(This is a trigger warning. This story contains domestic violence. I am not an expert in domestic violence. If you need help please seek help in your retrospective communities.)
After Wren came to work with a broken arm, Cian knew he couldn't afford to let Wren be alone with Layton. He was an abuser who was escalating and might kill Wren at any given moment. She was disillusioned and believed that despite all the abuse she endured, Layton "loved" her. Somehow, Layton was "a good guy". So every evening, after the "The Wolves Den" closed at two am, Cian would morph into his wolf and run over to Wren's double wide. The double-wide had become dirtier due to Wren's broken arm. Layton had broken her arm but Wren maintained her lie to Cian and told him she broke it in a fender-bender. She didn't want Cian calling the police on her husband. Wren stuck to her story no matter how many times Cian pressed her otherwise.
In the tiny, double wide dirty dishes and laundry both piled up. For the year that his pack had been gone, Cian had been forced to do his own laundry. It was easy! You just scooped it all up, tossed it in the washer, dumped in the detergent and ran the machine. So Cian knew Layton at least could have done that. It was his house too. Wren was always saying that. Seeing Wren do the laundry at two am was too much for him to bare. Cian watched her separate the colors. That was a good idea. He'd have to remember that the next time he did laundry. The ancient laundry machine shook the entire trailer and Wren had a hard time sleeping. Still every night Cian slept under the trailer protecting Wren. He did it even when Layton was out trucking. Cian liked being near his beloved. Sure, he was a bit more tired than normal and drank lots of coffee but he was an Alpha. Wren needed him and Cian needed her. She was his beloved. She was his true mate. He couldn't let her be in danger.
At long last, another blizzard was due. Cian made sure that Wren stayed to work overtime at the bar by slicing the tires on both their cars. Blaming things on "punk kids" was easy and a believable excuse, especially since Cian had refused to sell beer to underage teens who had repeatedly pestered both him and Wren about it. The "punk kids" had already set a precedent for mischief. Wren believed his lie. She had no reason not to. She trusted Cian and wanted to spend time with him. He was one of the few people in her life who was kind to her. Cian was one of the few people in Wren's life that she liked.
Wren sighed in frustration when she found out about the tires. She clutched her broken arm and explained to Cian that Layton was home from a long trucking trip. He had long hard-working days on the road and he would be exhausted. She had "wifely duties" when Layton was home. She had to provide cleaning, cooking and other services. Wren also knew Layton if she didn't perform, her husband would be even angrier than he had been lately. He'd already been complaining about the way the house looked and the decline in their "love-making" due to Wren's broken arm. She didn't want to bother Cian with personal troubles but Wren was starting to become afraid of Layton.
Cian was resourceful, he probably could have managed to find Wren a way home. But, tonight was not the time for resourcefulness. It was the time for justice. It was the time for him to act like an Alpha. Tonight would be the night that Cian got his revenge. If Cian was lucky, Wren would never be spending another night in her depressing double wide. Layton would be dead! Cian would have the satisfaction of being able to protect his love. The blizzard's winds kept howling, at long last, Wren conceded that there was nothing to be done. She would have to spend the night in one of the many cabins at Cian's farm.
Not wanting to appear to forward and scare Wren away. Cian put Wren in Nimah's house. Nimah had been Finn's mother. It was the closest cabin to his. It hadn't been inhabited since the mid 1980s when Nimah had passed away. Wren settled in. The inside was dilapidated and dusty but it would do for now. Soon and if everything went to plan, she'd move in there permanently. Then it could be fixed up like she had fixed up the bar. Wren could decorate it and make it a home. Cian said goodnight to Wren and appeared to go to his own cabin.
.
Morphing into his wolf, Cian ran to the "Nice N Eazy" trailer park. Cian easily broke in Wren and Layton's double wide. Layton was in the bedroom. He was hungover as usual but stirring. The dirty dishes were still high the sink and a bag of laundry that Layton had brought home for Wren to wash was sitting in the hall. Cian frowned to himself. Layton always expected Wren to do everything. He never pitched in or did his fair share.
