"Lily, won't forgive Layla if she takes this from her Damien, make her stop" Darian says even though I could tell he wants nothing more, yet he loves Lily. She is our mate, so is Layla, but this isn't Layla's form to do as she pleases with.
"Layla, we can't do this, not without, Lily"
"I know and I wouldn't do that to her, but thanks for assuming I would" She rambles on for a bit under her breath and Darian feels bad which seeps into me making me feel bad for upsetting her.
"Well, you read that wrong" I tell Darian.
"Nothing wrong with placing boundaries, at least while the rational part of her isn't here" Darian answers.
"She seems more rational," I tell him.
"I think she is just hollow without Lily at the moment, don't let your guard down. After seeing everything downstairs, what she is capable of. It worries me," Darian answers.
"She seems fine"
"Yeah, but what happens if Lily doesn't come back for a while. I know Layla won't cope. She isn't safe in her own mind without Lily, just as Lily isn't safe without her. Just imagine what it would be like if you only heard silence" He says.
I pull Layla over to me and wrap my arm around her, hugging her tight, and I feel her breathing even out and her muscles relax at my closeness as she falls asleep. Darian is right, I would go stir crazy without him and it would be so lonely in my head without him. This must feel so foreign to Layla not having Lily's guidance. I just hope Lily is surviving without her. Because after speaking to Layla, one thing I realised is Lily needs help.
Layla POV
My anger bubbled under the surface, building up while I watched the minutes tick by, ever so slowly. Seconds turning to minutes, minutes to hours when finally, I heard it and all that anger and hatred I felt in this moment was a ticking time bomb about to burst. Lily's last thought of how she betrayed her, made my hair stand on end. They kept this from her, kept Kade from her, and she felt betrayed.
Me on the other hand, felt nothing but pure hatred. Maybe if I got a better understanding of what she was feeling, I wouldn't have done it. Wouldn't have thought revenge for Lily was what she would have wanted. Lily loved Aria, I realise that now, realise this was Aria protecting her. But the moment she stepped through the front door; I didn't see that. I saw nothing but red, fiery red-hot anger.
Damien was talking to her. Yet I couldn't focus on what they were saying, only focus on the feeling that was bubbling and spilling over the sides. A storm within me raging and setting every cell in my body alight with rage.
Her voice washed over me, smashing into me full force and I exploded. Lunging straight for her throat. We crashed straight through the front door and tumbled down the stairs. I watched as she got up, shaking herself off, as she commanded me to stop, her Alpha voice ringing loudly to submit.
I could see the alarm in Damien's face as he too had his arms placed out like he was trying to cage a wild animal. The primal urge to submit to her rolled over me and I shook it off, I felt the pain of it rush over every atom in us, only fueling the desire to cause her the same pain that she caused Lily, caused me. As I threw everything that I had at her.
I will give her one thing: she was fast, faster than I could have imagined, her kick sending me flying into Damien's car leaving a dent and outline of my body in his door.
Getting to my feet, I shift. My clothes shredding to pieces as I stalk towards her, teeth bared and head down. I could feel my fur rise as I hackled up. Damien shifting beside me made my eyes dart to him as I felt Darian take over. His Alpha voice rang loudly through the link as he lunged at me. But I was quicker as I lunged at the same time back at Aria. Darian missed me, hitting air.
My claws digging into the earth before I spring off my back legs and run full force at her. What I wasn't expecting was the look of panic on her face, and I thought she feared me. That wasn't it, though. The fear wasn't for herself. It was the fear you see in a mother's eyes. Aria screams and runs straight at me and I see him a second later.
Ryker runs straight into my path. My heart beating so fast, I watch as time slows, and I force the shift from wolf back to Lily's skin. Knowing if I don't, he was going to get nothing but claws and teeth.
Skidding along the concrete driveway, I feel my skin being ripped to shreds as the gravel bites into my flesh. When I stop, I find myself on top of Ryker before he tries to shove me off.
Aria's frantic screaming for her son makes me spring up and off him as panic seized me. Ryker shakes his head and his mop of black hair flops to the side as he brushes his fringe to the side and off his face before sitting up.
"Bad Layla, don't eat my mother" He says smacking my shoulder. And I sigh a breath of relief before ripping him to me and hugging him tight, realising he was okay. Aria was at his side in a second, gripping his face and checking him for injuries, but I was too lost in the fear of almost hurting him when I heard his little voice and I fought the urge to laugh as he hugs me tightly. I hear Damien shifting back, but I don't pay attention as all I can think is how I almost hurt him.
"Aunty your boob is on my ear" He says and I chuckle before kissing his thick hair on his head. Then suddenly I feel it. The sting on the side of my neck and I place my hand on my neck, trying to understand where the bee-like sting came from. Looking up, I see Damien with a syringe in his hand before I feel the world spin, my body feeling heavy.
My body paralysed before I slump on the ground, Ryker's hands on the side of my face stop my head smashing into the concrete as he gently places my head on the ground.
"You okay, Aunty Lil. You just need sleep" Ryker tells me and I feel my eyes flutter. The last thing I think is that the kid is wise beyond his years as darkness takes over and the last thing I see is his face watching me.