Caged Between the beta and alpha novel Chapter 100

“Are you ok?” Zack asked, looking at me.

I frowned and nodded as we continued towards the hospital to check on Owen. A daily afternoon routine, although it didn’t feel like there was any hope of him waking up.

“Yeah, I don’t know, I’m good.” I said rubbing my forehead.

I was ok, in fact, I felt… great.

Last night… What Liam did, I knew he did it without thinking. The bullets shot would have killed me or anyone else. They were deadly. Luckily, Haru only had one arm. He didn’t have the time to reload the damn gun for another round of shots. I didn’t even want to think about the casualties if he was at his best

But it wasn’t that which was on my mind, or the fact of seeing Raven and Liam together. It hurt less than thought it would, in a way… I felt free…

Last night’s dream returned to me once again…

(FLASHBACK)

The sun was shining through the trees as I lay under it, the grass dancing in the wind.

“Damon…’

“Who’s there?” I called sitting up.

I was alone in this field… strange.

The soothing touch of fingers running through my curls made me turn, but there was no one there.

“You’ve been through so much… it’s time to let it all go…’ That same whispery, beautiful voice came.

“Let what go?”

‘The pain child… I am proud of you.’

I felt those same fingers touch my chest, a soothing coolness spreading within me, and my heart thudded, feeling the gaping hole left at the breaking of the bond vanish from inside me.

What was that?

“Who are you?”

‘You are so much more… So much more… Remember who you are… Believe in yourself, the way I believe i n you! 1

(END OF FLASHBACK)

I had woken up in bed, breathing hard, but the strangest thing was the loss of Raven was still there in my mind, yet the gaping hole in my chest was… gone.

I had a feeling who that may have been but… she wouldn’t visit me… I was no one imp

I stopped mid-thought, remembering those parting words. So much more…’

I guess I had gotten into a habit of It…

Why me though?

I looked at the sky for a moment, knowing I would never get the answer to that before we stepped into the hospital.

Liam and Raven… I’m glad they’re happy.

How did I feel…? Pretty neutral… I loved Raven, but seeing her with Liam changed a lot of stuff. It was going to take me a little time. But today… I didn’t feel like I was just surviving. I felt like I was ok, that the future was going to be brighter.

We approached Owen’s room only to see a few doctors around his bed.

“What the…” I muttered as Zack opened the door.

“What happened?!” He asked.

“He woke up, but he… he won’t make it.” One of the doctors said using the defibrillator on him. “Again!”

The blaring sound of the heart rate monitor remained flat.

Twice… thrice… Nothing helped.

I stared at the man before me, thinking he was gone, and with it, any chance of finding answers…

“Did he say anything before he passed?” Zack asked.

“He did say something.” One of the male nurses replied, frowning.

“What was it?” I asked, thinking who would be the one to tell Owen’s parents he was gone?

If he came out of this innocent… which we were pretty sure he was… then he had died with his reputation tarnished, even if he was a grade-A asshole.

“She isn’t done.”

My stomach sank and I turned away, running a hand through my hair.

“Fuck.” Zack growled.

“He probably knew something… maybe that’s why he was targeted.” I muttered.

The killer was still out there, and they seemed to have bought themselves some more time. 1

Tleft the hospital with my head spinning. Was it the killer who had helped Raven’s dad? We all knew he’d had help.

I sighed heavily, the sun beating down on me as I continued walking, mulling over everything. This time w e needed a plan to lure the killer out; this time we couldn’t just let them do what they wanted.

The other thing was the graveyard. Although the suggestion to dig up some of the fresher soil and see if w e could find anything was put forward, no one really wanted to do that, knowing it would upset the parents of those buried there.

A familiar scent hit my nose and I glanced up, spotting Robyn sitting under a tree, a notebook and pen in hand. She was dressed for the weather in shorts and a fitted top.

Still alone… like always. 1

She looked up, as if feeling watched.

“Hi.” She said, looking back at her diary.

“Hey…”

Our eyes met and my heart skipped a beat, throwing me off,

“If you have nothing to say. Nicholson, move on.” She replied.

“Ouch, you got harsh.” I joked, still not approaching her.

“I’ve always been straightforward, remember? The reason I have no friends.” She said, returning to her diary. 2

She was a good person. People needed to just look past her blunt personality, but even that was a good trait of hers, or so I thought anyway.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

She really had shut me out. She stood up, her eyes softening, and she gave me a small apologetic smile a s she walked over to me,

“I’m sorry Damon, but I can’t do this: Pretend that everything is ok, I’m not you.” She whispered, the pain in her eyes unmasked for a moment.

“I’m not expecting anything, I’m sorry I didn’t mean-”

She placed a finger to my lips and nodded in understanding.

“I know, it’s just that you’ve been hurt enough, and I don’t want to hurt you anymore.” She said, before turning and walking off.

| swallowed hard; I know what she meant… when she found her mate… She was right, I needed to stay away from her and if that meant even a hi or bye… then that too.

It was late in the afternoon, I knocked on Liam’s office door before stepping inside.

To my surprise, he was alone. I don’t know why, but I was expecting Raven to be here with him. His aura was stronger than ever, and his eyes still shone magnetic blue. Were they going to stay like that, like Dante’s?

“Nice eyes.” I said with a smirk.

“Thanks, 1 kind of like them.” He joked back; they just made his scar look even more piercing.

The atmosphere seemed to lighten, and he smiled slightly.

My gaze fell to his neck, seeing Raven’s mark on him. I smiled. It was… bittersweet, I guess.

“Did you hear about Owen’s final words?” I asked.

“Yeah, Zack mentioned it; a female, as we thought. I’ve sliced out half the females who were on the suspicion list, going back by their families. The tracker families and the omegas remain, since some of them have no known fathers.” Liam said.

4’m surprised he was working considering what happened yesterday…

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” I asked quietly.

He cocked a brow.

“I’m good as new. We can’t waste any more time, now that the curse is gone, I can give it my all. Besides, I didn’t get here that long ago.” He said with a small smile.

The curse was gone… Was this Liam the same as the one I once knew or had three years still changed him?

“Thanks for saving my life.” I said quietly. +

“There’s nothing to thank me for… You would have done the same for me.”

Yes, I would have, but I didn’t expect him to do the same for me.

His eyes softened with guilt, and he looked down.

“I know what I did was unforgivable… my attitude and my greed. I won’t deny that I still wouldn’t have changed my mind about her… But I went about it wrong. I promise I’ll make it up to you Damon. Maybe nothing can replace the loss of a mate, but I’m going to do my best.” He said.

“It’s in the past, let it go.” I said, sighing. “I’m ok, we just need to look to the future. Besides, she’s still my friend, and you can’t take that away from us.”

He nodded with a small smile, just as the door opened and Raven entered. Instantly her scent hit me, it had changed, meaning they had mated… I hadn’t even realised that Liam’s had changed…but I guess his overpowering aura made you lose focus of everything else.

“Hey, Damon.” Raven said, hugging me from behind my chair.

“Hey.” I said smiling at her, before she walked over to Liam, hugging him.

She was wearing his shirt too, styled as a dress but it was obviously his. I saw their eyes meet, their gazes fall to the other lips, but they didn’t kiss, and I knew it was because of me, instead Raven took a seat on the desk.

“So, what are you talking about?” She asked.

“Not that you need to know.” Liam teased, making her pout, but he followed up quickly. “The killer.”

“Hmm… Oh yeah… About that, last night… I was thinking, Dad aimed for Damon when you were both at the wall for a while. Like, wouldn’t it have been more vengeful to aim for Liam or me?” She mused.

| sat forward. That was a good point.

“But there’s no logic to why.” Liam murmured.

“Then we best get through this pile and see what we can find.” I said.

Raven nodded and Liam handed us both a thick pile of files each. I already had a headache coming on looking at it, and by the look of it, Raven was in the same boat.

“Damn… Where’s Zack?” I asked.

Liam smirked.

“He has a day off since last night he was on duty, so it’s just us three.” He said.

“Ooh but these files are so big.” Raven whined.

Liam cocked a brow.

“Seriously, love?” He said.

He mind linked something and her cheeks burned up as she poked her eyes out at him.

“Can we get Robyn to help?” She pleaded.

As much as I didn’t want to see her, the files were depressing, and she was smart….

“You two are meant to be Beta and Luna. Are you really complaining about paperwork?”

“I didn’t say anything.” | protested.

“Exactly, meaning you agree.” He said.

“Well… You did let Zack have a day off…”

Liam smirked.

“Fine. I owe her a thank you anyway, I’ll call her.” He said pausing, and I knew he was mind linking her

“So, what superhero powers have you got with that big aura?” | asked curiously.

“Nothing so far. Maybe a little stronger?” Liam said, shrugging.

“The Deimos’ abilities were speed and strength, right?” Raven murmured. “Maybe you’re just stronger and faster. Race Al!” 5

“I’d rather not…” Liam said, just as there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

Robyn stepped inside. 1

“You called Alpha?” She asked.

Liam sat back as Raven waved at her.

“I did, Liam’s fine. I just wanted to thank you for all your help with the curse.” Liam said to her. 1

“Not a problem, I didn’t really do much. You are my Alpha and I wanted to help.” She said, glancing at me before looking back at Liam.

He nodded.

“I still appreciated it,” Liam said offering her a small smile. “Also…. these two didn’t want to use their short supply of brain cells, I was wondering if you were free to help look through some files?”

“Sure, I guess I can.” She said, taking some files before going and situating herself on the couch.

“I guess I better be a good girl too.” Raven mumbled, getting off the table with a small wince.

Liam pulled her into his lap, giving her a tight squeeze.

Their eyes locked and I knew they were linking, so I turned my attention to the top file.

I’ll get used to it… I just needed a little time.

A good hour passed, and Raven had gone to get us drinks. I honestly wanted to go, but she beat me to it. I really wanted a break from spending my time studying with these two smartasses.

Did they never tire of looking at books?

‘Geeks.’ Raven’s voice came through the link, as Robyn and Liam bent over a file.

‘I wish they’d let me vanish…’I grumbled back. We exchanged a smirk.

Just then, Raven’s phone rang, making us all look up.

“Ooo Kia!” She said, picking it up, only to frown. “Taylor? Hello?” She answered.

We watched her frowning; did they leave pack grounds or something? Why did he call?

“Taylor? Taylor?” Raven said frowning.

Liam came over, motioning her to put it on speaker.

Silence…

The sound of someone breathing hard could be heard, for a moment I thought maybe they had called by accident.

“Oopsie, maybe they’re doing it.” Raven said, with emphasis on the ‘it.’

“Taylor or Zack aren’t answering the mind link.” Liam said, his eyes full of concern.

Worry began settling into me and it looked like everyone had the same idea, yet as if to confirm our doubt, the groan of someone in pain came through the muffled speaker. 1

“Fuck.” Liam said, rushing to the door shockingly fast.

The girls stared at each other but Liam was gone.

“Talk about fast.” I muttered.

“Taylor..” Raven murmured as we all broke into a run, the worry and panic for our pack mates settling in…