Page 87 of Forever Mine

I just looked at him sadly. Where was my mate?

"Why do I get the feeling something more is going on?" he asked.

"I may have done something terrible," I confessed.

"Come on in," he said, opening the door wider and closing it after I passed. "You know you can talk freely in here. What happened?"

I told him about my and Patrick's plans and how I couldn't leave any of them behind, but I didn’t realize until too late that even included some very bad and dangerous ones. I told him about seeing the tigers.

"Shit! So it's true then? Oscar really is half tiger?"

I nodded with tears streaming down my face. "It's been a really long and hard day, Kyle. Please just tell me where my mate is."

He grinned. "You know, today's the first time I've heard you call him that." Then his face fell. "He's not well, Maddie. I won't even try to sugarcoat it. He asked me to chain him up, knowing his wolf would overpower him and come after you."

"What?! How could you? He's your brother, not some animal!" I yelled, very near hysterics at that point.

"Don't you think I know that? And you haven't seen what this has done to him. He's barely hanging on. You should have completed the bond first. It would have made things so much easier."

"Don't you think I know that? Don’t you think I would, if I could?" He was making me angry and pointing out my biggest failures on what was already an enormously emotional day.

"What do you mean, ‘if you could?’" Kyle asked.

"I'm not a shifter, Kyle. They- they killed my wolf the night they tried to kill me. I physically can't seal the bond. My human canines aren't enough." I sobbed.

He consoled me as he would one of his sisters. I was family already. I was pack and he was my Alpha.

"Shit. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"It's not exactly something I'm proud of and want to talk about, Kyle. Please, just take me to him. It'll still calm his wolf. I've told him since the beginning it would never work. If he's as bad as you're making him out to be, maybe I should just walk away. It would be best for everyone."

He snorted. "MC, that wouldn't be best for anyone. It's been a long day. Just promise me you won't make any decisions right now. I don't know if a wolf spirit can be killed without killing the human host. I've never heard of such a thing, but let me do some research and see what I can find out about that, okay?"

I nodded sadly.

"Come on. Let's go calm your mate, and you."

We walked out of the back of the house after stopping long enough for him to welcome Raina back. I didn't know where he was leading me. We headed into the thick of the forest behind the Alpha house. He peppered me with questions about my wolf. He didn't seem convinced about what I had told him. How I wished I was wrong!

As we came to a rocky section filled with caves, he headed into one. It was dark and moist inside, smelling earthy, and a lot like Liam. My stomach twisted as we headed deeper in and I saw signs of manmade things inside. Some looked like torture devices. There were chains attached to the walls.

"What is this place?" I whispered.

"It was once something of a jail for our kind. It hasn't been used in close to a hundred years, but when our pack first settled in this area there were humans everywhere. It took several decades to run the humans out. Our ancestors had traveled across the country, mostly in wolf form as it was a young, wild territory at the time. Readjusting to civilization for some of the shifters had been a struggle. This place was used to contain those that needed, um, a little more time to adjust. It's not a part of our heritage we're exactly proud of. Liam and I stumbled across this place when we were just pups. Scared the shit out of us."

"So, what are we doing here?" I asked.

He gave me an apologetic look just as an aggressive growl echoed through the chamber. Kyle picked up the pace, heading towards the noise. We came to an iron gate that was locked. He took out a key and unlocked it and we stepped inside.

"No!" I screamed as I saw Liam chained to other end of the room. He was human, but there was something feral about him. His eyes darted around the room and he growled and snarled at Kyle, showing all his canines despite being in human form. "Kyle, unlock him now!" I demanded.

"I'm sorry, MC. He's not right. His wolf is in control. He knew this would happen and begged me to do it. He'll change and tear me to bits the second he's free as man and beast fight for dominance. I'm going to give you the key and then I'm going to back out and shut the gate. He could never hurt you, not as man or wolf. You're safe, but I'm not. You need to calm him down and help Liam regain control."

I took the keys with shaky hands. He was little more than a feral animal before me. Kyle backed out of the room quickly and I waited until I heard the chains on the gate lock and Kyle gave the go-ahead.

Suddenly, I wasn't afraid anymore. My mate was hurting and he needed me more than ever. I ran to Liam and quickly unlocked the shackles holding him down. Strong arms wrapped around me, far stronger than Liam's human arms. He was generating all the power of his wolf but still in human form. I knew it was possible, but I had never actually seen it.

Crushed to him I breathed in his scent and kissed his exposed neck right in the place I desperately wished to mark him. I felt his sharp teeth press into my own flesh in the exact same place on me. Tears streamed down my face as I was unable to follow his lead. He pulled back and softened. I was crying and it drew Liam out quickly. He kissed the mark he had left on my skin, tracing light, feathery kisses up my neck and across my cheek till he found my mouth.

---