Page 89 of Fated to Her

“Eli, take her out. She shouldn’t stay,” Maverick says.

I shake my head.

“I’ll stay with her, Addie, I promise. You don’t want to watch this,” Maverick tells me as Eli pulls me up.

Tears run down my face, and I nod, letting him pull me out of the stable. Taylor’s screams are deafening, as I step outside. A few pack members rush in with towels and water then close the stables doors.

“Will she be alright?” I ask Eli.

“I don’t know, Addie. We will have to wait and see.”

Her screams of agony ring through the village loud and clear. I can’t imagine what she’s going through, and I understand what they mean about her not surviving; it’s brutal, and I find myself continuously pacing, my ears ringing from the noise and driving me insane. I have no doubt from the sound of her pain that she wishes for death. I just hope she survives it. I can hear her body twisting and snapping even from the house, hear her ragged breathing, and hear Maverick trying to encourage her to keep going, trying to keep her fighting the transformation and willing her to live through it.

Cyrus has managed to get our son asleep and placed him in a makeshift bed he has made out of a basket.

“Any name ideas?” Cyrus asks, trying to distract me from listening to my sister’s cries.

I can hear her begging Maverick to kill her. I head toward the door to go back to her. It has been hours already; how long will this go on for?

“Addie, please just stay here. My father will take care of her,” Eli says, and I pause before sitting on the bed next to the basket. I adjust his little blanket, my fingers brushing his baby-soft skin on his cheek.

“Addie, I understand everything is overwhelming, but you can’t worry about your sister right now. We need to make sure you stay in control. We also need to deal with Pete. He has been staying with your mom, didn’t you say?” Cyrus asks.

“That’s what Taylor said.” My thoughts being sidetracked back to her. I’m finding it difficult to focus on any one thing. Everything is distracting, just the dust particles in the air I find distracting as I watch them, fascinated.

“Addie?” Cyrus says behind me.

“What did you say?”

“Eli was talking to you,” Cyrus says.

“I give Eli my attention.”

“Emery is flying in with Calum. They will get here at lunchtime. I want to go back to the city with them.”

“Okay,” I tell him.

He sighs, rubbing his hand down his face. “No, Addie, you aren’t understanding. We will all be leaving. You are coming with us,” Eli adds.

I go to protest about leaving Taylor when he holds his hand up, telling me to wait.

“We can come back for her, but we need to go to the council. We also need to get our son checked out,” he says.

I look down at him.

“What about Mom?”

“That’s why we have to go see the council. We will get them to order Pete in. I don’t want to show up to your mother’s and have a war break out. Maya and your mother could become collateral damage. The council so far has kept their investigation to themselves.

Pete doesn’t know he has been caught out because they took care of the deliveries, and Porter met him at the forest edge. I want to keep it that way until I know Maya and your mother are safe. Dad will take care of Taylor, and once she is shifted, we will come back for her, I promise. But you need to do this for me, please. I can’t leave you with our son by yourself, and I need Cyrus with me when we confront the council,” Eli says.

“And you will get a doctor to check him?” I ask.

He looks fine, but probably best he is checked out; he didn’t exactly have a peaceful birth as I intended. Eli comes over, his hand going through my hair, and I press my head against his hip.

“Thank you. Cyrus will take you over to see your sister before we go, okay?”

I nod, and Cyrus reaches over, gripping my fingers and squeezing them gently.