Page 36 of Winter Unleashed
My gaze moved between them as I tried to grasp what she’d just said. “What? What is she talking about, Liam?”
Liam didn’t answer me, but Philip shifted his feet nervously making me wonder what the fuck was going on. It was such an out of character tic for him it made me even more curious.
“Oh dear, it seems Liam hasn’t told you about his past.” Celeste clicked her tongue. “That’s not good, Liam. You should have told her.”
My wolf was beside herself with frustration, and my anger had nowhere to go without my power. It burned like a ball of acid in my stomach, and it grew bigger the longer Liam stayed silent. “Liam? What should you have told me?”
He looked down at me. At over six inches taller than me with a heavily muscled body, he was a big man. But in that moment, he seemed even larger. I’d seen him so angry he’d made other Alpha males shake with fear, but there was something different this time. There was no word strong enough to describe what I saw in him.
Anger, fear, and hatred swirled in an eddy of despair. When he looked at me, a softer emotion, one akin to love, mixed in with the others. Instead of making him relax, it made him even more intense.
“Liam,” I said. I placed a hand on his arm and hissed when an electrical shock zinged through me. “Liam, what’s going on?”
His wolf moved just under the surface. I could feel him begging to be free, but Liam held him in, which angered him even more. He howled out his frustration and my wolf replied in kind. Liam stared at me but never spoke.
“Well, if he won’t tell you,” Celeste began, “I will.” I turned my gaze back to her, and she smiled. “Liam and I were lovers. We were two peas in a pod. Our passion burned so brightly we were the envy of everyone.”
I made it a point not to look at Liam. I’d specifically asked him if he’d been with Celeste, and he’d said no. Not verbally but he’d said no. I refused to give Celeste the satisfaction of seeing me angry with him, so I let it go, shoving it aside for later.
“And your point is?” I asked her, pleased when a flicker of surprise moved over her face. “Are you telling me you’re doing all of this because he broke up with you? You’re putting all this effort into revenge for being dumped?”
Her smiled morphed into a sneer.
I knew I should shut up, but I couldn’t. “Did you wait hundreds of years for Liam to find his mate just to fuck with him? That’s sad, Celeste. Like seriously, it’s pathetic. You have more power than almost anyone. You are thousands of years old. And you held onto all that hurt for this long just to mess with Liam?”
“Watch your step, wolf,” she said in a shaky voice.
“I mean, he’s good in bed… outstanding actually, but to ruin your life—because that’s what you did—just for him? I feel sorry for you.”
Liam finally snapped out of his stupor. “Red, enough.” His words came out as a snarl. I turned to look at him, holding my tongue so I didn’t reveal how livid I was. He tried to soften his features but failed. “Stop antagonizing her.”
I moved my head in a slow nod but said nothing. He turned his attention to Celeste, stepping forward until he stood only a foot from her. “Your fight is with me and only me. Leave the others alone.”
She lifted her hand and my stomach clenched with anticipation, but all she did was rest it on his cheek. Isaac took my hand, holding me back when I unknowingly took a step forward. Philip took my other hand as added assurance I wouldn’t do something stupid like charge the fairy and her horde of bloodsuckers.
Liam’s hands flexed open and shut again, knuckles bulging and white. But Celeste didn’t seem to notice how much her touch bothered him. “Oh, Liam, it’s not that easy.” She rose to her toes to press her lips to his. When he didn’t respond to her kiss, she settled back on her feet and removed her hand. “You belong to me. I want you to come home.”
“No.”
Before I realized something had happened, Liam was on the ground. He curled into a ball, holding his head as his screams echoed through the yard. All too quickly his body stilled and his screams quieted.
I fought against Philip and Isaac, but they were unyielding. Tears flowed down my cheeks. “If he dies, I will spend the rest of my days hunting you down. When I find you, and I will,” I ground out through clenched teeth, “what I do to you will make you wish you were never born.”
Her laugh boomed through the air. “You can’t even fight off your friends, and you think you can take me on? I will make your lives hell. Every day Liam denies he is mine, every day you refuse to help me find Astrid you will wonder if it’s the day I strike. You’ll live your lives fighting off my vampires waiting for the day I come for you. I will break you down until you can no longer fight. You will both surrender to me, that I can promise you.”
“Never,” I spat.
“So be it,” she said in a too pleasant tone. She flung her arm out and a weird tingling sensation moved over me at the same time I heard Liam groan.
Then she disappeared, leaving her vampires, except Bruno, behind. Liam’s groan proved he wasn’t dead. I needed to get to him. But my friends wouldn’t let me go. “Will you two stop? She’s fucking gone. I need to check on Liam.”
As soon as I was free, I surged forward, falling to the ground beside Liam. He was unconscious and his breathing was shallow. My hands were gentle when I examined his head. The whites of his eyes were blood red when I lifted the lids, but other than that I saw no signs of injury.
“Philip? Can you please carry him inside? Put him on his bed. I’ll be up in a few moments.” I placed a kiss to Liam’s forehead before standing to face the horde. “It’s been real, fuckers,” I said sending a wall of fire their way.
Leaving the inferno to do its job, I took a second to realize that using my power hadn’t exhausted me this time. That fact led me to believe Celeste had caused the exhaustion the last time. It was something to think about… later. Liam needed help.
I spun on my heel and followed Philip into the house. Stella jogged along beside me. “She gave you your power back?”