“Done to you?” Murphy asked, and she saw Finn shake his head.
“Tried to do to me,” she amended. “They didn’t succeed.”
“I never said a word to him,” Gabriel said. “How did he know what happened to you?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He always seemed to know a lot of stuff. I guess I never really thought of it before.”
“So he fed your need for revenge,” Tah said to Laura.
“Yes, he did. When the opportunity came for me to go after a hunting party while Gabriel was gone, Isaac scoffed at me. He said I was too weak to take on a group of hunters, said I’d just end up back the way I was when Gabriel first found me. He sneered and belittled until…”
“Until you left,” Reno said.
Laura nodded.
“Those files are important. He wouldn’t have had them hidden otherwise. Someone knows something. We just have to keep digging until we find that person,” Tah said. “The Professor will sit down with Miles and keep him talking. If he knows more, even things he doesn’t realize he knows, the Professor will find out.”
Laura didn’t think Miles knew any more. Bringing up his past, his wife’s death and daughter’s leaving, had seemed to hit him hard. She felt sorry for the doctor.
“I see you’re still intact,” Tah said to her, giving her a smile.
“I told you he wouldn’t hurt me,” she replied.
“Fortunately, I see you didn’t hurt him either,” Tah agreed. “I’m pleased the two of you worked it out. I admit I was concerned. You didn’t seem too happy to see her last night, Finn.”
“I think I know why,” Finn admitted and turned to include Gideon. “I’ve spoken with Gideon, and he agrees it’s possible.”
“One thing first,” Gideon said. “Laura, Finn says he remembers you taking a knife in your paw before you killed the last hunter.”
“Yes, I had a laceration across my palm after I shifted. I didn’t realize how deep it was until later. It took a bit longer than it normally does to heal. I was so focused on getting to Finn at the time that I didn’t even feel it,” she admitted.
“And you put your hands on Finn’s stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. Correct?” Gideon asked.
She nodded.
“You said you felt Finn die?” he continued. “Did his bleeding slow down?”
“Yes,” she answered softly. “I felt him slipping from me. When the blood stopped flowing, I guessed his heart had stopped pumping.”
“How is that even possible?” Reno asked.
“Laura’s telling the truth,” Murphy said. “She showed me.”
“She shares the same link with Murphy that I do,” Finn explained at the questioning looks Tah, Reno and Vic gave them.
“Well, that could get real interesting,” Vic murmured.
“She showed me her memory of that day. I didn’t think it was possible, but Finn looked even worse than when Zane and I found him. I’m not sure what happened, but she did see Finn die.”
“I think he did die,” Gideon said.
“What?” they all asked in unison.
“He was already sliding down the slope. I remember Zane saying you’d felt something while you were driving, something that made him think Finn wouldn’t be alive when the two of you found him.”
Murphy nodded in agreement.
“Laura is his mate. She found him on death’s door. She ran to him, tried to save him, but he was already in the process of dying. I believe his heart stopped beating, for a brief moment in time. I think he died, and her blood brought him back. Actually, Finn mentioned the possibility, and I agree. There’s more to it though. So much that makes sense that didn’t before.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“Your blood. It mixed with his when you put your palms on the puncture on his stomach. I think you woke the beast inside him. You’d already left by the time Finn came back. I don’t think it was the shot the Professor gave him that caused the memory loss. I think it was his beast’s way of protecting him, not just from the torture but from the fact he’d met his mate.”
“Damn,” Tah said.
“You started getting restless and having headaches when we arrived here,” Gideon said, and Finn turned an accusing look on Murphy.
“I might have mentioned it,” Murphy muttered with a shrug.
“It makes sense. The animal would have picked up on Laura’s scent. It must have driven your beast nuts. Then you left, and I’m betting it wasn’t happy with you.”
“The headaches and restlessness grew worse,” Finn admitted.
“Was that when the memories started returning?” Gideon said.
Finn nodded. “Dreams. I wasn’t sure what was memory and what wasn’t.”
“She triggered it all. She saved your life, awakened your beast, and when you saw her again, she unleashed it.”
“Then why did he threaten to rip her throat out?” Reno asked.
“He knew she was his mate, and I’m guessing he knew she’d left him. He felt the anger from the beast and directed it at her. But the beast was angry with you, Finn. I think it was pushing for you to let it fully emerge, but you weren’t sure of what to do. It was fighting you. Just before you changed, you were angry because no one had stepped in to save your mate from you. You were worried for her.”
“So my blood awakened his beast?”
“And seeing you helped to unleash it.”
“It all makes sense when you put it like that,” Tah agreed. “So what about the shot the Professor gave him? Are you saying it didn’t do anything?”
“No, I believe it assisted. It most likely helped the genetics kick in faster, lending a hand in Finn healing quicker. It aided what already existed,” Gideon said.
“You saved my life,” Finn said, turning to Laura. “And you helped me unleash the beast and become one with it.”
“I…” She shook her head, emotion overwhelming her. A part of her had died that day when she’d felt him slip away, a big part. Since then, she’d just been going through the motions, more than willing to risk her life to save others. She’d been ready to die. What if it had happened? She would never have known Finn survived or the role she’d played in saving him. All those moments she’d screamed inside, asking why she was still alive… Now, she knew and counted her blessings. Finn seemed to pick up on what was going through her and pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
“I want to do a few more tests, but…” Gideon caught everyone’s attention when he paused. “I think we may be on to something here. She may have given us a key we’ve been searching for.”
“What kind of key?” Tah asked.
“I think I might know something we can try to use to help Logan, a way that might allow him to unleash his beast.”
Chapter Ten
They spent the day in the labs with Gideon while he ran test after test, asking question after question and driving Finn crazy. It didn’t help that Ariel hovered, shooting dirty looks at Laura the entire time. His mate never commented on them, and she ignored Ariel for the most part. Finn found himself losing his patience with Ariel even though she’d come to mean so much to him.
“Do you have a problem with my mate?” Finn asked Ariel.
“Finn,” Laura chided.
“Is there a problem?” Gideon broke off from what he was doing to join the conversation.
“That’s what I’m asking,” Finn said.
“Ariel?” Gideon asked.
“She left you to die,” she snarled.
“She saved my life,” Finn countered.
“I was there when you confronted her. I heard what was said, just like everyone else did. You should have ripped her throat out.”
A rumble rose from Finn’s throat. Laura put her hand out, touching his chest and easing him.
“We didn’t know everything then,” Laura told Ariel. “I’m sure Gideon can fill you in on what we’ve learned when the tests are done.”
“I know all I need to know,” Ariel sneered.
“Why do you hate me?” Laura asked. “At first, I thought it was because you wanted Finn to be your mate, but that’s not true. Your mate’s right here, and you don’t want him.”
Finn felt a jolt go through him at that revelation, and it was obvious Gideon did, too, by the way he jerked around.
“That’s not true,” Ariel said.
“It is.” Laura seemed to take Ariel’s reaction as confirmation to whatever she was thinking. “You’re hurting him. I don’t know if you realize that or not. I thought maybe you were selfish, but I don’t think that’s it either. I think it’s fear.”
“I’m not afraid of anything,” Ariel challenged.
“We’re all afraid of something,” Laura countered.
“Your mate is here?” Gideon said. “Who is it?”
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Ariel yelled. “I don’t have a mate.”
“We all have a mate somewhere,” Finn said.
“I don’t,” Ariel vowed.
“Why do you hate me?” Laura asked again.
“Because,” Ariel yelled.
“Why?” Laura pushed.
“Because he saved you,” Ariel screamed. “He saved you.” Sobs caught in Ariel’s chest, and everything clicked in Finn’s head. The things Gideon had let slip about how Clara’s Uncle Thomas had saved Ariel, how she’d woken up screaming. The way she avoided people. The way she clung to those she trusted.
“Jesus, no,” Finn whispered, horrified.
“And no one saved you,” Laura said softly. “Oh, Ariel. I’m so sorry.”
“Stop it. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not broken. I am worthy. I didn’t deserve what happened, and I’m not a victim!” Ariel turned and fled.
They all stood there for a long moment, processing what she’d said. Then Gideon moved.
“Let her go,” Laura said. “You can’t help her right now. This… What happened to her… She has to work through it.”
“Thomas told her sometimes people get what they deserve. She woke up crying from one of her dreams, crying about what happened to her.” Gideon looked at Laura, and Finn saw the sorrow in his eyes. “I wasn’t there. I was the one who gave her comfort. Thomas told her some people were destined to be victims.”
“He was pushing her to deal with what happened,” Laura said. “From what I see, she still hasn’t. She won’t heal until she does.”
“Thomas shouldn’t have said those things to her,” Gideon admonished.
“Maybe, she needed to hear them,” Laura countered. “Maybe, he was trying to get her to realize she wasn’t those things. So he told her she was.”
Gideon looked at her. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Tough love is hard, but it’s still love,” Laura stated.
“She was so broken when Thomas found her,” Gideon said. “He brought her back and told me to take care of her. She bled for days, cowering away from me at first. She’d wake up screaming. She’d fight me, but I couldn’t leave her like that. I’d hug her and just hold her until she quieted. She’d beg me to protect her, to keep them from touching her. Eventually, she got to the point that she’d wake up crying out for me. Then she just woke up. I thought she was doing okay.”
“Dillion said she was expendable,” Finn said.
“Dillion?” Laura asked.
“He was the shifter who attacked when we were in Colorado,” Finn said. “He wanted to kill Clara. Instead, he hit Zane and Logan with a strain of feral fever virus.”
“Jesus!” Laura exclaimed. “What happened to Dillion?”
“Ariel killed him,” Gideon said.
“Good,” Laura said.
“How do I help her?” he asked.
“I’m not sure you’re the one to help her,” Laura suggested.
“Do you really think she’s afraid?”
“I know what she’s been through. With one big difference,” Laura said. “Gabriel saved me. Thomas was too late to prevent what happened to her. I can imagine what she survived, but I didn’t experience it. I was lucky.”
Finn reached for her, pulling her against his chest. He couldn’t not touch her. Visualizing what she’d told him, thinking what could have happened if Gabriel hadn’t shown up, knowing what Ariel had survived. He felt sick. His beast raged for blood. He wanted to hunt down the men who’d hurt Ariel and make each of them suffer.
“How would she not know fear after what she went through?” Laura asked.
“Who’s her mate?” Gideon asked, but Laura shook her head.
“That’s for her to tell you, not me,” Laura said. “I’m going to go check on her. She might not know me, but I think she’ll relate to me more than anyone else here.”
“Be careful,” Finn said.
“I will,” Laura promised and gave him a quick kiss.
“I’ll come looking for you as soon as I’m done here,” he told her.
She nodded and headed out of the lab, leaving Finn with Gideon.
“She was raped,” Gideon said and swallowed.
Finn felt the bile rise in his throat as he nodded.
“I knew; I just didn’t want to accept it,” Gideon admitted. “I keep thinking the worst of Thomas. I let Dillion plant the seeds in my mind. Even Clara doesn’t think as highly of Thomas as she once did.” Gideon blew out a hard breath and rubbed his hands over his face. “So many people are quick to point out what they see as his faults. Then Laura comes along and puts it all in a new light. Maybe, his methods weren’t perfect, but his heart was in the right place.”
“There’s good and bad in all of us, Gideon,” Finn said. “Thomas is the same. Look at everything he’s been through. Losing his mate and child. Losing his brother. Being captured and tortured repeatedly. Knowing that hunters were actively hunting for him, not just because of what he is but for who he is. It all had to take a toll.”
Gideon nodded. “I told myself I would search for him once we got everyone here. I think I need to keep that promise. I need to go look for him.”
“Talk to Tah about it. I know Clara wants to find her uncle. I’m sure Kenzie would, too. Our numbers are growing. I’m sure it would be easy to get a group together to trace Thomas,” Finn said. “First, I think Clara would appreciate if you helped her mate, and though, Laura might not say it, I’m sure she’d agree.”
“She already gave blood to help us figure out a way to help him. You know, it was right in front of me the whole time, and I never saw it,” Gideon admitted.
“What?”
“Abby needed a transfusion to help her with her pregnancy. Diane is the same. The answer is in the blood. It’s always in the blood. Laura’s blood woke your beast and saved your life. What if, all this time, the one thing Logan needed was Clara’s blood?”