Page 126 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
Nothing but blood, pain, and agony. It was all I could see, smell, and feel. My only thoughts were that I did not raise a monster… I did not raise a monster…I did not raise a monster….
“Scarlett!” Elijah’s voice called, and I felt myself being pulled away.
I gasped, coming to. My heart was thundering as I stared at Liam, who lay on the ground breathing heavily, his eyes his usual cerulean blue. He was a bloody mess. I had wounded him badly. I could see the wounds that I had made weren’t healing… they wouldn’t because of my ability to slow down the healing of any wound I inflict upon anyone…
“He’s back… calm down,” Elijah murmured, rubbing my arms as he buried his face in my neck.
“He marked her! He marked her against her will!” I screamed, pulling out of Elijah’s hold.
How dare he? Did he think this was okay? Yes, he was cursed, but… he had let his own emotions fuel that darkness. He had let the curse take over. Tears blurred my eyes, and I didn’t even realise I was crying until then, the pain ripping me to pieces.
My son, my son had done this…
The pain of the entire fucking situation hurt. Zidane’s blood would forever run through my veins... in the veins of my children. He was gone, but his shadow wasn’t.
Elijah held my arms tightly, staring down into my eyes with sadness in his blue ones.
“I know, baby... he made a mistake, an-”
“Mistake? He ruined her life!”I screamed.
Was just marking someone a ‘mistake?’ It was so much more… I still awoke with the nightmares of that man…
“What hap…?” Liam whispered, coughing up blood, rolling to his side as he tried to sit up. He was losing a lot of blood.
“Kitten... calm down. I know-”
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I shouted, hitting Elijah’s chest.
History was repeating itself. History wa-
Elijah’s lips crashed against me, kissing me hard. I struggled for a bit, but he held me in place, one hand in my hair and the other around my waist, until I finally began to calm down. The sparks of the bond coursed through me, soothing the storm within me slightly. Just a little…
“I’ll handle this,” Elijah said quietly when I stopped struggling.
I could see the pain in his eyes as he let go of me and walked over to Liam, who was getting to his feet. I was shocked he still could, considering the injuries, but he was a strong alpha.
My son… I had hurt my son. He had committed an unforgivable crime… but it didn’t stop a mother from feeling that pain. The pain of his injuries, but more than that, the pain of his sins… and the pain that he had no idea what he had just done…
“You marked Raven without her consent,” Elijah said, his voice ice cold, laced with sadness, regret, and burning anger that he was doing his best to control.
The look of horror and shock that crossed Liam’s face made my stomach twist and my heart break. He didn’t know… this was going to break him…
“What? No… no…” He looked around as if trying to see where he was or what had happened. “Fuck… no. No. No!” He staggered back, staring at the blood on the ground, swallowing hard. Blood that belonged to all five of us…
He must have caught the scent, staring at the blood that belonged to Raven. Any colour he had left in him was gone, his ashen gaze turning to Elijah, who nodded gravely.
“I know the curse has given birth to this darkness, that you lost to it… allowed your emotions to let it consume you… I am your father, Liam, and I will help you. You are not alone, and you will never be alone, but you have committed a heinous crime, and for it, you will be punished. I love you, and I will be there for you, but you need to pay for what you have done.”
I watched the anguish in Liam’s eyes, watched his entire world come crashing down around him… and it was at that moment that I realised what the curse had cost. Not only had Liam become unhinged… he had committed a crime that was equal to rape in our community… one that Raven may one day forgive him for… but one he, himself, never would…
His gaze flicked to me, looking over my body before his gaze snapped to his father’s bloody body. I watched my son crumble before me, that young boy who had nothing but love for others… who would hide his own pain and give away everything he loved for others… my smiling, little Liam…
“I understand, and I agree….” He swallowed; his breathing was ragged. “I, Liam Westwood, renounce my claim as Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack to my father, Alpha Elijah Westwood, and am ready to pay for the crimes I have committed under the laws of this pack and the Council,” Liam said, falling to his knees as the surge of power shifted. I felt the power of becoming the Luna once more course through my veins. Neither of us was expecting that. My heart pounded as I realised that he was giving up on himself and life.
“Liam…” Elijah said, shocked.
“I have one request…” Liam said, his chest heaving as he tried to breathe. He was losing too much blood…
