Chapter 107 Liza #3
“Still, we can’t forget what happened in the past.” My father’s haunted expression chilled me to the bone. “Just be careful, Liza.”
“I will be. I promise.” As I spoke those words, a surge of strength welled up inside me. I’d do whatever it took to regain control over my wolf and my life if I ever wanted things to go back to normal.
My mother smiled and patted my cheek. “We’re proud of you, Liza. Just remember, we’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. With my loved ones around me, and Ty’s presence by my side, I was filled with a newfound strength. We’d make it through whatever challenges lay ahead.
A soft breeze drifted through the open window, carrying the scent of freshly cut grass and distant flowers.
The sunlight danced across the living room floor, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that somehow made me ache even more.
I wished we could all just enjoy this rare moment of peace, but the events of late had marred any enjoyment.
“Listen,” Ty said, addressing my brothers. “I understand your concerns, and I want you to know I’m taking them seriously. I’ve got someone keeping tabs on Liam when he’s not with Liza or me.”
Michael snorted, his expression unimpressed. “Oh, great. So while you’re busy playing bodyguard, someone else is babysitting the real threat? That’s supposed to make us feel better?”
“Michael!” I shot him a pointed look. He might have been my older brother, but I wasn’t about to let him disrespect Ty like that.
“Sorry,” he said, not sorry at all. Just as stubborn as ever, my brothers refused to budge on their opinions about Liam, even if it meant doubting Ty in the process.
“Look,” Ty said, unfazed by Michael’s outburst. “I get it. You don’t trust Liam, and you have every right to be cautious. But I need you to trust me. I won’t let anything happen to Liza, I promise.”
Mason rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he studied Ty. “We want to believe you, man. We really do. But you can’t blame us for being skeptical when he hurt our mother and kidnapped our sister.”
“Of course not, but I swear to you I’m doing everything in my power to keep her safe.”
As much as I wanted to be angry with my brothers for casting doubts over Ty’s loyalty, I couldn’t entirely fault them.
Their fierce protectiveness were deeply ingrained in them, and they’d do anything to keep me from harm.
Still, I wished they could look past their own prejudices and accept that Ty was on our side.
“Guys, please,” I implored. “I need you to trust Ty. He’s been nothing but supportive since this whole mess started, and I truly believe Liam has my best interests at heart.”
Michael and Mason exchanged uneasy glances.
Finally, Michael sighed and nodded reluctantly.
“All right, Liza. We’ll try to give him the benefit of the doubt.
But know this,” he added, fixing Ty with a steely stare.
“If anything happens to her again because of Liam, we won’t hesitate to hold you responsible. ”
“Understood. But I assure you, it won’t come to that.”
The conversation concluded, leaving me with a strange blend of gratitude and frustration.
While I appreciated my brothers’ unwavering commitment to my safety, I wished they could be more open-minded about the people in my life.
Deep down, no matter how much they doubted Ty or Liam, they would never truly understand what it meant to be a part of this world of danger and hidden darkness lurking beneath the surface, because they had been sheltered from all of this before fate had intervened in my life.
As much as I loved them, sometimes I wondered if that ignorance would be our undoing.
The shrill ring of my phone interrupted the tense atmosphere, making everyone in the room jolt. Dread pooled in my stomach like molten lead, and my pulse quickened as I glanced at the screen. Unknown number.
My heart sank.
Castro.
“Should I take this?” I asked my brothers, Ty, and my parents. The last thing I wanted was to give him any more power over me or my family. But we were all aware that if his call went unanswered, it would likely lead to something bad. Something disastrous.
“Put it on speaker,” Ty instructed.
With a sigh, I pressed the button and held the phone out so everyone could hear.
“Hello?”
“Ah.” Castro’s oily tone came over the tone, his words lingering in the air like a foul smell. “How nice of you to answer my call. How are you and your… family?”
“Cut the crap, Castro. What do you want?” I snapped.
“Feisty. I like that.” He chuckled darkly. “I’m just checking in. I find myself enjoying keeping tabs on my favorite wolf and her wellbeing.”
“Leave her alone.” Michael growled, clenching his fists. “She doesn’t belong to you,”
“Michael, let me handle this.” I tried to remain calm despite the rage boiling beneath the surface.
“Very well,” Castro said. “I simply wanted you to appreciate that I’m watching you, Liza. I must say, I’m not impressed with the company you’re keeping these days.”
“Are you talking about Liam?” I asked, my heart pounding. “What do you have against him?”
“Let’s just say that I don’t trust him, especially when it comes to you,” Castro said cryptically. “But that’s not why I called.”
“Then, why did you call?” Mason hissed.
“Ah.” Castro’s voice oozed from the speaker like a snake’s hiss. “I’ve left you a little gift outside your parents’ home. You should go get it.”
The line went dead, and I stared at the phone in disbelief. Blood rushed in my ears, drowning out the sudden burst of frantic conversation around me.
“Shit,” Mason said, his face pale. “How did he get past our security?”
I rushed to the front porch, with Ty and my family right behind me, adrenaline dumping into my bloodstream. The dread that twisted through my gut was like a rope threatening to strangle me.
“Careful,” Ty said as we reached the door. He opened it slowly, revealing a small, unassuming package wrapped in brown paper sitting innocently on the doorstep. “I smell blood. That doesn’t bode well.”
I was nervous when I bent to pick it up. In fact, I was terrified. There was no way of telling what it held until I unwrapped it, and with Castro, anything was possible. My family gathered around me, their expressions filled with a combination of fear and anger.
“We should check out what Castro left us.” I tried to keep myself steady as I tore away the paper. My stomach clenched at the bloodstained cloth. With a shaky breath, I unfolded the cloth to reveal the horrifying gift within.
A man’s severed head stared back at us, his lifeless eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. It was the man Liam had hired to abduct me. The man who had hurt my mother. The one who had caused so much pain to our family.
“Jesus Christ,” Michael said, his face pale as he stepped back from the gruesome sight.
“Castro is trying to send a message,” Dad said. “He wants us to know he can get to us, to anyone.”
“Enough,” I snarled, my wolf surging to the surface, desperate for vengeance. “This ends now. We find him, and we make him pay,”
As my emotions spiraled out of control, the ground quaked. The house moved on its foundations, with pictures falling from the walls as my family braced themselves against the sudden quake.
“Easy,” Ty said soothingly, placing his hand on my arm. His touch sent a calming wave through me, helping to quell the storm raging inside. “Breathe. You need to get your wolf under control.”
“Focus on us.” Despite her own scare, my mom was clearly filled with concern. “Don’t let Castro win by losing yourself.”
I closed myself off to the room, forcing myself to take deep, steadying breaths as I worked to push my wolf down, reassuring her we were safe, suppressing the urge to shift and hunt down the man who had hurt so many people I loved. Slowly, the tremors subsided, leaving only our ragged breathing.
“We can’t let him do this to us,” I said when I opened my eyes. “We have to stay strong. That’s how we’ll beat him.”
“Damn right,” Ty said, his hand still gripping my arm reassuringly. “We’re all here for each other, no matter what.”
“Castro wants to play?” Mason growled, his eyes dark with anger. “Well, two can play that game. We won’t stop until he’s brought to justice.”
“Agreed.” Dad picked up some of the broken pictures in the room where we were standing. “He’s made a terrible mistake in thinking he can tear our family apart. We will find him, and we will make him pay for everything he’s done.”
I couldn’t stand to look at the gruesome sight any longer. Taking in my mother’s pale and shocked face, I knew she’d seen as much as she needed to. Ty, my father, and my brothers dealt with the mess Castro had left on our doorstep. It was a sick reminder of the danger we were all in.
“Come on, let’s go inside.” I tugged my mom toward the door. She nodded, still too shaken to speak. As soon as we were inside, I grabbed the phone and dialed Liam’s number. We needed answers.
“Hello?” Liam picked up after two rings.
“Get over to my parents’ house, now,” I said, unable to keep the fury down. “Castro left us a... a gift.”
“Fuck,” Liam said. “I’m on my way.”
Mom and I waited in tense silence for Liam to arrive. When he did, his face was carefully schooled to reveal nothing. His presence made everything even more intense. But Liam was on our side, and right now, we needed him.
“What the hell is going on, Liam?” I said as soon as he stepped through the door. “I believed you’d already killed the bastard who hurt my mom,”
“Wait, what?” Liam looked genuinely confused, and it only fueled my anger. “I never said I killed him. I taught him a lesson, then I dismissed him from my services.”
“Dismissed him?” I asked incredulously. “You should have ripped his throat out.”
“Removing him from my pack should have been enough of a punishment.” Liam was holding tightly to his restrained rage. “It left him vulnerable.”
“Clearly.” I paced the room. My wolf was restless inside me, desperate to take action, despite my efforts to keep her in check.
“Look,” Liam said, running a hand through his hair. “I made a mistake. If I was able to go back and do things differently, I would, but we can’t change what’s happened. All we can do now is focus on finding Castro and making sure he pays for this.”
“Damn right we will.” I growled, my anger my own now that I’d calmed my wolf down. “We’re going to make him regret ever crossing us.”
“Agreed.” Liam nodded; his expression grim. “First, let’s make sure your family is safe. We need to be prepared for anything Castro might throw at us.”
“Fine,” I said. “After that, we’re going hunting. I won’t stop until we’ve found him and made him pay for everything he’s done.”
“Promise,” Liam said, his expression meeting mine with a fierce intensity that left no doubt in my mind he meant every word.
As I looked around the room at the faces of my loved ones, I knew we were stronger than anything Castro could throw at us. He had made a terrible mistake in thinking he could tear our family apart, and we would make sure he paid for it dearly.
The front door slammed shut behind Ty and Scott, their tense expressions betraying the gravity of the situation. I heard my brothers’ footsteps receding into the distance as they disposed of the grisly package.
“I don’t want to know where you’re taking it.” I tried to shake off the dread that had settled.
“Found this in the box.” Ty held up a crumpled piece of paper. The note read I will make your enemies your footstool. My blood ran cold as I realized Castro had left us a message. There was one other word scribbled on the paper—something written in Russian I didn’t understand.
Liam blanched. “Castro has your trigger word, Liza.
The room was suffocating me, with Castro’s threat bearing down on all of us. On cue, Michael and Mason burst back in through the front door, both looking ready for a fight.
“Are you okay, Liza?” Michael asked, laden with concern as he hovered protectively beside me.
Mason stood close by, his fists clenched and his attention flicking between Liam and Ty.
“Back off, guys,” I snarled, more irritated than scared. “I can handle this.”
“Like hell you can,” Mason said, inching even closer. “You have no idea what kind of monster Castro is.”
“I know better than the two of you do,” I shot back, glaring at him. “But I’m not going to cower in fear just because he’s out there.”
Liam stepped forward. When he spoke, he was firm but somehow reassuring. “Listen, we’re all on edge right now. But I swear to you, I will burn anyone to the ground who wants to hurt Liza. We’re going to find Castro and make sure he can never threaten any of you again.”
My brothers’ reluctance was written all over their faces, but they appeared to accept Liam’s words. Michael gave a curt nod while Mason said something under his breath.
“Thanks,” I said quietly, sending Liam a grateful look. “We need to be united if we’re going to face Castro.”
“Absolutely,” Liam replied, his gaze meeting mine with a determined intensity that gave me chills.
Ty emphasized the importance of ensuring everyone’s safety and being prepared for whatever lay ahead, his firm stare encompassing the room.
“Right.” I punched my fists at my sides. “We’ll stop him, and when we find him, he’ll wish he’d never crossed us.”