Severed Ties Chapter 7

I’d expected to be nervous about returning to my old home and facing those who believed I wasn’t good enough to live among them, but I wasn’t. It would be a lie to say I had stopped caring what they thought of me. This had been my pack, and as a werewolf, pack meant everything—at least, it had until I’d learned to survive without them. During my college years, I’d begun to wonder if a werewolf’s need for their pack had more to do with conditioning than instinct. For quite some time after being cast out, I’d felt empty and alone, but the sense of loss had subsided as time passed. I’d made new connections to fill the void left by the loss of my pack. It got easier as time went by until I realized I was an individual, not just part of a pack.

“Maybe I’m not being fair to Jake,” I mused before popping a pill into my mouth and taking a drink of water.

“Way to state the obvious, Hadley,” Evie remarked, sparing me a brief glance as she pulled up to the gate of the subdivision.

“What do you want?” the guard snapped. He seemed vaguely familiar, and the fact that I didn’t recognize him on sight was another reminder of the distance between now and my old life.

“We’re here to help with your wolf who attempted suicide,” Evie replied pleasantly. “I’m Evie Talbot.”

The guard’s face softened for just a moment before he looked angry again. Enforcers tried to be scary at all times, but I knew from experience that wasn’t all there was to them. The day I’d attempted suicide, one of the coldest enforcers in the pack had stayed at the hospital when my parents hadn’t even gone with me. He’d gruffly ordered me not to die and then talked to me about how he was sorry about the pack turning their backs on me. I’ve always appreciated his kindness.

Evie drove us through the rows of houses to the one the guard had directed us to. Not much had changed since I’d been away. Some houses had been painted, but the subdivision was mostly unchanged. There were rows of similar looking two-story homes, much like in any other middle class community, and most humans probably wondered why a neighborhood with such simple homes was gated. The gate likely wasn’t necessary, but werewolves were big on security. It was all about control with werewolves. While the pack might consider me weak, I knew I was strong for controlling my depression. Those in the pack who’d never had to battle the monsters within, couldn’t understand.

“This isn’t looking good,” I muttered when we neared the house and found it surrounded by cars and angry looking werewolves. Several wolves were snarling in wolf form, while others were still in human form arguing with someone I couldn’t see yet. What concerned me most were the wolves who were armed.

“I can’t believe they didn’t mention this mess,” Evie grumbled. “I could have brought other witches to help us deal with this.”

“You should call them now,” I suggested. “I’m not even sure how to proceed with this. Of course, maybe I’m overreacting. The werewolves called us, so they might just let us pass to do our job.”

It was possible, but angry wolves could be extremely irrational, so I wasn’t willing to hold my breath, especially when Evie had been told the werewolf’s family was resistant to him being treated.

“I’ll send a group message, and hopefully, some other witches will show up, but we need to try to get to the werewolf. There’s no way of knowing what kind of medical attention he needs,” Evie remarked. “I know they said he was fine, but these werewolves clearly aren’t telling us everything.”

“Agreed,” I said with a nod, and waited as Evie sent her group text. I wasn’t sure who I could message for help that wouldn’t be on Evie’s list. Then an idea came to me, but I hesitated, not wanting to put Jake in danger or risk his position with the pack. In the end, I decided to let him make his own decision.

Hadley: I’m here to help with the werewolf who attempted suicide. Things are crazy. Do you know what’s going on?

“Let’s grab our stuff and try to make it to the house,” Evie said, and I nodded.

We walked around to the back of the SUV to grab Evie’s medical supplies. We also had weapons in the back, but it seemed more dangerous to bring them when there were this many angry werewolves.

Jake still hadn’t messaged me back, so I assumed he either hadn’t gotten my message yet, or he didn’t want to get involved.

As we neared the group of angry werewolves, many stopped to stare openly at me, proving they recognized me. Some immediately averted their eyes, shunning me, while others regarded me with anger. A few cast brief looks of pity before looking way. Those in wolf form bared their teeth.

The current pack leader turned to snarl at me, still in human form. His long blond hair was a tangled mess, and his amber eyes looked near-crazed. Liam had always been very controlled. It was likely how he’d ended up being the leader. He liked everything orderly, and he fought without emotion. Liam’s emotions were running high that day.

“You don’t belong here, little bitch,” he snapped at me.

“We’re here to help the wolf,” I told him.

He laughed. “What can you do to help? You’re weak. You couldn’t even handle a few problems. Why the hell would I think you can help my son? Get off my land, you miserable bitch.”

It was a good thing Evie was used to dealing with werewolves or she might have taken offense to Liam calling me a bitch twice. With witches, it was an insult. With werewolves it wasn’t.

“Don’t fucking talk to her that way!”

I turned, shocked by the angry command from Jake, who was stalking toward us.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Liam said, warning clear in his voice. “I didn’t ask anyone to call these bitches.”

“Your son needs medical attention,” a vaguely familiar female werewolf interjected. When Liam snarled at her, her eyes dropped, showing submission.

“He can’t stay here!” another wolf shouted.

“Those are the pack rules!” added another.

“I am the pack leader,” Liam growled.

“Then you agree it’s a bad rule to send wolves like Hadley away,” Jake said, refusing to look away from his pack leader. I was regretting my decision to message Jake. Liam was dominant to him and he could seriously hurt Jake or even banish him from the pack for his defiance.

“My son did not try to hurt himself,” Liam argued. “It was an accident.”

“Then let us help him,” Evie coaxed. “I’m a doctor, and I can at least check on his injuries.”

“He’s fine,” Liam argued. “Leave and don’t come back. We don’t need any help from witches or rejects.”

Jake lunged toward Liam, and I quickly put myself between them. When Liam started toward us, Evie was able to cast a binding spell to hold him in place. Her actions resulted in more threats being thrown back and forth between the gathered werewolves.

“Let me go, Hadley,” Jake growled. My arms were wrapped around his waist, and I was using all my strength to hold him in place.

“We just need to get to Liam’s son,” I told him. “Please, just let this go for now, and get us to the house.”

“Let’s go,” Jake told me.

I looked over at Evie, not sure what to do. If she went to the house, the binding spell would be broken and we’d have to deal with Liam again.

“Just check on him and see if there’s anything you can do,” Evie told me.

“I can’t leave you out here alone,” I argued. “These wolves could all turn on you.”

“We’ll protect the witch,” offered an enforcer. There was another enforcer by his side. Both would be in trouble for helping Evie, but that was their choice to make.

I grabbed Evie’s medical bag in case I needed to do some minor patch ups and headed toward the house with Jake by my side. We could hear the screams before we got to the front door. Inside, we found Liam’s son in the bedroom. He was chained to the bed, his wrists wrapped with gauze. The blood had soaked through, but they no longer seemed to be bleeding.

“Why won’t you just let me die?” the werewolf moaned pitifully.

I’d expected to find one of Liam’s younger sons, not Loch who was about twenty years older than me. While I hadn’t known him very well, he’d always seemed energetic and happy, having many friends.

“Hey, Loch,” I greeted him, approaching slowly.

His eyes focused on me for a moment as if not recognizing me. When he realized who I was, he smiled, but that smile seemed practiced and fake. “Hey there, Hadley. Long time no see.”

“You see many banished pack members these days?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. I sensed Jake by my side, but he said nothing.

“Nah,” Loch replied, and his smile wobbled. “You’re supposed to be dead to me, but I guess it’s okay if I talk to you since I should be dead, too. Do you ever wish you’d succeeded in killing yourself?”

“No, I don’t,” I told him. “I did at first, but now I’m happy with my life.”

“I hate him for stopping me,” Loch admitted.

“He loves you,” Jake added.

Loch shook his head. “I’ve always been an embarrassment. He probably only saved me because my death would embarrass him more.”

“Your father is really losing it out there,” I told him. “My witch friend had to cast a binding spell to control him.”

Loch gave a weak laugh. “That sounds a lot better than chains. He should have let me die.”

“I know what it’s like to have problems you think no one will understand, but I can help you,” I assured him. “Why don’t you come with me, and we can get you checked out and see what we can do to make things easier.”

“I want to leave so much,” Loch breathed out, and I knew he meant he wanted to die. “I’m tired of pretending I’m not weak.”

“You aren’t weak,” Jake argued. “Hadley thought she was weak all those years ago, too, but she’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. She can help you be strong like that.”

Loch was silent for several minutes, and in that time, Jake came up behind me to slip an arm around my waist. “I guess it’s better than staying chained to a bed,” Loch finally replied.

“I promise it will be better than being chained to a bed,” I assured Loch. “Let’s remove these chains and see if we can get you out of here without starting a pack war.”