Dimitri’s POV
I was sitting on the bed in our room, holding Maddie as close to me as I possibly could. She was sitting on my lap and her whole body was wrapped around mine. That wasn’t enough for me, though. I needed her to be closer.
I felt so fucking guilty. How the fuck didn’t I see that something was happening to my mate? She was being abused right under my nose and I didn’t fucking figure it out! I felt like the worst mate in the whole fucking world and I wanted to rip my own heart out.
We got back to our room almost ten minutes ago, but none of us spoke. I couldn’t speak because there was a huge lump in my throat. I was barely able to breathe.
I kept kissing every part of her body I could reach. I kept caressing her. I kept pressing her closer to me. I needed to assure myself that she was in my arms. I needed to assure myself that she was okay.
I had to speak, though. I had to ask her why she hadn’t told me. I needed to know why. I needed to know everything.
I kissed the top of her head one more time and I tightened my arms around her.
“Why, Maddie?” I asked her quietly, my voice laced with pain. “Why didn’t you tell me, princess? Why didn’t you tell Mike? Why didn’t you ask for help?”
She stiffened a little and took a deep breath.
“I need the truth, Maddie,” I said. “I need to know the truth.”
She tried to sit up in my lap and I let her. I didn’t move my arms, though, I kept them on her, assuring us both that she was safe.
She took another deep breath and looked at me. Her cheeks were puffy and red. I lifted my hand and wiped the tears from her cheeks. My heart hurt seeing her like that, but I knew it was the last time, I would never let anything like that happen again. She would never be in pain again.
“I was sure that Mike knew,” Maddie mumbled, making me furrow my eyebrows. “I was sure that he approved it. She would hit me even when he was at home and I was sure that he knew.”
I seriously doubted that. Mike would never let her do something like that if he knew. Mike made mistakes, but he would never let anyone hurt Maddie.
“I don’t think he knew, princess,” I said softly. “He wouldn’t let her do that.”
She nodded and looked back down at her lap.
“I realized it after a while,” she said. “She hit me when he was home because the whole house is soundproof and she knew that I wouldn’t say anything.”
She sighed and shook her head.
“I was sure that I would leave this pack the moment I turned 18,” she said, making my heart clench. “I didn’t think anyone would care about it. I wasn’t even a part of this pack. I wasn’t…”
She stopped talking and looked up at me.
“I didn’t think it was important because I thought that I would never see her again after my birthday,” she said.
I tightened my jaw and nodded.
“And after you found out that I was your mate?” I asked. “Why didn’t you tell me then?”
Tears gathered in her eyes and she gulped.
“I didn’t want you to lose your mom,” she said. “I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t want you to have to choose. I didn’t want to come between you.”
My eyes widened. Was she crazy?! I would choose her over anyone! I would choose her over and over again. She was my heart and soul. No one ever came close to her.
I cupped her cheeks and looked at her sternly.
“Listen to me, Maddie,” I said. “You are the most important thing in my world. You will always come first to me. You have my entire heart and I love you more than anything. I will choose you over anyone. I will choose you over myself. I will…”
She interrupted me by leaning in and pressing her lips on mine. I grunted and kissed her back.
“I love you too,” she mumbled against my lips. “I love you so much.”
I tangled my fingers into my hair and leaned my forehead against hers. I wanted to continue kissing her, but I needed to talk to her. I needed her to tell me everything and I knew that if I continued kissing her, I wouldn’t be able to stop anytime soon.
My need to mark her only grew after finding out what my mother did. I needed to tie her to me in every way possible. I needed everyone to know who she was to me. I needed to protect her and my mark on her was the first step.
“I need to know everything, princess,” I said, panting hard. “I need to know everything she did.”
Maddie shook her head and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“You know everything now, my love,” she said softly. “She told you everything.”
Hearing her call me her love made my whole body shiver. I wanted to kiss her again, but she furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lower lip.
“What is it, princess?” I asked softly as I pulled her lip from under her teeth.
I wanted to bite it.
“I almost left the pack one day,” she mumbled and my heart stopped beating. “Seth caught me and stopped me from leaving.”
I couldn’t feel my body. She almost left? I almost lost her.
“When?” I asked, a growl escaping me.
“When you found us in that cabin,” she mumbled quietly. “I had a split lip and I told you that I fell.”
My heart was beating so hard and it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. I remembered that day. I was so freaked out because she was hurt that I didn’t pay attention to anything else.
“My mother did that?” I asked, my voice strained.
Maddie nodded and my vision blackened. I tightened my arms around her and growled.
“You will never leave me,” I told her. “You are mine, Madeline.”
I had no idea what the fuck would I have done if she managed to leave that night. I had only Seth to thank for stopping her.
Did he know about my mother hurting her?
Maddie cupped my cheeks and gave me a small smile.
“I am yours,” she said. “I will never leave. I promise, Dimitri. I can’t leave. I love you too much to do that. I think that I loved you even before I turned 18. I think that a part of me knew who you were even then. I was just too angry at Mike and I thought that Savannah…”
I interrupted her by kissing her hard. I didn’t want to hear anything else. All I needed to hear was that she loved me. That was enough. That was all I ever wanted.
