I watch in horror as Emmett crumples to the ground, blood staining the floor beneath him.
“Stop!” I scream, my voice breaking with desperation as I rush to Emmett’s side. “Please, just stop!”
But my pleas fall on deaf ears as the vampires close in, their expressions twisted with malice. I know that if I don’t do something, Emmett will die here tonight.
“Levi, please. Blake! Let’s talk about this.”
Levi’s cold gaze pierces through me, and a lump forms in my throat. I have to do something, anything, to save Emmett.
“Brother, please,” I plead desperately. “There has to be another way. We can’t keep living like this in constant fear and hatred. He is a silly little kid. He doesn’t deserve to die like this.”
Levi’s smirk widens. “Oh, but darling, fear and hatred are what keep us alive,” he retorts in a tone dripping with malice. “You should know that by now.”
“But at what cost?” I challenge, my voice gaining strength. “How many more lives must be sacrificed before we realize that there’s another path—one of peace and understanding?”
Blake’s laughter echoes through the room, sending shivers down my spine.
”Peace?” he scoffs, his eyes narrowing into icy slits. “There’s no such thing in our world, little sister. It’s kill or be killed.”
I take a step forward, my gaze locked with Levi’s. “I refuse to believe that. There’s always a choice, Levi. And I choose to believe in hope, in love, in the possibility of a better future.”
Levi’s expression darkens. “You’re a fool,” he spits venomously. “But perhaps a useful one.”
I hold my breath, heart pounding, waiting for Levi’s response. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he nods curtly, but there’s a sinister smile curling his lips.
“Very well,” he concedes. “We’ll take you with us under one condition.”
My pulse quickens in anticipation. “Name it.”
Levi’s eyes gleam with satisfaction as he leans in close, his breath hot against my ear. “You belong to us now,” he murmurs, sending shivers down my spine. “That is the only way I stand down.”
“Levi…”
“You should count yourself lucky! I keep making deals with you, which, by the way, you keep failing at. This is your last chance. You leave with us right now, or I kill Liam’s precious little wolf, and then I send the rest of the vampires after everyone he has ever cared about. Grayson, his mother, the sheriff. Every one of them dies.”
Fuck!
I can see it in his eyes. There is no negotiating with him. I know he will not hesitate to give the order to have Emmett murdered.
I swallow hard as his words settle like a stone in the pit of my stomach. “You have a deal,” I say steadily, despite the turmoil raging inside me.
“That’s more like it. See Blake, I told you all she needed was the right kind of motivation…”
“But know this, Levi—I will never stop fighting for what’s right. I will never agree with you. I will never be noble to your cause. And one day, I will find a way to free myself from your grasp. I did it once. I can do it again.”
Levi chuckles, a dark glint in his eyes. “Cocky, huh? We’ll see about that. When that day comes, I will not hesitate to slaughter every single person important to you. But for now, let’s focus on the task at hand: Getting you back home.”
As my brothers lead me away, my heart feels heavy with grief and regret. I steal one last glance at Liam’s apartment. The ache in my chest is almost unbearable.
Emmett is still writhing in pain, his blood seeping into the floor. I pray that Liam is not too late to rescue him.
I hope I didn’t just doom us all to death with this decision.
“I’m sorry, Liam,” I whisper as tears stream down my cheeks. “I hope you can forgive me.”
As we disappear into the darkness, I cling to the flicker of hope burning bright within me. Somewhere out there is Liam. He’ll find me.
Oh, my love! My Liam.