Page 138 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
“He is not to visit the grave of my brother Renji Jacobs. Ever,” I said icily, my chest heaving as some light seemed to return to my father’s eyes.
“What… no… no! I can! Don’t you go there!”
“I will go there as much as I want. This is the last time I will ever see you. Goodbye.” I stood up and turned away.
“Your request is accepted. He will be kept under house arrest anyway, and that means at all times, until his passing.”
“Thank you,” I said, not turning back to the man who was shouting at me and walking out towards the door. That first burden was lifted…
I felt like I was getting somewhere…I’ve got this. I felt my wolf stir, and I smiled gently.No, we’ve got this…
Damon
Raven’s father wascommitted, and although I knew the Alpha had set his punishment, I still wanted to tell Liam about it.
I was angry at him. So fucking mad at what he did. But past his split personality, there was that part of him that I knew. I wouldn’t be able to forgive him easily… if ever. I didn’t know if I could ever call him a friend again, either. Looking back, I thought that ended a few years ago. Maybe I was just stuck in a fucking illusion that things would work out. It did fucking hurt… but life was shit like that.
I entered the cells and, after unlocking the door, entered his cell. He was sitting there with his eyes closed. His hair, which he always had gelled and styled, was lying messily over his forehead. His eyes opened and met mine. They looked… broken.
I knew he’d feel it, but maybe this was the punch he needed to realise that he could be in fucking control. He needed to take control of his own shit. Neither of us spoke for a while, and Liam looked away first.
“What do you want?” He asked quietly.
“Raven’s father was trialled today. He’s been given one hundred and fifty silver lashes. He’ll then be placed under house arrest and stripped of any rank or status he has. I thought, despite everything, you might want to know….” I said, clenching my jaw.
“Thanks…” he replied. Gone was the cold arrogance that had surrounded him since his return. All I sawwas his emptiness. “Who will deliver the punishment?” He asked quietly.
“I thought I’d ask Alpha Elijah if I could,” I answered. He nodded with the tiniest of smiles that didn’t reach his eyes crossing his lips.
“Will you also deliver mine?” He asked, looking up at me. There was an emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t read that unnerved me. My heart thumped, and I stepped back, narrowing my eyes.
“What?”
“My trial is in two days. I don’t want Dad to suffer. What I did… I’ve caused him even more pain. My punishment won’t be small, and it shouldn’t be… but I don’t want Dad to do it. You can tell her it was my wish that you do it.”
“Don’t want me to look like the bad guy?” I asked, unable to hide the bitterness from my voice.
“No, because you’re all she has now…” he said. “What I did deserves capital punishment, and I expect no less, so… be there for her.” I sighed heavily. He wasn’t making it easier to hate him.
“I never wanted you to step aside. I was willing to make it work, all three of us. Raven is loving; she would have been able to treat us both well.”
“That won’t happen because I always believed that it’s one-to-one. There’s no space for a third. There’s no point in discussing it… I no longer deserve her, not after what I did,” he said. “So, good luck.”
“You’re giving up because of what you did… but you still love her,” I said quietly, hating that I couldn’t just hate him fully even if I’d not forgiven him.
“I do, more than anything, but what I did was unforgivable, and it’s a little fucking late. When we love someone… we do what’s best for them,” he said, running his hand down his face and massaging his jaw. His beard had grown, too.
“Yeah, we do,” I said quietly.
“I just kept her stuck in the middle… in this constant tug of war. Not anymore.” Our eyes met, and I nodded. “I heard from her that you two were going to reject one another…” he said quietly.
“Yeah… I realised that you would never accept it working between us, and she was hurting. You ruined it all.” He nodded, staring down at his hands.
“Thanks… for telling me about the trial.”
I nodded, looking at him. Something told me that with this clarity… maybe, just maybe, it was the push Liam needed to defeat the darkness inside of him. I turned away and paused. I needed to speak my thoughts, so I glanced back at him.
“Nothing is over until you let it be. There’s goodness in you, Liam. Find it… embrace it and let go of all the negative crap,” I said quietly.
