Chapter 45

Axel

It was the final day before Lily and Raiden’s visit would end and we had decided to spend the afternoon in a nearby city, doing shopping for the Fae Festival a mere two days from now. Not that they would be attending, but Lily kept insisting I get something better to wear than just dark denim pants and a dress shirt, which was exactly what I had intended on wearing in the first place.

The entire trip had been the girl’s idea and both me and Ray only agreed to accompany them since they didn’t want guards to hang around while they shopped for new undergarments. Especially Lily who would be needing a whole set of new pregnancy attire, whatever that included.

There was no way we would have let them venture out of pack grounds alone anyway, two Luna’s, unprotected, it would be the easiest way to target both of our packs, and bring it to a fall, should anything happen to them. So, with that in mind, we had come to an agreement that we would accompany them in exchange for favours. I still had no idea what type of favour I might want to cash in in the future with Gabrielle, but knowing I had a wild card that I could pull on her anytime gave me a thrill.

As for Lily’s favour to Ray, neither of them would say a word about it, and as her brother, I sure as hell didn’t want to find out. Her shy smile and Ray’s new twinkle in the eye gave away quite enough already, one could only assume it had something to do with their bedroom antics.

Lily and Gabrielle had shared the backseat on the drive here and I sat in front with Ray. It was a short, but pleasant drive to town and the mall was not too far in, which was also a bonus. I much preferred the countryside to busy, bustling, noisy cities.

The girls had entered a smallish boutique with a wide assortment of eveningwear, while Ray and I went to the shop across from it, specializing in suits and other stylish men’s wear. My muscles were still warm and shaky from the morning’s exercises with the boys, so I had to walk on wobbly legs as we ventured through the trendy displays scattered around the shop. The quick shower I had taken before hitting the road helped significantly, although I could still feel the aftermath of the endurance training steadily pulsing through my system. It felt good. Exhilarating.

“You know, even after all this time, she’s still not fine,” Ray said as he picked up a navy-blue polo shirt and studied the stitching around the seams of the collar.

I couldn’t look at him as I answered, “that’s understandable.” I knew, because I myself was still struggling, and I hadn’t even been the victim in the whole damn ordeal.

“This thing,” he gestured briefly in the air, “with the possessed human is bringing up old memories. Things I thought had been left in the past.” For a moment, Ray looked like he had during that time. The horrible last years of Lily’s disappearance, where no one knew whether we would ever see her again if she could possibly still be alive. His eyes seemed shadowed, and his shoulders hunched. A desperate man caught up in a hopeless situation.

I let out a deep sigh and took a seat on one of the chic, odd-shaped couches. Ray threw a charcoal knitted pull-over onto my lap with an embroidered white wolf on the upper left corner before taking a seat in the other chair.

It was a beautiful piece of clothing, perfect for any occasion, whether it be formal or informal. A pull-over was always useful.

“I never told you this, but she came back damaged in more ways than just mentally.”

Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I gathered up enough courage to ask, “what do you mean?”

Raiden pulled a heavy hand through his dark hair and leaned forward onto his knees. There was something in his light-grey eyes. Something I had never seen before. “She came back bearing a scar. Old, but unmistakable. Over her lower abdomen.” He gestured over his own body, “cutting across the length of her stomach, like this.”

Shit.

“Do you think maybe?”

“I don’t know,” he answered too quickly, keeping his gaze on the ground. A muscle in his jaw feathered as he interlaced his fingers.

I had no words.

Pain shot through my gut. Dull, but almost unbearable. The serpent inside of me awakening after a long slumber. I should have been there. I should have protected her.

“It’s not a battle scar.” He shook his head in thought as he spoke, “no, this scar is neat. A clean-cut.”

My mouth felt incredibly dry, and my heart rate picked up. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear this. If I could deal with it.

“Like someone cut,” he couldn’t voice the word both of us had in mind, “like someone cut something from her belly.”

The world around me started to spin. It was like reality had been jerked away from under me, throwing me into a mass of confusion and despair. A new rock thrown into the lake of my soul, causing great ripples on its smooth, tranquil surface and sending mirk floating up from its depts to corrupt the very quality of what lay within.

Fuck, I was going to be sick again.

“Did she ever?” I asked, but I didn’t want the answer.

“No. She couldn’t remember anything. Those seven years just vanished from her mind, as though it never happened.”

There was nothing more to say. What could one say to something like that?

“I think she just tries to forget it. Push it deep into the back of her mind, hoping that one day she might wake up and find that it was all just some terrible nightmare.” Ray let out another deep sigh. “She cannot see it, but sometimes I catch a glimpse of her fingers sliding over the white bumpy line that still remains. Faint, but unmistakable.”

My limbs started shaking. Images flashed into my mind. Scenarios. Possible explanations. None of them in any way reassuring. My hands shook so much, I had to close my eyes for a brief moment and focus on the here and now. She is ok. We got her back. She is safe.

I kept repeating the words over and over again in my mind. I needed to convince myself.

She is ok. We got her back. She is home. She is safe.

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