Chapter 141 I Still Love Her

Chapter 141 I Still Love Her
[Cedric]

"She's insane," a young female hunter whispered from her cage in the corner of the bedroom. "She's caught at least twenty people in the past two days alone. I've never seen anything like her..."

My strength faded with each passing day. The silver prevented my wounds from healing, and consciousness became harder to maintain. Her mixed blood had amplified the Heat into something overwhelming, something neither of us could fully control. We underestimated what would happen.

Then, during one of Lana's hunting absences, the apartment door opened with a magical flourish. A man strode in, surveying the carnage with exaggerated disgust.

"Good lord! This place looks like a slaughterhouse! She's worse than I expected!"

He quickly located me, grinning as he unlocked my restraints. "Finally found you, brother-in-law. Sorry I'm late—traffic was terrible."

"Raven," I recognized him from our brief meeting. "How did you get in?"

"Slipped in while she's out catching more poor souls." He gestured at the hunter remains. "Wow, her first Heat is intense. Never seen a case this severe."

A dying hunter reached toward Raven, pleading silently for help. Raven merely shrugged. "Sorry, buddy. Wrong career choice."

Raven helped me dress, supporting my weight as I could barely stand. "You look terrible, though considering the circumstances, it's a miracle you're alive."

"Raven..." I steadied myself against the wall. "I didn't expect you to come."

His smile turned sly. "Don't misunderstand, brother-in-law. I'm not here to play hero. I'm just borrowing you."

"Borrowing me?"

"Lana's been away from home too long. The family misses her—especially her mother. And you, as her mate, are the perfect bait to lure her home."

I frowned, understanding dawning. "So you're kidnapping me to trick her into coming home?"

Raven shrugged. "'Kidnapping' sounds harsh. I prefer 'borrowing.' Don't worry, once she comes home like a good girl, you'll be reunited. On our territory, of course."

He checked his watch. "We should go. Her hunting usually takes hours, but we shouldn't waste time. She won't stay away from her mate for long."

As he guided me toward the door, I asked, "What about the hunters still alive?"

"Not our problem," Raven dismissed. "Those hunters chose their path."

We reached the parking garage, and Raven helped me into the passenger seat of his car. As he buckled me in, he added casually, "When she discovers you're gone, she'll be furious. Which is exactly what we want."

The drive was long and winding, taking us deeper into countryside I didn't recognize. My silver-poisoned body trembled with fever and weakness as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Each bump in the road sent waves of pain through my unhealed wounds.

"Stay with me, brother-in-law," Raven said, occasionally prodding me when my head lolled too far to one side. "We're almost there. Can't have you dying on me—Lana would never forgive any of us."

I managed to lift my head enough to see dense forest surrounding us on both sides. "Where exactly is 'there'?"

"Home," Raven said simply. "The family estate. Been our territory for generations."

My mind swam with visions of Lana returning to her apartment, finding me gone, the rage that would consume her. The Heat had transformed her into something primal and possessive. What would she do when she discovered I'd been taken?

"She's going to kill you," I murmured.

Raven chuckled. "She'll certainly try. But family is family—even in her current state, she knows that deep down."

The forest eventually gave way to an impressive clearing. A sprawling estate came into view—an old stone mansion with modern additions, surrounded by carefully maintained gardens and outbuildings.

"Welcome to the ancestral den," Raven announced as we pulled up to the main house. "It's not much, but it's home."

Not much? The place was enormous, radiating old wealth and power. Before I could comment, the front door swung open, and a woman emerged. She moved with the same fluid grace as Lana, though her features were softened by middle age. Her eyes, however, held the same intensity.

"Freya," Raven called out. "Look what I found."

Lana's mother rushed toward us as Raven helped me from the car. Despite my weakened state, I could sense her power—a dominant female, an alpha in her own right.

"Oh, you poor thing," she cooed, examining my face with genuine concern. "What has my daughter done to you?"

"He's been silver-poisoned," Raven explained. "Lana had him chained up."

Freya's expression darkened. "Bring him inside immediately."

They half-carried me into the house, through an elegant foyer and into what appeared to be a medical room. The contrast between this clinical space and the ancient architecture surrounding it was jarring.

"Lay him here," Freya instructed, patting an examination table. As they settled me down, two men entered the room.

"So this is Lana's mate," said the taller one, his blue eyes gleaming with curiosity. His black hair was neatly combed back, his posture rigid and authoritative.

"Emerson, Gabriel," Raven greeted them. "Meet Cedric, the reason our Lana hasn't come home in months."

The second man—Gabriel—smiled warmly. His brown hair fell in loose waves, and his light blue eyes held a gentleness his companion's lacked. Though they appeared to be only a couple years younger than me, something about them felt much older.

"We've been eager to meet you," Gabriel said, approaching the table. "Though I'd hoped under better circumstances."

Freya busied herself preparing some kind of herbal concoction. "The silver needs to be drawn out before he can heal properly."

Emerson circled the table, studying me intently. He inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring. "Your scent is familiar somehow. I can't place it, but I've caught it before."

"Have we met?" I asked weakly.

"No," he replied, frowning. "But I never forget a scent."

Gabriel placed a restraining hand on Emerson's arm. "Let Freya work, love. Questions can wait."

As Freya applied her remedy to my wounds, the burning sensation of silver began to fade. "Thank you," I managed as the pain began to subside.

Freya nodded silently, continuing to treat my wounds.

After a moment of silence, I couldn't hold back anymore. "Why is she like this? I've never seen such... hatred. The way she hunts humans—any humans—it's beyond just feeding or defending territory. It's like a personal vendetta against the entire species."

Freya's hands paused briefly. She exchanged glances with the others before answering.

"Tacita," she said simply. "My mother, Lana's grandmother."

"What about her?"

"One hundred and eighty years ago, humans captured one of our kind during their witch hunts," Freya's voice hardened. "They tortured her until she revealed the location of Eldridge Forest—our ancestral home."

Gabriel continued softly, "The hunters came in masses. They surrounded Tacita while she tried to protect the magical creatures in the forest. She fought valiantly, but there were too many."

"Lana was eighteen then," Emerson added, his jaw tight with old anger. "She watched from hiding as they drove a silver stake through her grandmother's heart. Then they burned the entire forest, slaughtering everyone they could find."

"That day, something broke inside Lana," Freya explained, her voice heavy with old grief. "The darkness she'd been suppressing erupted. In her rage, she nearly killed me—her own mother—when I tried to bind her powers to stop the destruction."

"We had no choice but to cast her out," Gabriel said quietly. "She was consumed by darkness, beyond our ability to reach or help."

"She sees all humans as the enemy," Raven said. "In her mind, they're all part of the species that tortured our family and destroyed our home."

I remembered the feral look in Lana's eyes as she'd hunted, the primal joy when she'd returned with her prey. But I also remembered tender moments between her frenzied episodes—her gentle touches, her whispered apologies.

"She's still in there," I said. "Beneath the rage. She protects me, in her way."

Freya's eyes softened. "You truly love her."

"I do."

"Even knowing what she does to humans? What she believes?"

I thought about it honestly. "I don't condone the killing. But I understand her better now—why she is the way she is. And yes, I still love her."

Gabriel smiled sadly. "That's rare. Most would run screaming from what you've experienced."

"I wouldn't run," I said firmly. "Even if I could. Though the bond doesn't exactly give me that choice."