"Is she okay?" Gregg asked, his voice tight with worry.
"Erica is understandably upset," my father replied, shooting me another disappointed glance before turning to address the two men.
"Liam has locked her in his room for now."
As if on cue, the phone on my father's desk rang, its shrill tone slicing through the tense atmosphere. He picked it up, his eyes narrowing as he listened to the panicked voice on the other end. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickling, my instincts screaming that something was wrong.
"Marshall," he said, trying to soothe the beta of Erica's pack. "Calm down. Yes, we know about Erica." At the mention of Beta Marshall's name, my heart dropped like a stone. The realisation that I had caused even more chaos than I'd intended sank in, and I felt my insides churn with a mixture of guilt and frustration.
"Look, I understand how you feel," my father continued, glaring at me as he spoke. "But I assure you, Erica is safe. Liam acted impulsively, and we're dealing with the situation." I could almost hear Marshal's anger crackling through the phone line, and it took all my self-control not to lash out. My wolf prowled beneath my skin, its frustration mirroring my own. Love and responsibility warred within me, the weight of my actions bearing down on my soul. I had taken Erica in a desperate bid to keep her close. But in doing so, I had only driven her further away, and brought the wrath of her pack down upon us all.
"Marshall, hold on a second," my father said, pressing a button to put the call on speakerphone. The room fell silent as everyone listened intently.
"Look, I'll be straight with you," he continued, his voice heavy with the weight of responsibility. "Liam took Erica from her home."
"Are you kidding me?" Marshall roared through the phone, his voice laced with fury. "You let your son kidnap her?"
"Marshall, I assure you that we're handling the situation," my father replied, trying to keep his own anger in check. "But I understand how you feel, and-"
"Understand? You think you understand?" Marshall cut him off, his voice rising. "Becca and I are coming over right now. We want answers, Declan, and we want Erica back."
"Marshall, please—" my father began, but the line went dead before he could finish. With a sigh, he glared at me once more before sinking into his chair, the disappointment in his eyes cutting deeper than any physical wound. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, struggling to contain the turmoil raging within me.
We all sat in uncomfortable silence for about an hour before my father's office door opened, and Kaitlyn, my younger sister, walked in, followed by my mother, who held her head high, projecting an air of calm authority. Their arrival only added to the already tense atmosphere.
"Hey, Liam," Kaitlyn said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me. "What's going on? It sounds like there's a wild animal locked in your room." Damon couldn't help but snort at the comment.
"That's one way to put it. Your brother went all caveman on his fated mate and kidnapped her. She's locked in his room right now." My face flushed with a mix of embarrassment, anger, and shame as my sister stared at me, her mouth agape. My mother, however, regarded me with a quiet disapproval that somehow managed to cut deeper than Kaitlyn's shock.
"Really, Liam?" she said softly, the disappointment evident in her voice. "Is this who you want to be? The kind of Alpha who resorts to force instead of understanding and compassion?" I wanted to defend myself, to tell them that I was trying to protect Erica, but the words caught in my throat. I knew they were right, and it hurt more than I could bear. The burden of love and responsibility weighed heavily on my shoulders, crushing me beneath its relentless pressure.
As the room remained tense and silent, I couldn't help but feel the enormity of my actions closing in around me. I had acted out of fear, driven by a desperate need to keep Erica close and break the curse that plagued our pack. But I knew that in doing so, I had only pushed her further away and risked causing irreparable damage to the fragile bonds between our packs. And as much as it pained me, I realised I had no choice but to face the consequences of my actions, no matter how daunting they might be. A mind link buzzed through from the warrior on guard at the gate.
"Alpha Declan, your guests have arrived."
"Finally. Show them in," my father ordered through the link before shutting it down again. He knew as well as I did that this situation was far from simple, and the arrival of Erica's pack members would only complicate matters further.
As Marshall and Becca stormed into the office, their faces contorted with fury, I could practically feel the heat radiating off them. They were like living embodiments of righteous anger, and I knew that facing them would be akin to walking through fire.
"Where is she?" Marshall demanded, his voice like thunder rolling across the sky. "We want her back now!"
"Please," my father replied, attempting to defuse the situation with a calm authority. "I assure you, I am dealing with this matter. But there are complications."
"Complications?!" Marshall spat, his eyes blazing with a mixture of rage and disbelief. "What could possibly be more important than returning Erica to us?" My heart hammered against my chest as I fought to find the words, knowing that they would either save or damn me. And then, without thinking, I blurted out the truth that had been gnawing at me since the moment I'd laid eyes on Erica:
"She's my fated mate!"
The room fell silent as Becca and Marshall stared at me, their expressions a mixture of shock and confusion. It was clear that they had no idea about the connection that bound Erica and me together, and I could see them struggling to process this new information.
"Even if that's true," Marshall said finally, his voice heavy with barely contained rage, "that doesn't give you the right to kidnap her, lock her up, and take away her freedom!" I knew he was right, but the thought of losing Erica, of letting her slip through my fingers like grains of sand, filled me with a desperate, primal fear. My wolf snarled inside me, urging me to fight for what was mine, but my human side knew that I had to be better than that. I had to show Erica that I could protect her not just from the dangers lurking in the shadows, but from my own worst instincts as well.
"Please," I whispered, my voice cracking under the weight of my emotions. "Let me make this right." Marshall and Becca exchanged a glance, their faces unreadable. And as the seconds ticked by, the tension in the room grew thicker and heavier, until it felt as though the very air itself was pressing down on me, threatening to crush me beneath its suffocating burden.
"Fine," Marshall gritted his teeth, "but Erica's fate still remains her choice. You must let her go."
"Under the extenuating circumstances, with your pack being hunted, she'll be safer with the Silver Stone pack," my father interjected, his voice steady and authoritative.
After another half hour of arguing and no conclusions my father finally sighed heavily. The guilt was eating my up that I had caused this level of mess for everyone.
