Outsider Series: Outsider Part 20

She must of hit the right vein because I could hear the sound of my blood slowly trickling into the vial.

"All done," she said a moment later. "You really should eat something. You don't look good." I felt her hand stroke my forehead tenderly like I was a small fragile child and she was checking for a fever. I still did not open my eyes. Her hand disappeared and with a sigh I heard her gather everything up and start for the stairs that led above. To sanctuary.

"Why are you nice to me?" I croaked before she was gone.

I heard her stutter to a stop. "Because," she said slowly, "you're my best friend's daughter. You have her eyes," she whispered and then she was gone.

I let her words sink in. I was her best friend's daughter. Gram said that my mom was the daughter of the previous Grimm Alpha. This meant that Peter was my uncle. Why had that never occurred to me before? If I could've laughed I would have. My mother's brother was trying to kill me. And my cousin, yuck, had kissed me. Gross.

But I couldn't dwell on that. That time had come and pa.s.sed.

I was dying. Now was not the time to think of the negative. I only wanted to fill my thoughts with Caeden. It was a comfort to know that my death would spare his. That made it seem so much more worthwhile. I knew he would be sad, that he would miss me, but his death would be spared. That had to count for something.

I closed my eyes and filled the blackness with his image. His dark hair, tan skin, and impossibly blue eyes. The scruff that always covered his face. His grin and the way his dimple would sometimes peak out.

Sleep began to overcome me and I realized that she must have given me something.

Oblivion was my new reality.

"Wake up," a voice hissed in the darkness shattering my nirvana.

I cracked open and eyelid. Travis' mom, I still didn't know her name, was kneeling beside me.

She smiled tentatively at me. "Sophie, I'm so sorry about all of this."

I turned my head away from her. I didn't want to hear this.

"My husband..." she gulped, "Peter doesn't listen well. Neither does Travis," she ran her fingers roughly through her hair, "I fear he's just as evil as his father. I don't know what to do with him." She sighed, "I'm trying to convince Peter to let you go. Now that I know who you are, it's even worse, the betrayal I feel. It was bad enough when I thought you were a stranger's child. But you're eyes, they're the same shade of brown. That's why I took your blood," she said, "to compare it to my husband's. That and he wanted to see if you were a shifter." Her eyes bore into mine and I saw that they were a pale green. "I lied to him," she said. "I told him you were human."

"Thank you," I whispered my voice no more than a hoa.r.s.e croak.

"You're welcome," she said. "I fear that it would only make things worse if he found out about you, that you're his biological niece. I always suspected that Christine faked her death. But her parents and Peter believed it. Her body was never found. I knew she had been seeing Garrett and it was forbidden." She sighed. "She also told me she was pregnant. That was the last night I saw her. Those were dark times for our pack. I fear they're only growing darker. Peter tried to kill the Williams' boy and now he's kidnapped you, a teenage girl. What am I to do?"

"Why don't you leave?" I whispered.

"It's blasphemy to leave one's pack. To go out on your own? It's suicide. Lone wolves don't live long."

"Can't you join another pack?" My voice became a tad stronger.

She leaned against the wall and drew her knees up to her chest. "You mean the Williams'? I suppose but do you really think they're going to want a Grimm to be a part of their pack." She laughed harshly, "Not likely."

"I'm sure Caeden would welcome you," I said even though I didn't believe it. "He's a good leader," I said. "But would you do it? Would you really leave your pack? Leave your husband? Leave your son? Could you swear yourself to Caeden and his pack?"

"Yes," she said. "I would do anything to be rid of this evil. Of this blackness that's leeching into my heart. Anything," she breathed.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Leslee," she whispered.

"Thank you, Leslee," I whispered, staring up at the ceiling.

"For what?" she laughed harshly. "For keeping you here? For letting my husband and son torture you? I've done nothing worth thanking."

"You've given me hope," I said, "and hope is worth being thankful for."

She was quiet for a couple of minutes and then she said, "Please, eat something."

"I can't," I said my voice cracking and a tear escaping the corner of my eye. She didn't argue me. She could tell it was pointless. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything," she breathed her eyes lighting. She truly was seeking redemption.

"I don't care if they kill me," I said and she flinched, "but please don't let them hurt Caeden. I love him. He's everything," I said.

"I'll protect him with my own life," she said.

"Thank you," I said, another tear escaping my eye. A happy tear. I had my guarantee. Caeden would be safe.

And then I heard it. A dog barking, the call of, "Sophie!"

Rescue had come.

thirteen.

Leslee stood. She glanced over at me with pleading in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I must leave you. I have to find Peter. He'll be furious. I don't know what he may do."

"I understand," I whispered. She was almost out the hatch when I called a reminder, "Don't let them hurt Caeden. Please," I begged.

"I won't," she said and then was gone, closing the hatch back up behind her. I noticed she didn't lock it.

The dog's bark stopped. I knew that bark though. It was Archie. Just as I was about to start worrying that something had happened to my familiar he started barking again. This time much louder and much closer.

"Sophie!" several voices called.

I heard Peter yell and then his wife's hushing tones.

"Sophie!" yelled again followed by a grunt and then ferocious animal growls.

"I'm in here!" I screamed as loudly as I could which wasn't very loud. I swallowed several times to moisten my throat. "In here! I'm in here! Help me! Please! I'm in here!" I yelled over and over again. The growls sounded like they were right outside the hatch. I heard a yelp followed by a loud thunk and I feared the worst. Had someone gotten the best of Caeden? Please, G.o.d no, anything but that. I heard yet another thunk and it sounded like an additional wolf had joined the fight.

"She's in there!" I heard Leslee say before she cried out in pain. More growls erupted and then the tearing of flesh. I heard her scream again and then her screams were silenced.

Wolves growled at each other. I could hear them pawing the ground. And then someone made the first move and an all-out war was launched.

The fight seemed to go on forever before I finally heard the voice of an angel, the voice of Caeden, say, "Sophie, I'm coming!"

The hatch opened and he descended. "Oh, Sophie," he choked. My beautiful angel, my wolf, my mate, my everything, strode forward. "What have they done to you?" He came forward, his hands shaking, and ripped the bands from my arms and legs. Drops of moisture sprinkled onto my bare skin. For a moment I wondered at what they were and then I understood.

"Don't cry," I whispered, stroking his cheek as he leaned over me.

His tears turned to sobs and he knelt beside me. He laid his head beside me. I ran my fingers through his silky brown hair. "I thought you were dead. I thought I had lost you."

"I'm here," I whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I didn't think I'd ever find you and if I did I was sure you'd be dead. Lucinda said that I would know though, if you died, she said I'd feel it," he said putting his hand to his heart. I saw then that his chest was bare and he wore only a pair of jeans.

Tears began to leak from my eyes even as I wiped away his. He stood and gently pulled me against his chest, careful of my cuts and bruises.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Caeden," I breathed against his neck. "I love you."

"Oh baby," he said, "I love you too. I thought I'd never get to tell you. But I do. I love you so much. I'm never letting you leave my side again. Never."

"I love you," I whispered over and over again. It felt so good to finally say those words.

After a few moments Caeden pulled away. He looked into my eyes and gently traced a cut on my brow. "Let's get you out of here. It's time to go home."

"I am home," I said folding myself into his arms. "You are my home."

He cradled me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. "I'm so sorry, Sophie," he said and started crying again.

"Why?" I asked tracing his brow. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I have everything to be sorry for. I shouldn't have left you. This is all my fault," he said. I wiped away his tears with my hands.

"Oh Caeden," I breathed. "This isn't your fault. They were waiting for their chance to get me and they took it. They used me to get to you. Caeden," I cried, "they want to kill you." Tears ran down my face with a force akin to the Niagara Falls. Our tears mingled together. "I'm willing to die so they can't have you. I won't let them hurt you."

"Oh baby," he said. "Please, don't talk like that. Your life is so much more important than mine," he pulled away and for the first time really looked at me, "Look what they've done to you. They've hurt you so badly. I promise that I will make them feel everything they've done to you. I will make them pay for it. They deserve to be tortured like you have, to be held prisoner, and treated like an animal."

"Caeden, please don't talk like that," I begged. "Please don't."

He ran his fingers through my matted, dirty, hair. "Alright," he said. "Come on, up you go," he said lifting me into his arms.

"I can walk," I pleaded with him.

"I doubt that," he said. "You're no more than skin and bones and you're hurt. How long have you been strapped to that table?" he asked.

"How long have I been here?"

"Almost a week," he replied starting up the steps.

He paused when I said, "Almost that long." Suddenly, remembering something, I asked, "Caeden, what happened to Leslee Grimm? Is she okay?"

He gulped. "She's dead, sweetie."

"What? What do you mean? You didn't did you? Please, tell me you didn't kill her? She promised to keep you safe. She said she wanted to leave her pack that she wanted to join your pack."

"Oh, honey," he said, "I didn't kill her. She... she died protecting me. She jumped in between me and Peter. He killed her."

"He killed her?" I repeated as he continued the rest of the way up the steps.

"Like it was nothing," he said, and I could tell he was choking on his words, "he didn't even hesitate. Travis saw, he and his dad got into it and then ran off. I don't know where the rest of their pack is. It was only the three of them."

The hatch came open and Bryce smiled down at us. "Hey Sophie. Man, you look like c.r.a.p."

"Really?" I replied sarcastically, "No one told me this wasn't a five star hotel."

He laughed, "Sorry, thought I'd try and get you to smile."

"Bryce," scolded Caeden, "I don't think she feels like smiling right now."

When the light hit my skin I soaked it up like a starved child. It felt like it had been months, not days, since I had seen the sun. We were in a thickly wooded area. Snow still covered the ground in splotches but I could see it quickly melting. It had to be over forty degrees. Trees surrounded us completely. The only buildings were a small log house, that looked more sinister than it did cozy, and the underground cellar area we had just emerged from.

Then my eyes lit upon an odd shaped formation in the dirt. A strange noise escaped my throat. It was a cross between a sob and a scream.

Her gla.s.sy green eyes stared up at me. Her blond hair was matted with dirt, twigs, and other woody debris. A slight smile covered her death frozen lips. Crimson red seeped out of a gaping hole in her neck. I could see the teeth marks around her slender neck and claw marks covering her body. Like, Peter had forcefully held her down and then bit into her throat.

"Sophie," breathed Caeden, "don't look."

"It's kind of too late for that," I replied. He winced and started walking away from her body. Bryce was at our side. I didn't see anyone else but I would've a.s.sumed it wasn't just the two of them. "Wait!" I cried and he stopped.

"What is it?" he asked.

"What's going to happen to her? It just doesn't seem right to leave her like that. Can... Can we bury her?"

The brothers exchanged glances and then both nodded, decided.

"Alright," said Caeden, "I can see this is important to you."

"It is," I said.

"Let's get something in your stomach and then we'll worry about that. Okay?"

"Okay," I said and realized that for the first time since I had been kidnapped I felt hungry.

We walked for about a mile while I complained that I was too heavy and he was going to hurt himself. "You're light as a feather," he said. "Don't worry. I won't drop you, I promise."

I huffed and didn't say anything else because I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to walk. We finally came down off a hill to some sort of a side road. I could hear Archie barking madly. Caeden's Jeep was there, so was Bentley's GMC Sierra. His black truck looked like a big hulking monster.

"The others left," said Bentley stepping away from his truck. "It's just us," he said indicating him, Logan, Chris, and Charlotte.

"It's probably for the best," said Caeden. "They're getting too old for this."

"Old?" screeched a voice. "Caeden Henry Williams, I better not have heard you right. If I recall, you needed our help."

"Gram," I breathed and she smiled.

"I wasn't about to risk anything when it came to removing her safely. I may be young but I'm not stupid," he muttered.

"I know that," she said to him, patting his bare shoulder, "but you young people always seem to forget that there's still some fight left in us older folks. And your parents' aren't old anyway," she said turning to glare at the various wolves. Her gaze traveled back to Caeden, "Your mom was amazing out there. If I hadn't held her back I think she would've single handedly shredded Peter Grimm to pieces."