Chapter 3: The Storm

Chapter Three: The Storm

Often the biggest battles are those unseen.

Liam’s POV

Damn it you have to get a grip on this situation I tell myself. She is just as beautiful as the day I met her. Her chocolate brown hair forming around her waist and her hazel eyes staring at me, with fear. Why in the fuck is there so much fear? Through out the months I dreamt what it would be like to see her again. This look in her eyes I was not expecting.

Could the fear be that she is caught? Maybe, but it seems to be deeper than that. She is scared of me that much I can tell, but why? What the fuck did I ever do to warrant that. From the very moment I laid my eyes on her I treated her like my Queen. The moon goddess herself didn’t hold a flame in my life compared to Ella.

For the first several months I pictured her telling me she just wasn’t interested in this lifestyle. Hell I would have understood that. I am not a merciful man. Being the alpha to the notorious Haven pack is not for the weak minded. I am ruthless and cruel at times but do what I must to ensure the safety of my members. What Ella does next shatters my composure. Her tiny 5’4” body gets on her knees and she starts sobbing.

“Please Liam I am begging you nononot to hurt Xavier. I will do whatever you ask but ppleassse jujujust leave him out of thththis,” she is stuttering and sobbing as her whole body is trembling. Confusion soaks me through the core. I know I am a ruthless man but Fuck I don’t hurt innocent people especially not my fucking mate and child. Every instinct in me is telling me to run to her, pick her up and comfort her but anger starts to bubble over. How dare she sit there and act like I am a monster.

Of all the things she can accuse me of, this cuts me the deepest. I can hear Xavier? That’s what she called him right? He is starting to scream in the back of the car. I take a step forward, instinct kicking in to run to my son. Her eyes go wide and her face pales. Without a second glance I go to open the door.

My heart literally stops. I am instantly filled with a sense of pride. He looks just like me. Even through his tears I can see his eyes and it’s as if I’m looking in a mirror. He is perfect even when distraught. I reach my hand to grab his and that’s when reality comes smacking me in the face yet again.

Ella is grabbing at my body trying to pull me back but it’s no use my 6’2 frame towers over her and she has better luck pushing a brick wall. She’s screaming wildly begging me not to touch him. Anger is dripping from me at this point and I’m about lose control right here in the garage.

I pick up Ella as she is hitting me and put her in the backseat with the baby. She is in complete hysterics kicking and screaming, until she sees the baby’s distraught composure. I take her moment of weakness and grab the keys out of her hand. Before she can protest I shut the door and get into the driver’s seat. Pushing the damn seat back I start the car and put it in drive. The last fucking thing I need is security rushing to the damn garage to see what the fuck is going on.

This wasn’t my plan. I dreamt about this moment several times a day, from the best case scenario to the worse. Intruding onto Ella’s life, I for the first time realize that she fears me to her core. I feel like a damn criminal at this point as I glance back and see her silent tears fall across her face. This isn’t the beautiful woman I fell in love with a year ago. This woman acts as if I am a fucking predator about to make her and the baby my prey. All sanity leaves me with that thought. My anger is crippling. Fuck it, if she wants to peg me as the bad guy well then so fucking be it.

“Feed the baby, he’s hungry,” I bark at her. I know I am being unnecessarily harsh with my tone. I see how she flinches when I speak. Anger is replaced with sorrow as I watch her body language. With tears streaming down her face she grabs Xavier and does as I say. Fuck I don’t even know if he’s hungry but the fact that they’re both crying has me in complete turmoil. I see her glimpse in the mirror a few times, I try to divert my attention. When Ella left I thought my life had turned upside down. Thinking it was the worse pain I had ever felt in my life. This moment right now succeeds that pain ten fold. My knuckles turn white as I grip the steering wheel and drive.

Ella’s POV

How did he find me? I had been so careful, kept to myself and never stayed in one place more than a week. It had been exhausting going from town to town. Surviving on the bare minimum, often wondering if this is how my mom felt. I know our situations were different but all I can see is the similarities of our lives.

I bounced between waitressing and bartending jobs, I was constantly on my feet. I figured this line of work was my best way to go. Every town always had a high demand for both. Once I started to show, it got a little more difficult to get hired on. Hardly anyone wanted to hire a pregnant stranger. It took me resorting to begging most establishments to please give me a job.

I didn’t go to Drs. Like you would normally in pregnancies. I was too scared to leave a paper trail. So I would go out and buy vitamins that I knew the baby would need. Even when I knew I should have gone to be evaluated, I would just pray and tell the baby to hold on a little longer. I know it’s not safe doing a pregnancy without a Dr.’s care but I couldn’t risk him finding us. I left no trace, kept no friends. I haven’t even spoken to my mom in eight months.

Living on the road hadn’t been easy but was vital to get far away from them. Eight months of pure hell and he finds me. How? Where did I go wrong? I didn’t know much about his pack but I knew damn well I was an entire state away from his territory. Did he have connections and allies here? That is the only reasonable explanation I can come up with. As my thoughts start racing my whole demeanor snaps. I remember begging him not to hurt Xavier and after that I lose all control.

I have to keep fighting, it can’t end here. I see him reaching for Xavier and start hitting him. I won’t let Liam hurt Xavier. I know what happens to the babies in the pack. I understand that every culture has their own rituals, but I will never fathom the cruelty they find acceptable to an innocent baby.

As hard as I hit him, he doesn’t even budge. My adrenaline kicks into overdrive, but even so I am completely weak against Liam. Panic is increasing as the realization sinks in that I am no match against a werewolf. He picks me up and puts me into the backseat of the car. Startled for a moment I instantly look to Xavier. My poor baby is so distraught and it’s shattering my heart to pieces. One day old and he already has to suffer such a fate. No I won’t think like that. This is not Xavier’s destiny. It is yet again just a horrible chapter. I will find a way out of this just like I did eight months ago.

“Feed the baby, he’s hungry,” he snaps at me. I can feel the tears strolling down my face, but grab Xavier anyways. He’s not hungry he’s scared but I don’t dare say that out loud. Instead I reach for his bag and grab out a pacifier. He latches and sucks immediately while staring into my eyes. I wipe away the tears and force a smile. “ It’s ok baby boy, momma’s here,” I whisper to Xavier. I don’t know what else to do but try to soothe away his angst.

I try to come up with a plan but my hope is dwindled. My body is consumed with exhaustion. I almost get the courage to speak but when I look up I can see him staring angrily through the mirror. At this point there is no reason to make things worse. I know where he is taking us, back to his damn pack. Fresh tears stream down my face at that realization. If it wasn’t for Kendra helping me escape the first time around, I probably would have been spotted in the first five minutes.

Kendra befriended me quickly when I arrived at the pack house. She was a rogue who joined the Haven pack when she was just 16 years old. By the time I arrived, she had been a part of the pack for five years. She taught me a lot. Liam introduced us assuming that since we were both technically outsiders, we would have a lot in common. He assumed correctly. Everyone in the pack house had been kind to me but were leery considering I wasn’t a werewolf myself. Kendra never looked at me and differently. She accepted me with open arms. Within a couple of weeks she became one of my best friends in the house. When Liam would be out for business it was Kendra who would stay up late with me and keep me company. I often wonder how she is doing. Did they ever find out that she helped me? I often pray for her.

I pull myself out of my own thoughts. I have no idea how long I had been reminiscing in the past for. I look at the time on my car radio. He had been driving for a while now. Xavier starts to get cranky and I shyly try to feed him without exposing myself to Liam. I can feel myself getting tired but force my eyes to stay open. I don’t dare fall asleep and risk Xavier being gone forever. Before another thought can form, the car comes to a stop.

I know how far his pack is so I look up in confusion. For a moment he turns around and I see hurt in his eyes? No that can’t be. I know Liam is capable of many things but sadness hurt and love are not any of them. I once believed that he was, but I saw the truth first hand eight months ago. I look at our surroundings and see he has stopped at a motel. Why in the hell are we here? What game is he playing at? I feel like I am in some horrible nightmare that I simply can’t escape.

“ I swear to fucking God Ella if you make a scene, things won’t end well,” Liam’s voice booms in the car. I instantly jerk and realize this is not a nightmare, this is my reality. I put my head down and nod in compliance. I have to play this smart, I have to make sure that above else Xavier stays safe.

“Liam, why are we here,” I ask in a weak voice. His head snaps back so fast I swear it looks like he could have broken his neck. I see the anger brimming in his eyes and I shiver.

“Would you rather calm the child down in a fucking vehicle and sleep on the damn seats?” He is booming at this point. I catch a flicker of another emotion in his eyes but it’s gone before I can determine what it was.

“I will behave I promise,” I whisper as I put my head down in defeat. He seemed to flinch at my words before he opens the door.

“Don’t move Ella,” he barks as he opens the door and heads into the office. I scan the car and see he took the keys with him, fuck. For a split second I debate running but I know we won’t get far. Before I can come up with any calculated plan, he is already back at the car, driving to park.

“Let’s go Ella,” he says as he opens my door. With Xavier still in my arms I get out of the car and start to follow Liam.