Chapter Two
Vaughn frowned as he stared at the wall of panties in front of him. He’d never bought clothes for a woman before and the different styles, materials, and sizes left him baffled. Autumn had said to get the smallest size, but she hadn’t said anything about style. Bikini. Hipster. Brief. How the hell was he supposed to know what Tulip liked to wear? Was he supposed to get the prettier ones sold in singles, or a package of plain ones?
The pajamas had been easy enough to pick out. He’d grabbed a silky nightgown in a pretty mint color, and a floral short set that felt really soft. He hoped she’d be pleased with both selections. The panties however…
He looked from one row to another and moved over to the nicer ones. She’d been trapped in a dungeon. The woman deserved a little comfort. He picked some colors he thought she might like, in the softest material he could find. Once he had a stack of them, he moved on to the women’s clothes. Autumn had told him to get dresses, but what if Tulip didn’t want to wear only dresses?
Vaughn growled a little in frustration as he looked over the selection the store offered. It was so late, he’d had to go to one of those big twenty-four hour stores. The dress she’d been wearing looked like silk, and he doubted he would find anything like that here. He flipped through the dresses available and chose three that he thought would look nice on her, then he moved on to the pants. He found something called jegging capris and selected two pair, then found two shirts to go with them.
“Shit. Flip flops.”
Pushing his cart, he moved to the back of the store and went to the shoe department. He froze when he saw an entire wall of women’s flip flops, all different colors and types. How the hell was he supposed to pick something from all this? He walked up and down the aisle four times before he picked up a pair of black ones with sequins on the straps and then a pair of brown leather ones. He held up the different sizes, trying to remember how small her foot had been.
Vaughn started to move toward the checkout when he stopped. There were other things she would need, things the alpha and Autumn hadn’t mentioned. In the bathroom, he’d noticed shampoo and soap, but hadn’t seen a hairbrush and didn’t know if the alpha had a spare toothbrush and toothpaste. When he’d gathered those few things, he paid for his purchases then loaded them into his truck. At the alpha’s house, he noticed Finn and Levi were absent.
“Do you want me to take those things upstairs?” Autumn asked as he stood uncertainly in the front entry.
“No, in your condition you shouldn’t be carrying these bags around. I’ll take them up.”
Vaughn climbed the stairs and knocked on the bedroom door, but there was no answer. He opened the door and peered inside, not seeing any sign of Tulip. The bathroom door was still shut and he heard the water running. Vaughn placed the sacks on the bed and knocked on the bathroom door.
“Tulip?” he called out.
He waited, but didn’t hear anything except running water. He leaned a little closer to the door, turning his head to try to pick up any sounds from inside the bathroom. There was a faint heartbeat so he knew she was at least still alive. Vaughn knocked again, but still no answer. Slowly, he opened the door and stepped inside, waiting for her to shriek and throw him out.
“Tulip?”
Indecision gripped him, but he grasped the shower door and opened it, finding her prone on the floor. His gaze took in her too slender body, her protruding ribs, and he cursed at the bruises that littered her skin. He felt like an asshole when he noticed the finger marks around her upper arms, knowing he’d caused them. Never in his life had he harmed a woman, and now, he’d caused her pain.
Vaughn shut off the water, grabbed a towel, and picked Tulip up, wrapping her in hopes of keeping her warm. The water had chilled since he’d left. Her hair was now a pretty red and quite beautiful, as was she. Something shifted inside of him as he stared at the woman in his arms. He eased her onto the bed, not caring that she soaked the bedding, and he gently dried her with the towel. It should have felt awkward trying to dry and dress a naked stranger, but for some reason, he felt protective. It didn’t make sense to Vaughn, but looking at her now, knowing what she’d been through, it made him feel things for her.
He pulled the tags off her new things and dressed her quickly. Not sure what to do about her hair, he searched under the bathroom sink and found a hairdryer. Turning it on low, so as not to wake her, he dried her hair until it was only slightly damp. There were shadows under her eyes, and she was still far too pale, but her heartbeat, and even breathing, assured him she only slept, and wasn’t in danger of falling ill.
“Vaughn?” Autumn called as she rounded the doorway. “Is she asleep?”
“Yeah. She was passed out in the tub.”
“I was going to ask what she wanted to eat, but I guess I’ll wait until morning. Do you think it’s safe to leave her alone?”
He growled softly. “You still think she may be a danger to you?”
“No! Nothing like that, I’m just worried about her getting sick overnight, or not waking up at all. You’ve seen all of her now. How bad is it?”
“She has dark bruising on her hips, back, and upper arms.” Shame washed over him. “The arms are my fault. I was too rough with her when I first found out she was fae. I never meant to hurt her.”
Autumn came closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure she knows that. And if she doesn’t, she’ll learn soon enough. Gabriel and I were talking while you were gone. He said he can sense that she’s a mate for someone in the pack.”
Vaughn’s wolf snarled in his head. “She’s too weak to be someone’s mate right now. They’d kill her if they tried to claim her.”
“We were hoping that you might consider watching over her while she recovers,” Autumn said. “We know you have a job to do, but if you could take some time off that would be a big help. Gabriel worries about me taking on too much right now. The baby is actually past due by a day so she could arrive at any time.”
Vaughn smiled a little. “Still haven’t picked out a name?”
“Gabriel is being stubborn. I want to name her Evie Kiera Andrews. I think my cousin would have liked that, but he doesn’t want to use Kiera’s name. I don’t know if it’s still too painful, or if he thinks it’s going to hurt me to hear it the rest of my life.”
“Maybe a bit of both,” Vaughn said.
“We’ll probably still be arguing over it as she’s having her first feeding and diaper change.” Autumn patted his shoulder. “Let us know if you’re able to take some time off. If not, I’m sure we can find another wolf to help her over the next few days or so.”
