Chapter 6: The Unspoken

We often fall silent on our woes, causing irrationality to form.

Liam’s POV

I instinctively reach out and run my finger across Xavier’s cheek. His bright eyes pop open. Him staring at me with such content makes my heart flip.

“Congrats man, he looks just like you,” Carter says. “How is Ella doing, what happened to her?” he asks me.

“I’m not sure honestly, but it’s not looking good. Sarah said she got her stable but kicked me out of the room for being too much in the way,” I put my head down in embarrassment as I reply back to Carter. “Can I hold him?” I ask Amara. She looks at me and I see a flicker of anger pass across her eyes before she hands me the baby. “He seems so tiny in my arms,” I say

“Well yeah Liam, two day old baby’s are pretty damn small,” Amara snips at me and Carter elbows her as my eyes shoot towards Amara. “I’m sorry Liam, but what the hell were you thinking taking her out of the hospital so quickly? Do you know how dangerous it is not only for Ella but Xavier as well? I know you missed her but hell, you couldn’t have waited a couple more days?” Amara is furious at me as she’s speaking.

“Amara that’s enough,” Carter booms at her.

“I didn’t know Amara I swear. When I got to Ella she was already in the parking garage loading herself and Xavier into the car. I had no idea,” I say with sadness. Even if I didn’t know I should have done some investigating. I handled this situation irrationally and am to blame for my ignorance.

“This is all such a mess. This poor baby is too young to be away from his momma like this. You’re too distracted to care for him Liam. What is your plan if something happens to Ella? I’m sorry I know that’s blunt but you need to think about Xavier too. If Ella does die you not only lost your mate, Xavier looses his mom.” Amara starts crying and Carter wraps her in a hug. If it were anyone else in the pack saying these things, I would have snapped, but Amara stating it cuts me deep. I never meant for any of this to happen. I open my mouth to reply when Sarah mind links me

“Liam I need you up here now,” she states and cuts off the mind link. Panic washes over me. I stand frozen for a moment as Carter comes up to me.

“Liam go, we will look after Xavier,” he says as he grabs him out of my arms. With that notion I rush back up to the pack hospital.

Carter’s POV

I’m watching my mate cry while holding Xavier. What a mess this all is.

“Baby come here,” I say as I wrap my other arm around Amara. I slowly pull her towards the couch and have her sit with us. “Babe it will be ok, Ella is strong you know this. She will pull through. Xavier will be ok too,” I try soothing her as she buries her head into my side. I saw the look Liam had when Amara stated the baby was only two days old. I believe his story too, Liam isn’t a liar. Amara knows that as well but her emotions have the best of her at the moment. Why in the hell did Ella leave so quickly from the hospital?  So many questions run through my mind that we may never get the answers to. Xavier starts to get fussy and Amara sits up quickly. Wiping a few stray tears away, she holds her arms out.

“Let me see him, I’m ok now,” she weakly smiles at me and I do as she says. Admirations consumes me as I look down at Amara and Xavier. She is such an amazing woman and I thank the moon goddess for giving her as my mate. Even though I can feel the despair all through out her body, Amara doesn’t let it show as she tends to Xavier. I kiss the top of her head and whisper I love you to her.

“What was that for?” she asks with a smiling playing at her lips.

“Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you,” I ask her while looking into her beautiful eyes.

“Aaaallllllll the time,” she exaggerates her words as the smile forms completely. “ I love you too handsome,”

And with that her worries melt away. Such a remarkable woman I think to myself. Excited that my mate has let her woes disappear, I get a great idea.

“Be right back,” I says as I kiss her cheek and disappear. I remember I stored Gracie’s, our youngest daughter, bassinet in the basement. I hurry down there to try to find it. After a bit of digging I find it in the corner. This will be perfect I think to myself. I tote it back up the stairs. I got back to the main living room and set it next to the couch.

“Awww baby perfect,” Amara says as she stands up to put the baby in it. Gently rocking it back and forth, Xavier falls asleep quickly. I grab the remote and decide a little tv may clear our minds for a bit.

Liam’s POV

It feel like it takes forever to get to the pack hospital. Each step closer my heart beats faster. I know the situation is dire, I could hear it in Sarah’s voice. So many different scenarios keep running through my head. Did her body reject the blood? Is that even possible? Did she wake up screaming?  I finally make it to the hospital and Sarah is waiting for me in Ella’s room. I walk in and immediately sense that something is off. Ella looks lifeless and it’s clear the machine is breathing for her.

“Liam, we don’t know what happened, but Ella is in a coma.” I hear Sarah’s words but my mind is in a complete fog. “I am running some more tests to see what caused this. Ella’s condition was stable before I went to step into my office.” With those words my head snaps to look at her.

“You left her alone Sarah?” I am screaming at her. I see her flinch at my tone. “Why in the fuck was she left alone,” I’m starting to walk closer to her and I see the fear in her eyes.

“I I jujust left to chart and prep Liam I swear, I left the nurse in here with her and before I knew it, the monitors were beeping,” she stutters out seeing my anger rising I know none of this is her fault. Hell if it weren’t for Sarah , Ella would already be dead. I try to calm myself down.

“Sarah I need to know what’s going to happen,” I’m pleading her to tell me something I can hold hope onto. She puts her head down and sadness is consuming her.

“I don’t know Liam, but I am doing my best to figure it all out. She needs a surgery to fix the internal bleeding. The blood transfusion can only do so much until I we fix the underlying problem. She was stable up until hitting a coma. I know it’s risky Liam, but I am running out of options, I need to do the surgery. If I keep waiting, Ella will have no chance at all.” Fear, sadness and even confidence is running through her as she states the facts.

“Do the surgery then Sarah,” I state barely in a whisper. I don’t know if that’s the right choice but I trust Sarah’s judgement. She’s one of the best Drs. In the world.  I don’t know what has gotten into me, but I walk up to Sarah and give her a hug. She stiffens at the gesture then starts to pay me on the back awkwardly. “thank you Sarah,” I say before letting her go. With a nod of her head she mind links her team and starts to get the preparations ready.

Ella’s POV

“Kendra, where are we going?” I ask her stopping in my place. I see she is starting to get frustrated at me but I don’t care. I want answers of what the hell is going on. The mixture of fear and anxiety is becoming almost too much to bare.

“Ella everything they have told us here is a lie. Do you want to know what they’re going to do to your baby,” she snaps at me.

“How did you know I was pregnant?” suspicion starts to creep in on me. I hadn’t told a soul. I wanted Liam to be the first one to know.

“It doesn’t matter how I found out Ella, what matters is you and your baby aren’t safe. You think you know Liam but you don’t.,” she is seething with anger. I start to back away from her. Trying to grasp what is going on. Of course I am safe with Liam. He will make the perfect father to our baby. I start to feel nauseated, knowing something bad is about to happen.

“ Ella you are being naive. You know nothing about this world except the things Liam tells you. We are almost there, I need to show you before it’s too late. I need to show you the fate your baby has. Please Ella you have to believe me.” She says to me. I start to follow her further away from the house. The moment she said the fate of my baby, curiosity got the best of me. Her pace is quicker than mine, it takes me a light jog just to keep up with her. In the distance I see what looks to be a lake.  We get a little closer and she has me crouch behind a tree.

“They sacrifice the babies to the moon goddess. Why do you think their pack is the strongest Ella. They use the blood of the innocent.” Kendra states as she’s pointing towards Liam. My heart starts to beat out of my chest. I see Liam standing at the edge of the lake with a babe in his hands. I can see blood all over the baby and my entire body pales. I feel like I am going to vomit.  He holds the blood covered baby up to the moon. Just as he is about to put the baby in the water, I start running in the opposite direction. It doesn’t take Kendra long to catch up to my tear stained face.

“Ella I am so sorry, but I had to show you. I had to make sure you were safe,” she says rubbing her hand across my back. “I can help you Ella, I will get you out of here if that’s what you want. Liam will be down there for at least another hour. If we hurry I can get you safe before then.” Kendra states to me as we are walking back to the house. Before we even make it out of the woods I stop and stare at Kendra.

“I want to leave, please I don’t even want to go back in the house. Kendra help me please,” I am sobbing hysterically while I wrap my arms around Kendra.

“Shh shh don’t worry Ella’s it will be ok, I will get you out of here tonight I promise,” she says.

Sarah’s POV

The reaction I got from Liam was completely unexpected. There was some anger there but more pain, fear and sadness. I could feel the desperation off of him as he was hugging me. I mind link my team, with him agreeing we need to move fast. I begin the laparotomy and immediately find the problem. Her uterus hadn’t constricted properly and she has bleeding blood vessels. I have a Dr. Next to me cleaning the area as carefully as possible. Ella has lost a lot of blood the past couple of days so I try to quickly correct the problem. She has bleeding blood vessels as well. I decide to go with uterine compression sutures, hoping that helps her uterus a little bit as well. Before long we are stapling her stomach shut and beginning another blood transfusion. Her body after a bit starts to get more color, but she’s still in a coma. Something isn’t right I just can’t put my finger on it. I go ahead and run another lab test to see if I am missing something. Once the results come back I about lose my shit. Someone  had administered a lethal dose of sodium thiopental. That is not a mistake that someone made on my team. This was an intentional hit. FUCK. Liam had stayed at the hospital to ensure Ella was ok after surgery. I walk over to his chair, “Liam we need to talk,” I say. With those simple words he stands straight up. He nods his head and we walk to the doorway.

“Liam we have a breech in our security. I got the results back from one of her labs. Someone administered a lethal dose into Ella’s IV. Thiopental is the medication that they used. It is typically used for a medical induced coma or anesthesia purposes. I personally am not a fan of the medication, so we don’t use it in this hospital. Whoever used this medicine knew what it would do to Ella. The fact that they used so much, they had the motive for Ella not to wake up.”  With those last spoken words, Liam loses control.

Liam’s POV

“Carter get to the pack hospital now, bring our security team as well,”  I shut the mind link off before he can say a word to me. My blood is boiling, rage dripping from every bone in my body. I know I’m going to lose control but I can’t seem to get under control. Who the fuck would try to hurt Ella? Why? What do they have to gain from this? Hurting me? One thing I know for sure, the bastard won’t get away it. I will find who he is and will take pleasure in ripping him to shreds.

“What is going to happen to her Sarah ?” I asked, truly scared of her response.

“Liam, I don’t know. As much of a dose she was given, she should have already died. I take hope that since she has come this far, her body is fighting hard to survive. Adding a blood transfusion, we may get lucky and thin the toxicity level. I am sorry Liam it’s out of my hands right now. All I can do is keep her comfortable until her body decides what it is going to do next,” I hear the sadness as she speaks.  

It doesn’t take long for Carter and the security guards to show up.  I have Sarah fill them in on Ella’s condition. Partly because I am mad and partly because I know she will explain it a lot better than I can

“Carlos I want you to guard Ella’s room from the inside. Markus you will be doing outside detail at all times and Maya you have inside details. I don’t want any members coming anywhere near the pack hospital do you understand me. Sarah pick a trusted Dr. they will be responsible for any and all pack problems. If need be they can transport to the allied pack hospital. I want to speak with every person who has had contact with Ella while staying here,” Carter’s authority booms as he takes control of the situation. That is another reason why I chose him as my Beta. No matter the situation, he knows how to handle it the best. “Liam, you and I will go look at the security footage, this bastard is going down,” and with that we head to the security room.

Carter’s POV

“Carter get to the pack hospital now, bring our security team as well,” Liam is shouting in my head so loudly it makes me jump off the couch. Shit, Amara and I had fallen asleep. I hear the urgency in Liam’s voice.

“I have to go my love, something happened,” I whisper to Amara, kissing her. I mind link the security team and tell them to report to the pack hospital immediately. “Yes Beta,” they say in unison as I rush to get there. Fuck fuck fuck please be ok Ella I keep think to myself. Ella was always a good person and she brought out the best parts of Liam. I couldn’t be happier that my best friend had finally found his other half. He deserved to be happy. Ella seemed to be happy too. She was always showing him affection, and you could see the adoration in her eyes. I don’t know what caused her to leave, but the day she disappeared we lost the best parts of our Alpha.

Hearing Sarah speak I felt like I was in a haze. We had a breach in our fucking pack. My heart shatters for Liam and Xavier with each passing moment Sarah speaks. I know Liam will make the fucker pay, and I will gladly assist.

“Amara listen to me closely. I need you to get Xavier and our kids to the security room now. Do not speak to anyone, do you understand me?” I mind link Amara.

“ I am on my way love,” she says with fear in her voice. I bark orders to all of the guards and head to the security room with Liam. I don’t want to take any chances with Xavier. Whoever this sick bastard is, I wouldn’t put it past him to harm the baby. Amara enters the room a few minutes after we do, Xavier in her arms and a bag around her shoulder. Gracie and Tucker look up at me tiredly with smiles on their faces.

“ What in the hell is going on guys,” she asks scanning the monitors.  

“Ummmmmmm mommy said a baaad word Daddy,” Gracie says while giggling.

Amara’s POV

 I can hear the urgency in Carter’s voice as he rushes to the pack hospital. Fearing for the worse, I grab Xavier up in my arms for comfort. Fear consumes me as I think of the worse. Ella must not be doing very well or maybe… I make myself stop thinking like that. Xavier is starting to stir, I hurriedly get a bottle ready. I had almost forgotten how much little ones like to eat.

I admire Xavier and gush at how much he looks like both his parents. At first glance all I could see was Liam, but watching his tiny expressions, Ella is all through out this little boy. I truly pray whatever has happened, they can find a way to forgive each other. I would love to see Ella happy, running around with Xavier as Liam is chasing them laughing. They all deserve that life.

He starts to fall back asleep when Carter mind links me.

“Amara listen to me closely. I need you to get Xavier and our kids to the security room now. Do not speak to anyone, do you understand me?”

I hear the panic in his tone and instantly get into fighting mode. I reply back letting him know I am on my way and get into action. I hurriedly grab a bag and some milk for Xavier. I strap him in his car seat and he looks up almost as if protesting the gesture. I smile down at him, grab a little blanket and head out of the living room.  Rushing up to the kids’ room I gently wake them both up. It’s late they rub their little eyes groggily.

“ Where are we going momma?” Gracie asks.

“We have to go meet daddy baby,” I smile and say. In unison they both look at me holding Xavier.

“Is that our baby momma,” Gracie asks excitedly. I start to laugh.

“No peanut, this is Uncle Liam’s baby,” I reply to her curious self.

She starts to twist her face into a pout then puts a smile back on her face. Tucker is still trying to grasp what is going on. As sensing the air he stiffens and puts an arm around his baby sister.

“Come on Gracie, let’s go see daddy that will be fun right,” he says coaxing her attention away from Xavier. As if forgetting he is there, she starts to jump up and down excitedly ready to go see her daddy. I let out a sigh. Only six years old and Tuckers intuition is spot on. With that thought we head to the pack hospital, thanking the moon goddess we hadn’t run into anyone. As soon as we enter I see the men watching the monitors. The tension in the room is thick. Whatever is happening, goes far more than Ella’s health I can sense it.

“What in the hell is going on guys,” I ask filled with concern. Gracie starts to giggle as she tells on me to Carter. Shit this really isn’t a topic for the kids. Especially Tucker who is scanning the monitors as if searching for something. Both men look at me. I see the sadness in Liam’s eyes and the anger in Carter’s.

“Ok you two, it’s still super late. How about we set up the cots and have a sleepover in one of the rooms,” I try to say it to make it sound fun, but Tucker has absolutely no interest.

“Dad and Uncle Liam,  right there in the left bottom corner,” Tucker says, completely ignoring the sleep talk. My eyes dart to the computer screen and sure enough you can see someone’s shadow hiding behind a filing cabinet. It is barely visible, I honestly don’t know how Tucker knew what to look for or even seen it.  

“Good job buddy,” Carter says, patting Tucker on his back. Tucker smiles with pride knowing he did good. Carter and Liam watch the shadow closely. After a couple of minutes you catch glimpses of the person’s backside dodging through the camera’s vision and making it in to Ella’s room. Anticipation is creeping up all of us as we wait for the figure to show itself exiting, but that never comes. The only thing we see is Sarah rushing back into Ella’s room. That bastard knew exactly what to do, escaped through Ella’s window. Liam slams his fists on the desk, causing the kids to jump and Xavier to cry. He looks up with anger first in his eyes and then embarrassment.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers and with that walks out of the room. Carter kisses me on top of the head, hugs the kids and walks out to follow Liam. The kids look up at me Gracie with confusion and Tucker with expectation. I smile down at them both and grab a bottle for Xavier.

“Mommy can I feed the baby pleeeeaaassseeee,” Gracie begs.

“Next time I promise baby girl, but right now you two need to go back to bed for a bit,” I coax them to a room and lay them back down while carrying Xavier. They both protest for a bit but eventually fall asleep. Now time to find the men and figure out what exactly is going on. I make one of the security guards sit in the room with Tucker and Gracie and tote Xavier over to Carter and Liam.

“Do you mind telling me what the hell is happening around here,” I hold my gaze on the men.

“Long story short love, it seems someone came into Ella’s room and gave her a medication meaning to kill her but instead it put her in a coma. We don’t know who it was and why they did it but they injected her with a dose large enough to kill her. Most importantly it has to be someone in the pack” As Carter states the facts, sorrow washes over me. Sorrow for Ella, her baby and Liam. Who would do something so cruel? And one of our own? Anger ripples through me on that thought. Whoever has harmed Ella better pray they are far away from here by now, otherwise I personally will rip them to shreds.

“So what do we do now?” I ask them

“We wait. The next several hours depends on Ella’s body.” Sarah comes to my side and informs us all. “Liam I have the nurse in my office, the one who decided to leave the room right before the incident occurred. She has already been terminated from her position here at the hospital, the rest is up to,” Liam storms off before Sarah can finish her sentence.

“Amara I would like to run some tests on Xavier, I need to make sure he is healthy,” Sarah says to me. For a second I stiffen up, not wanting to let Ella’s baby out of my site.

“Lead the way Sarah I will follow you, “ I say.

“Amara I am more than capable of taking the baby for a check up myself.” She states I can see the frustration in her eyes.

“With all due respect Sarah, look what happened to Ella under your care. I will not risk the future Alpha. If you have a problem with that by all means let’s discuss it with Liam,” I am standing my ground on this one. I made a promise to Liam to protect Xavier with my life and I plan to honor that.

“Follow me then Amara,” Sarah says with irritation in her voice. She leads me to another room and begins her exam. I watch intently, ensuring every single number comes out good. The exam doesn’t last very long and Xavier seems to be content through it all.

“ Just one more thing to do and he will be all done,” Sarah states. She pulls out a needle and prepares his arm for the poke. As soon as the needle inserts his skin, he starts crying.  I always hated this part on babies, it truly is the worse. Xavier’s eyes shoot open and I swear for a split second they flash a light purple.

“Did you see that?” I ask Sarah. She removes the needle from Xavier’s arm and looks up at me.

“See what?” she asks as she puts a bandage on his arm and picks him up. I look back at Xavier who has already calmed down and see that his eyes are the beautiful emerald green. Damn I must be super tired, my eyes are playing tricks on me.

“Nothing, I think I’m a little tired is all,” I say before grabbing Xavier from Sarah. I know she isn’t a threat to him but I can’t help the instinct to protect him from everyone. Not only for Liam, but Ella too. She was hiding and running for a reason. Her hard work won’t go to waste.

“ I’m going to get this blood work to labs, just to make sure all numbers check out correctly. Also want to see if our little man has the wolf gene in him as well.” Sarah says and with that she walks out of the room. Shit with how much chaos going on I forgot about the Rite. I can bet so did Liam. Well I guess waiting to find out if he has his daddy’s gene first makes sense. It’s not the most common, a werewolf finding a human mate and only about seventy percent end up getting the wolf gene when having offspring. Considering Liam has alpha blood, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Xavier will have a wolf as well.