Page 144 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
A murmur of agreement passed through the people watching, and I hoped Liam saw that we were not giving up on him. We would defeat the darkness together.
Liam
“Let him down!”
Her voice made my heart clench, her words ringing in my head. I didn’t get how she could even consider forgiving me at a time when I couldn’t forgive myself. I had almost killed her…
I was unlocked, and I staggered, holding my stance as I turned to look at her. Tears streamed down her beautiful face as Damon embraced her. How many times would I make her cry? Our eyes met, and she pulled out of Damon’s hold as she looked at me, stepping closer. There were still bridges to build between us…
She should have let me receive my punishment…
“Get him cleaned up, and then I expect him at my place after being given a dose of wolfsbane,” Dad said, his eyes meeting mine. I looked away, knowing I had disappointed him. I had never wanted to ever cause him pain, but I had…
I turned to Damon. I knew it hadn’t been easy on him. The first few lashes had held anger in them, but after that, each one had been hard for him, too.
Raven’s words from earlier were still clear in my mind. Fix the bonds I had destroyed. For her and for me. I had a lot of work to do, with myself, Raven, Damon, Mom…
My stomach twisted, and I felt sick. I knew what her father had done and, unknowingly, I had done the same thing. I could only imagine what she was going through.
Everyone was leaving, and I was led into a side room by Zack, who was sporting a bruised nose. I had a feeling it was courtesy of Raven.
“I’m sorry, Taylor,” Raven was saying as Damon pushed me down onto the bed. I glanced up at her as she pouted at Taylor, who looked as sad as Raven. “I won’t hit him again.” Raven pleaded quietly, “Sorry, Zack.” I raised an eyebrow, glancing at Zack, who simply nodded.
“It’s fucking understandable, but don’t fuck the nose up next time,” he said.
“There won’t be a next time!” Raven promised. “Do you forgive me, Taylor?”
“Since it was for your mate…” he said, giving her a hug.
If I wasn’t in so much pain, I would have probably found their exchange a little amusing. There was a lot that Raven did that was just cute... a cuteness I didn’t fucking deserve to even witness. I didn’t deserve to have her in my life. I looked at my Beta and Delta, not mine anymore… but… they were still there.
“Arms up,” Damon said. I held back the hiss of pain as he splashed something on my back.
“That burns,” I muttered, making Raven turn to him.
Her face became serious as she came over. Her scent enveloped my senses, and as much as I wished I could just wrap her up in my fucking arms forever… I no longer held hopes for that. I didn’t deserve her…
“I’ll do it,” she said, taking the bandage from Damon, who nodded.
We were halfway done, her fingers often grazing my skin, sending off a rush of pleasure as she wrapped the bandage around me firmly when Damon swore, staring at Zack.
“What is it?” Raven asked, her heart thumping.
“There’s been another death,” Damon said, frowning. “The body was discovered ten minutes ago.”
“Fuck…” I said.
“Who is it?” Raven asked with worry in her eyes.
“One of the elder wolves, Arnold,” Zack muttered. The room fell silent as the five of us stared at one another. This needed to end.
“We have to do something... maybe we need to search everyone’s houses. The teeth and eyeballs have got to be stored somewhere,” Raven said, reaching up and brushing my hair out of my eyes. Our eyes met, and my gaze dipped to her neck, my chest fucking squeezing as I looked at it… half-hidden. She moved away, a flash of pain in her eyes before she turned away.
“I agree... but isn’t that what Liam kind of wanted? How do we do that without making the pack restless?” Zack asked.
We all fell into thought.How do we get the pack homes empty?
Taylor snapped his fingers.
