His Retaliation

Chapter One

MISSY

“Missy!” I heard Lily scream as we hit the bottom of the steps. I spun around, quickly looking for her. She had been a zombie every time I was at the hospital to bring Azly to Liam. I felt awful; Maddox hadn’t even marked me, and I could not imagine being in that position. 

“Come quickly; Azalea is awake!” I turned to Maddox with wide eyes. He searched my face, and I could tell he was trying to decide what to do. 

“I’ll go with Austin; you go see your mom. I’ll link Abigail too. Just go,” he said quickly, pushing me gently toward Lily. I stopped him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He gathered me tightly in his arms. “Go, darling. See your parents. Austin and I will handle this.”

I kissed the side of his neck, thankful that the Moon Goddess gave me such a loving mate. He let me go, and I rushed to Lily, who was anxiously waiting for me to follow her. We both hurried out of the packhouse and toward the clinic.

“Where is Azly?” Lily asked. 

“Abigail has her. Maddox said he would have her bring Azly over right away,” I explained. 

“Where are Maddox and Austin going?” Lily questioned as we both jogged the familiar path to the clinic. 

“Warwick sent some kind of message; Austin was bringing us to see it. Maddox said he would handle it,” I told her. Lily’s steps faltered. 

“Wait, Warwick sent a message?” she asked. I nodded. “You don’t know what it says?”

I shook my head. “No, Austin came to get us as soon as he found out.” Lily bit her lip; I could see conflict in her face. I grabbed her arm reassuringly. “They’ll come tell us as soon as they know what’s going on. If there is anything that can help us find Warwick, they will tell us.” 

Lily nodded, and we continued to the clinic. When we got there, the nurse at the desk didn’t even bat an eye at us rushing past her to go to the back where Damien and Lea were being monitored. 

I hovered in the doorway. Liam was sitting on the bed with Lea in his arms. She wasn’t hooked up with any wires now. It was a different sight than the one I had become accustomed to over the past couple of weeks. Liam looked a little better, and Lea was resting against him. 

I cleared my throat softly from the doorway. “Dad?” I said softly. Liam’s eyes came up to me, and he smiled faintly. He whispered something into the top of Lea’s head, and she sat up, looking right at me. 

“Oh, Missy!” she said. She opened her arms wide, and I rushed to her, hugging my mom for the first time in too long. 

 “Careful,” Liam said, but Lea just shooed him. I smiled into her shoulder. She didn’t smell like a hospital now; she smelled like pretty flowers blooming in the sun. I missed that smell. 

“Oh, Missy,” she said, pulling away. “You’re okay.” I nodded at her. 

“I’m great now that you’re awake,” I told her. 

“Your father said you have been a big help with your baby sister,” she smiled. I nodded again. “You’re such a good sister, Missy. Thank you.” 

“Abigail is going to bring her over soon. Maddox and I were about to deal with something when Lily came to get me,” I said. 

Lea nodded with a gentle smile. I could tell she was excited to have Azly in her arms. I hoped she liked her name. “How are things with Maddox?” she asked. Her eyes drifted to my neck, but I still wasn’t marked. 

“Good,” I smiled. “He’s amazing. I’m so glad he’s my mate.”

Lea’s eyes were soft but happy. She looked over her shoulder at Lily, who was hovering by the door. I could see the conflict all over her sad face. She was happy Lea was okay but hurt that Damien wasn’t. Lea turned back to Liam. “Liam, will you go check on Azly?” 

Liam gave her an incredulous look like he couldn’t fathom leaving her now that she was awake. Something passed between their eyes, and his shoulders slumped just a bit. “Yes, sweetheart.” They slowly shifted on the bed, and he set her back down. Then he turned to me, “Why don’t you go flag a nurse down and get your mom a snack?” Liam asked. I nodded my head.

“Sure,” I said. My eyes darted to Lily, and I got the feeling Lea was trying to grab a minute alone with her. They were best friends, after all. Liam and I left the room as Lily slowly went over to Lea’s bed. 

AZALEA

Liam and Missy exited the room, leaving Lily and me alone. My best friend looked like a shell of her old self. I opened my arms, and she rushed at me; I hugged her tight. 

“Lily, I’m so sorry,” I whispered. She sobbed quietly into my shoulder. “I never wanted anyone to get hurt.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay. Lea, I’ve missed you so much,” she cried. She broke away from me and dashed her tears away. 

“I am so sorry Damien got hurt,” I told her. She shook her head. 

“No, Lea. He knew the danger; he’s our Beta after all,” she said pensively. Her eyes wandered to the bed across the room where Damien lay still sleeping. “I just feel so cold; he’s so cold. Nothing has ever phased him, and it’s so hard to see him just lying there.” Lily’s voice cracked. I rubbed my hand reassuringly over her arm. 

“We can figure this out. He’s still there,” I said. I watched her as she stared at Damien. Guilt simmered in my stomach; Damien got hurt helping Liam rescue me. If I could have just fought off the vampires and gotten into the packhouse, this wouldn’t have happened. 

“Stop blaming yourself,” Lily said, breaking me from my thoughts. Her eyes were back on me. “Warwick was determined. This war was inevitable, and with war came casualties. You can’t save everyone, Lea.”

“I never wanted us to have to go to war, and I really didn’t want Damien to get hurt,” I admitted. 

“I know. And I haven’t said it yet, but I am not mad at Liam either. I know I blamed him when he first brought Damien back here, but I know it wasn’t entirely his fault. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same thing,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” I said. “Doctor Ron said I will still be feeling some residual pain from the surgery and damage. I’ll manage, though.”

Missy knocked on the door frame, interrupting our conversation. Lily stood from the bed. “Come see your mom,” she said quietly. Lily went back over to Damien’s bed, drawing the curtains closed to give them privacy as Missy came back over to me. Missy had a sad look on her face, so I opened my arms. She climbed on the bed and came right into them. 

“I missed you,” she said, hugging me. “Dad missed you, too.”

“I know he did,” I told her with a smile. I was sure Liam never left my side. “He said you named your sister?”

Missy pulled away, and her cheeks were red. “Yea, I hope you aren’t mad,” she said. 

“No, no,” I said quickly. “I am glad you gave her a name.” She smiled shyly. I looked up at the doorway as Liam rounded the corner, holding our baby in his arms. 

“Little Luna, I think it’s time to meet your daughter, Azly,” he said, coming over to the bed. My eyes went wide as he got closer with her. She had a small shock of vibrantly ginger hair with some delicate curls on top of her head. She was so small in Liam’s arms. 

He lowered her gently into my arms, and I thought my heart would burst. “I named her Azly after you and Dad,” Missy said quietly. She reached up and gently stroked her finger through her wispy hair. I couldn’t take my eyes off the perfect little bundle in my arms. Her petal pink lips were puckered, and she made a small sucking noise. 

“Hi, Azly,” I said shakily. “I’m you’re mama.” Love swelled within my chest as I ran a finger down her soft cheeks. I was only vaguely aware of Liam climbing onto the bed with me. 

“She’s the perfect baby. She sleeps through the night and eats so well. She doesn’t fuss much unless she wants a bottle or a change,” Missy explained. 

“I’m sure your dad has been managing okay. This isn’t his first rodeo,” I said breezily, still marveling at the teensy person in my arms. A weird silence fell over the room. I tore my eyes away from Azly to look up at Missy and Liam. “What?” I asked. 

“Dad has just been spending a lot of time here, so Maddox and I have been taking care of Azly. When we are busy with pack stuff, Abigail or Lacey watch her,” Missy said with a nervous look. My eyes shot to Liam. 

“Missy and Maddox have been taking care of Azly? Where have you been? Why weren’t you with her?” I linked him, not wanting to fight in front of Missy. 

“Little Luna, I have been here the whole time with you. I couldn’t leave you,” he tried to explain. 

“We’ll talk about this later,” I shot back. I looked back down at Azly and tried to let my frustration subside. Liam’s arms came around my waist and pulled me back into his lap. Once he was happy with our proximity once more, he adjusted his hold to support both me and Azly. 

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Maddox asked from the doorway. I watched Missy go to him automatically, smiling sweetly at him. His arm went around her waist as soon as she was within reach. They looked perfect together, and I was thankful the Moon Goddess took such care with my daughter. 

“Come on in,” Liam said. 

“How are you feeling, Luna?” Maddox asked. 

“Maddox, no need for that. You can call me Azalea or Lea,” I said. A small blush crept up his cheeks, and he nodded. He looked at Missy, and I could see something was passing between them. 

“Mom, we should go,” Missy said, tearing her eyes away from Maddox and back to me. “There is something that needs attention. It’s sort of important.”

“Everything alright?” I asked. 

“Yea, nothing to worry about. Spend some time with Dad and Azly,” she assured. 

Maddox grabbed her hand and pulled her from the room. They hurried off without another word. 

Liam and I sat quietly. I cradled Azly to me, watching the rise and fall of her steady breathing. A small smile crept up on my lips as I realized Liam got the little girl he wanted. Liam moved my hair over my shoulder, exposing the back of my neck to him. His lips brushed over the skin lightly; his familiar warmth spread over my skin. 

“So, did you get him?” I finally asked. 

Liam tensed behind me. He was quiet for a drawn moment. “No, I didn’t.”