Calliope's POV
I woke up startled to the sound of Riley howling. I jolted off the couch away from Adrian who was now awake and immediately ran upstairs to Riley. I walk into the room and hear her whimpering and whining as she hides under the covers. "Ri baby I'm here i dont go anywhere i was just downstairs." Riley slowly emerges from the covers in her human form. "Mommy!" She ran out of the bed and embraced me. "I'm so sorry my angel, I didn't mean to scare you." I hugged her tightly. I heard Adrain come into the room. "Is everything alright?" he asked. I turned to him Noticing he was just in a pair of sweats and head bed head. I had to admit that he was quite sexy like this. I nod my head towards him. "Yeah i just wasn there when she woke up and she was scared it's all ok now."
He came over and sat on the floor next to me. Riley poked her head out to him. "What are you doing here?" she asked him in a rather grumpy tone. I chuckled "He's the Alpha remember? So when something happens he has to come and check and make sure that everything is ok.'' I stared at her and she just nodded. I can feel Adreian just looking at us two before he says "Why don't I take you two on a tour of the grounds today? And maybe after I can take you guys to the mall or shops to get you guys something for your stay here?" Riley looks up to me and she starts to mind linking me. "Could we do that mommy? You used to tell me about all the shopping you used to do. I want to know what it's like." I sigh. It's not an idea Callie, you two will need clothes and stuff to bathe in though I am not against bathing in Adraian's scent. It's very calming. But seriously i want to stay here forever i don't know why we can't just stay here forever he will protect us. I shake my head and look back into Riley's eyes. "Why not Ri. We can get you some nice things and maybe if we find a new place to call home you can keep all of those things with you.'' I offered a small smile as she just beamed with joy. I turn to Adrian and nod my yes to him. "Well that's great I will tell Ben my Beta and Ryan the Gamma so they know what's going on. I'll get us some breakfast made while you girls get ready to go. There should be some spare toothbrushes and paste in the bathroom." I nod my head and take Riley that way.
We get done and meet Adrain down stairs. He's made us some pancakes with bacon. I pick up Riley and place her on the chair and go to make her a plate. I make sure that I cut up everything into smaller pieces. I give her the plate and a fork and let her eat. I go back to grab a plate for myself, notice that Adrian has already played it for me and hands it to me. I nod my head "Thank you" I go over and take the seat next to me and Adrian takes a seat on the other side of Riley. We all ate in silence. I didn't really get to eat much of mine because I was having to help Riley with hers. She really hasn't eaten any of this since she was younger. We didn't live out in the woods the whole time. I tried living in a house and working a job and all that but we were attacked by the pack that claimed that as his territory so i just stuck to living in the woods real secluded from everyone so i don't have to worry as much with her.
After we all got done eating Adrian went and pulled a car around for us to get into with him. When the door opened I realized that he actually had a booster seat in the back seat. Which came as a big shock to me considering he really hasn't had the chance to go and get one. My mind wandered to the thought of him having a relationship with another woman. Maybe he had gotten her pregnant and had a child with her. My wolf interjected That sick bastard, I am going to tear him a new one. And that's when I felt a warm hand on my back with these small sparks, I knew it had to be Adrian. "Before your mind starts to wonder, I had Ben go and get a booster seat for Riley. Since he already has a child with his mate around the same age he just let me borrow theirs for the day." He started in a whisper in my ear. My world calmed down and so did I. "Alright. Ri we… I mean I need to get you in this seat with it fastened ok?" I say to her as I pick her up and place her in the booster seat, placing the seat belt over her. "What is this thing Mommy?" Adrian hopes in the driver seat as I look back at Riley. "Well angel this is a car that helps you get to places in your human form. For your safety I put you in the seat and buckle you up so that if anything were to happen you have a less likely chance of being hurt." I give her a small smile as she nods her head. I go to climb in the back seat next to Riley before ADrian interrupts. "You can come sit up here with me." He states as he pats the passenger seat. "No thank you, I want to sit back here with Riley."
The car ride was silent for the most part. The only person to talk was Adrian when he was pointing out different places and telling us what they were. When we paced a park RIley's face lit up. "Mommy can we go there one day? It looks like fun!" I gave her a small laugh. "Maybe we can." I told her. We passed this large house adn by the way it looked I can guess that the house was meant for the Alpha and his family. I remember my old pack having one for the beta and gammas as well. I pointed to the house as we passed by. "Is that the Alpha house?" I questioned Adrian. He clenched his jaw and nodded "Yes it is." He didn't say much else and I wasn't going to push him about it because he wasn't pushing me about things. It seemed a little unfair to ask him a question expecting answers when i wouldnt return the favor.
After we drove for a while we finally pulled up to this shopping center type place that had many different buildings. Some were restaurants, some clothing stores, and some were different types of department stores or grocery stores. Adrian parked somewhere in between all of them so that way we wouldn't have to walk a great distance to any of them.
I got out with Riley and Adrian had come to our side. "If you want we can go ahead get yall some clothes and then go from there." I just nodded my head as I grabbed a hold of Riley's hand. I saw where Adrian went to reach out for mine then pulled back. I don't really feel like holding him either. I felt bad in a ssense but at the same time I didn't really know him that well either. The first store we went into mainly had children's clothes so I went looking around trying to find different things for Riley. We went through almost everything, it felt like. I discovered that RIley was not a dress or skirt type of girl. She preferred pants and shorts. We got her plenty of both and then went and got her some tennis shoes and a pair of sandals. Adrian just pulled out his card and paid for everything. I wasn't going to interject because I didn't have any money in the first place.
The next store we went to had clothing more my style. I went and grabbed some sweats and loose shirts. I did find a couple of dresses but I really didn't want to get them. The sales associate saw many scanning through them. "You know I really think you have the body to pull this off. It would hug those curves you got really nicely." I sighed "I really don't know I haven't really worn anything like that before." She just waved her hand off and picked a couple of dresses off the rack and pushed me into the dressing room. The first one that caught my eye was this deep navy blue looking dress. It had short sleeves that had a ruffle flowy type thing to them. I tried it on and looked into the mirror that was in there. I was completely shocked when I looked in the mirror. The dress hit right above the knee and really showed off just how great I really did look. I didn't even know I looked this good. I heard knocking on the door. "Mommy I want to see!" i laughed "Ok angel I'm coming out give me just a sec.'' I unlocked the door and stepped out and saw that Adrian had picked up Riley and was now holding her. The way he was holding melted my heart. I looked at Riley and she had a huge smile on her face. "Wow mommy! You look so pretty!" i looked back at Adrian and saw that he was fighting with his wolf right about now his eyes were flickering back and forth from the hazel color to a black one. "Thank you baby, but I think that I will just leave the dress here. I have no reason to wear it." Riley frowned. "Well I think you should, it makes you look beautiful." Adrian's eyes now back to the amazing hazel color that I like. I can feel the heat rise up in my face. "Well I will get just the one." I stated. Riley beamed with glee as I went back into the dressing room and put my clothes back on.
We had finished all of our clothes shopping and even went and grabbed some shower items. I got me this honey and vanilla body wash that was my favorite song a while ago. Definitely had to get some razors because the amount of hair I had everywhere was disgusting. I grabbed Riley some strawberry princess wash. She was over the moon about it and was determined to watch all the movies about them because she wanted to be just like them. Riley had made funny statements throughout the day that caused me and Adrian to laugh. Me and him may not have spoken much but the time we spent together I would truly treasure. Just watching him take care of Riley really warmed her heart.
There wasn't a day that went by when she was born that i had wished she was my mates daughter and not Ethan's i didn't hate her by any means i just hate she came into the world.WHen we went to grocery store to buy things for us to have food for the next few days Riley was so surprised to see everything. HEr poor mind didn't understand anything that was happening around her but thankfully she was always open minded about things and adapted to change well.
When we got back to the pack house we unloaded everything and put everything up. Apparently yesterday while Riley was with Ben he showed her the TV and how it worked. So tight when we got back she wanted to watch all of the princess movies. I was more than happy to do that for her. She got a few toys today as well. I told her to go play with her toys and I would turn the movies on and get us some food to eat. She ran into the living room and went straight to playing. I went into the kitchen trying to figure out what to make for us. That's when I felt Adirans hand touch my shoulder. I jumped a little bit when he did. I turned to him as he sent me an apologetic look. "Sorry. I was just coming out to see if you needed help with anything." he stated. "Honestly yes. It's been a while since i have cooked anything and i would rather not burn the house down" i joked. He gave off a chuckle. Oh how I love the sound of that. We should get him to do that more. I agreed with her.
He began pulling out a frozen pizza from the freezer. "Why not just keep it simple tonight. It has been a long day." I just nodded and agreed with him. I went and sat at the bar stool with a bottle of water as I just sat there and watched Riley play and laugh while watching the movie. She was very content and happy and that's all I could ever want for her. Remind me why we can't just stay here forever? Gwen interjects. Because Gwen, I would rather not bring trouble where there isn't any. YOu heard Adrian Ethan escaped who knows where he's at adn what he's doing. I don't want him to find me or Riley. She backed off, knew what I meant but I did also understand her point. Idid grew up being told that mates would do anything to keep each other safe. I just had a lot of doubts about everything.
Adrian's hand pulled me out of my thoughts. "The pizza will be done in about 20 minutes or so." I just nodded while I was watching Riley. He came and sat down next to me. "You know you have done one hell of a job raising her. She's beautiful and smart and very adaptive." HE stated to me and I felt heat rush up to my cheeks for the second time. "Thank you. It wasn't her fault that she was brought into this world." I started back to him with a small smile. He went and reached for my hand again and I pulled away. "I'm sorry ADrian i just don't think that I am there quite yet." he just shook his head. I felt bad because he just wanted to touch and deep down I did too but I really just don't know him well. We just sat there in silence again just watching Riley having fun. The timer went off for the pizza and I brought Riley to the bar and father down so we could eat.
After we got down, it was around eight o'clock and I told Riley that it was time to get ready for bed. Me and RIley headed up stairs. I started to run her a bath and get her out of her clothes. I got her in the tub and she was loving all the bubbles. She had asked why I didn't get in this time. I told that I still had some growing things I needed to do before I went to bed but I would be getting one soon. She just nodded her head. I got her all dried off and dressed and I brought her back to your room. I brushed her hair and laid her in the bed getting her tucked in. I was about to get up then Riley asked if I could sing her the 'I Love You' song again. "I can but you will have to do it with me this time." I told her. She nodded her head. She started to hum the tune. "I love you baby and if it's alright I need you baby. To warm a lonely night I love you baby. Trust me when I say. Oh pretty baby don't bring me down I pray oh pretty baby now that I found you and let me love you baby. Let me love you baby" We sang together. I kept singing to her over and over again until she fell asleep.
After I know that she is fast asleep I go back downstairs to clean up the mess from dinner and pick up her toys. When I went downstairs I didn't see Adrian anywhere. Which made me sad just a little but I shook it off. I went into the kitchen and began cleaning there. Washing the dinner plates and wiping the counters. After I finished , I went into the living room and sat there. I had started singing to myself one of my songs that got through everything. "I'm jealous of the rain,That falls upon your skin, It's closer than my hands have been..'' I started humming, gathering up Riley toys and putting them in a spot. I gathered up the trash that she had from opening them. "And I told you when you left me, There's nothing to forgive, But I always thought you'd come back, tell me all you found was heartbreak and misery" I continued on. When I had finished there I had tuned to see Adrian standing in the doorways in the halls. I jumped with my hand to my chest. "Oh Goddess! You really know how to sneak up on people." I told him he gave me a small smile. "You really know how to sing, did you know that?" He looked at me as he moved closer. "Well it's the only thing that kept me sane so i guess i got good at after a while.'' I told him. His smile faded and he became more serious. "When are we going to sit down and talk about things?" He questioned. I gave out a big sigh and ran my fingers through my hair. "I was actually hoping that we could do that tonight. I've put Riley to bed so we can actually talk without interruptions hopefully." He just nodded his head and directed me towards the couch so we could sit. I sat on one end with my legs crossed and him on the other.
"Where do you want to start?" He asked me, giving me a blank face. I thought for a second. "It might be easier to start at the beginning. But I'm willing to answer any questions you have if you would rather." I told him looking out through the window trying to focus on something other than him. He sighed. "How long did the abuse go on for?" I tried to blink the tears away not wanting them to fall. "Around two years.." I could see that his jaw clenched when I said that. "Does he know about Riley?" Fighting even more tears "Yes.." I breathed for a moment. "But he only knew that I was pregnant. I left before anything else could be done." He nodded with his jaw still clenched. "Do you mind me asking what all happened?" I took a big sigh in letting just one tear fall. "It was different for different days. If he was angry when he came it was just abuse. If he had a good day then it was marking and sex.'' I started trying to hold everything back. I could see that Adrian was getting really angry by his reflection in the window. "Can I see them?...Your scars I mean." he says. I let a few more tears fall. I take in a deep breath. "Yes. But not here I would like privacy." He stands up and reaches out his hand for me to take. I slowly reach for it while keeping my head down. We walk up stairs to his room and he shuts the door and closes all the curtains.
"Whenever you're ready." He states as he brings me to his bed to have a seat. I nod at him and take a deep breath. I pull my hair up into a bun. When I do this you can see parts of the faded marks that Ethan tried to leave. They now just look like bite marks on my neck. I can Adrian is trying to keep his cool while I do everything. It's ok Callie. You can do this. Gwen tries to encourage me. I take another breath in and take my shirt off leaving just my tank top and bra on. From that you can see the marks fully. The scrapes and gashes that I had around my arms. The circular marks on my wrists from the chains. I let a tear escape. Adrians eyes hold sorrow in them as he's taking in what he sees. I took another breath and removed my shirt. Leaving me in my sports bra. Revealing that jagged scar that ran from my waist band up to almost my chest. The claw marks that surrounded my sides. I turn my head away from Adrian, not being able to see me cry. That is when I feel his arms around my waist as he pulls towards him. I sat there motionless as I let the tears fall. He brought me to his chest "Let it out Calliope. It's ok. I wasn't there then, but I am now. Nothing will hurt you know." he states to me as he rubs the middle of back.
He continued on with the sweet words until I calmed down. When I did he gave me back my clothes and let me get dressed. "I know that isn't everything. But it's enough for one night" he states calmly.
As soon as I'm dressed I get up to walk out and he reaches out for me again. He pulls me into an embrace. Nothing felt better than his warmth and the sparks that flooded my body. A sense of calm washed over me. See he will make everything better. Gwen stated to me. "Thank you for sharing this with me." He stated. He gave me a kiss on the top of my head and let me go. I left the room and went into the bathroom. I didn't look at myself in any of the mirrors,I just ran the water for me to get a bath. After I finished ther i went back into the bedroom where Riley was. She was peacefully sleeping when I entered the bed. I pulled her close to me and fell asleep within a few minutes. I was able to sleep more and more comfortably each night that I spent here.