"Alright then," I said, taking a deep breath to steady myself. "If Erica is the key, then we have to find another way to deal with this curse without jeopardising her or the pack." My mind raced through possibilities, each one more unlikely than the last.
"Plan B," Damon suggested, his dark eyes filled with determination. "We'll figure out how to save everyone, even if it means doing the unthinkable." I nodded, my heart swelling with gratitude for my best friend.
"You don't have to stay and risk your wolf being affected, you know. You can leave the pack, find a new life somewhere else."
"Absolutely not," he scoffed, crossing his arms defiantly. "You're my brother, Liam. Maybe not in blood, but in spirit. And neither my wolf nor I give a damn about the risks. We're going to see this through to the end, together."
"Thank you," I whispered, touched by his loyalty. It was a rare thing, especially in our world of supernatural politics and betrayals.
"Let's get started, then," Damon said, pushing aside the papers on the table and pulling out a fresh sheet of paper. "We need to make a list of options and start weighing their pros and cons. There has to be a solution here somewhere."
We dived back into the stack of papers, discussing the various packs that might be willing to take in our people. The weight of what we were planning hung heavy in the air, but we had no choice. As the hour passed, my mind was consumed with thoughts of Erica and the uncertainty of our future.
"Maybe the Redwood pack would be a good fit for some of our warriors," Damon suggested, breaking the silence. "They're known for their strength and resilience."
"True," I agreed, jotting down notes. But as I put pen to paper, a sudden mind link from Security jolted me out of the conversation.
"Alpha Liam, there's been a breakout at the cells!" the guard's voice echoed in my head, frantic.
"Who?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Dread coiled in my gut like a snake.
"Grant. He's gone."
"Shit!" Damon swore, his own anger flaring as he picked up on the mind link. "How the hell did he get out?"
"Half an hour ago, Erica Hallows accessed the cells," the guard replied, his confusion evident even through the mental connection.
My heart hammered in my chest, my eyes widening in disbelief. Without another word, Damon and I sprinted out of the room and toward my bedroom where Erica had been unconscious just hours before. How was this possible? Bursting through the door, my breath caught in my throat as I took in the empty room. No sign of Erica. Only the rumpled sheets and her lingering scent remained.
"Sound the alarm," Damon ordered the guard through the mind link, his jaw clenched. As the alarms continued to blare, I frantically searched the room for any sign of struggle or a clue as to where Erica might have gone. My heart pounded wildly in my chest, threatening to burst as panic clawed at me. Then, my eyes fell upon an envelope resting on the bedside table.
"Over here," I called out to Damon, my voice barely audible over the cacophony. I tore open the envelope with trembling hands, and the engagement ring I had given Erica earlier that night slipped out, falling to the floor with a metallic clink. I felt as if my heart was splintering into a thousand pieces as I picked up the ring, it's cold weight anchoring me to the cruel reality of the situation. With a deep breath, I unfolded the single sheet of paper, my fated mate's handwriting scrawled across it. The words stung like a blade, cutting me apart piece by piece.
“My dearest Liam,
I am so sorry. I simply can not stand by and let you give up anything. I heard you talking to Damon, and I am not willing for you to lose all that you have built, or your life. You say I am the key. Maybe the lock isn’t what we think it is.
So now I have a plan C, and I do this for you, because I love you. And I hope that you can forgive me for what I have to do.
You wanted to know if I was yours earlier, well I am yours. I will always be yours until the day I die. Please remember that and where my heart really is, no matter what you hear now.
I love you forever,
Always yours,
Erica.”
Chapter 40
Erica
Ifelthiscaninessink into my marking spot and heat rushed all over my body as I finally understood what they talked about with energy. I could feel Liam’s essence coursing through my… well, everywhere. I cried out and felt him arrive too, and his seed rushed in to complete the bond with his essence. And then…
… White hot searing pain rushed through me. It was like what was so perfect and amazing, was suddenly like acid burning its way through my body, eating me from the inside out. I screamed in pain and lost full control of my body as all my muscles felt like they were trying to push away the burning acid and the pain. I could feel a tension, like something was trying to get through, and then suddenly it felt like a door was slammed shut and the pain intensified. I couldn’t stand it anymore and felt myself retreat into the black hole of my mind to escape from the pain. I was enveloped in complete black, no sight, no sound, no feeling, nothing.
I found myself back on the clifftop and knew instantly that I was dreaming. Why was I here now, and what the hell happened? I knew Liam had tried to mark me but it had clearly gone very wrong.
“We rejected it,” I heard a familiar voice and looked around to see the wolf standing outside the cage. Wait! My wolf! She was beautiful, all white and pure.
