15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Taylor
O h God. Five days ! Although it felt like five years. Despite my exhaustion, I have to tell them everything. They have to know the truth. They have to know what happened so they can help Liam.
I clutch Zane’s shoulder and choke back a sob. “We found a hut in the forest. Rowan compelled us to go indoors... Did unspeakable things to him with…with magic . To his human side and also his wolf and…” I take a deep breath of air, forcing out more words. “This is all my fault. I saw the hut in my dream. Liam told me to be careful and I wasn’t. All I could think about was that I had to see the hut. I was so curious and then Rowan saw us and made us go inside even when we didn’t want to. We didn’t have any control. I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t do anything .”
It all comes out in a flood. I don’t know if I’m making sense but my head is spinning and my stomach is churning and I’m just so damned worried about Liam because the bond is static in my chest and—
“Take a breath, Taylor.” Mitch says, crouching over me. I read the concern on his face, realizing it’s for me.
I blink back to the moment. Zane has put me on the ground and I’m leaning against a police cruiser. Liam is inside, bundled in blankets. His head rests back, a hunk of bloodied, matted hair hanging over his forehead. His eyes are still closed. He’s not moving.
“Oh God!” I have to get inside. Have to be with him.
Hands grip my shoulders. He ducks his head so he can look into my eyes. “We’ll get him some help, but I need to ask you how injured you are. I smell blood on you and I can see you’re covered in bruises and scratches. I’m assuming he’s told you about his wolf and that’s why you didn’t freak out when you saw us shift, but if you’re injured, you’ll need different medical care than Liam.”
I feel my body, now becoming aware of various sensations all over. My muscles are stiff and I’m covered in bruises, but they're not significant. “I’ll be fine with some rest. Please, I only care about Liam.”
“Spoken like a true mate,” Mitch says.
Mate . The thing in me lifts its head and an extra level of my consciousness awakens. I don’t think about that now because I am Liam’s mate and that should mean that I feel a bond. I did. It was a hundred times clearer than it is now. I clutch Mitch’s wrist in my shaking grip. “Rowan did something to our bond. It’s…changed. Different.”
Mitch flinches and his expression turns even more serious. “What do you mean, your bond is different?”
I shake my head, growing more desperate by the second. “It’s more distant. Like there’s static there getting thicker and thicker. I don’t know what Rowan did. He took Liam away when he did…what he did.”
“We don’t have time to waste, Mitch,” Zane says.
Mitch gives a curt nod. “Agreed.”
He helps me into the back of the cruiser, where I slide on the back seat and collapse. The blankets Zane wrapped around me do little to chase away the infinite chill that has settled in my marrow.
With trembling fingers, I brush a lock of matted hair from Liam's brow. His skin is clammy, beaded with sweat. Each shallow breath rattles in his chest, an echo of the vibrant, strong male I know him to be.
Tears blur my vision as I cup his cheek, my thumb tracing the sharp line of his cheekbone. I reach for our bond, desperate to feel that shining thread that has become as essential to me as my own heartbeat, but where there once was a symphony of emotion, a cascading rainbow of color and light, now there is only static that thickens. Liam's essence is there, but it's muted.
He's being pulled away from me, inch by excruciating inch.
I close my eyes and pray to my golden angel to help me just one more time, but the cruiser hits a pothole, jolting me from my spiraling thoughts. I glance up to see Mitch's eyes in the rearview mirror, his brow furrowed with concern.
“Taylor, is there anything else you can think of that might help us understand what's happening to Liam?” he asks, his voice strained.
I swallow hard. “His wolf...it's different too.”
Mitch’s voice cracks over the sound of the straining engine. “Different how?”
I shudder, remembering the moment Liam shifted in the clearing. The blankness in his eyes, the absence of the warmth and intelligence that always shone through, no matter his form.
“When he shifted, it was like...like the humanity was gone. The thing that made him Liam just wasn't there.” A sob catches in my throat, and I press my face into the curve of Liam's neck, breathing in his scent beneath the tang of blood and sweat.
Mitch swears under his breath. Gravel sprays beneath the tires as he punches the accelerator, the engine roaring. In the passenger seat, Zane is a coiled spring of tension. He barks orders into the CB radio, his tone controlled but laced with urgency.
I tune out their voices, my entire world narrowing to the male in my arms. I stroke Liam's hair, my lips pressed to his temple as I murmur a litany of pleas and promises.
“Stay with me, Liam. You have to fight. You have to come back. I can't do this without you.”
But he remains still, his chest barely rising with each labored breath. Despair crashes over me in a suffocating wave.
A memory surfaces, unbidden. Liam's face, alight with laughter. The press of his lips against mine, tender and gentle. The way his eyes shone with love every time he looked at me, as if I were a miracle he couldn't quite believe was real, even when I didn’t know who he was to me.
If only he’d wake up and look at me the same way now.
“Nearly there, Taylor,” Mitch says.
The cruiser flies over a rise, throwing me back against the seat. In the distance, I see lights. Willowbrook. I tighten my hold on Liam, my heart hammering against my ribs as Mitch takes the turn to the ‘Bite’ and when we screech to a stop, several figures are waiting for us on the front porch beneath the soft glowing lights.
As we exit the cruiser, a curvy redheaded woman hurries toward us, her face pinched with worry. She wrings her hands, her eyes darting from Mitch to the limp form of Liam slumped in the cruiser.
Mitch leans in close, whispering something in her ear. Her eyes widen, shock and horror rippling across her features. When her gaze meets mine, it's filled with a deep, aching sympathy.
“I'm Sarah. Mitch's mate. I'm so sorry for what you've been through, Taylor. We'll do everything we can to help you and Liam,” she says, her words gentle.
I nod, my throat too tight for words. Mitch and Zane carefully maneuver Liam's unconscious body out of the vehicle, their faces grim. Panic claws at my insides, a scream building in my chest. He's so still, so pale. Like a corpse.
Another woman approaches, her long brunette hair cascading over her shoulders. Her pale blue eyes are shadowed with concern as she reaches for my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“I'm Aria, Zane's mate. We're here for you, Taylor. You're not alone,” she murmurs.
Cindi appears, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She pulls me into a fierce hug, uncaring of the grime and blood that coat my skin. Her familiar scent wraps around me, a comfort I didn't know I needed until this moment.
“Take Liam to Taylor's room,” she instructs Mitch and Zane, her voice thick with emotion. “I have everything ready.”
As they carry Liam inside, I take a moment to absorb my surroundings. The foyer of the 'Bite' is just as I remember, warm and inviting, but it feels different now. Like a lifetime has passed since I last stood here. Like I'm a stranger in my own memories.
Cindi's hand rests on my shoulder, a grounding presence. “I can't imagine what you're going through,” she says softly, her eyes shining with empathy. “But you can lean on us, Taylor. We'll get through this together.”
She gives me a watery smile. “I'm going to prepare some food for you. You must be starving after...after everything.”
My stomach twists at the thought of eating, bile rising in my throat. How can I even think of food when Liam is broken and unresponsive? When I don't know if he'll ever open his eyes again?
Sarah senses my turmoil. She rubs my arm, her touch gentle. “I know it's hard, sweetie. But you need to keep your strength up. For Liam. He's going to need you when he wakes up.”
When . Not if . I cling to that word like a lifeline as we make our way to the room where I’d slept a lifetime ago, consumed with illness and indecision.
Inside, a tall, willowy woman stands at the foot of the bed. Her long silver hair falls in a shimmering curtain down her back, her face unlined and ageless. She could be forty or seventy, her beauty ethereal and untouched by time. Dressed in flowing purple robes, she exudes an aura of power and wisdom.
Her eyes leave me reeling. A striking, luminous gray, they pierce straight through me, laying bare every secret, every fear. I feel exposed, raw, like she can see into the very heart of me.
Mitch and Zane carefully lay Liam on the bed, his body limp and unresponsive. He's still burning with fever, shivers wracking his frame. A low, keening sound escapes my throat, my fingers itching to touch him, to smooth the furrow from his brow.
“Taylor, this is Elara. She's the witch who maintains the wards around our packlands,” Mitch says.
Recognition of the name sparks through me. Liam mentioned her, spoke of her power and importance. My hesitance is replaced with hope. If anyone can help him, surely it's her.
Elara listens intently as Mitch recounts the horror of the past few days, his voice tight and controlled. He exudes a power that forces me to listen and part of me wants to obey when his aura flows over me. It’s strange because I’ve never felt that way about anyone else before. Zane has a similar power, but although not as strong, exudes enough for me to want to listen to him too.
They’re both powerful men. Ones I’m glad to have on my side.
At the mention of Rowan's name, Elara’s head snaps up, her eyes boring into mine as she listens.
“Tell me about this Rowan,” she commands, her voice ringing with authority.
Mitch frowns, concern etching deep lines into his face. “Do you know him, Elara?”
The witch's lips thin, a shadow passing over her features. “I pray it's not the same male I'm thinking of.”
I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly dry as dust. “He was...average height. Blond hair. He would be someone I’d walk past and not see, but his magic…that was strong. He could...he could control us, make us do things against our will.”
A shudder runs through me, tears stinging my eyes. “He took Liam. Tortured him. I don't...I don't know exactly what he did, but there was so much blood...”
I choke on a sob, the memories a vicious onslaught. “He cut him. Put something inside him, some kind of magic. Liam...Liam hasn't been the same since.”
The words pour out of me in a rush, my voice rising with hysteria. “Rowan kept rambling about a chalice, the Chalice of Lunar Rites. He said he'd release us if we got it for him, but how could we? We were trapped in that cell, and he just kept hurting Liam...”
I'm shaking now, my entire body trembling like a leaf in a gale. Aria wraps an arm around my shoulders, murmuring soothing nonsense as I fight for composure.
“He said...he said I would turn my mate feral, but that doesn't make sense. Liam isn't feral, he's just hurt. He needs help, please...”
I dissolve into tears, great hiccupping sobs that make my chest ache. I cling to Aria, my whole body shaking. The room is deathly silent, the tension so thick it's suffocating. I feel the weight of their stares, the unease that ripples through the air.
Elara's face is carefully blank, but there's a tightness around her eyes, a set to her jaw that speaks of barely restrained emotion. She knows something, something that terrifies her.