12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Liam
T he metallic tang of blood lingers in my nostrils as I slowly regain consciousness, my wolf's senses sharpening my human form. Every inhale brings a fresh wave of the coppery scent, mingling with the dank mustiness of the cell. My body aches, an unfamiliar sensation. Usually my accelerated healing takes care of any injuries within minutes, but this time is different.
Twinges of wrongness shudder through me as I recall hazy flashes… the glint of a blade, inky black liquid Rowan applied to each wound that burned like acid as it oozed into my veins. To what end, I have no idea. It wasn’t as though he explained anything to me. Instead he worked with quiet precision, lost in his thoughts.
I was nothing to him. Not a man, nor a wolf, but a means to an unknown, twisted end.
My wolf whines inside me, restless and unsettled. I try to reach for him to comfort through our bond but he shies away. Skittish.
A strange numbness spreads at my nape. Icy tendrils snake out and send stabbing pains into my skull. I grit my teeth against the building migraine. I can't afford any weakness, not now. Not when Taylor needs me.
It was her fear pulsing within our bond that dragged me back to awareness. I blink, orienting myself, then my gaze lands on her curled into my chest, my arms banded around her. She's caught in the throes of a nightmare, whimpers escaping her lips.
“Taylor. Taylor, wake up.” I gently shake her shoulder.
Gore coats my hand. In fact, it coats every inch of my body. I may have healed, but I’m still covered in my blood. I’m also naked. I eye my shredded clothing on the ground. There’s nothing left that’s wearable.
That's the least of my worries right now.
Taylor's eyes flutter open, wide and scared. Her terror pulses through the bond, washed with confusion and then when her gaze sharpens on me, an overwhelming surge of relief.
She gasps, her fingers clenching on my shoulders. “Liam? I-I dreamed we were running through the woods and you… you wouldn't change back.” Her voice trembles and my chest aches. “There was an angel, but then I woke up.”
I start to respond, but her hands roam over my skin. Checking for injuries that have already disappeared. If this were any other time, any other situation, her touch would ignite me but now I’m only grateful she’s been spared.
“It worked. You…you're healed,” she breathes out.
“Wolf shifters bounce back fast.” I don't mention the wrongness I still feel, the sluggishness. No need to worry her further.
Her brows come together in a frown as she takes in my state. I'm bare and vulnerable before her. I want to joke, to tease, anything to lighten the darkness in her eyes, but the words shrivel on my tongue.
“What... what did Rowan do to you?” she whispers, horror tightening her face. I swallow hard. I don't know how to even begin to answer that. I want to spare her from that horror.
“Rowan kept me semi-conscious,” I explain, my voice rough. “I wasn't fully aware, which was a blessing. He tried to work his magic into me I think, but I don't feel different.” Apart from the fatigue, and aches and pains throbbing deep within me. “I don't think what he did stuck.”
Relief flickers across Taylor's face, followed quickly by another frown. “Who is Rowan? How are we even here?” The tremor in her voice nearly breaks me.
I reach for her hand, lacing my fingers with hers. “I don't know who he is, but it's clear he's very powerful. I would have known of someone like him before. Elara, the witch who protects the packlands, would have told us if she was aware of his existence here, I’m sure.”
Elara had been at the pack meeting, her expression serious. If she’d known anything, she would have alerted our Alpha.
Hope sparks in Taylor's eyes. “Maybe she'll be able to find us then? If she’s magical, maybe she can trace us here?”
I don't have the heart to dim that hope, to tell her the odds are slim. I felt no magic in the forest earlier. Even though I was consumed with thoughts on how I was going to reveal my true nature to her, my wolf would have detected something should there have been a hint of magic.
Shame twists in my gut. “Taylor, I'm sorry for not telling you who I was before now. You had the right to know before we...” I trail off, the words sticking in my throat. Before I made love to her. She should have known who I was before I asked that of her. “I did wrong by you.”
She's quiet for a long moment, her gaze weighing and measuring. The bond between us thrums with a myriad of emotions, one pulsing fast after the other. When she finally speaks, her words are slow and deliberate.
“The dream...it gave me an understanding of our bond. How different it is from anything I've known. How different it is for…humans.” She shakes her head, meeting my eyes squarely. “I understand why it was hard for you to tell me, Liam. There was no good way to say it that wouldn't have shocked me or made me think you were crazy.” Her fingers tighten on mine. “But I also know everything you did was to protect me. I understand that. Fully.”
Sincerity resonates through the bond, wrapping around me like a balm.
“I'm grateful,” she continues softly. “You saved me. You've given me a future when I didn't have one before. I was helping my parents plan my funeral, and now...now I have a life to look forward to. Because of you.”
If we get out of here . Those words press on my tongue but I push them down. I can’t do that to her.
Tears glimmer in her eyes as she leans in, her lips brushing mine in the gentlest of kisses. “Thank you,” she breathes against my mouth.
I'm astounded by the strength of her spirit, the purity of her heart. That she can feel this way, even locked in a cold, dank cell.
“The Goddess blessed us both when we found each other,” I murmur, resting my forehead against hers.
Curiosity lights her eyes. “The Goddess? You keep mentioning her. Who is she?”
My gaze roams her face. I try to wipe a dirt streak off her cheek, but I only end up smearing it. I sigh and tell her what we’ve been told as far back as I can remember. “Wolf shifters believe in the Wolf Shifter Goddess. She's the one who first spliced human and wolf souls together, granting us the ability to shift eons ago. In payment for that gift, she made it so we only have half a soul until we find our fated mate.”
I shrug. “It sounds bleak, but most shifters find their other half. The Goddess works in mysterious ways to ensure our paths cross. Except...”
“Except what?” Taylor prompts gently.
“In Willowbrook, no fated mates have bonded in the last twenty years. People started calling it a curse a decade ago. No one knows why fate stopped bringing us together. Many have left the pack, searching for their mate... but never finding them.” My jaw tightens. “Without that bond, shifters are adrift. Lost. And males... Males turn feral.”
Taylor sucks in a sharp breath, her nails digging into my skin. I see the pieces click together behind her eyes. “You... You would've?”
I nod. “Yes. If not for you, I likely would've lost myself eventually.”
Fierce protectiveness surges through the bond, startling me with its intensity. “Then we saved each other,” Taylor declares.
I'm speechless. In awe of this incredible woman fate saw fit to bind me to. No matter what fresh hell awaits us, I know beyond a doubt that my path led me to exactly where I was meant to be… at her side.
I make a silent vow to the Goddess that I will do whatever it takes to get Taylor out of here safely. Even if I have to lay down my own life to do it. She will have the future she deserves.
Suddenly, Taylor frowns, rubbing at her chest. Her eyes search mine. “What were you just thinking? I felt... something...”
I shake my head, mustering up a small smile. “Just that I'm so incredibly happy I found you, Taylor. You're my miracle.”
I gather her in my arms, taking comfort in her light form. She clings to me but the darkness presses in, thick and cloying and my head cycles with burning, unanswered questions about Rowan. Why we’re here. What the fuck he wants us for. The questions claw at my throat, but I swallow them back. The not knowing is almost worse than the pain I endured at his hands.
Almost.
Restless energy hums beneath my skin, an itch I can't scratch. I get up, needing to move. I prowl the perimeter of our cell, searching for any weakness, any chance of escape. But the bars are immovable, thrumming with a magic that sets my teeth on edge. The walls are solid rock, old blood staining them. There’s no telling how many people he’s imprisoned here. How many others he’s made suffer.
How many didn’t survive.
This place... It's wrong. It shouldn't exist. Not here, not in our territory. Mitch and Zane would have felt it. They patrol all the time. They must feel us now we’re here. Cindi must have alerted Mitch when we didn’t come back from the hike. How I wish we were back at the ‘Bite’ instead of here but I can't afford to tumble down that rabbit hole. Not when Taylor needs me present. Focused.
I have to get her out of here.
The thought of my mate suffering even a moment longer in this festering pit ignites a fury in my veins. I want to roar my rage, to tear into something, anything, but I ruthlessly shove the anger down. I can't give in to those base instincts, not when they could jeopardize our survival.
Taylor wraps her arms around her too-thin body and shivers. She’s so small curled on the ground. Too frail. She may be recovering, but the disease has still ravaged her body. I wrap myself around her fragile form, trying to infuse her with my warmth. She burrows into my chest, a tiny sigh fluttering against my skin.
“Liam,” she whispers, voice cracking. “I'm scared.”
“I know, baby. I know.” I tighten my hold, pressing my lips to her temple. “But I'm here. I'm not going to let anything else happen to you.”
Even as I say the words, doubt coils in my gut and she doesn’t press for more. Time blurs and stretches, marked only by the labored beat of our hearts. Taylor drifts into an exhausted sleep, but rest eludes me. I'm too wired, too on edge.
Something is wrong with my wolf. I can feel him, but he's distant. Hazy. As if he's been stuffed behind a wall of fog. When I finally manage to reach him, he snaps at my hand before whimpering and flinching away. Icy tendrils of fear curl around my spine.
I might be relatively unscathed…but my wolf isn't.
I'm dragged from my spiraling thoughts by the scuff of a footstep in the corridor. Instantly, every cell in my body is on high alert. Dread pools in my stomach as a familiar figure emerges from the shadows. I tighten my hold around my mate, somehow hoping I’ll be able to protect her with my body alone. Taylor jolts awake, a whimper catching in her throat. Stark terror pulses through our bond, turning my blood to ice.
Rowan stands at the bars, a cruel smile playing about his lips as he takes in our huddled forms. “I have need of you again, wolf. I've made some...modifications.”
“No!” Taylor's scream rips through the cell. She rises to her knees, putting herself between me and Rowan. “Leave him alone, you monster!”
“Taylor, no!” I cry out, reaching for her.
With a flick of Rowan’s wrist, Taylor is airborne. She slams into the far wall with a sickening crack, held immobile. Her cries of pain and fear shred my soul.
White-hot rage obliterates any semblance of control. My wolf explodes out of me in a maelstrom of fury and vengeance. I lunge for Rowan, fangs bared, ready to tear him limb from limb for daring to lay a hand on my mate.
Before I can reach him, an immense force crashes upon me. It smashes me to the ground, pinning me tight. I thrash and snarl, but I'm helpless. Impotent.
Rowan tilts his head as he studies me. He rubs his bottom lip with his thumb. “Fascinating. I have a much better idea of what to do now. It seems I owe you my gratitude for the inspiration.”
His power slithers over my mind, cloying and invasive. I try to shift back to human form, but agony lances through me. I'm trapped. I…can’t shift. I’m a prisoner in my own body.
“Remain as the wolf. Follow.” Rowan turns on his heel, striding down the corridor. To my horror, my legs move of their own volition, carrying me after him.
Away from the cell.
Away from Taylor.