Page 58 of Witchblood

“He’s real,” I insisted. I’d seen the dark thing that could take overApa. It was not a wolf. Or at least not just a wolf. Having seen some of the monsters of Underhill now, all I could think of his other being wasdemon.

“He is,” Liam agreed. “But you are no longer alone, nor are you a defenseless child.” His grip on me tightened, and I wished we were headed back to bed instead of into the lion’s den. Maybe this would be fast. Though the lingering tension in the air made it hard to breathe.

As we stepped up to the doublewide doorway, the cloud of gloom vanished. The evening sky went from black and ominous, to cool and filled with stars. Birds chirped and crickets danced. The change made Liam pause. I think we were both unsure what to do, but it was Oberon who stepped around us and opened the door. I hadn’t realized he’d followed us out.

The bunkhouse had one large main gathering space filled with giant couches and several comfy chairs, all gathered around a large screen television. There was a small kitchenette off to one side, with a fridge and a single burner stove. The TV was off, and the door that must have led to the beds beyond was closed.Apaputtered around the kitchen, heating water in a large tea kettle and searching the cupboards for what, I wasn’t sure.

“No tea cups?” The Volkov asked Liam.Apawas trying hard, but his jerky movements, and foot-tapping energy told me he was agitated. Normally the Volkov was contained, still like a river before the rapids began. This movement was startling. Unlike him, though not the raving monster I’d feared him to be. Perhaps he was not as bad off as Oberon had led us to believe. I hadn’t done anything to try to calm him, and he was coherent enough to be talking to us about tea.

The shadow monster that sometimes hovered around him had vanished. Though I wasn’t dumb enough to think it couldn’t reappear in an instant. His agitation could have come from knowing Felix had caused this mess. Or from the fact that Liam was holding me tightly in his arms.

Overall,Apajust looked tired. Different from the last time I’d seen him. The put-together, quiet man I’d grown up to think of asApahad become a somewhat scattered and lost seeming young wolf, barely holding his wolf back. Was this what it was like in the end for old wolves? The few times they’d gone wild-eyed like this, they had been quickly put down, leaving only whispers behind them just hours after visiting the Volkov. My heart hurt with the thought.

“No teacups out here. Too much gets broken. At the house there is a large selection,” Liam responded calmly, though his grip tightened on me a tiny bit. He talked about the cups as though it were as uninteresting as the weather. “Sebastian can make us some tea in the morning. How about we all get some rest for the night?”

Apalooked a little wide-eyed for a minute. Almost afraid. Was it my presence that was holding him together somehow? I didn’t feel like I was doing anything. Just being me. In fact, barely that, since Liam was holding me up. I could have slept just about anywhere right then.

“Liam’s got room in the house since no one else is home,” I said. “Why don’t you and Oberon join us? Tomorrow I’ll make breakfast and tea.” I glanced at Liam. “As long as we’re not needed at the bakery.”

“It will be fine,” Liam assured me. “We could all use some rest.” He didn’t meet the Volkov’s eyes any more than Oberon did. It was a non-verbal queue. No challenge here, even if the territory was Liam’s. No need to stir up the monster. “Why don’t you come up to the house?”

Apa’s hands tightened into fists for a minute as Liam shifted my weight in his arms. I don’t think Liam was tired from carrying me, more like readying himself in case the Volkov’s façade disappeared and he came at me, Liam would be ready.

“Apa,” I called and reached out to touch him. Liam took a step closer so my hand fell onApa’s upper arm. “Come to the house. Rest. Tomorrow morning is early enough to enact a war council.”

I looked at Liam. He was tired too. I’d been gone a month. He’d been battling psychological demons the whole time, while trying to keep his territory from falling into chaos and the Volkov went mad just feet from his doorstep. No wonder Liam had felt the need to camp in a distant cave just to find me. I’d been lucky to have caught his scent through all the muddled magic lingering around his home.

Once we re-established den magic around the house, I’d have to smudge away the rest of the negative energy. There was just too muchotherfloating around.

“Will you come to the house with us?” I askedApaagain.

He nodded slowly, as his eyes began to droop. Was my touch doing that? I carefully drew away, fearing he’d change in an instant. Only he just slumped forward like he was tired. Oberon turned off the stove and moved the kettle aside.

“Are you going to Liam’s room?” Oberon asked.

“Yes,” I answered for the both of us. We both needed to sleep. The house had lost the sense of home and safety Liam had spent a year building due to the Volkov. It would take some work to restore, but that could be another chore for the morning.

“Your camper would be safer,” Oberon pointed out. Because the wards would protect me fromApaif he went mad. But it was also a long way from the house.

I looked up at Liam. “Your bed.” He needed that. I could feel it thrumming through him. A need to put me in a space he considered his. A need to give me a home, with a safe place to sleep. Somehow, Liam had become everything in such a tiny space of time. I barely knew him. Yet I felt like I could barely breathe without him.

A dimpled smile lit up his face. “The way you are looking at me right now…”

I tilted my head, wondering how I was looking at him. “What do you mean?”

Liam shook his head and left the bunkhouse, not seeming to care if Oberon and the Volkov followed. “Our den is where my mate feels safe. Right now that is only two places I know of: my arms, and your camper. I’ll put the two together and we’ll both get some much needed rest. Now that my brain isn’t being ripped into shreds of madness anymore, I can slowly rebuild the pack bonds. Tomorrow.”

“The pack should be first,” I grumbled at him. “Apaneeds us close.”

“He can sleep in the house or at the foot of the stairs of your camper. The camper is less than twenty yards from our backdoor.” He took us out toward the camper. “My mate comes first with me. Pack second. If I can’t make my mate feel safe and happy, how can I possibly hope to give those same feelings to my pack?” Liam asked. “Do your wards stop the Volkov from feeling your presence?” Liam asked.

“No,”Apaanswered. He veered off toward the house.

“Don’t hurt Sean,” I called after him. Sean belonged to Dylan and since Dylan was Liam’s and all that was Liam’s was mine, that meant Sean was mine.

“I don’t even know who that is,”Apamuttered.

“The human mate,” Oberon reminded him.