Reasa heard a voice calling to her but it seemed so far away. All around her there was nothing but agony; a pain so intense she wanted to pass out to make it would go away. The voice persisted though, calling her name, imploring her to pay attention when she didn’t want to.
“No.” The word whispered out so quietly she wasn’t sure the voice would hear her, but it did.
“Reasa!”
“No!” she cried out the word, rolling over to stare up at the ceiling. Her vision was blurry and she realised it was from the tears streaming from her eyes. There were many new people in the room but they appeared to be far away, as if they were down a distant tunnel.
“You have to! Move! Now!”
It was the female hybrid, the one she’d fought with. She was commanding her to do something but she didn’t know what. The air felt thick around her and her head hurt from a pressure so intense it made her eyes water more. Struggling to her hands and knees, Reasa heard a shrill scream and focused on the sound.
Freya was on her knees before her, a large hulking shape looming over the Ancient. To the side, the doctor was immobile, curled up in the foetal position. Down the tunnel, she could hear voices shouting in terror, two louder than the others.
“Freya!”
“Mother!”
He was there in the room, the abomination. He was the looming figure, his voice a shard of ice as he towered over the vampire. “You hurt her.”
Reasa moaned, breathing through the pain, her thoughts beginning to clear as the situation registered. Dear God, he’d lost control again and everyone was helpless in his wake. She had no idea why her mind hadn’t exploded, but she understood the threat level surrounding them. If he crossed the line and killed his aunt… there would be nothing anyone could do so stop the destruction that would follow.
“Liam, hear me.” Reasa forced out the words both verbally and mentally. “I’m safe.” There was no response from the huge male and a muffled sob escaped her as the pressure in the room escalated higher mirroring his rage. “Liam! I need you! Listen to me, please!”
Crawling forward, Reasa pushed her way in between Freya and Liam, collapsing against the other woman as her strength gave out. The other woman automatically supported her, whispering in her ear, “Move aside.”
“No! He won’t listen to you, Freya, but he will listen to me. Stay quiet.” Her lips barely moved as she whispered the words out but she knew the vampire heard her. Gazing up into blazing amber eyes, her breath caught at the sheer beauty of the male above her, so vicious, so uncontained, so volatile.
“Did you forget everything I showed you before, hybrid? You’re leaking emotions everywhere and damaging your pack. Attend to me now! ” Appealing to his wolf hadn’t achieved any results. Maybe appealing to the vampire would.
“Take up that loose strand, Liam, and weave it into the one beside it. Do it before you destroy everything you love. Do it for me, hybrid. If you truly believe I am your mate and you go insane and have to be put down… what will happen to me? ”
*****
The fury was everything, a living breathing thing flowing like lava through his veins. It was heady and exciting, a power so strong he felt invincible. Everything else was inconsequential; the people around him nothing but vermin to be eradicated. He knew he was saying the same thing repeatedly to the female vampire, but he had no concept of why because the words were meaningless.
All he wanted to do was to kill; he wanted to reach out and rip the head from the vampire’s body, to feel her hot blood flowing over his hands and know that she had been fittingly punished for her failure. Everyone present in the room would see that punishment and none would ever defy him again.
A soft whisper tickled in his mind and he paused to listen as it echoed along his synapses. It was a glorious sound, so hard and unyielding, insistent that it be heard. As soon as he acknowledged it, the floral scent of wildflowers and a chocolate caramel fragrance washed over him, an intriguing contrast to the hard words.
“You’re not doing it correctly. Why are males so stubborn? You’ve lost your shields, Liam. Fix them now as I showed you before. Feel the strands; see how nimble you can be. Thread them together one at a time, ensuring they are flexible enough to withstand the pressure. That’s it… keep going. If you want to call them clouds then do so, just keep weaving. ”
The beautiful voice was so bossy, so fascinating. Liam wanted her to keep talking, wanted her to stay in his mind so he did as she ordered, pulling at the soft strands within his mind and proudly displaying his prowess as he weaved the shields she wanted. His mate shadowed him closely, inspecting his movements, instructing him when he messed up so he could repair his error.
She was so perfect, her presence in his thoughts a soothing balm as the monster retreated and his wolf moved forward, helping to balance him. Soft hands were running down his arms, stroking his skin and sending shivers through his body. “Reasa…”
Liam focused on her face, his eyes tracing every feature with adoration shining from them. “I did it.” He smiled at her, wondering at her frightened expression. It seeped into his happiness, causing him to frown as he muttered, “What’s wrong?”
Memories were starting to return and his gaze shot to the woman behind his mate, his aunt’s cautious expression suddenly registering in his conscience. His eyes widened as dread slammed into him so hard he let out a pained gasp. There was blood on his aunt’s clothes, though she had no visible wounds. However, memories of his fingers digging into her skin and ripping at her flesh flooded through his mind…
Freya carefully extracted Reasa from her nephew as she moved to stand before him. She placed her hands on his cheeks as he stared at her in horror. “Stay here with us, Liam. Do not sink back into the place you have just visited. Look at me, and hear my words. I have been in that same dark place, more times than you will ever know. You cannot change what has happened, you can only learn from it and strive to ensure it doesn’t reoccur. I am well and suffer no lasting harm. Reasa is well and suffers no lasting harm.”
His gaze slid to Reasa’s and then Mallen. Elina was at his side, helping the doctor sit up as he shook his head to clear it. “What did I do?” The words were a tortured whisper as he swung back to look at his aunt. “Freya?”
“Anyone who doesn’t need to be here, please leave.” Rafe’s voice echoed over the room as he took control, jerking his head to the doorway. “Kallum, take Mallen over to the medical centre so he can be checked out.” He was striding over to help the doctor up as he spoke, concern in his eyes as he inspected his pack member.
“I’m okay, Rafe. Whatever Elina did, kept me protected from the worst of it.” He shook his head again as he tried to pull off a weak smile, despite his disorientation. “Guess that proved I had the weakest mind in the room today.”
“Rafe, maybe we should stay…” Kallum motioned to the other Varcolac hovering in the doorway with concerned expressions.
The Alpha shook his head. “Your presence here didn’t help earlier. Only Reasa was able to get through to Liam, so let’s clear out as many people as we can. Cassia, are you able to administer pain relief to the woman in Mallen’s absence, or do we need to request someone to come over from the medical centre?”
The eldest Romanov sister appeared startled at the request, but her expression cleared and she nodded her assent. Everyone else filed out leaving Liam, Cassia and Rafe in the Alexander home with the family.
“Freya, are you okay? ” It was taking all of Dayton’s strength not to cross the room to his mate and shake the living daylights out of her. To be trapped behind Liam’s barrier had been an agony he couldn’t express in words. To watch his mate stand there and do practically nothing to defend herself against her nephew’s attack… that was something they were going to discuss later. Liam needed her right now so he held himself rigid, letting his eyes reassure him she was safe, but he wasn’t happy with the situation and his mate would know all about it.