Page 50 of Dreams of Magic
Her mom was so young and beautiful and full of life. She was Kenzie’s favorite person in the world, and this thing, this evil thing, killed her.
Distantly she could hear shouting and felt hands all over her, but she ignored them. Then finally, she felt the life drain out of the man, her claws still in his side.
Sagging, she stepped back.
She felt cold, numb, heartbroken, and completely torn apart. How was she supposed to live with herself, knowing her mom was dead because of her? Oh God, how would she tell Uncle Jake? He would never forgive her. He would never want to see her again.
Kenzie finally collapsed onto the floor and started to cry.
Aiden
He was relieved when Kenzie finally collapsed. The sounds of her sobs broke his heart, especially coming from her wolf. It was a sound he had never heard before, and it was wrenching.
He slowly approached her, “Kenzie, I know you’re hurting, but could you change back so we can get you out of here?”
Marshall kneeled next to him at her side. When Aiden glanced at him, he was crying too. Silent tears tracking down his face. He was going to blame himself for this, even though it was not his fault or hers. He didn’t think she realized it when she started pushing her thoughts at them, screaming over and over that it was her fault.
He felt helpless with no idea what to do. This wasn’t something he could fix.
He looked at Marshall again, “We will make them regret this, no matter what it takes.”
“Agreed. Now we need to get her out of here.” Then using his alpha tone, he commanded Kenzie, “Shift back Mackenzie.”
It took a minute, like she was trying to fight the change, but then she slowly shifted back. He quickly took off his shirt and Marshall helped get it on her. Putting his arms under her knees and back, he slowly lifted her off the floor.
Then he turned to Jordan and the Dobbins brothers, still standing guard, “Get someone in here to clean this up, then go get some sleep.”
Jordan had come straight from his night patrol to wake Marshall up, which meant he hadn’t slept at all. He really did too much. They needed to figure out a raise for him and maybe find someone else to help him. He was the best gamma this pack had ever had, but he was taking on too much and he would eventually burn out.
With Kenzie in his arms, he followed Marshall all the way back to her room. He opened the door, and Aiden took her straight back to her bathroom and turned on the shower. He stepped in with her fully clothed and removed the shirt from her body as impersonally as possible. Then he quickly rinsed all the blood off of her.
Once she was clean, he dried her off as best he could and wrapped her up in the fluffy pink robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Then he quickly removed his soaked clothes and shoes, dried off, and wrapped a towel around his waist. The whole time she just stood there, not moving or saying anything.
He picked her up again and carried her to the bed. As he started to put her down, her arms wrapped around his neck.
Thankfully her crying had slowed, but there were new tracks of tears down her cheeks that the shower water couldn’t wash away.
When she was sitting on the bed, she didn’t release him, “Do you want me to stay?”
He didn’t want to intrude but would not leave her like this. He was planning to stay on the couch.
Very quietly she whispered, “Please don’t go. Either of you. I just… I need you to stay.”
Marshall had waited in the bedroom while he’d cleaned Kenzie up. Aiden moved her into the middle of the bed and slid in next to her, then Marshall got in on the other side.
She finally released her death grip on his neck but slid her hand into his, then turned to Marshall. She also took his hand, and they all just laid there in silence for a while. Aiden was still processing what happened.
His mind was spiraling with the possibilities, with sadness for Kenzie. He couldn’t imagine how she was feeling with the knowledge of her mom’s murder, but she had also killed a man.
Dimitri would have been executed either way for breaking the law, but Aiden was sure Kenzie had never taken a life before.
“I don’t blame you, Marshall. I know you are blaming yourself, just like I am. But it is not your fault. I’m going to blame myself for a while even though I know it is Andre’s fault, but you don’t need to carry that guilt. And Aiden, I can feel your worry.”
There was no evidence of the tears Marshall had cried, but his pain was still written all over his face, “I’m so sorry Kenzie. I didn’t know her, but I still feel her loss. I feel responsible, like I should have stopped it. I knew where you were, but I didn’t want to disrupt your life. Maybe… Maybe if I had come for you sooner this wouldn’t have happened.”
She released Aiden’s hand and turned to face Marshall, taking his face in her hands, she said, “Stop it. I don’t know what would have happened if you had come for me, but I do know that I never would have stayed. Either way, they would have come after us. Now we need to get ready, because if what he said is true, they won’t stop, and we need to know how to use these powers. I will not let them win. They have already taken way too much from both of us.”
Marshall pulled her into a tight hug, then leaned back, “Okay then. Let’s get ready. I’ll call Raven and see if she is up for a visit. I know she can help us, if she is willing.”