11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Taylor
N othing compares to the sweet agony of drawing in a full breath the moment the invisible force releases me. My lungs burn as I greedily suck in the air, my head spinning with each gulp. The residual pressure in my chest is an echo of the vice that held me.
I crumple to my side and curl into a shaking, messy ball. My teeth chatter uncontrollably, the sound echoing off the stone walls. I clench my fingers around my knees, trying to stop shaking, but it only makes my body tremble. The minutes drag on. The cell is still and silent.
Too still.
Too silent.
And then everything drains from my chest. The warm thrum that I hadn’t realized was there vanishes and an aching hole yawns open. The breath shudders in my throat, choking me as much as Rowan’s hold did. I clutch my chest over my pounding heart, searching for the warmth. Without the warmth, there is no Liam.
All along I’d felt Liam in my chest. We were connected. I’d felt…whole, and now without him, there’re only shadowy wraiths.
I might not fully realize what the bond actually is, but now it’s gone, I’m drowning with frigid emptiness. Terror slices into me, gnawing my insides, cold and stark where there was warmth and light.
Liam’s warmth and light.
I hadn’t even realized how complete it made me. How complete he made me.
Maybe what Liam told me is the truth. That I really am part wolf shifter, or at least have strains of it in my blood. Maybe I do feel a special connection with him because there’s no way I should feel like my heart has just been cut from my chest.
How does that even work? How can something like that just disappear?
What the fuck is Rowan doing to Liam to make it vanish so suddenly?
I drown with unanswered questions. It’s not possible to know how much time passes. There are no windows in this cell. No clocks. Seconds are hours. The darkness in the cell threatens to swallow me whole. Anxiety twists my stomach, and I rock back and forth, trying to ground myself. Terror-filled uncertainty is a knife that twists deeper with each passing moment.
My thoughts spiral, vivid images of what Rowan is doing to Liam slamming into me. My lungs constrict again and I dig my nails into my palms in a feeble attempt to distract myself from overwhelming dread. Just when it feels unbearable, a sound—a faint scuff—breaks through the silence. My heart lurches. Hope, fragile and desperate, propels me to my feet.
Two figures emerge from the shadows, one strolling beside a lurching figure barely able to stand. He leaves a crimson trail where he steps. Oh God, what has Liam been through ? My stomach churns, and I clamp a hand over my mouth to keep from retching.
Rowan’s face is a mask of indifference. He waves the door open, and Liam collapses inside. I fall to my knees beside him, the cold stone biting into my skin, but I don't care. I reach out, my hands trembling. I don’t know how to touch him, how to help him without causing more pain.
“That was the best fun I’ve had in years.” A smile stretches across Rowan’s plain face.
He thinks hurting Liam like this is a joke? Rage is an incandescent ball in the pit of my stomach. “You’re an insane monster!”
Rowan shrugs. “Perhaps, but I’ll still get my revenge.”
Revenge. Revenge for what? He isn’t the one who's hurt. He isn’t bleeding and shaking on a cold, dirty floor. Rowan sniffs and strolls away without another word. At least he didn’t tell me he wasn’t insane. He still has an ounce of self-awareness.
“You’re okay,” Liam's voice, weak and broken, reaches my ears. A whisper of relief flutters in my chest and I bend over him, tears streaming down my face because I can feel him again.
“You’re the one who's hurt and you’re worried about me?” Tears blur my vision. The sight of his blood, his suffering, is a knife to my heart.
“If I shift to my wolf, I can heal,” Liam rasps. His voice is barely a whisper, his eyes glazed with pain. “Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, please, Liam.” My voice cracks. “Please, shift.”
In an instant fur ripples along his body as he transforms. The wolf that emerges is majestic, even in this state of vulnerability. He curls into a ball, shuddering. His eyes close as he passes out.
I move slowly, carefully, not wanting to disturb him. I curl beside him and wrap my arm around his warm, fur-covered body. The steady rise and fall of his breathing is a small comfort amidst the chaos.
In the void of this cell, with only the sound of Liam’s breathing and the warmth of his body, I find a sliver of hope because he’s still alive. Despite my terror, sleep wraps around me like a suffocating blanket, dragging me into a different realm—a forest, dense and shadowed, with the scent of pine and earth filling my senses.
I’m running, the ground beneath me soft with fallen leaves as a gentle breeze rustles the leaves. Beside me, Liam's massive gray wolf runs effortlessly, his presence a comforting shadow. There are no wounds marring his fur, no pain darkening his eyes. He’s happy. Healed. The sight brings a fragile sense of relief.
In my dream, the forest stretches endlessly around me, trees towering like ancient guardians. The air is crisp, filled with the scent of pine and earth. Liam’s wolf is a massive blur of strength and grace. His eyes gleam with life and light and for the first time, I see him happy and whole.
His fur brushes against my leg, a comforting presence, and I run my fingers through the soft strands, marveling at their warmth. There are no wounds on his body, and I breathe deeply, grateful beyond words. But the dream shifts, and with it, a sense of urgency arises.
We need to get to safety, but the forest is a labyrinth of trees and undergrowth. Liam said he knows this forest. He grew up here. He should know the way back to Willowbrook, but I can’t talk to him when he’s a wolf.
“Liam? Can you shift back to your human form? We need to find help.”
But he doesn't change. His wolf's eyes meet mine, and the glow within them dims. Something's wrong. The wolf's gaze is wild, untamed, lacking the humanity that should be there. When Liam shifted earlier in the cell, his eyes held the same soul, the same consciousness, no matter his form, but now, he's different. More animal than man.
The wolf lowers his head, sniffing the air. His eyes bear a wild glint. My heart skips a beat, tensing with uncertainty. “Liam, please,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “Shift back.”
A chill runs down my spine. Tension coils in my muscles. I want to believe that Liam wouldn't hurt me, that he's still there somewhere, but the way his wolf regards me is unsettling. It's the look of a wild predator, curious and detached. He looks at me like I’m…prey.
I swallow hard, fighting back the fear. “Liam, please,” I whisper. “Come back to me.”
The wolf shakes his head, and relief washes over me as the light of recognition returns to his eyes. The bond between us rekindles, flooding my senses with his essence. I feel him expand inside me, filling the void with warmth and love. The bond snaps back into place, as if a piece of my soul, long missing, is there again. The air hisses between my clenched teeth.
He’s back . Thank God, he’s back.
I hadn't realized how deeply linked we were, how much his presence comforted and completed me. The world shifts on its axis, spinning more beautifully, more vibrantly than before. The enormity of our bond transcends anything I would have felt as a human. It’s so much deeper. More…complex. Vibrant. It’s filled with shades and color I’ve never noticed before. Subtle tones of emotion that are foreign to me, but that I accept as soon as I feel them.
I have to remember…I’m not fully human. Not anymore.
I sink to my knees and whisper in his ear. “I forgive you for not telling me about the bond, for not revealing we are fated mates. I understand why you didn’t want to scare me, but I'm not scared anymore. Not when it feels like this.”
Something within me stirs, an ancient awareness blinking open a golden eye in my mind before closing again. I stop, drawing my attention inside me, but whatever it was has gone.
I need answers. I need to speak to Liam, to understand what this is.
“Please, Liam. Please shift back. I need you.”
His wolf licks my cheek, a gesture of affection that both soothes and torments me. My fingers tighten in his fur, knuckles white with the force of my grip.
He’s not shifting.
Why isn’t he shifting?
A golden light limns the forest and a gentle warmth touches the top of my head. Above me, light shimmers, bright and warm and golden, casting dancing shadows across the forest floor. It’s so beautiful .
Mesmerizing.
It flickers and shifts into a silhouette that draws me in. I can’t stop looking at whatever this is. My stomach rolls. Weight forms and pushes against my skin from the inside. A light feeling tickles under my skin, so soft I could run my fingers over it. A knowing begging to be remembered teases my brain. A word tips on my tongue. A memory flitters just out of reach.
If only I could grasp whatever it is and make it solid, but every time I do it vanishes like mist.
The light shines so bright but it doesn't hurt my eyes. I’m not afraid of it, strangely enough. Then a face made of the light forms and slowly morphs into shape. It’s a female. A female angel. I reach up, wanting to touch her, but then my dream fades.
I want to bask in the angel’s light and warmth. She’s so warm. So comforting. I don’t want to go back to the cold and the hunger and the terror, but then I remember Liam is in my arms.
Liam, who is hurt.
Who is a wolf shifter.
Who has been tortured by a psychotic madman who is somehow magic .
So am I…
It shouldn’t be real. But it is. It’s too real. Too horrifying and we’re trapped in a dark cell and nobody knows where we are.
The dream vanishes and I snap back to wakefulness to find Liam’s human arms surrounding me and his bright hazel gaze filled with despair.