Chapter dedicated to ElgeanEran. Thanks for reading and voting! You are quite lovely to do so!

Chapter 81 – Explanations – Cage's POV

It was all I could do not to roar and destroy everything around me. Instead I clenched my fists, and focused on keeping myself from moving.  After a moment, they walked out, leaving Raine alone with Armand and me. Armand began tightly, his tone not allowing for disagreement, "Tell me what happened."

She looked scared. She bit her lip and finally replied, "Marku told me that you had finally agreed to a deal to trade me to him. I ran."

His expression was hard as he said, "You should have known better."

Her eyes opened wide at his response. She clenched her fists, her anger evident as she accused him, "How was I supposed to know any better?! You hesitated...You clearly contemplated his offer! Hell, all of their offers! What was I supposed to think?!"

"Daughter, I know you are wiser than that. I know it, because you demonstrated it in a stunningly effective manner when you relieved Marku of $500K. It is a game that we play. A bluff. They need to see me more as a King than they do your father. Because if they see my emotion, then they will know you are my weakness. And they will exploit it. Marku took you because he wanted to have you for his own. But there are many others who would take you if they felt they could manipulate me in doing so. It is not wise to reveal everything that you feel." He waited for her to acknowledge her understanding.

Tears streamed down her cheeks at his profession. Frankly, his words shocked the hell out of me as well. Armand was not a man of emotion, nor was he usually transparent. It was the first time I had seen him act or say anything remotely like a father. And maybe even more startling was the manner in which he spoke. He was teaching her.

"Yes, Father," she whispered.

Then he shocked the hell out of me even more, when he leaned and kissed her forehead. As he sat back, his voice was stern as he said, "However, I cannot tell you that I disagree with Quinn's punishment."

Her face fell as she understood his words.

He continued, "You allowed yourself to be manipulated by Marku, when you had already been shown the depth and potential of his deception. Had you simply been obedient, none of this would have happened. You do bear some responsibility in this decision. It would be unrealistic and untrue to deny it. Your actions do not just impact you. Your decisions can start wars. Had Alaric not recovered you, there would have been a very significant shift in the balance between my kingdom and Quinn's because you did not honor our agreement. Alliances are not built in emotion. They are built in honoring one's duty."

Her lip quivered and more tears fell down her cheeks as she whispered, "I don't know how to do this. Your world – my world – is so foreign to me, that it feels impossible for me to trust the rules that are set in place. Particularly when I am frequently being hurt by them."

Armand did not miss her reference. He replied, "I bear regret that you were hurt as a result of my not knowing your true identity. However, had you actually been the daughter of a Hunter, I would never regret my decision to punish you in the most severe way I am capable. I am who I am, and that is a man of war."

She shivered.

"As my daughter, you must employ more wisdom in your actions. And we both know you are capable of such," he admonished.

"Yes, Father," she whispered again. It seemed as if she was genuinely contemplating his words, and he had done more than I expected in revealing his affection for her.

Armand's expression and voice turned hard. It wasn't hard to see he was trying to control his anger when he said,"Tell me what happened with Marku."

Immediately Raine began to cry.

Fuck!

I clenched my fists, trying to keep calm myself. I would kill that bastard for hurting her, if it was the last thing I did!

"I can't tell you that," she whispered brokenly.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I knew this was going to be bad.

"I am sorry, Daughter, but I need to know," he said firmly.

She just shook her head. I could see was appalled and embarrassed at the idea of having that conversation with him. I interjected, "Armand, she will tell me and we can discuss the details later."

He studied both of us for a moment and then stood to his feet as he said, "Very well."

As soon as he was gone, I gathered Raine off of the tiger and walked to one of the nearby couches. I sat down next to her and took her hands in mine. I whispered, "It is obvious that something happened. I know this is not easy for you and I am sorry for asking you to go through it."

Tears continue down both of her cheeks. She shook her head and rasped, "I can't."

Fuck, once again I knew this was going to be bad. I had to shove back my anger, so that I could speak gently, "When you carry a burden alone, if festers. There is relief in letting go of a secret, because it loses its power over you."

She bit her lip. I could see her resolve wavering.

I continued softly, "No matter what you tell me, no matter what he did, it will not change how I feel about you."

"I don't know where to start," she whispered.

"Start from the beginning. Armand will not allow anyone to interrupt us until you are ready, so we have as much time as you need," I assured her.

She walked me through the steps of her escape until they reached the hotel. It took every last ounce of my control not to show her how livid I was on the inside. But I knew, if I lost my temper, she wouldn't continue.She began hesitantly, "We were both dirty, so we took a shower..."

I nodded, encouraging her and asked softly, "And what happened in the shower?"

"He... Just cleaned me. He said he knew what I needed first, so didn't penetrate me there," she whispered.

I was doing okay until her very last word, 'there', because it definitely implied he penetrated her at some point. I forced the air in and out of my lungs to keep me steady. I realized then that a very large part of me had hoped Marku hadn't gotten that far before Alaric freed her. It was an unrealistic hope, I knew, but I harbored it fervently, and now, definitely no longer had.

Thankfully, she didn't notice any change in my demeanor and continued, "He carried me to the bed...And...And climbed on top of me."

I could barely breathe.

"He began to kiss my body...My breasts...And my..." her voice trailed off in distress.

Her earlier words came to mind. Marku had said he knew what she needed first. I tried to help her by asking quietly, "Did he go down on you?"

She nodded and began to cry harder.

Fuck!

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to control my response, but I had to know. I asked through gritted teeth, "Did he hurt  you there?"

She looked up at me in surprise. I must not have been hiding my expression very well, because she hurried to calm me down. "What?! No...Just the opposite..."

Again, a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks.

I held back a cringe and waited for her to tell me the rest, but she remained silent, as if that was the end. I was confused. There had to be more, because she was clearly very upset by this part of the story.

And then I understood.

She had said, "Just the opposite."

Oh! I asked gently, "Did you come?"

She broke down completely and nodded her head. I quickly gathered her in my arms, kissed her hair and soothed, "You did nothing wrong and should not feel guilty over experiencing pleasure."

She sobbed, "But how could I allow that...What does it say about me? I should have been stronger..."

"The answer is not about your strength. It is about biology. Your body functioned exactly the way it was made to," I comforted her.

She sniffled and worked to control her tears. When she seemed more under control, I asked gently, "What happened next?"

She whispered, "Alaric found me."

Her words caused extreme joy to course through me, but I wasn't sure I fully understood. I said, "You mentioned he didn't penetrate you in the shower...I had just assumed that meant he had forced himself on you elsewhere..."

She understood my confusion and explained, "When he was...down there....He fingered me."

Relief flooded through me, but I wanted to hear the words, just to make sure. "So, he did not have sex with you?"

She shook her head.

I held her chin up so that I could see her eyes and murmured fervently, "I know that you didn't want it to happen, but there was nothing wrong with you experiencing pleasure. You received from him, but he never got the opportunity to take from you. And for that, I am beyond grateful."

She seemed to be listening, and her tears quieted down. I hated to upset her, just as she was feeling a little better about our conversation. But I wasn't going to be able to say goodbye to her again, until I knew for sure. I began, "Alaric...You had sex with him, didn't you?"