Chapter 94 Liza
LIZA
After Ty left, I trudged to the entertainment room where Sabrina had been instructed to stay.
With each tentative step, my eyes darted back and forth between the contrast of the pristine walls and the wet floor that the staff diligently scrubbed to get rid of the blood.
My nose wrinkled at the lingering metallic scent in the air, a reminder of the fact my husband had almost murdered a man before my fucking eyes.
Maximus’s faint screams echoed from the direction of the basement, or maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, just like the mysterious voice that haunted my thoughts.
My life had been turned upside down in the past few days, and I was struggling to process everything.
It was as if my brain was kicking into survival mode, almost like autopilot. I didn’t want to think about any of it.
When I finally reached the entertainment room, I found Sabrina curled up on the couch next to the fireplace.
Her petite frame was dwarfed by the plush cushions, and she rubbed her arms like she was cold, despite being only a few feet from the blazing fire.
I sat next to my best friend and reached for her hand.
Our fingers intertwined, and we sat in companionable silence, staring into the dancing flames.
“I guess you’re staying here tonight,” I said at last, breaking the quiet. “There are probably a hundred men standing guard, so it’s safe.” As the words left my lips, I realized I was trying to convince myself as much as Sabrina.
She scoffed, her blue eyes narrowing skeptically. “Safe? Am I truly safe from the animal being held hostage in your basement?”
“Maximus is locked up behind bars until Ty and his council can deal with him.” I hoped she could hear the conviction in my voice.
Sabrina shifted on the couch to face me, her expression incredulous. “This is all so weird, Liza. Your life has turned into some sort of basic cable drama shit. You know the type—bad acting, lots of fake blood, and a plot that thickens with each episode.”
I sighed. I couldn’t argue with her. The scene outside the door could’ve been taken straight out of a horror movie. “I know.” A pang of guilt speared into my stomach. I had inadvertently dragged her into this mess.
“Did you ever think your life would turn out like this?” she asked.
“Never in my wildest dreams.” I shook my head. “But I can’t change what’s happened, Sabrina. All I can do is try to protect the people I care about.”
“Like Ty?” she probed gently, raising an eyebrow.
“Ty has his own share of burdens,” I said defensively, feeling a sudden need to protect him as well. “He’s trying to do what’s best for everyone, even if it means locking up a fellow alpha.”
“Does that include you, too, Liza?” Sabrina pressed, her eyes searching mine for answers. “Is he doing what’s best for his mate?”
“Of course, he is. You might not see it, but I’m with Ty all the time. He wants nothing more than to protect me, even if that looks like something else to you.”
“Promise me something.” Sabrina gripped my hand tightly. “Promise me that you won’t let this change who you are. You’re strong, independent, and you don’t need some wolf shifter to protect you.”
“I’m not going to change,” I promised her, although a part of me wondered if that was even possible anymore. My life had been irrevocably altered, and there was no going back.
My phone buzzed, startling me out of my thoughts, and I reluctantly pulled away from Sabrina to fish it out of my pocket.
“Who is it?” Sabrina asked, concern etched on her face as she sat up straighter.
I scanned the text quickly, feeling my stomach plummet like an anchor thrown overboard. “It’s my mom,” I said, barely able to get the words out. “She says I need to come home now. It’s urgent.”
Sabrina’s eyes widened with fear, and she gripped my arm tightly. “Liza, you can’t leave. It’s not safe.”
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but if my mom needs me, I have to go.” My stomach clenched as I imagined what might be wrong. I was going, come hell or high water.
“Call Dominic. Maybe he can help,” Sabrina suggested, her grip on my arm unrelenting.
“Fine.” My fingers fumbled with the screen as I nervously dialed Dominic’s number. He wasn’t exactly someone I’d automatically think of when I needed help, but he lived on the same property and was still the beta of our pack.
He picked up after just two rings. “Hey, Liza. What’s going on?”
“Something’s wrong at my parents’ house,” I blurted, trying not to sound as panicked as I felt. “My mom just texted me saying I need to come home right away. It’s urgent.”
Dominic exhaled sharply, clearly conflicted. “I know Ty doesn’t want you leaving the house...”
“Damn it, Dominic,” I said, my patience wearing thin. “My mother is telling me to come home, and I’ll be damned if I ignore her.”
Dominic’s silence lasted only a moment before he finally relented. “Fine. But you’re not going alone. I’ll escort you myself, along with some of your guards.” Relief flooded through me, and I thanked him before ending the call.
Sabrina’s worried expression made my heart clench. I pulled her into a tight hug. “Stay put, okay? You can help yourself to food in the kitchen or take a long shower upstairs in my room.”
She smiled slyly, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “I know what happens in that shower, Liza. I think I’ll pass.”
I rolled my eyes but was happy to see my friend smiling again. With a final squeeze, I pulled away from Sabrina and made my way to the front door, where Dominic and a group of guards were already waiting.
“Are you sure about this?” Dominic asked as we climbed into a blacked-out SUV.
There was no room for doubt in my mind.
“More than anything. My mom needs me, and that’s all there is to it.”
“Okay, then. Let’s go.” Dominic nodded, and the vehicle sped off toward town.
The scenery outside blurred together as we raced to my parents’ house. My hands curled into fists, my nails nearly breaking the skin of my palms.
When we finally arrived, I leaped out of the SUV and sprinted up the walkway, barely registering the concerned calls of Dominic and my guards behind me.
An overwhelming dread clawed at my heart as I burst through the front doors. “Mom?” My voice cracked as I called out for her, but there was no reply.
Shaking with fear, I tiptoed through the dimly lit rooms, my pulse beating loudly in my ears.
“Mom!” My hands shook as I tiptoed through the familiar rooms. The eerie quiet that filled the house sent shivers down my spine, my wolf pacing restlessly within me.
And then I found her, my innocent mom, lying on the kitchen floor, blood pooling around her head.
I screamed, my heart shattering into a million pieces as I rushed to her side.
With dread like I’d never felt before, I placed two fingers on her neck.
There was a pulse. She was alive. I shouted for Dominic to call an ambulance.
Gently, I took one of my mom’s hands in mine.
It seemed so small and frail. A montage played through my mind’s eye of all the things she’d done for me: kissing my booboos when I fell, standing beside her in the kitchen covered in flour as we made cookies, helping me get medication to hide the truth of what I was when we discovered I was an omega, her face on my wedding day when she looked on so proud.
When I lost my biological mother, I’d been blessed to be given another.
A mother of the heart. I didn’t think I could survive if I lost her.
I knelt on the floor in her blood and called her name over and over until she finally stirred.
“Liza. Run...” she mumbled weakly, her eyes barely open.
“Mom, what happened?” I begged, tears streaming down my face.
“Run, Liza,” she said again. The urgency in her words confused me.
Panic surged within me, but before I could question her, a strange sensation crept over my skin, and my wolf howled inside me, urging me to run. I couldn’t leave Mom behind, so I ignored the overwhelming instinct.
“Mom, we’ve got to get out of here,” I said, my voice trembling as I tried to maintain control.
My wolf’s instincts were screaming at me to protect her, but the human part of me was struggling to understand the seriousness of the situation.
I glanced toward the door, expecting to see Dominic charging in to help, but he was nowhere in sight.
“Please, Mom, you need to stand up. We have to leave now.” I wrapped an arm around her waist, careful not to hurt her with my strength. With a strained grunt, I managed to pull her up, her legs wobbling beneath her.
“Okay… okay,” she said, her face pale and her eyes clouded with pain. She leaned heavily on me as we made our way toward the back door, every step feeling like an eternity.
“Wait, where’s Dominic?” I asked, suddenly realizing he hadn’t followed me inside. Bile seared my throat as I helped Mom, desperation clawing at me.
When we finally reached the back door, my worst fears were realized. Dominic lay sprawled face-first on the ground, his large frame unnaturally still. My panic surged to an entirely different level.
“Oh, gods!” I cried out. Who in the hell had taken out an ex-alpha?
“Gotcha!” someone sneered from behind me, making me spin around. A man—no, a monster—stood before us, holding a bloody steel bar. His rotten teeth flashed in a sinister grin as he approached, and I instinctively stepped between him and Mom.
“Let’s make a deal,” he hissed, his eyes gleaming with malice. “You come with me, and I won’t hurt anyone else.”
“Stay away from her,” Mom growled, but her strength was waning, I could see it in her eyes.
“Or what?” Before I could react, he grabbed Mom, pinning her against him with his claws at her throat.
“Please,” I begged, clenching my fists at my sides, my wolf snarling within me. “Let her go.”
“Come with me, and I promise not to hurt her.” A wicked smile played on his lips. “Or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Let her go!” I shouted, barely able to contain my fury, but even as I tried to hold back my transformation, my instincts screamed that I had to do something, anything, to protect my mother. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose all control and inadvertently harm her.
“Give me one good reason why I should,” the man taunted, smirking cruelly as he tightened his grip on Mom.
“Because if you don’t, I swear I’ll rip your throat out,” I warned. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to shift right then and there.
“Big words for someone who can’t even control her own beast,” he sneered, his disgusting breath washing over me like a toxic cloud.
“Let her go,” a new voice ordered the man holding my mom hostage. “She’s not going to be any trouble. Look at her, she’s half-dead already.”
“Fine.” The man smirked and released her.
“Mom!” I cried out, rushing to catch her before she hit the ground. I was too late. Her limp body hit the ground with a thud.
“See?” the second voice taunted. “No fight left in her. Pathetic.”
“Shut up!” I roared. My wolf snarled just beneath the surface of my skin. At that moment, all my restraint vanished. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I was going to make them pay for what they’d done. The fucking kidnappers wanted proof that I was different? I’d give them what they wanted.
My fury unleashed as my body shook from unadulterated rage. Before I could transform, a sharp pain lanced through my neck.
A burning sensation coursed through my veins, and the world around me faded into darkness.