I watched his still form on the ground, all of his strength
and power pulled inward and focused on keeping one heart beat going to the
next. I could almost hear it slowing
down, could almost see his energy ebbing away.
I was so focused on him that it took a while to register Brian’s words.
“What a cluster fuck.
A sacrifice? A fucking human
sacrifice? No way he’d go for that. No
way. It’s too risky. Maybe if we could
find a pedophile, or a murderer, but we’re in BFE, where are we going to find
someone deserving of that kind of death way out here?” His rant continued but I stopped listening.
A human sacrifice.
That’s all it would take to save him, to save his pack and to keep the
peace. Without him, it would all fall
apart. They needed him to stay in control, needed him to be the driving force
he so naturally was. Without him, those
kids on the playground wouldn’t be safe.
No one would.
I was on my feet and in motion towards the un-natural flames
before I even completed my thoughts. Sam
watched me and growled as I grew nearer, but didn’t move to stop me. I looked at him, allowing the grief and pain
to show in my eyes.
“When he wakes, tell him I’m sorry, I couldn’t keep my
promise.” I whispered. I thought for a
second he’d refuse me, but he knew what was on the line. He knew and nodded sharply once. I turned
my head to look again down at Liam, as if I could etch his face into my memory,
then stepped into the flames.
Power, heat and energy sizzled and leapt at the top of my
head and the bottom of my feet, as if I were completing some sort of electrical
circuit. And then there was nothing but
pain and fire coursing through my body, forcing my eyes closed and ripping
screams from my throat. In the darkness
that threatened to overwhelm me, I thought I could hear a voice chanting over and over – a
sacrifice, a sacrifice - with sickening glee. The voice, neither male nor
female was evil and rolled through me.
I felt like it was tearing into me stealing my thoughts, riffling through my deepest
secrets, my worst nightmares, and my darkest dreams. Then the voice hissed, pausing like a startled deer.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! My
sacrifice!” it screamed, “My sacrifice!” and then the darkness and pain consumed me completely.
I felt the cool breeze first, blowing away the fire that had
eaten at my raw nerves. My eyes
fluttered open to a warm grey nothingness.
A softer, gentler voice sounded in my head this time, “A willing
sacrifice, of fire and love. Like a
phoenix, you are born again. But a
sacrifice was required and has indeed been made, and you are irrevocably
changed.” I felt the whisper of a hand across my cheek and felt its
overwhelming sadness and loss, and then it was gone.
The soft grey light surrounding me brightened, until I
closed my eyes against it. As it started
to fade, I found myself on the ground on the other side of the fire with my
head in Liam’s lap. No trace of his
weakness left behind, his eyes glowed as his wolf glared down at me, and anger
rolled off of him in waves. I looked up
into those eyes knowing his wolf was too close.
I blew out the deep breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and managed
a wry smile.
“Well, that could have gone better.” I whispered.
The anger in his eyes flared brightly for an instant before
he snapped them closed and visibly struggled for control. I lay perfectly still but closed my eyes,
knowing Liam would control his beast sooner or later. And while I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, he’d
been through enough for one day, and testing his wolf any more would likely end
up with someone getting hurt. Not me of
course, but he’d feel bad if he hurt one of his pack. I squinted across the room and could make out
Brian and Sam. Both men were on their
knees, heads bowed as if praying, but I knew better. Their heads intentionally lower than Liam’s
and their complete stillness ensured their Alpha wouldn’t feel challenged as he
struggled for control. I noticed a small
trickle of blood running down from Sam’s nose.
Maybe someone already had been hurt, I thought humorlessly, acknowledging for once he didn't deserve it.
Liam adjusted me in his arms, bringing my body up more fully
into his lap and buried his head into my neck.
“I thought I’d lost you.” He murmured.
“Nah.” I said, trying to keep my shaking voice light. “I’m
like a bad penny. It takes more than
sacrificing me to some f’ed up evil she-witch’s magic fire to get rid of me.”
He growled then, low and rumbling and I could feel it
vibrate through my body. “That, we will
discuss in great detail later.” The
menace in his voice was hard to miss.
Clearly, I needed to make sure we avoided that particular discussion for
as long as possible. “For now, please explain
to me why you smell like wolf instead of human.”
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