Chapter 52 Liza #2
My heart pounded, and I found myself scanning, watching, and waiting for something, anything, to move. The desire to kill overwhelmed my senses. No longer thinking straight, I followed a scent along the stream in the opposite direction.
After several minutes of sniffing the ground and listening for rustling in the underbrush, I finally found it.
A buck stood in the dim moonlight. I could see the fear in its eyes and the taut muscles of its body, waiting for a false move or wrong decision that would cost it its life.
My motions were swift. So fluid, in fact, that I didn’t remember how I got from one point to the other. Instincts took over, and my wolf was at full power as all human reasoning went out the window.
The buck tried to run to dodge the predator that ran at full speed and lunged at its neck. He was too slow, and my desire to kill was too strong. I felt my teeth sink into its neck, and the buck fell to the ground, lifeless.
“Liza. It’s okay.”
The words were distant but soothing. Ty was near. I could sense his warm breath on my ear. I came to slowly, still in wolf form. Ty was sitting on the ground, his arms wrapped around me.
I blinked hard, trying to understand where I was and what had happened. I must’ve blacked out at some point. Suddenly, it all came rushing back to me. My eyes focused on the large mound and pool of blood next to me.
I gulped for air as the buck’s terrified eyes and loud snorting flooded my memories.
Oh, God, what had I done?
The poor buck. It hadn’t been hunted for food, nor had it just simply been killed. It had been slaughtered. I’d torn it to shreds.
I exhaled sharply as Ty held me closer. My wolf whined at what we’d done.
Tilting my chin upward, I howled remorsefully, my grief overwhelming me. I was completely broken.
“I’m sorry, Liza,” Ty whispered in my ear. “I’m so sorry.”
My wolf slowly receded, and when I was fully human again, I shivered from the cold and buried my face in Ty’s chest. I couldn’t look at the buck’s corpse any longer, its broken body a visible reminder of the brokenness within me.
A loud sob tore through the silence, and I realized it had come from me.
There was no way I could hold back, my mourning consuming me.
It was all too much. The loss of my parents, the betrayal of Ty’s family, even the paralyzing emotions I experienced as an omega—I couldn’t take anymore. I sobbed until there were no more tears and the exhaustion caught up with me.
I clung to Ty’s shirt, breathing him in before finally blacking out in his arms.
My eyes fluttered, and I pulled the sheet over my head. The image of the dead buck popped into my mind, and I sat up, scanning the room, not sure where I was.
I was disoriented for a minute, but then everything came back to me.
Castro hadn’t killed my parents. Sure, he’d shot them, but they were still alive when Nico had found them. Dominic had created such a cult-like following that Nico chose to kill my parents without even consulting his alpha.
It was all so fucked up I couldn’t even begin to process it.
My entire body ached, though I wasn’t sure if it was from the physical exertion from slaughtering the innocent buck, or a physical manifestation of my mental anguish.
The pain was alive. It encircled me and held me down so I couldn’t move.
It was a living, breathing entity. If I wasn’t careful, it would pull me down and I’d never recover.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing in an attempt to keep myself from having another meltdown like the one last night.
Ty opened the door slowly, knocking as he entered.
His eyes were huge, and I saw the fear he was trying to hide.
It broke my heart to see him so apprehensive about approaching me.
My anger wasn’t directed toward him. If I was honest with myself, it wasn’t directed at Dominic, either.
As upset as I was last night, I still recognized the pain and sincerity in his voice when he’d spoke the truth.
He hadn’t known. Nico had kept it from him.
Nico had been so focused on doing what he thought was right that he hadn’t even considered anything else other than eliminating an assumed threat. That threat just happened to be my parents.
Ty placed a mug of steaming coffee on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch me. “How are you feeling?”
I pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around my knees. “Drained.”
“Your pheromones were exploding off you last night, so I’m not surprised that you’re so tired.”
“What happened?” I remembered Ty holding me while I cried, but after that, it was all a blur.
“Your adrenaline finally wore off, and you passed out.” Ty gently rested his hand on my knee. “I carried you back to one of the SUVs and brought you home. You didn’t wake up the entire time, even when I dressed you.”
I glanced down at the silk pajamas I had on. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He grabbed the coffee mug and handed it to me. “This might help wake you up.”
I took a long sip, savoring the hot liquid as it warmed my insides. “How’s your dad doing?”
Ty’s eyebrows nearly rose to his hairline at my question. “He’s worried about you.”
“And Nico?” I asked, not sure if I really cared how he was faring.
“He and Dad shared words about Nico keeping the truth of your parents from him. Dad was pissed he was left in the dark, yet Castro, of all people, knew about it.”
“How did Castro know about it?” I asked, taking another sip of my coffee. The caffeine was finally kicking in, and my brain was starting to work again.
Ty shifted on the bed, pulling his leg underneath his body.
“Apparently, Castro found an encrypted transcript of a recorded briefing where Nico described the incident. Castro mistook Nico’s voice for Dad’s.
Back then, Nico kept a record of all his undercover missions as a safety net should anyone try to betray him—that included Dad. ”
My phone buzzed, and I realized I hadn’t checked it since the night before in the library.
I scanned a few emails from clients, promising myself I’d reply after chatting with Ty.
I tossed the phone beside me on the bed and turned my attention back to him.
“So, how did Castro get his hands on the recordings?”
“The files were on a secure server, which brings up a whole other can of worms. Castro most probably has all of Nico’s secret missions and dirty work. Most of them are connected to Dad and consist mainly of dirty dealings they had a hand in until they went clean.”
I shook my head. “This is bad.”
Ty nodded. “Castro wasn’t happy about his plan backfiring, so we think he’s still going to release something to the public.”
I sighed. “This is such a shit show.”
“I agree, but we can’t give up.” Ty moved as if to cup my face, but drew his hand back as if frightened of my reaction to being touched. “I may not be able to get you justice for your parents, but I’ll do my best to heal the hurt my family has caused you.”
I stared into his eyes. My mate was devastated. I moved forward and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. He relaxed under my touch as I kissed his neck and whispered, “Thank you.”
His hands inched to my shoulders as he gently pushed me away so he could see my face. “I don’t want to lose you, but I can understand if you can’t look past this. If you want out of the mating just tell me. Once Castro is taken care of, I’ll accept your rejection. If that’s what you decide.”