Chapter 107 107
LOIS
The pain isn’t mine, but I feel it—a fire scorching my chest, a blow splitting my head. It’s Aidan. I see him in my mind: his body collapsing, flames dying out, blood dripping from his forehead. Thorne hits him, fist like a rock, and Aidan screams—a sound that pierces me even from kilometers away. He’s captured, bound, breathing shallow, and my heart clenches, a knot I can’t release. I want to run, find him, but I’m stuck here, trapped in this damn room, tubes in my arms, machines beeping beside me, the smell of blood and metal choking me.
I sit up in bed, hands shaking, and stare at the door. Emmanuel and Ezequiel stand there like sentinels, tall figures blocking the exit. Their eyes follow me—hard, worried—but they won’t let me go. I can’t bear it. Aidan is out there suffering, and I’m here—useless, broken.
“I know Aidan is here!” I shout, voice cracking, tears burning down my cheeks. “I feel him, I know!”
They exchange a glance—just a second—and the silence cuts deeper than the wires in my skin. Emmanuel crosses his arms, face hardening; Ezequiel steps toward me, hands rising as if he could calm me.
“We can’t be linked to him, Lois,” Emmanuel says, voice low and firm. “The situation is extremely complicated right now—everything is too tense. Getting close isn’t a good idea. It’s not good for us to be associated with him. Everyone’s eyes are on him. He’s a vampire in wolf territory. And my father takes his role very seriously. This is his moment.”
“They’re going to kill him!” I sob, body trembling, tears falling hot. “Please, don’t let him die! Please… You know it too—they’re going to kill him. I can’t let him die!”
Emmanuel looks down, fists clenching, and his voice comes softer, but no less hard.
“It’s likely my father only wants information,” he says. “Then they’ll hand him over to the vampires. To Enzo. That’s all.”
“That’s not all!” I scream, chest squeezing, the machines’ beeping speeding up. “Aidan doesn’t belong to the vampires!”
Ezequiel moves fast—strong but careful hands lifting me from the bed, settling me back on the mattress. He hugs me, his warmth wrapping around me, voice a murmur near my ear—firm, a desperate attempt to calm me, so very him.
I feel a little selfish, because this is the first time the three of us are together without anyone chasing us, but how can I feel good when Aidan is in danger? How can I find calm when I know exactly what he’s going through?
I can’t!
They’re going to kill him. They’re going to kill him.
“Aidan is a vampire, Lois,” he says, looking into my eyes, irises shining. “Even if you don’t believe it—I know he seems like something else—but the reality is that. He’s a vampire.”
“I already know that!”
“Please, stay calm. It’s important that you heal, that you recover after all the blood you lost.”
I look at him—his eyes so close, so full of something I want to believe—but I can’t. The tears won’t stop, and my voice comes out low, trembling.
“Aidan doesn’t belong to the vampires,” I repeat, gaze locked on his. “He’s not one of them.”
Emmanuel sighs, stepping closer, hand raking through his hair, voice cutting the air—heavy, tired.
“If he’s a vampire, he can never be among wolves again,” he says. “Besides, he caused a lot of chaos when he crossed into human territory. It’s not that simple, Lois. You don’t know everything happening out there—his presence almost sparked a war between the three closest races. That’s a very serious matter that can’t be taken lightly. When it comes to territories… the Alphas are furious, the humans got dragged in too, and from what I hear, Enzo has a huge interest in him. Everyone does, really. I don’t know if it’s better for him to be here or safer with the vampires. Either way, here he’s in the most danger.”
“He’s scared!” I sob, voice breaking, body shaking in Ezequiel’s arms. “Aidan is so scared. I feel it—here—” I touch my chest, fingers trembling “—his fear, his pain. He’s so alone… Everything he knows is gone. Is it his fault for being different? He knows nothing about vampires! Imagine how terrifying it is for him to be among them—and now the target of the entire world.”
Ezequiel hugs me tighter, hand on my back, but his eyes darken, voice coming out low, almost broken.
“Maybe he doesn’t feel like he belongs anywhere,” he says, and the words hit me—a weight I don’t want to accept.
It’s true. Aidan isn’t wolf, isn’t vampire—he doesn’t fit. I know it; I’ve felt it in him—that burning loneliness, that struggle to be something that won’t reject him. And now, captured, bound, he’s more alone than ever. I cry harder, chest tightening, voice shattering into a moan I can’t control.
“He can’t be alone,” I whisper, hands covering my face, tears seeping between my fingers.
I look at Emmanuel—standing by the bed, body tense—and extend a trembling hand, searching for his. He takes it, fingers warm and strong, and I lean toward him, voice a plea.
“Please, Emmanuel,” I beg, eyes blurred. “Free Aidan. Please.”
He looks at me, eyes trembling, and squeezes my hand, but shakes his head—slow, painful.
“That could be dangerous, Lois,” he says, voice low and broken. “He escaped Enzo once. It won’t be easy for him to escape now. My father… won’t let him go just like that.”
“Free him!” I scream, voice slicing the air, and the machines’ beeping spikes—a shriek filling the room.
Emmanuel and Ezequiel fall silent, faces paling, and silence drops—heavy, sharp. Emmanuel looks down, shoulders slumping, voice barely a whisper.
“I’ll try,” he says, eyes fixed on the floor, and leaves—the door closing behind him with a soft click.
I turn, tears falling, hands covering my face, and Aidan’s pain hits me again—an echo of his grief, his fear, his broken body. He’s bound, bleeding, and I can’t do anything. I just want him to be okay, not to suffer, not to be alone. Ezequiel lies beside me, arm around me, his warmth trying to soothe me, but my body shakes—a tremor I can’t stop.
“Block him, Lois,” he whispers, voice soft and broken near my ear. “Please, block him.”
“How can you ask me to leave him alone?” I ask, voice disappointed, eyes finding his—blurred by tears.
He doesn’t answer, just holds me tighter, hand in my hair, and the machines’ beeping fills the silence—a reminder of how fragile I am. But Aidan is there, in my chest, his pain mingling with mine, and I can’t let go. I can’t leave him alone—how could I? I would never do that. I close my eyes, tears falling, and his voice echoes in my mind—weak, broken.
“Lois…”
I won’t abandon him. I can’t.
“I’m not against him… I just know it’s complicated. You ran away, and nothing got better. Lois, to be honest, the chaos is so huge I don’t know how we’re going to face it. Right now Aidan’s situation isn’t simple. And even if he escapes—which I think is unlikely—where would he go? Where?”
“I don’t know, but he can’t stay here.”
“What if he goes with Enzo?”
“That’s not his place! He’s afraid… he’s terrified of Enzo. He doesn’t feel safe there and he’s not one of them—just a newly arrived prisoner.”
“We could talk to Enzo.”
“And I couldn’t be away from Aidan,” I confess, turning to him, drawing close to his lips but not kissing him. “I couldn’t be away from any of you—that includes Aidan—and I thought you understood that.”
“I do understand, but…”
“What? I would do the same for you two—I’d sacrifice myself for you both. Don’t look at me strangely for doing the same for Aidan.”
“You ran away, Lois,” he says, reminding me of what I did, and I see the pain in his eyes.
“Because that was the solution at the time.”
“And maybe the solution right now is to let Aidan go… until we can do something. I’ll talk to Enzo, see what he wants from him, what kind of treatment he’ll get. We’re barely gaining ground here. Taking Aidan’s side would be a catastrophe for everyone. Even if it comes out that he’s your mate too. Lois, the things that could happen—you can’t imagine them.”
“Yes… I can imagine them. And if anyone kills Aidan… I will bring hell down on this damn earth.”
I hug him, his breath brushing me, making me shiver.
“And I would burn it all at your side—but only if I know you can come out unharmed, Lois.”
“You don’t have to ‘allow’ it—because if anything happens to Aidan, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”