Chapter 7 #2
He is a monster, an even bigger one than before.
“Breathe, Addie. Breathe for me, please,” Cyrus says, grabbing my face. I feel his compulsion slipping over me, my body relaxing in his grip.
“Just breathe. You’re safe with us. We won’t let him near you, okay?” Cyrus says, rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs, his words washing over me. He suddenly sounds very reasonable. I take a deep breath.
“Good girl, just breathe,” he says, his eyes dazzling me when he pulls me against him, crushing me against his chest.
“You’re okay, I promise. We will keep you safe from him,” Cyrus whispers against my hair.
* * *
Eli and Cyrus take me home. We pull up at their house, yet now I am in full-blown panic, knowing Sam could be anywhere and watching us, and we wouldn’t know. Knowing he is no longer human just adds to that anxiety.
“We will head back to Soya. That house is safer there than this one,” Cyrus tells Eli.
This one is out in the open; he could be watching from anywhere. That thought alone makes goosebumps rise on my arms.
“Addie, I need to give you a sedative. Your temperature is rising the more you panic,” I hear one of them say, yet I can’t process their words. I can’t process anything; my thoughts are plagued with the horrors of Sam.
Soya also scares me. Sam is familiar with their house there, with our life there.
I watch as Eli and Cyrus rush around the house.
The nightmare I thought was over is now coming back to haunt me.
I can’t think straight, can’t believe our luck.
Would he come back for me? Would they really be able to stop him if he tried?
Time slips by when I feel a pinch in my arm where I sit on the bed.
Cyrus is packing stuff in a suitcase beside me, and I don’t even remember coming into the house, let alone into the bedroom.
Looking down at my arm, I see Eli pull a needle from my shoulder.
I look up at him, wondering what it is, when he grabs my face.
“Mild sedative. We need to get on the plane. It will also slow your heat,” he says, cupping my face in his hands.
“I don’t want to go to Soya. Sam knows where we live there,” I tell him.
“What about Emery’s? Isn’t her apartment empty? We could go there,” Cyrus asks, looking at Eli.
Emery? That name is familiar, yet I can’t place it.
“Who is Emery?” I ask, my limbs feeling heavy. I yawn, and the heat ravaging through my body dims, giving me some relief.
“My sister. The one who picked Maya up from school when we first took you to Soya,” Eli says, his thumbs stroking my cheeks.
“She has a house in Soya?”
“Yes. Sam won’t know where it is, and it can only be accessed with a passcode. I will give her a ring and see if it is still empty. I know she was trying to lease it. They are in the midst of moving the pack out,” Eli tells Cyrus.
I vaguely remember him mentioning he has a sister, making me wonder about the rest of his family. He never really speaks much about them, and I completely forgot his sister had picked Maya up from school for me once when I first came to Soya.
“Come on, let’s get you into something comfy,” Cyrus says, grabbing my arms and hauling me to my feet.
He helps me slip out of my clothes and into some track pants and a jumper, and I don’t realize I am shaking. I know it isn’t cold today. The sun is out, yet still, my body trembles.
“What about my family?” I ask worriedly.
“Pete has people watching the house and Maya’s school. He won’t get near them. At the moment, our main priority is getting you away from here,” Cyrus says just as Eli walks back into the room.
“The penthouse is still available. She said she would meet us at the airport when we land,” he says, and I nod.
Eli comes over and grabs me, and I lean on him.
“Think I may have given her too much?” Eli asks Cyrus.
Cyrus shakes his head before touching my head. “No, she is still warm, and it will burn out of her system pretty quickly, just initial effects. Do you feel okay?”
I feel fine, just my limbs heavy, yet I can still feel them. Still feel alert and not groggy, just heavy.
“Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you?” Eli asks, and I wrap my arms around his neck, knowing it will be quicker.
He lifts me, his hands going under my ass, and I see Cyrus grab the suitcase off the bed, following us out.
“What’s the rest of your family like?” I ask as he walks down the stairs.
“Not worth knowing. Emery is the only good one,” Cyrus answers, walking behind us.
“So, you still have family alive then? You never talk about them,” I ask Eli, pressing my face into his neck and breathing in his scent.
“Yes, but they aren’t like the rest of us. They live off-grid and can be barbaric. As Cyrus said, they aren’t worth knowing.”
“You don’t like your family?” I ask him, a little shocked.
“No, Emery and I keep in contact, but neither of us has anything to do with them. We escaped and went rogue before building our own pack. Emery looks after my old pack now. She is their Alpha. Where we are going is her apartment block. It will be safe there and full of other Lycans. Sam wouldn’t be game enough to set foot in that place. ”
“So where we are going is your old pack?” I ask, confused.
I didn’t even know he had a pack.
“Yes, Emery runs it now. I stood down after I found Cyrus. It was hard for him when we first met to live in a pack with his bloodlust,” Eli answers, and my eyes dart to Cyrus.
“So, you gave it up for Cyrus?” I ask as he puts me in my seat.
“Yep, I loved my pack, but I loved Cyrus more,” Eli says, climbing in beside me.
Cyrus climbs into the driver’s seat.
“Turn the heat up. She is shivering,” Eli tells Cyrus as he starts driving.