Chapter Three

The door wasn’t locked and I opened it to find my father and Stella in the foyer. Rylee came rushing forward, wiping tears from her eyes as she hugged me. Chase and Melissa stood in the doorway of the living room and the look he gave me was one of worry.

“What the hell’s going on?” I asked.

“Come with me,” Stella said.

I followed Stella out of the house with Lucas close on my heels. She opened the door on the west side and then went down the hall towards the infirmary. Something really wasn’t right. Stella stopped in front of the recovery room and turned towards me.

“She’s stable now but we don’t know much,” she said.

“Who is she?” I asked and Stella looked at Lucas.

“Megan,” he said softly and Stella opened the door.

I stopped breathing at that exact moment when the door opened and I looked at Megan in that hospital bed. Her eyes were closed, the right side of her face swollen and bruised. Dried blood matted her blonde hair and her left arm was in a cast.

“What the fuck happened to her?” I asked still standing in the hallway.

“I don’t really know, Rev’s working on it, breathe Ryder,” Lucas said.

I swallowed back a shitload of emotions hurtling towards me at full speed as Stella and Lucas left me there in the hallway. The beeping of the machine told me she was alive but she seemed so far away and even Abeloth had tears in his eyes.

“Megan,” I whispered as I gripped her right hand and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

Tears slowly made their way down my cheeks as I sat there and held her hand. Anger started rising within me because I had to know what the fuck had happened to her. Where had she been all this time and why did she leave me?

I woke up with a stiff neck as Lucas placed his hand on my shoulder. Megan’s eyes were still closed, the machine still beeping steadily. I stood up and stretched, it felt like a truck had hit me and I looked back at her again before following Lucas outside.

“Here, eat this,” he said and handed me a take away paper bag.

“I want details,” I said as we walked back inside the house and took the stairs up to his office. Rylee was in the office making coffee and she hugged me tightly.

“You okay?” she asked me.

“I’ll be better once I know what the fuck happened to her,” I said angrily.

“Rev’s almost here,” Lucas said as he sat down behind his desk.

It was another fifteen minutes before I heard Rev’s footsteps on the stairs. Rylee excused herself and I had finished eating. Rev kissed her cheek before closing the door behind him, dropping a folder on Lucas’s desk.

“How you holding up?” Rev asked me.

“Fuck how I’m holding up, what did you find?” I asked him.

“We found her in a car on the side of the road, right by our border. She was inside, bloody, bruised and unconscious. The gps of her car had been turned off and Timothy couldn’t retrieve any data from it. We’re still tracing the car she was found in,” Rev said.

“Rev, I respect the hell out of you but if you don’t tell me what the fuck I need to know in the next two minutes, blood will be spilled,” I said threateningly as he just grunted.

“We also found a note in the car.”

I folded the piece of paper open and looked at the words written there. ‘Had my fun, maybe next time you’ll pay your debts.’

“Fuck!” I said angrily.

“Any ideas?” Lucas asked me.

“No! How in the fuck did this happen? She was taken and I did nothing!” I yelled.

“You need to think Ryder, what debt?” Lucas asked.

“I don’t know,” I said feeling the bile rise up in my throat.

“You have a lot of enemies Ryder,” Rev said.

“Don’t you think I fucking know that!” I yelled.

“I haven’t told her parents that she’s here yet, but at some point I’ll have to inform them,” Lucas said.

I went back to Megan's room and listened to the beeping of the machine. “You never left me,” I said softly.

“No, she didn’t,” Rylee said.

I hadn’t even heard her walk into Megan’s room and I gripped the hand she had placed on my shoulder. The reality of those words hit me the hardest. Megan hadn’t left me, not willingly. I rushed over to the sink and threw up.

“I’m so sorry,” I said as I slid down the wall, new tears welling up in my eyes.

“Ryder …” Rylee said as she sat down next to me and pulled me closer to her.

It was day three and Megan still hadn’t opened her eyes. Her skin was still pale and my blood wouldn’t work on her and Stella couldnt figure out why not. I was praying to Typhon but I felt helpless and defeated.

“Stella’s not sure when Megan will wake up.” I heard Rev say in the hallway and I walked out of the room and saw Lucas with Rev.

“I’ll arrange for an ambulance to take her home,” I said as I walked towards the door and opened it.

“Ryder..”

“No Dad, she’s coming home, where she belongs!”

I pulled my phone out and called Link to make the arrangements as I headed back to the infirmary. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight again. I had blocked Abeloth out since last night and I could feel his anger towards me as he tried to push forward.

“Not now Abeloth,” I said irritably.

“She’s hurt Ryder. I want blood,” he said angrily.

“You’ll get it, we’ll find whoever touched her,” I said as I felt him push through.

Abeloth looked at Megan through my eyes and his emotions took over. They were strong. Anger, hurt and pain soared through my soul and it took over some primal part of me. I’d kill whoever did this. I felt Abeloth give back control as the machine flatlined and Stella came rushing into the room.

“Megan!” I yelled as Stella pushed me out of the way.

I felt myself being pulled to the realm of dragons as Megan’s image blurred and my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave. Typhon was standing in the open dank cave, looking down at me. Smoke rose from his nostrils and I bowed my head.

“Sire Ryder,” Typhon hissed.

“Don’t let her die please!” I begged him.

“Death is part of life’s cycle, it cannot be disrupted,” Typhon said.

“Please Typhon,” I said my voice cracking with emotion.

“I cannot grant your wish halfling and you cannot give your life for hers,” he said.

“Don’t take her!” I yelled.

“You will find what you are seeking.” His voice faded into the distance as I was pushed back to my own realm and it was like no time had passed.

I felt helpless just standing there, Abeloth roaring in my head as Stella started compressions and another nurse came running into the room. I was forced into a corner as they worked on her, shocking her heart in between compressions.

“Clear,” Stella said and Megan’s back arched off the bed and relaxed again as I watched the machine.

I was frozen in time, watching that damn machine with the flat line and the irritating beep that wouldn’t turn into a beep beep beep. I had never before felt so helpless as I stood there watching Megan die.

“I’m so sorry Ryder,” Stella said as she switched the machine off.

“No! Do something! Bring her back!” I yelled.

“She’s gone Ryder,” Stella said softly.

“No,” I whispered as I slid down against the wall with my head in my hands.

“I’m so sorry,” Stella said and the pain was overwhelming.

I had no semblance of time and I don’t know how long I sat there before Lucas pulled me up into his arms and just held me as I cried. I had gone on vacation while Megan was being hurt. I couldn’t breathe and the pain I felt deep in my soul would never go away.

I’d been the Sire of the Princeton lair for almost two years and this would be my first funeral ceremony. I laughed bitterly as I thought about how I’d be sending Megan to the afterlife tonight. I’d been functioning on auto pilot the whole week as we made preparations to say farewell to her.

I stood in the forest with my back to the house when I heard footsteps behind me. Chase stopped next to me and nudged me with his shoulder. I hadn’t really spoken to anyone since bringing Megan home and Link had cried with me when I told him.

“You okay to do the ceremony tonight?” Chase asked me.

“I have to be,” I replied.

“You don’t have to be strong all the time Ry,” he said.

“It’s my fault Chase. I sat back and went on with my life while she sat and waited for me to rescue her,” I said.

“You have to stop thinking like that,” he said.

“And what? Forgive myself? Let her go in peace and carry on?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Stop taking all the blame, all the time. You’re not a bad guy Ry, we all thought she got cold feet and ran, that she’d come back eventually and you two would talk it out,” he said.

“I’ll find whoever did this to her.”

“I know you will and I know he won’t live to regret ever crossing you when you do find him,” he said.

“Do you think she was taken because of me too?” I asked him.

“I don’t know what to think, if it was because of you why was she left in Dad’s territory?”

“Exactly, I don’t think that letter was meant for me,” I said clenching my fists.

“I’m here Ry, whatever you need,” he said.

“Keep Melissa close brother, keep your child and wife safe,” I said.

“Why do I get the feeling that this is bigger than we think it is, that whatever you uncover is going to be a shitstorm,” Chase asked.

“I’m ready, you just watch your back,” I said and turned back towards the house.