“We don’t know yet, but we assume it’s someone from the pack.” Each one of his heartbeats punched my cheek.
“Is Bea okay?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think the fire and”—I licked my lips—“what happened to Lori are related?”
“Yes.”
Liam pushed a door open, and I realized it was the one to my family home. Without turning on any lights, he stalked up the stairs, then burst into my pink-tiled bathroom. With a gentleness that was so at odds with his brutal movements, he set me down inside my bathtub, plugged in the stopper, and twisted the tap until water gushed out.
He took my hands, inspected my fingers, which were swollen and purplish, then raked his gaze across the rest of me. He pumped soap into his palms and rubbed my skin, the groove between his eyebrows deepening as he worked up a lather.
Voices erupted downstairs. And then my mother stood in the doorway, her long hair snarled, her eyes shiny and red-rimmed.
Her lips began to tremble. She slammed them shut, then inhaled deeply. “I’ll go get dressed. I’ll be right back.”
I drew my knees into my chest as Liam drained the bath and turned on the shower nozzle, spraying my curved spine to keep me warm. Once the sullied water emptied, he jammed the plug back in place and one-handedly shampooed my hair. I rested my cheek against my knees, gazing at this strange man who surely had more important things to do than rid my body of foreign blood. Not that I wasn’t grateful for his quiet ministrations.
I was tremendously grateful.
And moved beyond words.
I almost wished he’d stop and leave, though, because how was I supposed to not fall completely in love with him?
My mother returned as he was combing his fingers through my long hair, attempting to coax out the multitude of knots. I’d need conditioner. A lot of it.
“I got her, Liam.” She placed a palm on his scarred shoulder. “Go.”
When he didn’t, she extricated the shower nozzle from his white-knuckled grip. He rose slowly, eyes glazed and unfocused.
“Thank you for bathing me.” I tried to smile. Managed a fleeting one.
He gave a sharp nod, rammed a wet hand through his chaotic locks, and backed up. And then he wheeled around and was gone.
I met my mother’s tired gaze, and the dam I’d erected around myself crumbled, releasing all my pent-up tension. “Oh, Mom.” My voice splintered. “Mom.”
She hung up the shower nozzle and then leaned over and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
“You’re getting all wet,” I croaked.
“You think I care? All I care is that you’re breathing. That you’re safe. Oh, sweetie . . .” She muffled a sob against my neck. “When your daddy and I heard the gunshot, and Nate said you’d gone home with Lori . . .” Her whole body shook.
I laced my arms around her back, soaking her T-shirt. “Lori was going to leave tonight,” I whispered.
And she had, but she hadn’t made it to any island.
I raised my gaze toward my skylight and shut my swollen eyes, feeling the moon on my face through the white tempest.
I hoped Lycaon would transport her to an island.
Even if it was one in the sky.
Chapter 48
Iwoke up where I’d fallen asleep—on the couch in the living room, with my head on my mother’s lap. All four of my brothers, my father, and Adalyn were there, sprawled helter-skelter over the rugs and armchairs.
We’d talked long into the night, all of us too wired to sleep, yet too exhausted to head to our respective beds. In all honesty though, it wasn’t exhaustion which had tethered us to the living room but a visceral need for one another, to monitor each other’s breaths and heartbeats.
