the air and fogging up the transparent glass walls, making it impossible to see through them. Not that I could see anyway. My eyes were red and puffy, swollen from my tears. I listened to the sound the water made coming out of the shower head. It echoed in my ears, resounding with its own heartbeat in my head. I was desperate for it to drown out all of my other senses -to make me numb. I wanted to forget what I'd just seen...what I'd just heard. The tortured wails of a shewolf, unfathomable, heart-wrenching cries of pain ripping from her throat. Her mate, on his knees, crying for her pain and also his own. I've never seen anything like it before. I've never heard anything like it before.
I understood everything now.
I understood why Leander was so desperate for this claiming ceremony to happen. Gwen wasn't the only she-wolf struggling in the Pack. Over the last four weeks, I found myself talking with many of the mated pairs, listening to their stories and not just about their inability to conceive a pup, but they seemed to be genuinely interested to hear about me -what I liked and enjoyed. I'd made the mistake of bringing up my family a few times, only to find their expressions radically change into something dark and angry. I realized then that talking about my family was never going to be a good thing in this Pack. But for the most part, it felt right to be a part of a Pack before and even collared. My Wolf was so much happier with the interaction.
And Leander had kept his word in regards to Lucky. More than I ever anticipated. My visits were always supervised, however as the weeks went by, Leander allowed more and more visitation to the point where now, I saw Lucky almost every day. And they'd transferred him to the cell that had a tiny enclosed bathroom in the back, giving him privacy. It wasn't freedom, but it was a step in the right direction.
It took about twenty minutes, but I finally stopped crying enough to wash my hair and body and get out of the shower. I slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt I kept in one of the bathroom cabinets, just for emergencies. I tended to be forgetful and jump into the shower without bringing a change of clothing. And I sure as heck wasn't going to walk out naked with Leander out there. The sexual tension between us was already at an all-time high. It frequently took my breath away.
I had come to a decision, something I hoped Leander would agree to it would be win-win for both of us. I straightened my shoulders and opened the door, stepping out. Instantly, Leander set up from his reclined position on the bed, his eyes finding mine. "Are you okay?"
I nodded and tried to explain what I'd felt, "Even though Ever described their pain to me...I could never have imagined...the depth of despair they felt."