Chapter 45 Misunderstanding
Misunderstanding
LIAM
EIGHT YEARS AGO:
Emerald Pack Territory
Lightning streaks the sky, but I don’t reach her in time. She’s walking back to the house when I find her. Her shirt has been ripped open. Bruises discolor her jawline. Bite marks dot her neck and her chest
I want to kill whoever did this to her. I study her face. Her faraway gaze is devoid of emotion. No tears. No anger. No fear. She refuses to make eye contact with me, staring at the ground. She smells like Queenie, which masks the scent of her attacker.
I pull off my hoodie to cover her. She doesn’t speak. She won’t tell me what happened. I want to shake her. I want to… just hold her in my arms . Even then, she doesn’t respond to my touch or murmurs of her safety, of my protection. She won’t answer my questions.
She whispers that she wants to get inside. Reluctantly, I let her go.
She enters the house through the back entrance, and I race around to the back to wait for her to flip the light switch three times, our signal she settles for the night. It’s also my signal to her—I love you—even though she doesn’t know what it means.
I watch her drapes close, but I can’t bring myself to leave just yet. Sending a quick text to the group that I found her, I keep an eye on the road to make sure the Powers twins don’t return to the property.
Sixes replies quickly after they find Wills and Elaine. Fuck. Did they attack Jessica? It had to be them. I will fucking kill them.
Where the hell is Luke? He hasn’t responded to any of my messages.
I check the vicinity twice, ensuring no one else lingers. I approach the kitchen entrance of the mansion when Jessica bolts out of the door, chest heaving, sobbing.
She crashes into me, clinging to me like I’m her lifeline.
What the fuck?!
Clutching my shirt, she shakes her head. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Just a misunderstanding.”
I frown. A misunderstanding wouldn’t leave her shaking like this. I smell the fear radiating from her. I also smell Luke on her. I urge her to the side so I can enter the house.
Did he attack her again? He confessed to me about the incident the day she met him for the first time—how they fought, how he took it too far because of his own misconceptions.
I didn’t respond at the time because the twins already reamed his ass.
He seemed remorseful, and after talking to him, I thought he was clear of her intentions for a family, for a place to belong and nothing more.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Jessica, let me go in there.”
“No, please, Liam. The twins are with him. It’s fine.” She’s covering for him, the same way she covered for him the first time.
I raise an eyebrow at her. “Then tell me what happened.” Her face ashen, the bruises on her face and neck darkening. At least she’s responding to something, but I hate the wild look of fear in her eyes.
“He thinks I gave Charlie my V-card and then met you after.”
What? Luke is usually a pretty level-headed guy.
Why must he fly off the handle with Jessica?
After what she just endured, this shit won’t sit well with me.
This whole time, he has been home, ignoring our calls and texts.
Was he with Elaine? None of this makes sense.
I glance at the door. I should go slap some sense into him.
Jessica tugs on my shirt, vehemently shaking her head. I need to get her out of here. I need her to talk to me.
I take Jessica’s hand and lead her away from the house to the cliff that overlooks the seventh territory. The sun should rise soon, a beautiful sight as it touches the territory.
When we arrive, I help her climb onto a large rock where I like to sit and think. I situate behind her, to hold her. She doesn’t protest.
I won’t see her after this, unless I come back to visit. The thought of not seeing my family, my friends, Jessica, finally sinks in.
What if I return home to visit my family and see Jessica on those occasions. What if she has a boyfriend? I draw her closer to me. My chest aches. I don’t want her with anyone else but me. But she isn’t mine.
Hell, I tried to keep my distance from her. I just couldn’t not touch her. I wanted to hold her hand, kiss the top of her head, keep her in my arms. But I had to constantly remind myself not to get attached. Marcus, Dustin, and Boris were watching her, watching me.
Pressing my nose against her hair, I take her in and kiss her head. I have longed to do that since she returned, since she was found. I give myself this one last moment before I leave.
She stiffens and leans forward. But I don’t pull back. I rest my arms on my knees.
I watch her, no longer admiring the sunrise. Her eyes stare, but she’s lost in her thoughts. I wish she would tell me who hurt her. I can’t hear her thoughts anymore, and I hate it. I never needed to talk or ask her questions. She never stopped thinking.
She used to study me all the time, when I sat in the corner of the room. I liked it. I liked that she looked at me more than the others. I liked that even though I rarely spoke to her, she felt the most secure with me.
She turns her face, and I trace her scars. They are lighter now, not as raised as they once were. She tenses as my thumb caresses her skin. I lean forward and kiss the scars. “You’re still so beautiful,” I whisper against her temple and press my lips there.
She turns away. “You shouldn’t kiss me or hold me.”
Her words stab me in the heart. Shit. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to… I just…” Crap. I don’t know what to say. I pushed too far. She was just attacked, and here I am, touching her, holding her, kissing her.
She shakes her head. “I don’t need your girlfriend coming at me, too. That’s all.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend.” Leaning forward, I angle my head to see her face.
“She was all over you in town. I saw the lingerie she bought and planned to meet you tonight.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “Oh, gods! I let you kiss me, and you were with her.” She inches forward, but I wrap my arms around her waist.
“You mean Cassie?” She nods, keeping her eyes closed. I laugh. “She’s not my girlfriend. Did you not see me run and jump in the car as fast as I could to get away from her? Hell, I haven’t been able to live that shit down since it happened.”
She shakes her head, trying to dismiss my explanation.
“Look at me,” I encourage softly, but she won’t.
I lift my hand, placing two fingers under her chin, and bring her face closer to mine.
“Look at me, baby. Open your eyes.” She slowly opens them, and I search their depths.
“I want you. I wanted to kiss you that first night they moved you to the main house, but I didn’t.
I was afraid. I didn’t want to take advantage of how vulnerable you were, overwhelmed by everything. ”
She blushes. “Don’t lie just to make me feel better,” she scoffs and lowers her eyes.
“Make you feel better?”
“I’m ugly, Liam. I was even uglier then, practically bald, with broken teeth and a face full of scars. I was blind, but I could still see what I looked like.”
I growl, “Kiss me right now.”
She meets my intense gaze, lips slightly parted in shock. Before she protests, I pull her toward me, crashing my lips against hers.
Electricity sparks. Her small hand touches my face, sending flames up my spine and into my chest. I deepen the kiss, taking advantage of her parted lips. I wish I had done this sooner. I hate that I have to leave tonight.
I squeeze her closer, not wanting this to end. But I can’t push—she’s been through so much. I release her slowly, so slowly, so I can remember this moment forever.
Her face is flushed, her eyes still closed. The tip of her tongue brushes against her lower lip. When she finally opens her eyes, I gauge her reaction. There is no fear, only sadness and an unexpected emotion—love.
My own feelings reflect back at me through the windows to her soul. She doesn’t speak, simply leaning into me. I kiss her temple, sigh, and commit her smell to memory.
I want to tell her I love her, but if I do, it will only make leaving harder for both of us. I can’t do that to her. We sit in silence for several heartbeats. I hold her and cherish her for as long as she lets me.
I point to a ridge along the horizon of the seventh territory. “See that hill over there?”
She nods.
“Before my mother died, she used to tell me stories about kings and princesses in some foreign place.
The first time, she brought me to a place where we could overlook the seventh territory.
She told me to close my eyes and imagine it to be a beautiful place full of shifters, a happy place with no crime, where Alphas actually cared about their packs.
She made me promise that whenever I found myself unhappy or sad, I would think about my happy place.
“As life got shittier, I couldn’t picture that happy place anymore. Instead, I pretended that the hill was a large castle surrounded by dragons and ogres who ate shifters,” I admit, clearing my throat nervously, starting to feel uncomfortable that I’m revealing a silly, vulnerable, part of myself.
She reaches up and cups my face with her hand. She rubs her thumb along my jawline and presses her temple against my cheek, giving me the confidence to continue.
“I used to daydream that a princess was locked away in the castle, held against her will as a prisoner. I imagined that I would one day slay all the dragons and kill the ogres. Once inside, I would fight the evil witch and use my magic to burn her to a crisp. I would search the entire castle and rescue the princess from her captivity.”
She turns her head to look up at me. “Did you fall in love and live happily ever after?”
I shake my head and smile sadly. “No. You see, in my fantasy, the princess had magical powers beyond anyone’s imagination.
I just wanted her to bring my parents back from the dead so we could be a happy family and live together in the world my mother imagined.
I would repay her by serving as her guard for the rest of my life in gratitude. ”
Twisting her body, she searches my face with those clear blue eyes.
I avert my gaze. I don’t want her pity.
She slides her hand around my neck and pulls me down, gently pressing her lips on mine. Her kiss is sweet, compared to my crushing one earlier.
Breaking our kiss, I confess, “In all my life, I never once thought I would serve as a guard to an actual princess. I will slay all the dragons and ogres and kill the evil witch with my magic for you. I would protect you and keep you safe for the rest of my life.”
She rests her forehead against mine. “I know,” she whispers. She pulls back to stare at my chest. “I wish you weren’t leaving.” Turning forward again, she angles her head so I can’t see her expression. I pull her body flush against mine and wrap my arms tight around her.
I murmur into her ear, “I don’t want to.
Leaving you is the last thing I want to do.
” Her head bobs against my shoulder. “Baby, you asked me if I fell in love with the princess and lived happily ever after. I never imagined it because guys like me don’t know how to fall in love or find a happily ever after.
Or, I thought that… until I met you. I’ve fallen in love with you.
But a happily ever after just isn’t in my cards. That’s why I need to leave.”
She wipes her face with the sleeve of my hoodie.
I want to promise her that, somehow, I’ll figure it out. But those promises are just lies. I don’t make promises I can’t keep. I tighten my hold on her, not wanting to let her go.
We sit there in silence, wishing I could say or do something to ease the pain that envelops us. I can’t think of anything to make it better, and I don’t want to make it worse.
Her soft, raspy voice breaks through the melancholy. “Can I kiss you one last time before we go? Before you leave, and I never see you again.”
I rest my head against hers and squeeze my eyes shut. Something inside of me breaks. Emotions I never allowed myself to feel flood to the surface. Tears build behind my lids, and I taste them in the back of my throat.
I haven’t cried for nearly ten years, not since that horrible night my mother died. How? How could I have fallen so hard for this precious, resilient woman, full of magic and unwavering love? How could I have found her, only to lose her at the same time?
“Anything you want,” I reply, my voice hoarse, raw with emotion. I lean back to gaze into her beautiful face, into those fucking amazing eyes. My lips tremble. Fear of losing her paralyzes me.
She tilts her chin up, curling her hand in my hair, and pulls me toward her. Pushing away all the angst and regret filtering through my mind, I show her how much I love her by deepening the kiss. I lose myself in her sweet, soft lips.
Our spell finally breaks. As we walk back, I hold her hand, relishing the way it feels in my own.
I rub the back of her hand with my thumb.
Looking down at our entwined fingers, I remember the first time I held her hand in mine, the night we brought her home from Whitemore plantation.
That was the moment, that first touch, when I gave her my heart.