“You know I carried her and pushed her out and the moment you walked in it was all about you.” Of course I’m only teasing. I want her to have a wonderful relationship with her dad, like I had with mine. “You’re so good with her.”
“She’s a good baby. I think we make a pretty damn good team.” He sits down and I rest my head on his shoulder, staring down at the little miracle that we created.
The baby’s cries wake me, I groggily climb out of bed and walk over to her bassinet in our room. “Hi little angel. Mommy’s got you.” I pick her and sit on the side of the bed. As soon as I unsnap my nursing cami, and put the baby to my breast she latches on.
I sing a made up song about rainbows and kittens that makes no sense, but it keeps me from falling asleep while my little piglet eats. When she’s done with one side, I burp her and then latch her onto the other breast. By the time Olivia’s done eating she’s asleep again.
I carry her into her room to change her diaper. I look out the window, the sun is beginning to rise, the sky glowing dark purple. The bushes on the edge of our yard move. My heart starts to race and my stomach turns. A person cloaked in black stands in front of the bushes looking up at me.
The hate I feel coming off of him curdles in my belly. He lifts a hand, pointing at my daughter, I know it. I move away until my back hits the wall. I hold my daughter more securely to my chest as I slide with my back against the wall moving until I reach Olivia’s closet. When I open the door I slip inside, closing the door behind me.
I get down on the floor, hiding behind some boxes of diapers. Olivia sleeps peacefully in my arms, even as my body trembles. I wrap my free hand around the amethyst hanging around my neck. Fiona said it would connect me to the pack. Can they feel I need help? They’ll come, they will.
I don’t know how long I’ve been in here when the door opens. I hold my breath and try to make myself as small as possible. “Taryn?” Merick calls out quietly. “Baby why are you hiding in the closet?”
He reaches out and helps me stand. I see the sun is starting to shine through the window. “This morning. I-I was changing Olivia’s diaper and I-I looked out the window. There was someone outside. I swear they looked right at me, they pointed at Olivia. I was afraid to leave her room, so we hid in the closet.”
The air around us goes electric. Anger comes off of Merick in waves. “What do you mean someone was here?”
“There was someone outside. I swear.” I step toward him. His body is held so stiff right now I swear if I touched him he would feel like stone “You’re starting to scare me, honey. Tell me what you're thinking.” I take another step, but he holds up his hands.
“Don’t come near me right now. It’s not safe.” He storms out of the room and before I can stop him, he’s flying down the steps and out of the house.
Merick
Screams echo over the tall trees and streams that are intertwined throughout them, cries of agony that fuel me. I stand with my back to the old abandoned cabin. One that has been in my family for years, though we’ve held no use for it, until now.
The sounds of chains being stretched to the limits then hitting the floor with a thud. Another cry rings out and I smile, enjoying the pain that is being inflicted on one of the many that are a danger to my family.
He made it too easy, walked right into our trap. But he wouldn’t break, and the answers we needed, they weren’t coming.
The who sent him here, the when the rest were coming, and we all already understood the why he was here or what he was here to do. They want what we have, the land, the sacred power it holds. They want our world, safe passage, and instead of joining us many years ago, they chose to fight us and threaten it all. Now, they also want my daughter.
“Tell us,” Ryder’s voice, though more of a growl rips from his lungs. Another thud, followed by an anguished cry from our prisoner. The sound repeats, but we are continuously left with the same unanswered questions. He won’t break, he refuses to give us what we need. But he has no idea what is in store for him, we will destroy him, little by little, painfully.
“They’ll come,” my father states, stepping up to my side. “When he doesn’t report, when he doesn’t check in, they’ll send someone to check on him.”
“They won’t like what they find.”
The hunters are being hunted. We will find and destroy each one, little by little I will eliminate the threat to my family.
“What is the plan?”
I ponder over my father's question. I’m having a hard time looking beyond finding Taryn hidden in the closet of our daughter’s room. Her body curled around Olivia’s in a protective ball, both of them looking so innocent and sweet. The rage inside of me wants nothing more than to go inside the cabin and painfully drag out the intruder's death. Make him scream and beg for his life, only I continue to kill him slowly. Only I know ending his life will not get me the answers I need.
“We’re gonna make him wish for his death,” I reply. Mess with my family and I’ll show no mercy. “And when he finally gives
