143
143
LYRIC
I passed out and couldn’t even tell for how long.
All I knew was, after the call with Jaris, Caden still beat me some more, just for the sake of it.
It became too much to handle that I passed out.
I didn’t even know how he managed to bring me awake just now, but I sure didn’t want to stay conscious. It made me aware of the pains and the fact that I was between life and death.
“Feeling better?” Caden asked with a smirk, his face in mine.
My stomach churned at the sight of him. Gods, I hated this man. He was a monster who deserved to rot in hell.
Right now, however, I was at his mercy. I wanted to beg him some more to let me go, but my mouth wouldn’t open. My eyes could barely stay open either. The pain was unbearable.
“Don’t worry, we’re done here. One of my people will take you to the drop off location.”
I was so relieved I wanted to cry.
This…this was over? I wasn’t going to die?
“But you wouldn’t mind delivering a message to Jaris, would you?” His finger came to my cheek, caressing it.
I didn’t have the option of accepting or refusing. He gave me the message.
My head fell forward as I struggled at the brink of consciousness. I didn’t know what happened next.
I felt hands on mine, the ropes being fred, I felt myself moving. But not once did I open my eyes to see what was happening. It was a miracle I was actually still alive.
***********
JARIS
Instead of the usual forty minutes, we arrived Darkspire in thirty.
I kept threatening Razi to move the jet at its fastest.
Nerion had already arranged for enough of our men to wait in a particular spot. So, we didn’t reach the pack when we arrived Darkspire.
it was frustrating that I didn’t even know where to start looking. I knew there was no way Lyric would’ve been kidnapped in Darkspire. She was probably on her way somewhere. Or perhaps, was she blackmailed to come out or something?
We started by checking the roads leading out of Darkspire and found broken glasses on the ground. That was our first clue. She must’ve been driving and was attacked.
We were trying to check for tire trails when my phone beeped with a new test. My chest tightened when I realized it was from her number.
I opened it in a hurry and found a location.
I didn’t pause to think. We made our way to the place, cars and vans filling the road.
I kept staring at Nerion’s hands and legs on the steering and pedals, wondering if he was moving fast enough.
“Step on it!” I rasped. But there wasn’t much he could do. He was going at a very high speed already.
I needed to be there at the location like I needed my next breath. Right now, I could very much be walking into a trap, yet I didn’t fucking care. Not when there was even the slightest chance that I might see Lyric.
When we arrived, I didn’t even wait for the car to fully stop before I was running out of it. For a man like myself who’s always been composed, tonight was a very shitty one for me.
I found her car by the side of the street. It was broken like it had been in an accident.
The men got to it before I did and opened the door.
“We need to pull her out. Quickly!”
Those were the words I heard that brought me crushing relief.
They found her. She was in there.
However, the relief was short–lived when I reached the door and found the sight of the ‘lady‘ in there.
It was Lyric. But for a moment, I couldn’t recognize her.
It took the familiar torn shirts to know she was the one,
1/2”
143
The sight before me….it wasn’t one I ever thought I’d see on Lyric. Her eyes were swollen shut, her lips broken and swollen, her clothes torn with bruises all over the exposed skin.
Even a wild animal wouldn’t do this to you.
What the hell?
I watched with disbelief as the men managed to pull her out of the car. She wasn’t even conscious. How could she be when she looked like she was dead?
I watched emotionlessly as they took her to the van. Yes, it was emotionless because I didn’t know how to feel. This…this was all strange to me. Lyric had gone through hell, because of me. And I didn’t know how to feel about that. A rock formed in my throat, making it impossible for me to say my next order to Kael. I wanted to tell him to get her from the men’s van and bring her to our own car.
I knew they took her there because there was more space and she’d be comfortable, but I didn’t care. I wanted her with me.
So, when I realized I couldn’t speak, I had to do it myself.
I walked to the van, got past the men who easily stepped away for me and grabbed Lyric.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath when I held her to my chest.
Every part of her body was covered with claw marks and dried blood. These were Caden’s claws. I didn’t want to imagine how excruciating they must be.
I was hesitant about holding her, fearing that my hands only make the wounds hurt more.
My eyes traveled to her ripped jeans and cold rage poured into my bones.
No. I refused to think of it.
Carrying her in my arms, I walked back to my car and placed her in the backseat.
The car was on the road again in a few seconds.
I didn’t even look around to know if everything was fine. Wasn’t concerned about anything else around me.
The only person that had my undivided attention was the torn woman before me. I kept my eyes on her and didn’t dare look
away.
ric was in pain. And it was because of the monster who was my brother.
