Page 51 of Witchblood
“Apa,”I corrected.
“Of course not. You belong to me. This is my territory. You are my mate. He wouldn’t dare try to separate us. No one separates a true mate bond. Especially not one between an Alpha and an Omega.”
“He can do whatever he wants. He’s like the king of werewolves.”
“A president at best,” Liam said.
“If you think his rule is democratic you’ve got some surprises ahead. No one gets a vote on his decisions but him.”
Liam yanked me into his arms. For a minute I just stood there with his warmth surrounding me and his heart beating against my chest. I nestled my face into his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him. Here the bakery smell of him was faint. More a hint of the vanilla combination I’d followed out of Underhill than the nearly overwhelming siren call it had been last night. But it felt good being that close to him. It felt like home.
His sigh was long and deep as he rested his chin on the top of my head, not easing his hold on me one bit. “I know exactly what the Volkov is and can do. He’s scary, yes. But not invincible. Anyone who knows him well knows his weaknesses are few. And his biggest weakness is his heart. That’s why his family fears you so damn much. He loves you more than he loves most of them.”
I sucked in a breath like I’d been sucker punched. “He knew about Felix. Knew Felix wanted me.” Liam held me up and let me bask in his warmth, plus my thighs weren’t quite up to carrying around my weight. “If that’s love, it’s a twisted one.”
“Perhaps. I also know that your father has been trying not to kill Felix for the last fifty years for fear that he himself will be lost to madness with the pain. There aren’t many who would be strong enough to face the Volkov face to face when he’d gone berserk.”
The monster. I remembered the feeling it invoked so clearly, but not what it looked like. Just that gut-wrenching terror. I’d read once that a person couldn’t die from fear. The body’s reaction to fear, however, could kill a person if it made the heart stop, or lungs freeze up.
“I think he was hoping that you could ground Felix. Only that didn’t happen. Felix got worse. Now I think the Volkov prays that you can stop his beast from ripping us all to shreds. There is no choice but to put Felix down. I think the only reason Oberon hasn’t done it is because he fears the Volkov will go mad without you nearby.”
“I’m not a wolf. I’m just a little fox,” I reminded him. Compared to Oberon, I was a gnat on the Volkov’s back. IfApakilled Oberon in his madness, would there be anyone who could stand against him? Surely not Liam, the baker, who had a beautiful teenage daughter and a pack who loved him fiercely. Not Liam, who spared the man who’d previously run this territory. Not Liam, who held me like I was the most important person in the universe.
“You’re an omega. Even more than that, you’re awitchbloodomega. I felt your energy last night running at me from the darkness. I knew it was you, but couldn’t help worrying how much of you remained after your trip to Underhill. What if it had stripped away your humanity, I thought to myself? But it wouldn’t have mattered. I would have lain there until you ripped me apart if that was what you wanted.” He trembled around me. “Don’t leave me again. I nearly didn’t survive the madness the first time. Now that we’re truly mated, I’d be little more than a raving beast without you. Volkov be damned, the world would live in terror of me trying to find you.”
“Fuck.” Strange how amazing it felt to be needed so badly. Even if it was some weird magic or something. Hadn’t Dylan said something about figuring out what I really wanted? To be loved. To be needed. To be part of something. To not be alone anymore. Wasn’t that exactly what Liam was giving me? A home, a pack, a family, and his heart? “Fuck,” I repeated.
“Indeed. I think it’s best we head back to the house and see if we can calm some hot heads?”
“Yeah, Dylan probably has his hands full.”
Liam swallowed hard. I felt a ripple of something run through him. An emotion I was chasing to try to place. Worry. Fear. Despair.
“Liam?” I stared up into his clear blue eyes and didn’t like the pain I saw there.
“They have Dylan.”
“Who?”
“The rogues and Felix. They took him to distract me so Felix could take you.”
I blinked at him in horror. “Is he okay?” Oh wait, everything was beginning to flood back in. The bakery. Cookies. And Nicky. “Wait. What about Nicky? Where’s Nicky?” Had I vanished into Underhill only to accidently leave him behind for the wolves to kill?
Liam pulled away a little and tilted my face up to look at him. “You’ve been gone a while, Sebastian. We all assumed Nicky was dead just like his parents are.”
How long was a while? “I had him in my arms when I fell asleep or into Underhill, or whatever happened.” Had I pulled him into Underhill with me? What if he was still trapped there now? I began to panic.
“He wasn’t at the house.” Liam held me tighter. “Breathe, Sebastian. We’ll figure it out. We will find him.” His will soothed the panic like a cooling gel over flames.
“It’s my fault.”
“It’s not.”
“They took him because I gave him cookies,” I pointed out. Liam rubbed my back fiercely, his touch grounding me like nothing ever had before. The fear still lingered at the edges, panic flickering like flames on my consciousness, but I could think through it now.
“He was convenient. It had nothing to do with you. Their choices are not your fault. It could have been anyone. They took Dylan because of me. Should I blame myself? What would that accomplish?”
“Nicky is just a kid…” If he was in Underhill, he’d be so helpless.