~ SASHA ~

Before she had any chance to react, or even scream, Sasha hit the floor with a bang, her tailbone shuddering with pain. But she was pinned, the weight of the massive wolf ensuring she couldn't move. A guttural snarl and snapping teeth became all she could see and hear.

She'd barely sucked in a breath, her brain screaming, waiting for the pierce of teeth on skin, when Nick bellowed, "She might be carrying his pups!"

The wolf, standing over her, paws on her shoulders, teeth just an inch from her face, froze. But her growl continued to putter through the room, her lips peeled back from her teeth, and the hair on the back of her neck and shoulders standing inches off the rest of her body.

Sasha found herself frozen in that pure blue gaze, so reminiscent of Zev's, and despite the fear jangling through her, she could see the pain and fear in those eyes. Compassion swelled her chest.

Holy shit. What had they done to these women?

"Faryn, get off her. I don't want to have to hurt you," Nick said, his voice flat and dark, one hand behind his back, as if he had a weapon there.

The wolf's eyes snapped up to look at him and her ears, which had been pinned against her head, went limp.

With a whine, she slunk off of Sasha, her head and tail low, darting through the room to darkened door at the other end.

Sasha waited, but the others were all watching Nick, their eyes wide and wary as he waited for Faryn to return—in human form again, and dressed in new clothes since she'd torn the others.

"Take a seat and we'll explain," Nick said, his voice short, with anger or fear, Sasha wasn't sure.

Faryn walked straight to the couch—another sectional, though this room was smaller, so the couch was as well—and sat down, her arms folded, and eyes wide and red-rimmed. Sasha thought she looked even paler than she had a moment ago, if that was possible.

The others carefully stepped over to the sofa to join her, while Nick offered a hand to help Sasha to her feet.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. But she remembered what Zev had taught her about being strong, being Alpha, in the eyes of Chimera.

Never let them see weakness.

Give orders not suggestions.

Take the space you want and expect others to make way.

So instead of recoiling as she wanted to do, she strode past the women who were finding their seats and plopped down on the coffee table in front of it, invading their space, her knees almost brushing Shayn's.

The female stared at her and Sasha held her gaze, forced herself not to look away.

"He was mine since I was seventeen years old," she said firmly. "He was forced to remove himself from me, but when we were reunited, there was no question. He fought back from banishment to Alpha of the wolves just to take me before another male could. It took him less than a week.

"You can kill me if you want to, but you will only kill him—his heart," she corrected herself quickly, not wanting to give Nick that crucial information yet. "He is mine, heart and soul. And I am his. I grieve what was done to you. I grieve that your hearts and souls have been damaged by all of this. But he is mine, and that fact will not change whether I live or die."

Shayn paled, but nodded, her hands clenched to fists in her lap.

A tiny sob sounded from her left, but Sasha didn't drop the alpha female's gaze. She was relieved when Shayn turned to look at the other female, to reach across the woman between them and touch her arm.

"He's stolen from us," the smaller female sobbed. "Stolen from me. He is mine!"

"No, he's not," Sasha said firmly, but her throat pinched. She couldn't believe what they'd done to these people. Couldn't Nick see that he was breaking their minds and hearts?

"Please, forgive her, Sasha-don," Shayn said quietly, her eyes flickering to the side to meet Sasha's as she gave her the honorific. "She knew Zev before and harbored feelings. She's deeper in the grief than the rest of us."

"The grief?" Sasha asked, knowing the answer, but praying that somehow, impossibly, the answer would be different than she expected.

"All of these females bonded with Zev when they were mated," Nick said tightly. "But he didn't bond with them. They all suffer as if the mating bond had been identified, but not completed."

"We suffer the loss of our mate!" Shayn spat, her voice hushed, pinched in unshed tears. "We have the bond, but it is empty. We are… hollowed by it."

Sasha was horrified and pressed her hand to that spot on her chest where that piece of Zev had been torn from her. For a moment she almost cried herself. Was she destined to become like these females? Had their bond been broken?

"I'm… so sorry to hear that," Sasha said, swallowing the tears that wanted to come. "How long have you all been here?"

"Three years," Shayn said quietly with a dark glance at Nick. "But we were mated to him at different times. It's why Faryn suffers more. She was mated to him early."

Sasha swallowed back a wave of nausea as it hit her, like a gut punch… these women had all had sex with Zev.

Dear Lord.

Every single one of these woman had had her hands on Zev. Worse, he'd had his hands on them. She wanted to puke. She was thankful they were all looking somewhere else as she closed her eyes against the shame and fear and jealousy that bubbled up.

"It is difficult for all of us, at first," Shayn said quietly. "I imagine perhaps even worse for you, if he has chosen you. I cannot imagine… Chimera were never intended to have more than one mate, never intended to join with another. And as wolves… all of us resist the disconnection," Shayn said, nodding at her.

Sasha tried to pull herself together. "I'm not a wolf," she said hoarsely.

"You smell of Zev. You are of the pack," Shayn said as if there were no point even discussing it further. "You are… Alpha," she added reluctantly a second later.

All the females went still, watching her. Then, each of them slowly submitted, murmuring "Sasha-don."

Sasha wanted to weep—for them, and for her. Especially when Faryn very obviously forced herself to give Sasha the title.

"I'm so sorry," Sasha blurted, shoving her hands under her thighs so she wouldn't wring her fingers.. "I'm so, so sorry for your pain."