Page 97 of Awakening

“Caroline,” I say, pulling her into a hug, “thank you for sharing this with me.” I no longer feel the severity of her reaction in the same way I did before. No one is perfect, and we don’t always understand the emotions behind someone’s actions.

She smiles as we pull away. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I understand it may not happen overnight, but I’d really like it if we could try to get back to where we were before.”

“I’d like that too,” I say as Ethan comes over, bending down to kiss the top of my head before taking his mother’s hand to pull her up into a hug.

“Well,” Edwin says. “I think we should let you two rest. You’ve been through a lot today.”

As we’re giving our goodbye hugs, I ask Vanessa, “So, what do you have going on tonight?”

“Austin called me today, so I’m going out with him and a few friends,” she says with her usual bright smile.

An image of Austin’s hard, brown eyes as he shoved a needle into my neck in the pack house bathroom mirror flashes through my mind and I gasp. I reach out and grab her arm. “No!” Ethan frowns as Vanessa’s bright smile drops.

“Liv? What’s wrong?” Ethan asks. Edwin and Caroline lean in with concern.

I grab Vanessa’s hands. “You can’t go out with Austin,” I say as my voice trembles, while she stares at me with wide eyes.

“Olivia, you’re shaking,” she says, squeezing my hands in return.

“What has he done?” Edwin asks.

Ethan’s body goes rigid and his fists clench at his sides. “You were freaked out the night we saw him at Tonic too. What did he do, Liv?” They all stare at me, waiting on my response.

“Austin is the one who took me from the pack house.” Caroline and Vanessa gasp while Edwin shakes his head as his nostrils flare.

“Austin is the one who took you? I’ll fucking kill him.” Ethan rages, pacing the floor.

I turn to Ethan, placing my hand on his stiff bicep. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner. I didn’t remember. I just had a flashback of it happening when I heard his name.”

“It’s okay. I’m not upset with you,” he says, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck. “Tell me what he did to get you away from the pack house. I need to know.”

“It happened when Ben was sick. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I went into the bathroom anyway. When I came out of the stall, Austin was standing in the restroom in front of me. He tried saying he was just there to be sure I was safe. I didn’t buy a word he was saying, but he threatened to hurt me and the baby.” I pause, shaking my head. “And, then he did. He jammed a needle into my neck and I blacked out.” I turn to Vanessa, who stands with her mouth gaping open in shock. “He was working for Ian. You can’t go out with him, Vanessa. Please, you can’t.”

“She won’t,” Ethan says. “That dirty motherfucker. He helped set this all in motion. He’s part of the reason our baby is gone. I will fucking kill him.” He pulls his hands down his face as he continues to pace.

“Vanessa?” I say.

“Don’t worry, Liv. I won’t go anywhere near him.” She looks at Ethan for guidance. “What do I do? Do I call the others and tell them what he did?”

“No,” Ethan says. “I want to surprise the fucker. Don’t say anything to anyone, but you are not to go out with them tonight. That’s a fucking order. Do you understand me?”

“I understand,” she says, nodding. “I’ll text everyone and tell them something came up.” She turns to me with an apologetic face. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I had no idea.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“He wasn’t there with me the day of the party. I promise,” Vanessa says.

“He shouldn’t have been there at all,” Ethan snarls.

“We don’t even see each other very much anymore. He’s just the one who called me this time and asked if I wanted to go out with him and some of our friends. It wasn’t even a date or anything,” Vanessa says.

“It’s okay, Vanessa. You didn’t know,” I say again, trying to reassure her.

“What are we going to do about this?” Edwin asks Ethan. “You have to follow council rules, Ethan.”

Ethan crosses his arms and widens his stance. “I’ve got a few ideas.”

Twenty-Five

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