The Start Read online

  “This way, Cecil.” Mia led him farther into the house. They went up three flights of stairs and into a spacious room. All the while, Stella told Mia what Cecil had mentioned in the car. “My goodness,” Mia said with her hand over her mouth.

  Chapter Two

  “He only knows fear and being neutral,” Mia said, checking her notepad. “Also, he can barely read. The man in question is his stepfather, not his biological father. His stepfather didn’t let him go to school for too long. It was in case his stepson told anyone about the frequent beatings. Cecil doesn’t understand the concept of happiness, and feeling pain is just another day on the job.”

  Rowan listened attentively. He glanced at Cecil, who sat on the small couch in the corner of the office. “Anything else? What about his mother?”

  “Cecil hasn’t said much. Just that his stepfather once told him that he met his pregnant mother shortly after she left her boyfriend at the time.” Mia sighed. “Cecil has bruises on top of bruises. He also has many cuts, new ones and older ones fading. Some would leave a scar from what happened tonight, so I treated them. Right now, he’s pretty clean, unlike the clothes he’s wearing.”

  He couldn’t bring himself to care about what he’d done to Cecil’s father. Rowan leaned back on his desk chair. “Cecil, are you looking for something?”

  Cecil switched his attention away from the closed window. The curtain was slightly open. “He might come here.”

  Rowan glanced at Mia, who nodded. They knew Cecil had been broken by his stepfather. Nothing they said made Cecil believe his father was gone. “Do you want to come here?” Instead of answering, Cecil nearly ran to Rowan’s side. He stood next to his desk chair and rested his forearm against it for direct contact. “Listen, your father was an awful man, but he can’t hurt you now. No one in this house has that intention either.” The only thing he could do was reassure Cecil until he got used to it.

  “Cecil, can you tell us how old you are and more about your family?” Mia asked.

  Cecil finally relaxed and regarded Mia. “I turn twenty-three today. I’m an only child. Father usually says my mother died while giving birth to me. He doesn’t miss a birthday to say it’s my fault.”

  “Do you believe it’s your fault?”

  Cecil nodded to Mia’s question. “She died because of me. I shouldn’t have been born.”

  Mia raised her brows. “Cecil, it’s not your fault. If you think about it, you weren’t the one who chose to be born and for your mother to pass away. It doesn’t make sense, right?”

  “I didn’t choose?” Now that she said it, it really didn’t make sense. “Then…why does my father blame me?” Cecil asked.

  Rowan answered, “It’s what bastards do. Mia, if we keep him in our pack, we’ll have a lot of work to do. I was thinking of giving him to someone else, but he already became attached.”

  Mia checked her notepad. “A whole lot of work,” she said. “Yeah, he’s attached to you, Alpha. It would only damage him more if we sent him somewhere else. I think he can stay until he recovers, unless you say otherwise. Besides that, we could use an extra pair of hands for small errands within reason. He seems obedient enough and wouldn’t make a fuss, unlike certain cubs in the pack.”

  If Cecil stayed, the rest of the pack wouldn’t like his clinginess to their Alpha. Rowan massaged his temples with his fingers. Now that he realized it, the issue went deeper than he thought. “What about sleeping? Cecil, where are you going to sleep tonight? You can choose a room, if you want.”

  Cecil looked away and back at Rowan. It seemed as if he had the answer at the tip of his tongue. “What if he comes while I’m sleeping?”

  Rowan stood, startling Cecil. “I give up. Mia, tell Jesse and Ira to get my room ready for a guest. If anyone wants to complain, they can come directly to me.” Why was he going softhearted for a human? Was it some sort of syndrome of having a lost, injured puppy? He led Mia and Cecil out of his office. While Mia went to look for Jesse and Ira, Cecil followed him to the kitchen.

  “Mia asked me earlier to get Cecil something to eat,” Hale said as he set the table for one.

  Rowan glanced at Cecil. “Be kind to Cecil. Maybe he will see no one here intends to harm him.”

  Cecil gazed at the food and at Hale. “For me?” He switched his attention back to the food when Hale nodded with a smile.

  Rowan raised a brow when Cecil didn’t step away from him. Rowan went to pull a chair and sat at the table. “Come and eat. I can wait until you’re done.” Cecil sat next to him and stuffed his mouth with food. Rowan leaned closer and checked the bruises on Cecil’s face. There were so many all over him that Cecil even had a few on his fingers.

  “That hurts a bit,” Cecil whispered with food-swollen cheeks while Rowan tilted his head around by his jaw.

  “All right, I’ll stop.” Rowan moved his hand away and watched while Cecil ate.

  As a werewolf Alpha, he had heard the commotion coming from Cecil’s house. It had sounded like chaos, and that only one person was going through hell. Before he could ring the doorbell, Cecil had opened the door and had come running to him.

  Werewolves weren’t allowed to harm humans unless they had a reason. It was the unspoken code of conduct. Cecil’s father had stabbed him with a broken baseball handle, with intent to kill, so he offered the same. What he hadn’t expected was to invite Cecil over. Cecil had looked too pitiful next to his dead father, not showing any sort of emotion.

  When Cecil finished his meal, Rowan made his way upstairs to his bedroom. There was still a lot to take care of. The pack had been surprised with a new pack member, a human at that. Cecil also didn’t know about werewolves, and it was too soon to tell him. Even though werewolves kept their existence away from most humans, Cecil seemed oblivious to everything. He had lived in a bubble of violence all his life.

  Rowan walked into his room, and Cecil followed. Seeing this, any of the pack members could misunderstand. “Ira, I forgot to ask Mia to tell the pack why I’m having Cecil here.”

  “She told us, Alpha,” Ira said, smoothing out the bed cover. “Mia advised us to get warm blankets because of Cecil. I got him some of my sleepwear since I’m the shortest one in the pack.”

  Jesse and Ira were done and walked out of the room in silence. Rowan closed the door behind them. “Cecil, do you want to sleep with the lights on? I understand if you do.”

  “It’s better to turn them off,” Cecil said. “He can’t see me in the dark.”

  Rowan gazed at Cecil for a long moment. He had no idea how to handle this human. He was too unpredictable. “All right. It’s time to get ready for bed now.” Cecil moved as if ordered to do it. He stripped down in front of Rowan without hesitation. Rowan scowled at the scars, bruises, and cuts on Cecil’s back. Cecil’s stepfather had clearly focused on his son’s back.

  “Where are you going?” Cecil asked when Rowan made his way to the door next to the closet.

  “I’m just going to take a shower. You didn’t have to get changed yet. You’ll be going next, so wait here and don’t put the clean clothes on yet.” Rowan left the door open, in case Cecil panicked again.

  After a quick shower, Rowan returned with a towel wrapped around his hips. Cecil had sat on the bed, only underwear on. This scenario looked more sexual than he anticipated. Cecil was an attractive young man, but what he needed was help, not romance. Rowan got changed while Cecil went to take a shower next.

  “I’ll be as quick as I can,” Cecil said from inside the bathroom.

  Rowan got in bed and rested his slightly damp head of hair on the pillow. He always let it dry off first, but handling Cecil had exhausted him.

  Cecil returned within minutes with ruffled damp hair and clean sleepwear and lay in bed, next to Rowan. Rowan turned the lights off, but left the television on for Cecil with a timer of one hour, in case Cecil wanted his hair to dry before sleep. “If you can’t sleep in the middle of the night, wake me up. I wouldn’t want you to cause a ruc
kus in the house.”

  “Okay,” Cecil said.

  Rowan pulled the covers up to his chest and turned his back to Cecil. He always slept facing the door, but not tonight. He looked over his shoulder when Cecil held his shirt. “I might crush your hand in my sleep.”

  “I don’t mind,” Cecil said quietly.

  * * * *

  Cecil woke up to the sound of the bed creaking. It had been a long while since he slept so well. The last time he had, his father had been gone for a whole night and had refused to tell him why. Cecil watched as Rowan got out of bed, ruffling his own hair.

  He almost forgot this man had taken him in. Why did he treat him with such care? Why was a stranger being nice to him? His father had taught him the opposite, to stay away from everyone but him.

  Rowan noticed Cecil’s attention on him. “Looks like you’re a light sleeper. See? Your father didn’t come.”

  There was still a chance his father would come for him. Cecil sat up and wrapped his arms around his bent legs. He’d gotten used to sleeping in his bed from when he was a child. This one was too spacious without Rowan in it.

  Someone knocked on the door. “Alpha, it’s Mia. I would like to do a blood test on Cecil. We need to know if he’s healthy and doesn’t need any shots or treatments.”

  “What does she mean by that?” Cecil asked.

  “She wants to check if you don’t have any diseases,” Rowan answered. “Doctors can do that by drawing your blood. Have you ever been vaccinated?”

  Cecil went cold. “I have, but I don’t like seeing my own blood.” Seeing his own blood meant pain. Right when he thought he would go at least a while without it, it came back to haunt him. “N-No, I don’t need—”

  Rowan approached the bed. “It’s not what you think. You’re not going to be drugged or hurt. Mia is a doctor, and you can trust her. No one here intends to hurt you,” he said. “Remember the promise everyone made last night? It can’t be broken.”

  Could he believe it? Cecil turned his head down. What if Mia lied to Rowan? Just the thought of a syringe made him shudder. “I don’t want…” He paused and looked at Rowan. Rowan didn’t hit him when he refused. Instead, Rowan wanted to reassure him. Cecil whined quietly and shook his head. “No, I can’t. Please.”

  “You have to do it, Cecil,” Rowan said a tad louder, and Cecil flinched. “I don’t want to hurt you, but if you refuse, I will have to hold you down. This is crucial. We need to know the conditions you were in aren’t going to affect my pack.”

  Cecil slid back and pressed against the headboard. “Please, I don’t want to.” Even if it was Rowan asking, he couldn’t bring himself to go through it.

  “Mia, come in,” Rowan said.

  What was he doing? Cecil stared at Rowan. Could he no longer trust Rowan? He inhaled hard when Mia came in. Cecil got up on the bed and jumped onto Rowan, holding on for dear life. “Please. Help!” He froze when Rowan bent at the waist and laid him on the bed. Rowan rested his hands on his shoulders. “Are you going to hurt me?” Cecil asked, shaking.

  “I’m not hurting you, Cecil,” Rowan said firmly. “Mia is only going to take blood from you. No one is going to inject drugs into your system and you won’t feel pain. Calm down.”

  Mia placed a small medical kit on the nightstand. “He has to stay still, or I won’t be able to do it.”

  Cecil panted and shook involuntarily. Was this really happening? He gazed at Rowan with pleading eyes, but Rowan looked away. He tried to move, but Rowan didn’t budge. Even his father would move if he struggled. He nearly threw up when he saw the needle in Mia’s hand, a wet cotton ball in the other.

  “This will only take a second. Don’t move,” Mia said. She got a hold of Cecil’s wrist and pressed it down.

  In the struggle, Cecil kicked Rowan’s thigh. Rowan didn’t react. While Mia passed the cotton ball over a vein protruding from his arm, he tried to move away. She revealed as much strength as Rowan. Cecil resorted to breathing in and screaming at the top of his lungs. Mia and Rowan leaned away and lowered their heads, but didn’t let go.

  No. Now he was getting tired. There was no time for that. Cecil gripped Rowan’s wrist and dug his nails into pristine skin. “I’m begging you. I don’t want this. Please,” Cecil cried out. He swallowed hard. His throat hurt.

  Mia punctured Cecil’s arm with the needle and filled the small container with his blood. Cecil clenched his jaw.

  “Look. This is all I’m doing. I’m not injecting anything or harming you. There’s no blood pouring out either,” Mia said. “All right, it’s done now. This is for your sake, Cecil. We just want to make sure you’re okay, and we must also look out for ourselves.”

  Cecil closed his eyes, breathing hard. Rowan and Mia released him. He couldn’t look at what Mia had done to him. He no longer trusted anyone, including Rowan.

  “Are you all right?” Mia asked.

  Instead of answering, Cecil sat up and leaned against the headboard, on his side. Had he been tricked? After mere hours of jumping headfirst into trusting Rowan, he’d been tricked. His father was predictable, but he had put his entire trust on Rowan. It proved worse to have his hope shattered than to have none to begin with.

  Chapter Three

  Rowan stood next to the bed. Cecil couldn’t bring himself to see what he was doing. “Mia, tell Ira to bring Cecil breakfast. I have a feeling he won’t be leaving his spot so soon.”

  “I will,” Mia said on her way out.

  Cecil curled up when Rowan stepped closer to him. Rowan sat on the bed with a thud. “I don’t often care what people think of me,” he said, “but one thing I don’t like is when others don’t trust me unfairly. I understand what happened to you, and you should be careful of who you trust…”

  “Then why?” Cecil looked down and rested his hand on his neck. His throat still hurt. He’d always had to keep quiet around his father.

  “Wanting to check if you’re healthy is not a bad thing,” Rowan said. “You were forced now because it’s an important matter. It wasn’t my goal last night to bring you here, and I never make such impulsive decisions.”

  Cecil shot a sideways glance at Rowan. “I’m an impulsive decision?” he asked quietly. He only knew these words because his father was a teacher and spoke more eloquently when calm. Things had taken a gradual turn when his mother had passed away during his birth. The hatred had become intense from there when he no longer looked like a cute little kid, especially as the son of another man. His only issues were that he didn’t know much about the outside world or how to read properly.

  Rowan sighed. “Maybe I saw you as a lost puppy and picked you up. The goal was only to rescue you, but it seems to me that you became quite attached,” he said as he looked out the window. “If that’s not the case anymore, I can take you elsewhere, someplace where you can recover at your own pace.”

  Did this mean Rowan took his feelings into consideration? “Do you care about what I think and want?” he asked, and Rowan nodded. “Why?”

  “I’m beginning to realize why myself,” Rowan said faintly. He grumbled and massaged his temples with his fingers. “Listen, there’s a whole world you don’t know about. Many humans don’t. Someone like me has what we call a mate. It’s not immediate, but when a mate is found, feelings develop. It shows someone like me that I found someone important.”

  Cecil tilted his head. “I still don’t understand.”

  Rowan stood. “I’ll explain later in detail. For now, I can tell you that the important person is you, but I have a feeling that you only see me as a protector who disappointed you.”

  “How am I important?” What did Rowan mean? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

  “You’re important…to me,” Rowan said. “I brought you here to stay. The pack might not like it, but they can’t do a thing about this. Plans have changed.”

  Cecil gripped his shirt in frustration. “Why am I important to you? What does that mean? I
don’t get it.” He flinched when Rowan leaned toward to him. Whenever his father was about to hit him, that was how close he would get. Cecil crawled away, toward the edge of the bed.

  Rowan got a hold of Cecil’s wrist and pulled him back. “It means I’m going to protect you and take care of you from now on. Still, I need to hear it from you. Do you accept this?”

  He could barely understand what Rowan talked about. Cecil sat in front of Rowan. There was still no answer as to why it had to be him. “Can you make a promise?”

  “What promise?” Rowan closed the distance between them even more, and Cecil moved his head away.

  Cecil glanced at Rowan a few times. Rowan smelled good. Still, that didn’t mean he had to get into his personal space. “If you…” He paused, not sure if he could ask. It was a dare to request such a thing. “Promise to never hurt me.” If he could receive that much, he would accept anything Rowan wanted. There was nothing else he desired in this world.

  Rowan let out a prolonged breath. “That’s easy. I promise. Do you accept, Cecil?”

  “Yes,” Cecil answered. He moved his wrist from Rowan’s hold. “Please don’t break the promise.” Rowan had broken his trust earlier. This promise sounded different. The previous one involved all of Rowan’s family. This one was between them.

  “I won’t break it,” Rowan said. “We have a different matter to discuss when it comes to being mates. I can leave that for some time later. It’s too soon.”

  Cecil nodded. For now, he would go with what Rowan asked of him. He only didn’t know how to react because he wasn’t used to the outside world. “I trust you,” he said quietly. He was fine. Mia had only drawn his blood, after all. He had made a big fuss for nothing, even if he still hated seeing his own blood and syringes.

  Rowan switched his attention toward the door. “Come in.”