"This is the end. Hold your breath and count to ten. Feel the earth move and then hear my heart burst again."
~ Skyfall, Adele
Please don't forget to comment, follow, and vote!
"So what exactly are we addressing in this meeting?" Sophie wondered as they stepped outside.
"As far as I know? Everything." Cillian replied, sweeping her hand up in his. "Your safety, what to do about Kendall, what to do about Hoppers, all of it."
Both their paces slowed as Sully stepped out of his home, just as they were passing by. Unfortunately for all three of them, they were all headed to the same place. While everyone had their own homes, there was still a "pack house" of sorts. A common meeting area for the community, which also had separate rooms for meetings and such.
"Good morning, Sully." Sophie tried to be polite and hid her fear behind a smile.
Sully's eyes flickered over to her with a deadpan look. "Is it?" He grumpily conveyed, lazily jogging down his front porch steps. "Hope you don't mind I join you. Our parents asked me to, in case Sophie needs a little more... protecting."
Her gaze dropped, unsettled that she would need more protecting from their own family and pack. That, and the way Sully loomed behind them as they walked. It wasn't far, less than a five minute walk, but with a predator trailing behind, it felt far longer.
Many other lycanthrope carried on with their usual lives within the pack, going to work, jogging, bringing their kids to school, and such. Nearly everyone slowed down to gawk as they passed by Cillian and Sophie. While the pack had been notified there was a human among them, many had still never seen one in person before.
The pack consisted of a few hundred people, meaning the area they lived was small enough for everyone to walk to their destination- which nearly everyone preferred. There were vehicles in case they were needed, but not seen very often.
Not too far from the pack house, an unknown SUV came to a stop just outside the tree line, a several meters from them, the windows too dark to see who it belonged to. Cillian and Sophie came to a stop when Sully did.
Sully became tense, his shoulders squared, claws bared, on high alert. Safe to say, he didn't know who it was. A couple more members of his family just happened to get there, also freezing at the sight of the unknown vehicle. Everyone had the same feeling: something wasn't right.
Cillian took a protective stance in front of Sophie but Sully took it a step further. "Run to the house." Sully told her.
Then the SUV started coming straight for them, full speed. With no time to waste, Cillian swiftly guided Sophie behind Sully and stepped forward in front of everyone else, running at an inhuman speed directly at the SUV.
Nearly stumbling from how quickly everything happened, she brushed past Sully to stop her mate, but was easily held back. "What is he doing!?" She cried out.
"That's gonna hurt." Sully said, plainly.
She whirled around to glare at him. "Why aren't you stopping him!?"
Unamused, he raised a brow at her. He clearly knew something she didn't.
Just before she could rip out of his grip, there was a loud crash. Last second, before the vehicle could make contact with his body, Cillian jumped on top, landing on the roof. With one clawed hand dug into the steel to keep him on top of the moving vehicle, with the other he punched a whole through the roof. Through it, he grabbed the wheel and made a sharp turn, sending both the vehicle and Cillian straight into a ditch.
Finally, Sully released her. She wasted no time and took off to find him. "Cillian!" She screamed, running like some madwoman.
Everyone else easily rushed past her, dealing with whoever was in the vehicle.
Hearing his name, Cillian got up from the ground, sore, but not necessarily in pain. His eyes landed on his wife, barreling towards him.
"Cillian!" She cried again, her eyes briefly doing a once over him. When he didn't appear hurt, she shoved his chest.
"Do you have a death wish!?" She screeched in pure fury. He noticed her eyes were red, brimmed with tears. The edges of her sleeves were damp from wiping her tears from them. "You could have died!"
His brows furrowed, not thinking what he did was a big deal. He was a supernatural creature. Any one of the other lycanthrope could have done the same with no or minor injuries. "I don't-"
"Stop." She cut him off, her hand held up with a finality to it. "Just... stop." Her anger melted, shoulders now slumped. She took a deep, shuddering breath as exhaustion took anger's place.
His heart twinged at how worried she was about him. Making slow, calculated movements, he reached for her hand. When it was accepted, he pulled her closer until she rested against his firm front, her head nestled into his chest. His arms cocooned around her, one of his hands cupping the back of her head, his fingers weaving into her hair. Her fingers gripped the back of his shirt, as if she let go, he'd disappear. Her breath hitched in her throat and he gently hushed her, holding her all the tighter.
"I'm okay." He reassured her, softly. "It's okay."
"Who freaking does that?" She exasperated, her voice muffled from being pressed against him. "You're crazy!"
His deep chuckle vibrated in his chest and she leaned into it. "Would you be mad if I said that wasn't the first time I've done that?"
She groaned at the thought and held him tighter.
His fingers traced patterns up and down her back, soothing her. "I'm sorry."
She pulled back just enough to peek at him. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
He smiled gently at her. "Yes ma'am."
"How did they even find their way in?" She asked as others made their way over. "Are they humans?"
"They're humans. We're trying to figure that out too." Andrew sighed, hands on his hips. He turned to face Cillian and gave him a hearty pat on the back. "Good stop, son."
Cillian's eyes went blank, his head tilted to the side, and he became deathly still- completely quiet, not even breathing.
Sophie did a once over him and took his hand in hers to get his attention. "Cillian?"
A slow stream of blood trickled out his nose and then all hell broke loose. The most heart wrenching yell ripped from his throat, water flowing heavy and fast from his eyes to the point they weren't even tears, but streams of water. More blood fell from his nose and mouth, and he dug his hands into his hair, clutching his head.
"Cillian!" Sophie yelled above his screaming, falling to her knees with him when he couldn't stand any longer. "Cillian, what's happening!?"
His wails only grew louder, shattering her heart. In the midst of the chaos, her eyes landed on one of the humans. He was handcuffed now, a lycanthrope on either side of him. He smirked, and it only grew the more her husband suffered.
Then she was on her feet, storming towards him. "What are you doing to him!?" She seethed, shoving him for good measure.
Cillian's screams only intensified.
"He's killing him!" Andrew exclaimed, holding on to his son.
Complete fury engulfed her whole body and she found herself bringing her knee back and sharply up, kneeing the man right where the sun don't shine.
He doubled over in pain and a cry escaped his lips. A device fell out of his mouth and onto the ground.
Sophie dove for it and hastily scanned it over. There was one button. Having nothing to lose, she pressed it. The moment she did, Cillian's screams stopped with it. She shoved it against Sully's chest and ran to her mate. She dropped to her knees and cradled his head in her hands. "Cillian? Baby, please, wake up." She hoarsely begged, tears streaming down her face.
"We need to get him to a doctor." Andrew urged, beckoning Sully over. "He's breathing, but it's shallow."
Sully complied and hauled one of his brother's arms over his shoulder, his dad getting the other.
Sophie struggled to keep up with the men, but did her best to. They brought him to the hospital, doctors immediately coming to his aid. In a flash, they laid him on a bed and was swiftly rolled away. Wasting now time, she followed.
"Sophie, we can't go back there." Andrew stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "He's in good hands."
She wanted to fight him, but she knew it'd be no use. He was in the doctor's hands now.
With wide, frantic eyes, she shoved her hands into her hair, pulling it at the root. Her breaths came out quick and sporadic, like there wasn't enough oxygen in the room.
"Hey, now. None of that. I need your help, so I need you to breathe." Andrew intervened, gently pulling her hands from her hair.
Sophie allowed him to move her arms, but pulled out of his touch to sit on a chair.
"I'm going to give Angie a call to come here." He told her, hoping his wife could offer more comfort than he could. "Sully, stay here with her. I'll be down the hall."
Sully didn't say anything but watched as Andrew retreated down the hall while Sophie continued to panic. "They've come back for him." She whispered, horror taking over her features.
Sully's eyes snapped up to glare at her. "Who?" He growled. He knew who. He wanted to hear her say it.
Her gaze fell, unable to summon the courage to tell him the very people he hates, who ruined his family for generations, once again know where they live.
"Who, Sophia?" He demanded, taking a step towards her.
She swallowed hard and ducked her head, telling him everything he needed to know.
All the anger and bitterness that had been brewing inside him burst out. "You led the humans straight to us!"
She leapt out of her seat to create more distance between them. With her shaky hands raised in front of her in a protective manner, she pleaded, "Sully, we didn't mean for this to happen." Every step he took forward, she took several back.
Without touching her, he had her pinned against the wall. Burning rage hissed through his body, like a volcano erupting; fury swept off him like ferocious waves. His knuckles were white from clenching his fist too hard, his face was red with suppressed anger.
A choked cry forced itself up her throat, and she felt a drop run down her cheek. A fist drew up and punched the wall beside her head. He could punch right through the wall if he wanted to, but he didn't. He kept his hand there to remind her. To warn her. He could end her if he wanted to.
"How dare you." The absolute authority and dominance in his voice was utterly terrifying. "Do you realize what you've done!?"
She flinched at his yell, screwed her eyes shut, and brought her hands up to protect herself. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
Hearing the commotion, Andrew came back. "That's enough!" He barked, grabbed his son by the back of the shirt and tugged him back. Sully was a lot stronger than his dad, but still, he allowed him to draw him back. "They're going to need you. Go." Andrew told his son, but Sophie was unsure who he would be needed by.
With one last heated glare sent in Sophie's direction, Sully did as told, retreating down the hall. Andrew didn't come any closer, not wanting to scare her anymore than she already was. "Are you alright?"
Though her eyes were wide and frantic, she nodded her head.
He sighed, disappointed in his youngest son, yet at the same time saw where he was coming from. It was difficult not to be angry.
"Angie is tied up with something right now and I need to deal with the humans." He explained as calmly as he could. "Will you be okay here? I'm not sure how long they'll be."
She sniffled, blinking away her tears. "Yeah," she rasped, cautiously sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting room once again. "I'll be okay."
Though hesitant, Andrew had no other choice but to leave her.
She wasn't sure how much time went by, but it felt like an eternity before she got a text from an unknown number.
Meet me down the hall, third door on your right.
She threw all caution out the window and wasted no time sprinting to her destination. She fully expected to open the door and find her husband laying down in a bed, recovering. Instead, she opened the door to a lab of sorts.
"Hello?" She called, not seeing anyone around. "Where is-"
"He's not awake yet." A deep voice cut her off, sending a chill down her spine.
While Sully hasn't done anything to hurt her this far, she still didn't trust he wouldn't. He made it pretty clear he hated humans. More specifically, he made it pretty clear he hated her and blamed her for everything.
Her heart rate immediately spiked and the look in his eyes told her he could hear it. Under his breath, he muttered, "Relax, kid. I'm not going to hurt you."
She swallowed hard and scanned his large form up and down from the opposite side of the room. "You're not?"
He made his way closer and briefly his gaze met hers, an eyebrow raised. "Should I?"
"No." She responded immediately.
"Have I yet?" He challenged.
"No..."
"But I could have?"
She cleared her throat. "Yes."
"And did I?"
She sighed, her posture relaxing ever so slightly.
"C'mere, I need to show you this." He grumbled and beckoned her over to the table he was standing at. Pulled up on a tablet was a scan of Cillian's head. "We sedated him and did an MRI. It shows something at the base of his skull."
"A tracker?" She wondered.
"Partially, yes. That's what we're assuming." He replied, zooming in on the screen. "The problem is, we don't know if that's what cause him to be in that pain. Our concern is if we go in to remove it, it could set it off again or... or worse."
She nodded, her eyes blank, processing. "Is that our only option?"
"It's risk it and remove it, or risk leaving it and it happens again."
Her brows furrowed together as she thought. "I'll be sure to talk it over with him." She responded, quietly. "And Sully?"
He hummed.
"I really am sorry. I never would have thought..." her voice died off.
He nodded, not necessarily accepting her apology, but also not rejecting it.
"Why do you hate humans so much?" She couldn't help but ask. After the question left her mouth, she almost wishes she didn't say anything, considering the look on his face.
"You think just because I wasn't alive when they destroyed my family's home that I haven't had encounters with them since?" He snapped.
"I... I didn't know." She replied.
His pinched brows relaxed slightly and his tone became less harsh- still his usual grumpy Sully self, but not as angry. "It might be a little while before he wakes from the anesthesia, but he's in there. First door on the right." He said, deciding not to explain any further.
She managed the best smile she could and told him, "thank you, Sully."
She jogged to the room he gestured to, wasting no time barging through the door. Tucked under the blankets, Cillian was still asleep on the hospital bed, a couple of IV's hooked up to his arm. Quietly, she padded closer, and took a seat on the edge of the bed by his side.
With tears in her eyes, she ran a gentle hand through his hair, relieved to see the steady rise and fall of his chest. She sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and she mentally thanked God he was alright. When her eyes opened, the found Cillian's tired golden eyes already staring back at her in concern.
"Hey, you." She sniffled, giving him a watery smile.
"Hi, Sophie." His normally deep and strong voice was now tired and weak. "What's wrong?" He gazed at her sleepily, calmer knowing that she was here.
"What's wrong?" She repeated, hiding her amusement because of course he'd ask something like that. "You almost died."
"Sorry," He mumbled, sheepishly, and almost smiled at her, his mind seemingly else where. His eyes slowly wandered over her face, wanting to admire each spot of it. "Sorry for scaring you."
"Just don't do it again." She quietly teased, a tear trailing down her cheek. On instinct, his hand reached up to wipe it away. She placed a hand over his, keeping his hand on her cheek. "How're you feeling?"
His head lolled to the side to face her more. "Like I got hit by a truck."
"Pretty sure you hit the truck." She tried to joke, her tone soft. "What about your head?"
"I'll be okay." He tried to brush off, not wanting her to worry.
"Cillian." She warned.
A breathy laugh escaped his lips. "It hurts, but it'll be okay."
She hesitantly accepted his answer and nervously bit her lip. "Is there anything I can get you?" She questioned, trying to ease his mind.
He raised his arm up, inviting her in bed next to him.
She shook her head, taken back by his request. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't." His deep voice rumbled in his chest. He raised his arm again, making it clear he wanted her close. "Please?"
She was still as careful as she could be as she snuggled up against his side and placed her head in the crook of his neck. She heard him mutter a quiet, "thank you," before he fell into what she thought was a deep sleep.
He didn't sleep though. He didn't want to yet. He waited until she fell asleep and just.... admired her. Reminding himself that he still has her and that the no one can get to them. Now he has her in his arms, that was all he needed.
Hours later, no longer feeling the weight of her mate's arm around her waist, Sophie shifted in bed, in a sleepy search for him. She felt around for him with no luck and opened her eyes.
He was gone.
â¢â¢â¢
Thank you so much for 18.5k reads!! We're so close to 20k!! Please don't forget to comment, follow, and vote!
Thank you again for being patient with the updates. The book will be finished no matter what, it just might be a little slower than I was anticipating. Life has been craaaazy!
Question of the chapter: would y'all like to see a sneak peek of my newest werewolf book I'm in the middle of writing rn?