Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Williams Mansion

“Thank god,” Ephraim said, chuckling as he listened to the little girl that no one had expected to survive scream her little head off, letting everyone in the mansion know that she was here to stay.

It was going to be nice having another little girl in the house, Ephraim thought absently as he grabbed a shirt and placed it in his suitcase, unable to help but smile as he thought about his own little girl. After six long months, he was finally going to be able to pull Jill into his arms.

He never should have let her go, never should have let her return to Rerum, and he sure as hell shouldn’t have trusted the Council to keep her safe. He should have taken her somewhere safe and figured out a way to get that fucking mark off her neck. He’d fucked up, but at least they were able to keep her safe, Ephraim told himself as he grabbed the iPad that he’d loaded up with pictures of the boys, her nieces and nephews, all the new occupants of the house, and the short videos that he’d recorded every single day since the last time that he saw her, telling her how much he missed her.

God, she was going to lose her mind when she saw how big Jessica had gotten.

Speaking of Jessica…

“Where Marc?” his granddaughter demanded as she grabbed hold of the comforter on his bed and struggled to pull herself up.

“Marc is helping your mommy keep an eye on Tattletale,” Ephraim reminded her, noting the stubborn tilt of her chin that reminded him so much of Chris as he picked up the little girl that had everyone in the house wrapped around her little finger and placed her on the bed.

As soon as he put her down, she was standing up with a glare as she propped her little fists on her hips and said, “I want Marc!”

“You’re a demanding little thing, did you know that?” Ephraim chuckled as he leaned down to kiss her cheek.

For a moment, Jessica stood there, glaring at him until she finally gave up waiting for him to get Marc for her, turned around and walked over to the pillows where he’d left the book that he’d read to her last night and grabbed it. With another glare that was just too fucking adorable for words, she marched back over to him, and with a look that told him that he better give in to her demands, shoved the book at him.

“Grandpa can’t read to you right now, baby girl. I’ve got a flight to catch so that I can go see Aunt Jill and tell her how pretty you’ve gotten,” Ephraim said, picking her up and heading for the door when he realized that he forgot to grab the box of junk food that he bought for Jill, hoping that it would be enough to get her to listen to him.

God, he couldn’t even imagine what had been going through her head over the last six months. He just prayed that she realized that they did it to keep her safe. She was going to hate him, and Ephraim really couldn’t blame her. They should have handled this a hell of a lot better than they did, but when he saw the mark that fucking leech left on her neck, he’d panicked, remembering a time when Jill couldn’t seem to fuck up her life fast enough and he’d reacted. She wasn’t that little girl anymore but in that moment…

He would do anything to take that moment back.

The only thing that he could do now was to get her out of that fucking cell and get her somewhere safe, Ephraim thought as everything took on shades of red and he felt his fangs slide down as the thought of his baby girl stuck in a fucking cell had him-

“No!” Jessica said, slapping her little hand against his face with a stern look that had him biting back a sigh as he forced his eyes to shift back along with his fangs.

“You really are a little bully,” Ephraim said, unable to help but chuckle as he took the stairs two at a time and quickly made his way to the kitchen to grab the box he’d packed with all of Jill’s favorite junk food, only to slowly come to a stop when he saw Eric walk in through the patio door.

“What happened?” Ephraim asked, giving Jessica a quick kiss on the top of her head before he set her down at the kitchen table while he watched the Sentinel that looked like he’d been through hell and back hesitate by the patio door.

After a quick glance at Jessica to make sure that she was staying out of trouble, he headed for the Sentinel, already knowing that if Eric told him that they’d changed their mind about moving Jill, he would be heading down to Boston to get her. He’d played by their rules long enough, hoping that it would be enough to keep his daughter safe, but enough was enough. She didn’t belong in a Sentinel holding cell and he was-

“Jill’s dead,” Eric said hollowly.

“What?” Ephraim asked, frowning in confusion as he tried to make sense out of what the Sentinel just said.

Jill was fine.

She was more than fine, safely tucked away in a cell where nothing could touch her and-

She was fine, Ephraim told himself, closing his eyes as he slowly exhaled, feeling sick to his stomach as he listened while the Sentinel that he’d trusted to protect his child explained what happened when they tried to move Jill, the ambush, the human who’d attacked her and what happened to the guards moving her, and how there was nothing that they could have done to save her because she’d lost too much blood to survive. While the Sentinel’s words slowly sank in, Ephraim opened his eyes as the blackness that he’d once feared swallowed him whole and he fucking welcomed it.

* * *

Maybe she should goto school? Indie wondered only to dismiss the idea as she swiped to the next page on the iPad that Ephraim got for her as she tried to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life.

For years, she’d dreamed about the day when she finally escaped the Pack and all the things that she would finally do and now that she had…

She was terrified.

She really was also pathetic, Indie decided with a long-suffering sigh as she tossed the iPad on the bed. As soon as the iPad was out of her hands, Charlie, who’d patiently waited on the bed next to her for her to finish, rolled over onto his back and presented her with his belly. Maybe she was overthinking this, Indie thought as she obediently reached over to scratch Charlie’s belly.

She should take up Noah’s offer to train her as a medic. At least that way she’d be doing something with her life, Indie told herself as her shoulders sagged in defeat, already knowing that she would never be able to do it. She couldn’t even think about blood without feeling like she was going to pass out. She had to think of something, Indie thought, only to feel her heart break when she heard the pain-filled roar that shook the house, letting her know that Danni had slipped into another coma.

Releasing a shaky breath, Indie closed her eyes and-

She didn’t want to do this.

She didn’t want to leave her room or make her way to the bedroom at the end of the hallway and see Danni like that or watch her take her last breath. It would be so easy to stay where she was and pretend that she didn’t know what was happening. She could shut her bedroom door and lock it, hoping that it would be enough to block out the sounds of Caine losing it over watching his mate die again and hide in her closet until it was all over. She already knew that no one would blame her if she did.

She was human and absolutely no match for a Pyte in the throes of bloodlust, but none of that mattered. She couldn’t leave Danni alone like that, Indie reminded herself as she opened her eyes and reluctantly climbed off the bed, thankful when Charlie followed her to the door where she waited, making sure that the coast was clear before she made her way down the long hallway.

When she didn’t see anyone, Indie released another shaky breath and forced herself to move faster, praying that she didn’t run into anyone along the way, knowing that it would end with another lecture about…about…

“Ephraim?” Indie said, biting back a groan when she spotted him standing at the top of the landing as she tried to come up with a reason why she was out of her room when a prickle of unease crawled up her spine and had her taking a step back before she realized what she was doing.

This was Ephraim, Indie told herself, wondering why she was reacting like this only to feel a shot of terror rip through her chest when he slowly turned his head and a pair of bright red eyes locked on her. Swallowing hard, Indie risked a glance past him and really wished that she hadn’t when she spotted Eric covered in blood, struggling to pull himself up only to fall back down on the stairs with a pained groan and-

“Dad?” came the softly spoken word that had Indie’s stomach dropping when she turned her head and found Marc standing by his bedroom door, shifting nervously as he glanced from his father, who’d now shifted his focus on his son, to her.

She opened her mouth to call for help, only to remember that there wasn’t any. All of the other Pytes in the house, along with most of the Sentinels, left to help the Council find the babies before it was too late. She had no idea where Ethan was. Probably off somewhere glaring, she thought. Madison left last night to pick up a few things from her grandmother’s house in Rerum for Jill, which was really unfortunate for all of them since she was the only one that could calm her mate down. Drew ran out with John to buy more baby supplies and dragged Samantha and Cloe with them, which meant that the only ones here at the moment were Kara, who’d just given birth and had two babies to protect, Noah, Izzy who was a Sentinel, but unfortunately for them, disabled, Eric who seemed to be down for the count, and all the babies napping in a room less than twenty feet away.

No, wait!

There was someone else, Indie realized, licking her lips nervously as she said, “Caine?” really hoping that the Pyte was listening, otherwise-

“He got a call earlier and left. I was sitting with Danni, but I needed to grab my homework,” Marc said hollowly.

“Did any of the others come back yet?” Indie asked even as she sent a hopeful glance in the direction of the front door.

“No,” Marc said as Indie stood there, slowly exhaling as the realization that they were on their own sank in.

“G-Go back in your room, Marc,” Indie managed to get out as she watched Ephraim bear his fangs with a growl that had her stumbling back before she could stop herself and-

“Charlie, no!” she screamed when the dog that followed her everywhere ran past her and got between her and Ephraim, matching Ephraim’s terrifying growl with one of his own, drawing Ephraim’s attention and leaving her with no other choice but to grab the dog before he got hurt.

She ran over to Charlie and grabbed his collar as she yelled, “Go!” when she realized that Marc was still frozen on the spot, staring at his father as though he’d never seen him before.

“D-Dad?” Marc said, licking his lips nervously as he moved to come closer and left her with no other choice but to release Charlie’s collar and try to stop Ephraim before it was too late.

“Dad!” Marc screamed when Ephraim moved to grab him only to release another vicious growl and stumble back when Indie did the only thing that she could think of, which unfortunately for her, was probably going to get her killed.

She jumped on his back and held on for dear life as she screamed, “Run!” before Ephraim grabbed hold of her arm and sent her flying across the hallway, knocking the wind out of her as she slammed into the wall before she fell to the floor with a pained grunt. Struggling to pull air into her lungs, she watched as Marc finally snapped out of it and moved to run back to his-

“Marc!” came the excited baby squeal that had him stopping in his tracks and swallowing hard when he spotted Jessica quickly making her way past Eric before the large Sentinel could stop her and headed straight for Marc with a huge smile on her face that slowly disappeared when she spotted Ephraim.

When Ephraim spotted the little girl, he bared his fangs as he turned around and-

“Oh, my god…” came the weakly mumbled words as Izzy managed to stumble into the long hallway and spotted the Pyte lost in bloodlust heading straight for her little girl. Indie watched as Izzy tried to go to her little girl before it was too late, only to end up stumbling as her legs gave out, dropping her to the floor with a pained groan. Screaming her little girl’s name, Izzy pulled herself up onto her hands and knees and moved as fast as her destroyed hip would let her, which unfortunately for Jessica, wasn’t fast enough.

Ignoring the pain shooting through her arm, Indie pulled herself up just as Marc pushed away from the wall and ran past his father, whose focus was still on the little girl beginning to cry and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and kept running while an unholy roar shook the house as Ephraim went after them. Not knowing what else to do, Indie went after them as Charlie locked his jaw around Ephraim’s ankle, slowing him down long enough so that she could stumble past them. She quickly put herself in front of Marc as he dropped down in the corner and curled his body around Jessica’s tiny one while he did his best to protect the little girl crying for her mommy.

Indie barely managed to turn around when Ephraim was there with Charlie desperately trying to pull Ephraim back, but he simply ignored the dog, Izzy’s screamed demands to stop, and focused on them.

“Please don’t do this, Ephraim,” Indie whispered as she dropped down to the floor and pressed her back against Marc’s, hoping that it would be enough to keep them safe, only to sigh with relief when she spotted Samantha’s brother, Nathan, as he made his way up the stairs and headed straight for them.

She watched as the large Sentinel moved to pull his gun from its holster only to rethink the move when he saw them. With a vicious curse, he dropped his hand away and kept moving.

“Hey, asshole!” Nathan snapped, managing to draw Ephraim’s attention and-

Ended up being slammed into the wall, destroying it on contact as Ephraim tightened his hold around Nathan’s neck and did it again, tearing a pained grunt from the Sentinel as he struggled to get free.

“Run,” Indie whispered, shifting away from Marc just far enough so that he could move past her and get Jessica out of there before it was too late, only to end up pressing back against him when Ephraim’s attention suddenly focused back on them and-

“Dad, stop!” Marc screamed as Ephraim moved closer.

She’d never seen Ephraim lose control like this, Indie thought numbly as she desperately looked around for somewhere to run, only there was nowhere to go.

They were trapped.

“Ephraim, please stop!” Indie begged, struggling to keep her eyes open when all she wanted to do was squeeze them shut and-

“Mine!” came the vicious growl as Ephraim was suddenly pulled back and dragged away from them.

Swallowing hard, she watched as Ethan’s silver eyes locked on her just before Ephraim turned on him. One second, Ethan had Ephraim by the back of the neck and the next, he was fighting for his life while Indie sat there, feeling helpless as she watched Ephraim grab hold of his arm and-

Oh, god…

“Shit!” Nathan bit out as he pulled himself back up only to stumble as they watched in horror as Ephraim tore Ethan’s arm off and tossed it aside.

“No!” Marc yelled, grabbing hold of her arm to stop her when she moved to help Ethan.

“I’ve gotta help him,” Indie mumbled weakly as she watched his poor arm turn gray seconds before it slammed against the wall and shattered, scattering ash everywhere.

“Please!” Marc said, putting everything into that one word as he tightened his hold on her arm as Jessica’s cries seemed to set Ephraim off even more, making him desperate to get to them. This wasn’t happening, Indie thought numbly as she placed her hand over Marc’s as she watched Ethan struggle to hold Ephraim back with one arm while Nathan pulled his gun free only to get sent flying back into the wall before he could pull the trigger.

“Protect my family!” came the shouted demand that pulled her attention back towards the stairs as Drew came running down the hallway, shifting mid-run into a large werewolf before he jumped over Ethan and landed on Ephraim, moving in to tear Ephraim’s throat out only to find himself thrown off and slammed into John as the Sentinel came running up the stairs to help, sending them both flying over the railing and onto the marble floor below.

“Please stop crying,” Marc whispered urgently only to mumble, “Oh, god,” when Ephraim came for them again as his hand trembled in hers and-

A gunshot had them both flinching as they watched Ephraim suddenly drop to the floor as a pool of blood quickly formed beneath him. Swallowing hard, Indie looked up to find Kale standing there, holding a gun as he leveled a cold glare on Marc.

“Next time, run.”