"Please stay. I want you, I need you. Oh God, don't take these beautiful things that I've got."
~ Beautiful things Benson Boone
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It's been one month since Cillian went missing. One month since Sophie's health had plummeted due to it. One month since her heart was torn in two.
Andrew and Sully took turns doing searches for Cillian, but every time they came up empty handed. She appreciated their efforts, considering she'd have no idea where to look. With their senses and technology, they could at least get an idea of where he went.
However, she feared this was exactly what Hoppers wanted. She feared he wanted to lead more lycanthrope right into his trap and build his army. Andrew was aware of this and told her that nothing would stop him from getting Cillian back. He felt he failed as a father all those years ago, he wasn't about to do it again.
On the other hand, Sully wasn't as thrilled for searching for his brother. He despised humans and made that pretty clear. He feared the same thing as Sophie- that Cillian was the bait to lure them in. Still, he listened to his alpha and father, taking turns with him to search for him.
Then one night when Andrew was searching, Sully woke up to a phone call.
After speaking with the pack doctor, Sully made his way back to his father's hospital room, his eyes already bloodshot. Just as he was about to pass the doorway, he froze. His muscular legs that usually kept him standing tall and strong instead trembled, on the verge of giving out from under him. Grief disguised as reality washed over him like an unforgiving wave, mercilessly consuming his thoughts.
He couldn't cross the threshold. The moment he did, he would have to accept reality. He would have to say goodbye. He would have to accept life would now never be the same. He would have to build a new life, not only for himself, but for his mom, and for the pack.
From the doorway, he spotted his mom at his dad's bedside. Everything about her was messy. From the makeup smudged just below her left eye, to her wrinkled clothes, to the tears and rips on her heart.
Sophie was right beside her at his dad's bedside. Silently, he remained where he was in the doorway, out of their line of vision. He wanted nothing more than to let his anger boil over, to strangle the life out of Sophie like the other humans did to his father... but he stood back and watched as Sophie, sicker than a dog, powered through her own struggles and wrapped an arm around his mom. His mom returned the gesture, the two women holding onto each other.
More tears welled in Sully's eyes at the state of his father. His eyes were swelled shut, a tube was shoved down his throat to keep him alive, and a dark purple bruise circled around his neck.
While leading a search party with a few other pack members, Andrew decided to split up- a decision what would later turn fatal. Not long after, a couple others found their alpha dangling by the neck from a tree. Blood work would later show he was sedated enough to first be restrained, his arms and legs chained so he couldn't fight back or untie the noose from his neck.
In his pocket, a note read: see you soon.
Sophie sniffled and quietly asked, "Where's Sully? Would you like me to get him?"
"No, he's on his way." Angie replied, numbly. "He's speaking with the doctor. They're making arrangements for what to... what to do with Andrew after..." her soft voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Unable to accept reality. Unable to accept her husband was brain dead. Now they just had to pull the plug and decide what to do with his body.
Sophie heard her grind her teeth in the desperate battle against grief. She couldn't bring herself to speak so she squeezed her mother in-law tad tighter in comfort, in apology, in acknowledgement.
"I think he's waiting for me."
Sophie hummed at the sudden statement, not understanding.
Angie swallowed hard and angrily brushed her tears away with her already drenched sleeve. "I think Andy wants me to let him go." She explained with a sniffle. Her chin wobbled as she further confessed, "and I don't want to."
After a shaky breath, Sophie whispered, "that's a big ask."
Her lip quivered and panic seized her chest, making her body tremble. "It is." Angie admitted.
The only sounds in the room for about a minute or so was the beeping of machines that were keeping him somewhat alive. A sob escaped past Angie's lips, making Sully tear up more as well.
"You don't have to do it alone." Sophie rasped out. "I'll be here if you want me to be."
Angie's body trembled in panic, fear, distress, nearly every overwhelming emotion a person could experience and she swore it felt like she was going to die herself. It was beyond her to know that people could do this and live to tell about it. It felt as if her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Finally, she nodded and whispered, "please."
It was then Sully decided to make himself known. Without a word, he stood at his mother's side, opposite of Sophie. He draped his heavy arm over her shoulders while Sophie's arm was still around her waist. The two women had a knowing that he heard everything that Angie had already explained.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie peeked up at him. He looked terrible. He had a light stubble growing on his face, he had dark bags under his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot. He reeked of alcohol, but she made no mention of it. Lycanthrope were unable to get drunk, but it sure smelt like he tried.
After a moment, Angie reached down and grasped her mate's cold hands, nearly flinching from the sensation. "Hey, you." She began with a sniffle. She took a moment. A long moment. But even still, Sophie nor Sully rushed her. They just stayed with her in the silence.
A lone tear traced down her cheek, and just like that, the floodgates opened. Tears streamed down her face hard and fast, loud, heaving sobs tore from her throat, and the pain in her chest finally drove her to her knees. Her grip on her husband's hand didn't falter as she pressed his hand to her face.
The scene was so heart breaking, it made Sully break down with her. Not only was he losing his dad, but he was witnessing his mom lose her soul mate. This could put her life at risk. A lycanthrope dying of a broken heart wasn't unheard of.
She used her sleeve to messily wipe her face. Through her tears, she just barely made out her husband's face. "I love you so much." She hiccuped, feeling as if she couldn't breathe in enough air. "You fought so hard to get our son back and I promise you I will do everything in my power to finish what you started. We will bring our boy home again."
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Andrew's funeral came and went, leaving the pack without an Alpha. Before Cillian made his way back to the pack, Sully was next in line for it. However, he couldn't take the title knowing his father promised it to Cillian. He wasn't even sure if Cillian wanted the position or if he was even still alive to take it. Nonetheless, someone would have to take the position in the mean time. Temporarily, Sully called the shots.
It was now a month and a week with no sign of Cillian. No trace of the humans beside the note, promising that they'd make their appearance soon.
Because of this, Sully upped the guards patrolling the perimeter and cracked down on training. Sully expected a war. He expected chaos. He expected a fight, defending his land so they wouldn't repeat history of what happened last time.
What he didn't expect was to find his big brother, unconscious, on the perimeter of their territory in the middle of the night.
Immediately Sully dropped to his knees and flipped Cillian over, checking for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.
He took a moment to examine him. Cillian's face was beaten to a pulp. His face swelled with bruises and blood leaked through his shirt from lacerations on his back. What stood out to Sully the most was the back of his head, shaved with a stitched up incision in the back of it.
He brought him to the hospital, but in the room that they handled criminals. Something about his sudden return didn't sit right with Sully and he wasn't taking any chances. No one was getting in or out of his room without him knowing about it. It was heavily surveilled and guarded for Cillian's safety and for everyone else's.
Cillian was sedated as they patched him up and for a scan. As Sully suspected, the device that was implanted in his head was gone.
While this could be considered a good thing, he feared there was more behind this. Why would the humans want to remove something that gave them so much power over him?
Finally, he informed Sophie.
"Whoa, hold on. I know you're excited, but I think you need to prepare yourself for what you're about to see." Sully warned, stopping Sophie with a hand on her bicep. "He's not himself."
She shrugged him off, but stopped for a moment. "Don't get me wrong, it's going to be hard to see him hurt, but I can't wait anymore. It'll be fine." She said and continued towards the room her husband was being held.
He blocked her path. "It's not fine, you're not fine, and neither is he. I don't think you're understanding what I'm saying."
A new boldness shot through her as she took a step towards him, toe to toe with the very lycanthrope that wanted her dead not very long ago. "I'm going to see my husband. Move."
With a stern expression, he opened his mouth with what would have been a snarky reply, but ultimately stopped himself. He huffed an unamused laugh and shook his head. "Fine, short stack. Don't say I didn't warn you. Go see for yourself."
The guards let her through and she burst through the door, her eyes immediately landing on Cillian's. She cried out in sheer joy at just the sight of him, knowing now he was finally safe.
His face was far more beat up than she expected, the right side bruised and scratched. Sully informed her of the lacerations on his back, most likely from a barbed whip. There was a purple line around his neck, telling her he had been strangled at some point. His leg was in a cast, probably broken and bloodied as well. She was sure he had other injuries under his clothes and was careful as she embraced him in a hug.
With her arms over his shoulders, his big hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers entangling into her hair. She hugged him all the tighter and expected him to in return. Instead of the embrace tightening, his hand did in her hair.
Before she could blink, he ripped her off of him by the hair. Her eyes snapped up to meet the ones she fell in love with over this short period of time. She didn't find any light, kindness, admiration, or love that she usually found in his eyes. They were cold, emotionless, and what scared her the most was that they were blood red.
"Cillian?" She whispered so quietly, only someone with his hearing could hear it.
Carefully, she reached out. Cillian flinched away, his face twisted in anger, his eyes weary in confusion.
"What's wrong?" She whispered, taking a step towards him.
With an inhuman growl, his hand wrapped around her neck and effortlessly lifted off the ground, all while still laying in his hospital bed.
It didn't take long for everything to go black.
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P.S. I know y'all probably hate me for cliffhangers but they're kind of my fav thing ð