Chapter 44 Healing
Healing
Raven
An hour had passed. Owen had been captured and tossed into the cells. Uncle El was making sure everyone was getting home safely. Right then, we hadn’t told anyone we caught the killer because he hadn’t admitted to it, although there were rumours going around that someone had been taken in.
My mind flashed to what happened with Liam not long after we had made the discovery and Owen had been brought to the cells, my heart thudding at the memory.
“Liam…”
“I’m going to kill him.” His eyes blazed, and I watched the black begin to creep over the whites of his eyes. He had given Owen a few punches for talking back, but he was getting angrier thanks to Owen not knowing when the hell to shut up. Fuck!
“Liam... Liam, calm down,” I said quietly, approaching him. The bond is stronger now, please let it help.
Raven, move! Damon’s panicked voice came through the mind-link.
Don’t come closer. Trust me, I said quietly through the link.
Raven, I swear I’m not going-
Damon, I am begging you, please let me do this!
I knew what I was doing… or I hoped I did. If Liam truly was remorseful… he’d fight it. I was going on complete blind faith, but I wasn’t going to give up on him. I gave Damon a small smile, knowing that it was hardest for him when he had witnessed what had happened to me.
I cupped Liam’s face, watching his chest heave and his claws coming out.
“Fight it… let’s do this calmly,” I whispered soothingly.
His hands went to my waist, and I knew how panicked the men behind me were. Right then, I was in the grips of dark Liam, and if he wanted, he could rip me to shreds for standing in his way.
“Raven…” His eyes flickered, and his grip tightened, yet I could see the fear make them widen, and his cerulean orbs return as he suddenly let go of me, staggering back as if afraid to hurt me. “Don’t come near me.”
“Liam, you got this,” I promised. I was about to move closer when he turned and rushed out of the cells, the darkness swirling around him.
I’ll be okay, His voice came through the link, and I frowned. It was clear he became extremely powerful when that darkness took over. How else was he able to mind-link?
“That was… dangerous,” Zack murmured as Damon shook his head at me…
I was standing there, arms crossed, watching as Damon and Zack questioned Owen, or should I say tried. Liam had been gone for about twenty minutes. I hoped he was okay.
“What did you do with the eyes?” Zack asked coldly.
There was only one set of teeth in the jar, and there were no eyeballs anywhere. Even when we had searched the entire bedroom, the thought that those might have been Mum’s made me sick.
“I’m fucking telling you it’s not me!” Owen roared, his eyes blazing with anger.
“Calm the fuck down. We’ll ask the questions,” Damon growled.
“Let’s wait for Liam or Uncle El to ask him under Alpha command,” I sighed. Something just felt… off.
“What, enjoying this, bitch?” Owen growled.
“No, now shut the hell up. Things were found in your room, Owen, so obviously, you will be questioned. No one’s hurt you or-”
“Liam fucking broke my nose! Bitch! I was fucking thrown in a fucking cell! What more can they fucking do?”
“Keep it the hell down!” Damon growled, slamming his hands on the bar.
“Open the fucking door. I’ll put him in his place,” Zack growled, his eyes blazing.
“Piss off, you fucking wanker!” Owen swore, giving Zack the finger.
I closed my eyes as Zack snatched the keys from Damon, opening the door. I knew what was going to happen before I even heard the sound of his fist meeting Owen’s face.
“Alright, Zack, back it up. We need him conscious for his questioning,” Damon said, glaring at the asshole. Owen was just a cockroach, the type you just can’t get rid of.
“Bastards!”
“You can stay here for the night. One of the Alphas will question you soon,” Damon said as Zack came out of the cell, wiping his bloody hand on his jeans. Owen didn’t say anything, clutching his bloody nose.
We exchanged looks as we walked away. He wasn’t going to admit it. Asking him under Alpha command was going to be the only way.
“He’s so fucking antagonising,” Damon growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. I smiled slightly.
“For you to get mad, it takes a lot.”
“Yeah, he’s a fucking prick,” Zack growled, pissed off.
“Okay, maybe we should all just call it a night, although I want to be there when they question him,” I said, sighing.
“It’s late, but how about we grab some food and wait for Alpha or Liam?” Zack suggested
Even though both Zack and Taylor were fully clued in on the curse, I appreciated that they didn’t make a big deal out of it, carrying on as normal.
A true Delta couple. We nodded, walking back towards where the party had taken place not long ago.
The omegas were clearing up, and guards were still stationed around for everyone’s safety.
We grabbed some food, despite it being cold, and I piled extra onto mine in case Liam returned.
The other two raised an eyebrow at my huge, overloaded plate, but I simply glared at them.
That was enough to get them to stop looking at my food.
We headed back towards headquarters, eating along the way.
“There they are!” Damon said.
I turned to see Liam walking alongside his father.
He was in jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket.
I frowned. Had he shifted, or did he just dirty his clothes somehow?
Even though he was on wolfsbane… shifting shouldn’t be possible, but he had mind-linked, and I couldn’t put anything past the darkness.
He looked at me, and my heart skipped a beat, thinking, He had fought through it…
I smiled slightly, holding the plate out to him.
“Hungry?”
“Ah, now it makes sense why she got so much food,” Damon teased lightly. I glanced at him, and he smiled at me before looking away.
It was going to take time for him to heal and for me to stop feeling guilty, but at least I knew I wasn’t stringing him along.
“Actually, that looks about normal for Raven,” Uncle El said with a smirk, making me frown.
“Hey! Uncle, that isn’t fair! I need to eat to grow!”
“It clearly didn’t help,” he replied. The two boys chuckled whilst Liam simply smirked slightly. It was definitely payback for answering him back… I knew it!
“Thanks,” Liam said, taking a burger from my plate.
We headed inside, and the mood that settled over us dampened. The place was pretty quiet due to the time. I left my plate on the side as we walked towards the cells.
“You put him in the lower cells, huh?” Uncle El said, raising an eyebrow. “Personal issues?”
“Not at all. All criminals go there,” Zack said, making the rest of us smirk. Okay, we may have shoved him there because he’s an ass, but he was a killer. Right?
I frowned. I didn’t know about that. Something felt off. Like we were missing something, but I didn’t know what it was. Shaking the feeling off, we walked to the cells.
“Fuck! Open the door!” Uncle El shouted.
My heart skipped a beat as I tried to look past the four giants, my heart thudding, to see Owen on the floor, but what was most worrying was the frothing foam that was coming out of his mouth as he convulsed on the floor.
I stepped back in shock as Damon unlocked the door, and both Liam and Uncle El rushed inside to check his pulse.
“Call a doctor!” Uncle El shouted, and I quickly mind-linked any doctors I could reach. What the hell…
“He must have poisoned himself,” Damon said, frowning.
“He knew it was over for him.” Zack agreed.
“I still needed to hear it…” Uncle El said as Liam frowned.
“Was he carrying poison on him? Check the cameras, Damon, to see if he took something,” he said, standing up and assessing the situation. Damon nodded, rushing off to check, and I stepped aside as two doctors hurried in.
My heart was thundering as I stared ahead. Owen poisoning himself? I didn’t know. It didn’t seem like something he’d do.
Owen had been taken to the hospital. Uncle El almost called Kiara, but the doctors said the poison had already affected his organs, and some had stopped functioning entirely.
We all knew Kiara’s healing had limits, too.
If something was gone, she couldn’t bring it back.
She could only heal wounds, injuries, or diseases.
The memory of her healing Al and him not waking up still made my stomach twist. It had been a horrible time for her… I shivered at the thought.
My eyes widened when Liam placed his jacket around my shoulders, making my cheeks flush lightly. I remembered him doing that when we were younger. I wasn’t actually cold, but his scent and the warmth were welcoming.
“Liam… did you shift?” I asked quietly. He frowned and nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“I feel more in control in wolf form…”
“That’s good. So, even though you’re on wolfsbane, you can shift?”
“Yeah. I told Dad about that… I may not be safe walking around.”
“I wasn’t asking because of that. You controlled it today… I’m proud of you,” I said quietly.
“Yeah?”
His eyes met mine. My heart thumped, and I nodded as we stepped into the packhouse.
We could hear talking from the pack lounge; no doubt everyone was discussing what had happened.
By then, they probably knew Owen was missing, and word had gotten out, it seemed.
We walked up the stairs, and Liam glanced around.
“I don’t like you here alone, not with everything going on,” he murmured. I paused in the process of unlocking my door. Was I not the only one having doubts?
“He’s caught, though.”
“I don’t know, I don’t feel at ease about it.” He frowned. I smiled slightly.
“Oh? Or is that just an excuse to stay?” I asked before I could stop myself. His eyes flashed, darkening with desire, and my stomach knotted. “I’m kidding…” I said guiltily. Stupid, Raven, don’t tease him!
“Do you want me to stay?” He asked quietly.