Page 25 of Witchblood
No one really knew how oldApawas. I suspected over a thousand, but no one talked about it. The fact that Liam wouldn’t give me a straight answer meant he was really old. Older than Felix, I wondered. Was he on the verge of losing it too? Is that whyApahad chased me into his territory? “Older than Felix?” I whispered, not realizing I was really asking a question.
“No,” Liam said gently. “I believe last I heard, Felix was a half millennia or so old. Not as old as Oberon, who is almost as old as the Volkov himself. I am not as old as Felix.”
I wouldn’t ask if he were crazy. The crazy couldn’t really answer that truthfully. He hadn’t attacked me yet, and that was something. But he was really possessive. “Last question for today. Do you have any lovers or other kids lingering around that I should worry about?”
“No. Korissa is my only child. And I’ve already told you about her mother.” He didn’t point out that I’d already had my three questions. I had a million more. He could have a little time to sort out what to tell me. Getting information had never been hard for me. Part of being an omega made people just want to talk to me. If he was telling the truth, then maybe, just maybe he wasn’t like Felix. I didn’t want to be anyone’s dirty little secret.
“Would you hide me from everyone? Your pack? Other packs? Regular people?” What I didn’t say, but so wanted to ask was: Would you be ashamed of me? I didn’t expect him to answer.
“No,” Liam said, looking me straight in the eyes. “My pack already knows. The world can know. I don’t care what they think.”
“About us being mates,” I clarified because everything was still just so complicated. We’d just met. Sure I felt this pull toward him, but I’d felt drawn to Felix too. Liam was dangling a dream in front of me, and I was too afraid to reach for it. Instant love didn’t happen in the real world, only in storybooks. My life might have been filled with fantastical monsters, but I couldn’t see a happy ending coming any time soon. It was better if I just left. Before I began to hope and maybe fall in love again. Definitely before I began to trust again.
Liam sighed, once again seeming to know what I was thinking because he said, “What will you have if you run again? I’m offering you a place to rest. A home with protection.”
“And strings. You want me to be your mate. Which I still don’t get. You’re an alpha. Alpha’s don’t do men. Won’t it make other alphas think you’re weak? Have other men challenging you?” It boggled the mind. “I have nothing to offer you. The Volkov doesn’t listen to me, so you can’t use me to control him. My magic isn’t that powerful, and I have no money or power to help you build your pack. The omega thing isn’t really a power. You’d be better off finding a human woman to serve as omega.”
“I tried that. And while I love my daughter, the relationship was a nightmare. Fighting my wolf every day because the world accepts my marriage with a human female? Wasted years. Endless battles. My wolf rejoiced when he first scented you. Exclaimed: Mine! Mine! Finally, mine! You are more than just the value of what you can do for me. You have worth just being you. I understand if you don’t believe it yet. You’ve been running a long time, before you even left your pack, I believe. The Volkov is to blame for that. As your Alpha it was his responsibility to provide you with safety, love, and a home. I offer no strings, just safety, and home. Wishes, yes. Again, what will you have if you run? Is that freedom? Or a cage of fear? Always running.
“Omegas are ingrained to want roots, a home, and a pack. You’ll never have any of that if you continue to run. And what of your alchemy? The gardens and the tea? The things you love so much that you’ve given up to escape? What if stopping here will let you reclaim that part of your life?”
Damn him for seeing so much of me in such a short period of time. He searched my head, likely for damage. His hands gently massaged my scalp. He also seemed to be enjoying the way my hair cascaded through his fingers. It had been a long time since I’d felt sexually aroused by anyone. His continued touch burned into me with need, building something in my gut I’d never felt before, a longing to be claimed, to submit. But I couldn’t.
“It’s not safe. There’s Felix, andApaand maybe Hugo.”
“There’s not. The Volkov has declared you mine. Felix has no claim. And while I won’t force you to mate me, it does give you a safe place to rebuild. Heal. From more than just these physical wounds. If Hugo comes, I will deal with him.” He ran his fingers over my scalp. “Are there any tender spots? How is your vision?”
He was too close again. My brain warred with the thought of begging for another kiss and screaming at him to stop touching me. I just grunted. Liam sat back on his knees, finally releasing me completely. Immediately I missed the warm of this touch. Stupid contrary nature.
“Your word you won’t run?”
“That’s not fair.”
“I give you my word as the Alpha of this territory. I will protect you. I will not harm you. I will not let my people harm you.”
“That’s a lot of promises.” Unrealistic really. And werewolves weren’t bound to the truth like the fae were. He didn’t smell like he was lying, but believing something was true was different than it actually being true.
A phone rang and Liam frowned as he pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. My hearing wasn’t as good as the wolves, and he must have had the volume turned way down because all I could make out was Dylan’s voice. Liam simply replied, “Yes,” after a moment and hung up. Then there was a knock at the door.
“Enter,” Liam called. Of course it was Dylan, who stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He was carrying a box, like the sort of thing UPS left on people’s doorstep. He didn’t seem bothered by the almost subservient position of his Alpha in front of me. He just crossed the room, dropped the box on the bed beside me, turned and left without another word.
Once the door was closed, Liam reached for the box. I took the opportunity to pull out of his touch completely, wrapping myself up in the top blanket. It was a flimsy barrier, but so was my resolve not to touch Liam again. How long would the taste of his lips linger on mine? When would his power stop rolling through me? Was this what it felt like to have a mate? I’d never felt this haunted by Felix’s touch. I’d also never felt the need to roll in his scent, revel in his kiss, and beg for his touch. I sucked in a deep breath and focused on calming my body.
“The box is for you from the Volkov. It smells like the Volkov.” Liam hesitated. “Perhaps I should have one of my wolves take it outside and open it.”
“IfApawanted me dead, I’d already be dead,” I told Liam. Though I wasn’t sure that was true. Felix might want me dead, but Liam said the box smelled likeApa. I wasn’t close enough to tell. It could have been an elaborate ploy by Felix to hurt me, but I couldn’t really see him setting a bomb or something. Maybe he wanted me dead now that he knew he’d never get me back. Or maybe he just wanted to kill me himself. But it would never be from a distance.
Liam ripped at the tape on the box and opened it. Inside was a wallet and a cell phone. Both items I had abandoned when I’d run from the Volkov’s territory a year ago. The contents of the wallet hadn’t changed. My driver’s license, cash, credit cards, business cards, everything. Liam examined the phone, first taking off the backing to look at the battery area, then putting it back together and holding the ON button. It took a moment for the little Apple symbol to fade and my old background photo to show up. It had been a picture of my garden, one taken to hastily replace the one I’d once had of Felix.
Then the phone started ringing. Across the screen in large letters it read,Apa.I took the phone from Liam and hit decline. How hadApaknown? Not only when I got the phone but when it had been turned on? Was there some sort of tracker in it? Was he really in my head? Able to find me anywhere just like he led everyone to believe? He denied omniscience, but he always seemed to know everything about everybody. It was unnerving as hell.
The phone began to ring again. Liam took it back and accepted the call, hitting the speaker button. “Hello,” Liam answered.
I clutched at the blanket waiting for anger, rejection, and painful words. At least this far away all he could do was talk me to death.
“Liam?”Apa’svoice came through the phone, soft and uncertain, which was unusual. “Is Seb there? Is he safe in your territory?”
Liam’s eyes flicked up to my face, and I don’t know what he saw there, but he answered, “He’s safe.”