I could see the alarm in Damien’s face as he too had his arms placed out like he was trying to cage a wild animal. The primal urge to submit to her rolled over me and I shook it off, I felt the pain of it rush over every atom in us, only fueling the desire to cause her the same pain that she caused Lily, caused me. As I threw everything that I had at her.
I will give her one thing: she was fast, faster than I could have imagined, her kick sending me flying into Damien’s car leaving a dent and outline of my body in his door.
Getting to my feet, I shift. My clothes shredding to pieces as I stalk towards her, teeth bared and head down. I could feel my fur rise as I hackled up. Damien shifting beside me made my eyes dart to him as I felt Darian take over. His Alpha voice rang loudly through the link as he lunged at me. But I was quicker as I lunged at the same time back at Aria. Darian missed me, hitting air.
My claws digging into the earth before I spring off my back legs and run full force at her. What I wasn’t expecting was the look of panic on her face, and I thought she feared me. That wasn’t it, though. The fear wasn’t for herself. It was the fear you see in a mother’s eyes. Aria screams and runs straight at me and I see him a second later.
Ryker runs straight into my path. My heart beating so fast, I watch as time slows, and I force the shift from wolf back to Lily’s skin. Knowing if I don’t, he was going to get nothing but claws and teeth.
Skidding along the concrete driveway, I feel my skin being ripped to shreds as the gravel bites into my flesh. When I stop, I find myself on top of Ryker before he tries to shove me off.
Aria’s frantic screaming for her son makes me spring up and off him as panic seized me. Ryker shakes his head and his mop of black hair flops to the side as he brushes his fringe to the side and off his face before sitting up.
“Bad Layla, don't eat my mother” He says smacking my shoulder. And I sigh a breath of relief before ripping him to me and hugging him tight, realising he was okay. Aria was at his side in a second, gripping his face and checking him for injuries, but I was too lost in the fear of almost hurting him when I heard his little voice and I fought the urge to laugh as he hugs me tightly. I hear Damien shifting back, but I don’t pay attention as all I can think is how I almost hurt him.
“Aunty your boob is on my ear” He says and I chuckle before kissing his thick hair on his head. Then suddenly I feel it. The sting on the side of my neck and I place my hand on my neck, trying to understand where the bee-like sting came from. Looking up, I see Damien with a syringe in his hand before I feel the world spin, my body feeling heavy.
My body paralysed before I slump on the ground, Ryker’s hands on the side of my face stop my head smashing into the concrete as he gently places my head on the ground.
“You okay, Aunty Lil. You just need sleep” Ryker tells me and I feel my eyes flutter. The last thing I think is that the kid is wise beyond his years as darkness takes over and the last thing I see is his face watching me.
Chapter 35
Lily POV
I was in my bubble of nothing, just floating. Floating around in the darkness of my mind. No feeling, just darkness and silence. I felt at peace and I was forgetting why I was here. Forgetting if I came here voluntarily or if I was placed here. Yet I felt nothing, so I didn’t care. I wasn’t awake or asleep, just floating, and weightless.
I could hear a buzzing, the buzzing getting closer before I realised it was a voice I could hear. There was something about the voice. I knew it somehow, but I couldn’t figure out why it felt familiar. The voice got louder and louder as they got closer.
“Lily, Lily, damn it, where are you? Need a torch in here” I listen, trying to remember who it is, only coming up blank until I feel it rush past me.
“Man, time really stands still in here” The voice says and I feel myself questioning them.
“Who are you and how did you get here?”
“It’s me Layla, you don’t remember me?” She asks. The name is important to me. I know that much.
“You know who I am, how can you forget, I am the best part of you. And you me” She says and something in her words makes memories flash back to me. Memories of the day my father died, memories of Kade ripping my father’s heart out of his chest. The look on his face as he looked at me. Memories I was here to forget.
“Why are you here?” I ask her annoyed realising I left her and I feel the pain, the crippling pain of grief starting to swallow me.
“I missed you” She said, and I felt her presence around me. Comforting and I could almost feel her the closer she got, feel the teether that links us and all its frayed pieces barely holding us together and also dragging us apart. We sit in the darkness, not saying anything. After a few minutes, I hear her voice echoing loudly beside me into the abyss.
“Well this is fun, do you come here often?” She says and I chuckle.
“Don’t suppose you brought a torch, it's dark down here” Layla whines.
“Go back Layla, you can’t be here” I tell her.
“No, if your quitting I quit too”
“No, go back. You said you would take over”
“Yeah, tried that, I suck at being you. And there is something wrong with that skin of yours, it made me so itchy. You really need to rub some lotion on it, something is not right with it” She says.
“You promised, I tell her”
“No, I didn’t. I said I would take over, I never said how long for”