Chapter 18
Liam's head threatened to explode as he dashed out of the room. He felt like he was running into a storm instead of away from it because his body, mind, and even his wolf ached to return to Nicole. "Liam?" James asked, jumping out of his way as he almost crashed into him.
Liam growled something unintelligible in response and continued non-stop until he was at the outskirts of his pack and close to the forest. Without wasting time, he threw off his clothes and shifted into his wolf form.
A humongous black wolf with streaks of blue and blonde on its fur stood in his place. The wolf bared its teeth, paced around, and then threw its head back and roared.
Liam was fighting hard for control over his wolf. He wanted to run to clear his head and mind and understand why and how he enjoyed being with Nicole to a crazy extent, but his wolf was raging mad. He could feel Nicole's hurt and disappointment.
It rattled his nerves as much as his need to understand what happened during the s*x. But his wolf wanted to go back, apologize, and possibly stay with Nicole until it was satisfied. Liam seriously doubted that his wolf could get tired of Nicole after what had happened.
He had been with a lot of ladies, but s*x with them had never been as satisfying and emotionally thrilling as it had been with Nicole. It had his mind reeling, and he was in utter shock when he realized that all the things he had been saying to her at that moment were the pure truth. That's what hurt his wolf the most. His wolf was mad that he had lied to Nicole and was harsh to her.
His wolf paced around as Liam battled with it for control. Liam frustratedly needed his wolf to understand that he needed to be away from that environment to get it completely. He had not expected what happened with Nicole. It took him by surprise. He grunted and stretched his limbs. His need to return to Nicole made his wolf whimper.
Liam didn't understand why he felt so bad when he had done a lot worse to other females or why he felt the need to be extremely harsh to her. Everything and nothing was happening to him at the same time. There were so many unanswered questions tumbling about in his head.
He tried to remind his wolf that they had a goal to remain untamed. He accused his wolf of becoming soft, and in the end, he won. With one last longing look at the pack, he took off into the forest, running with speed and reflexes so uncommon for a werewolf as large as his.
In the werewolf world, strength wasn't measured by size except when they were in human form. The biggest werewolves, although highly dangerous, were like bears.
Their inability to maintain stealth, lack of speed, and slow reflexes made them a little weak. Liam was the opposite, though he was huger than most and still one of the most slippery and fastest werewolves known. It was what made him terrifying to others. Liam himself hardly changed to his wolf form. He didn't like to display the full extent of his power and liked to take his enemies by surprise. It was why he moved slowly when he was amongst other werewolves and in wolf form.
But now, the ground trembled as his paws pounded on them. He moved through the familiar routes in the forest at an alarmingly fast rate as he tried to clear his head. One question kept repeating in his head.
'Why? Why her?' He asked himself. To him, it was like Nicole was compelling and had great power over his senses. He was as far from the residential area in his pack as possible, but he could still feel her hurt. His wolf finally understood his need to be apart from everything and pushed him further away until he was outside of his territory.
He could still feel her, but it was faint, so he roamed around in the forests until late evening.
"Where are you?" James asked through the mind link as he shifted back into his human form. Liam wasn't ready for a confrontation or a long talk, so he blocked the link.
He realized that he needed to get back to his old ways as soon as possible and get over the madness with Nicole. Nothing about it was normal, and after he panicked like that, he was pissed with himself and the situation.
Back in his human form, he moved through the forests until he found a bar in a rogue territory. It reminded him of the night he met Nicole. He had also been roaming around that night.
'Maybe. This is the way out of my situation.' He thought to himself as he approached the bar.
Liam intended to seduce a female the way he did that night with Nicole, but he wasn't going to make the same mistake he made with Nicole. She wasn't his type of female, even at first glance. Nicole had all the qualities of females that he had stayed away from, but he still went after her. This time around, he went for the sluttiest female in the bar.
He caught sight of a dark-haired woman with long hair and pale skin who sulked over her drink. They locked gazes almost immediately, her eyes lit up with mischief and she smiled invitingly while angling her body so that her curves were showcased.
'Jackpot, Liam thought to himself as he approached her. This was the type of female he needed. He sat on the bar stool closest to her and ordered a drink.
Just as he was about to make contact with her, James rushed into the bar with a few warriors, knocking out a few people and growling in the process. "What the f**k!" Liam raged, swinging around to face James and his crew.
Ignoring him, James gripped the dark-haired lady who was about to flee and tossed her into the bar.
"Are you crazy?" Liam hissed, unleashing the fury and frustration he had been holding back.
James' eyes flickered gold and back as he growled at the whimpering lady. Losing his patience, Liam slammed into James and let out a deafening roar.
James jumped back to his feet immediately and roared back at him. The lady had used the distraction to scurry to safety. Liam was seconds from giving his wolf total control. Its authority was being challenged and it didn't matter if James was as close as kin or not. He snarled at James, allowing his dominance to saturate the air and instructing him to back down. Surprisingly, James stood his ground. Snarling at him, while instructing some of the warriors to go after the female.
The logical part of Liam was stunned, but his wolf was furious. The Alpha in him threatened to tear both James and every single warrior who stood in defiance of him apart.
Still ignoring him, James instructed the remaining warriors to form a protective barrier around Liam.
Liam found it odd, but he was beyond deep reasoning at that point. He was about to leap at James when James screamed.
"If you had responded to me or hadn't shut off your connection to the pack you would have known that you were in danger, dammit!"
Liam skidded to a stop and blinked. His bond with the pack was immediately turned on, and he was slammed with the fear and varying emotions of his pack members. It was so heavy that he staggered backwards. His senses also sharpened and he could feel what had been hiding in plain sight.
The bar had been set up. His senses were flooded with hostile scents that surrounded him. Especially from the lady he was about to approach.
"Do you feel it now?" James screamed in his head, "You just walked into a death trap and your foolhardiness has cost us the only lead to finding out who set you up."
Liam grunted and ruffled his head. He had been way over his head with thoughts about Nicole.
"F**k," he growled.
"Yes, F**k, Alpha. You just rubbed shoulders with death all because you refused to listen," James growled.
His wolf was in complete control and so were the wolves that formed a protective circle around him. They were warrior wolves charged with protecting the pack and there was no pack without an Alpha. So until all possible threats that could harm Liam were eliminated, their wolves were in control.
Liam could sense it too, he was still in danger. A lot of other wolves were still in the bar and were cowering in the corner, but he could sense a hostile scent amongst them.
"Let's talk about this later, we are still in the danger zone," he told James, then snarled in the direction of the barman.
Liam's wolf was annoyed. Its ego was bruised for not being alert enough to detect danger. It snatched control out of Liam's grasp, ready to remedy the situation.
"Show yourself!" He barked. His power swept through the small bar, searching and daring for anyone to challenge him. It wanted most of all for the perpetrator to come out and it didn't mind if it ripped apart every soul in the bar.
Just then, the warriors returned, dragging in the dark-haired female. Liam snarled and yanked her hair. The sweet scent of her fear excited his wolf.
"Point out your associates here. Who's in charge?" He whispered into her ears.
She trembled and whimpered in his arms and then pointed out a man who had a striking resemblance to her and was crouched under a table. The warriors swung into action and grabbed him.
All at once, he began sobbing.
"I didn't do it. I don't know what came over me. I don't know why my daughter is dressed like that," he cried.
His voice pissed Liam even more, he grabbed him by the neck and was about to rip him apart when he heard the truth in his voice.
'Magic, his senses told him. The man was telling the truth. He and his daughter had been enchanted by something sinister which made them set the whole thing up.
Liam's heart skipped a beat as he rummaged through his thoughts. Magic meant witches. This was new, he had only had issues with his kind and hadn't crossed paths with witches. But it seemed that one of his many enemies had employed their help and would have killed him if not for the timely intervention of James.
"You see, this is what happens when we get distracted and let our guard down," he chastised himself, "All this wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so caught up with Nicole."
"Secure this building and track the scent of this magic. We have to get to the bottom of this." He growled, tossing the lady and her father to the floor.