The Transfer

I sighed softly as I looked at the empty spot in my bed beside me. The sheets were slightly messed, from where I had restlessly slept during the night. The nightmares came too often at this point.

I lifted my hand and placed it in the exact spot where Liam had been only the day before. I could still smell his scent and I could almost feel his energy buzzing around the room.

I missed him already. Spending time with him the day before was bliss. Not only did I feel a major change in my mood, but I genuinely felt better too. His presence had helped heal me. It was beautiful.

I frowned slightly at the coldness around me. I almost always felt so warm and safe. I knew it was because I always knew that I'd be seeing Liam. The one guy who would protect me no matter what. My life had been so cold without him in it.

I hated Henry and his family for what they had done. They had all ruined my life, even if I barely knew Melissa or Veronica and Anthony. Henry had no right to keep me from Liam, but I knew that leaving my mate for a while would keep him safe.

He still hadn't figured out anything and he wasn't any closer to it. He was still blind and he was still too fragile. He needed a good ass beating to show him what he was made of.

I didn't know who was going to give it to him but I figured someone better do it soon.

"Morning, sugar,” I heard Liam purr. His voice was groggy and I could tell he'd just woken up. I'd been awake for hours, staring at the empty spot next to me.

I shut my eyes and imagined him sitting next to me, speaking to me like we weren't apart from each other.

"Hi," I sighed out. I pulled up the covers and clutched my pillow a little tighter.

"Are you planning on going for a run today? Or are you still tied to your bed?" Liam asked me. I sighed out loud and opened my eyes. It wasn't working.

I looked up at the ceiling and prayed for a miracle. I sure needed one.

"Staying in bed. I think I still have a few days before I can get outside again,” I replied softly. I sat up in my bed and sighed again as I pulled back the blankets and headed to the bathroom.

The least I could do was shower.

"I might be able to sneak myself in again soon. I miss your bed. That thing is damn comfy," Liam told me. I smiled as I stripped my clothes and got into the hot shower.

"And what about me?” I asked him. I almost heard him scoff. I continued to smile. It felt good.

"I guess you too," he joked with me. I giggled softly and shook my head as I let the water run over me. It soothed my sore body and stung a little at the bullet wound in my hip.

"I assume that Lucas will be around to your place today, right?” Liam asked me. I rolled my eyes as I massaged the water through my hair.

"Well, of course. He never leaves my side. Poor guy is probably sick of me teasing him about everything,” I replied with an attempt to be funny. Lucas was almost as protective of me as Liam was.

Now that I didn't necessarily have Lila around, Lucas was my main line of defence. He was almost always around. Most days, he was bright and happy, his normal annoying self. Other times, he was down and depressed.

Everyone was. Things hadn't been easy. But I didn't expect everyone to be down and upset just because of me.

"He's a good kid. I don't even have to tell him to keep an eye on you anymore. He just does," Liam told me. I smiled weakly and squirted shampoo onto the palm of my hand.

I noticed how I was gaining my strength again as I spoke to Liam and washed myself in the shower. My bones didn't ache as much and I didn't have as big of a headache anymore. It was relieving to know that I was finally healing.

I had to try and find out more on what the hell happened that day. How did so many rogues get into the territory unnoticed and with silver bullets? Something seriously wrong was going on.

I also knew that it was time to stop ignoring my family and speak to them. I had my brothers to talk to, as well as Nicolas and Chris. They'd all been trying to contact me over the past few days and I wasn't weak enough to respond, plus I didn't really want to.

I had troubled both groups of people so much with all my issues. I had ruined so much by entering the pack and creating drama. My mate was hurting and I was slowly hurting everyone else around me. I needed to fix things fast.

"Do you need anything?" Liam asked me as I walked into my bedroom. I clutched the towel closer to me and sighed out as I dried myself off and began to pull on clothes.

"Like what? And what could you possible bring to me anyway?" I asked him.

I heard him rumble over the link. He wanted to see me badly. I knew it. But I had to keep him away. It was protecting him from Henry at this point. Until I knew what that man was capable of, I had to stay clear.

"I don't fucking know... a back rub? Give me an excuse to come see you!" Liam hissed.

I recognised the anger and frustration in his voice. He was getting desperate. It wasn't normal for mates to be in conditions like we were. But him and I both knew it was temporary and it was only happening to make sure I didn't kicked out the pack and that Liam remained safe from Henry's wrath, whatever that was anyway.

"A back rub does kind of sound nice, actually. But no. You can't, Liam. You'll get in trouble,” I told him as I pulled on some undergarments. I heard the front door open and shut and then smelt Lila's familiar scent.

I smiled as I quickly pulled on sweatpants and a tank top. I was glad she was here. Both Ezra and Jenny had to leave for a scouting trip around the borders. I was alone until the evening.

"This is bullshit. Do you know how much he misses you? How much I miss you?" Liam hissed again. I sighed as the bond tugged. It was pulling me to him but I knew I couldn't go. It made me ache. "Hey sleepy head,” Lila greeted as she walked into my room. I looked up at her and smiled.

"Hey there, sis,” I said as I used the towel to dry my hair.

Liam rumbled across the link. He was getting worked up and it was working me up. I sucked in a deep breath as Lila gave me a look. I think she already partly knew anyway.

"I could tear his throat out. I should. What he's doing is punishable by the most cruel death of them all," Liam growled

I sighed out loud and shook my head. Lila smiled weakly and cocked her head.

"I don't know how you two do it. You're both so strong. I can't believe how far you've both come,” Lila told me. "You guys used to be a big pain in my ass.”

I laughed.

"You won't be killing anyone,” I told Liam.

I looked back to Lila and shrugged at her. We both left my bedroom. I dropped my towel off in the bathroom and then continued to the kitchen for a coffee and some breakfast.

"Strong? I'm tearing us apart. It's my fault this has all happened. I'm the one that Henry doesn't like. Liam and I would probably be better off if I went back to Terialta," I muttered out as I poured Lila and I both coffee. I slid the mug to her.

Lila held the mug in her hands and sipped from it slowly. Her eyes watched me carefully, waiting. I sighed out and slammed my hands down on the counter.

Damnit. Damnit.

I couldn't leave Liam. He needed me and I needed him. Being apart from him in the sense that we weren't allowed to be in the same room together was already hard enough. The idea of having to go back to a different pack, a pack in which he wasn't the Beta of; concerned me.

My mind twisted painfully at the entire idea of something bad happening.

I needed Liam. My mind was a mess and often he was the only one who could tidy things up. He was like an anchor; my anchor. He pulled me back to reality whenever I was straying up into the clouds.

"Okay, so maybe I can't leave him. But that's not that damn point. He's hurting, and it's my fault,” I said bitterly. My chest began to hurt.

Lila sighed out softly and shook her head weakly at me.

"Aren't you hurting too?" She asked me. My little sister looked up at me with a pale face and slightly wide eyes. I saw and I felt the fear she possessed.

She didn't know what was going to happen, and it scared her.

"Barely. We just need to get to the bottom of this issue so I can get Liam back," I said with a nod. I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince Lila or myself.

"What are you going to do? What are we going to do?" Lila asked me. My eyes flickered from her sad eyes and down to my coffee. The liquid swirled in the cup and it sent my beast off the rails. She knew we had to do something. But we had no idea what.

"What can we do? We have no hard evidence on anything," I shrugged at her. Lila bit her bottom lip as she thought. I sighed out and stretched my arms.

"First, I need to heal. I can't be any help if I'm hobbling around like some sort of grandma. Second, we need to find some proof. We have to start digging. What about your father's old office?" I leaned against the counter and sipped on my coffee. I needed ideas. I needed something to spark a thought.

Lila shook her head and looked sadly down into her coffee.

"Nope. Henry moved into that room and everything that was in it before was destroyed. We didn't save anything from anywhere," Lila sighed out. I walked around the counter and she followed as I walked into the living room. We sat on the couch and placed our mugs on the coffee table. "Although... there was one thing that could help us," Lila mumbled softly. I raised my eyebrows at her curiously. What?

Any lead was better than what we had.

"Like what?"

"Well, when my father was Alpha, he wasn't always the only family down here. Our other relatives lived down here too. Most of them had some sort of... man cave. My father, his brothers and my grandfather were the only ones allowed anywhere near it. No one except them even knows where it is," Lila explained to me. I frowned at her. What? Why hadn't I heard anything about this before? What did it even mean?

"What if my father knew about Henry's betrayal and never told anyone. What if he made notes and hid them in that cave? My father was the type to write everything down in a journal,” Lila continued. I nodded some more.

She was onto something. But we needed to make sure we didn't get our hopes up. It wasn't the time to start thinking about solutions yet. Things needed to get back to normal first.

"That sounds good. Let's deal with it another time. Okay? Keep it in mind."

Lila stared at her lap intensely. She looked so sad, so heartbroken. I hated seeing my sister like this. It put me on edge.

"You know... I still don't know your parents’ names. No one ever told me," I said softly, the thought entering my mind. I didn't want to talk about what of her parents had been destroyed. They'd always have their names and their memories.

Lila smiled weakly as she fiddled her hands. "My mother... she was Miriam. Everyone called her Miri. My father was Adrian.”

Lila went quiet as I smiled. I thought about what they might have looked like. I thought about the family that I would never get to know.

The second mother and father that I would never know.

When Lila looked up at me again, she was crying. Her eyes watered and tears spilled quickly down her cheeks. She wept, choking back loud sobs.

"I miss them so much,” she said.

I wrapped my arm around my younger sister's shoulders and pulled her close to me. I hugged her tight and let her cry.

I swore to myself that I would help the Hastings family the best I could.

They deserved it.