Nightmares and anger
602 Words
Blood… It was everywhere… Rich, red, warm, glistening in the night. Coating her hands, soaking through her clothes.
She couldn't stop it from flowing like a raging river. She was drowning, drowning in the blood.
*Chase*
The scream rips through the tranquil night, pulling me upright. Callie rolls away from my side and turns up the flame in the lamp.
"What in the hell was that?" I ask.
The terrorized shriek comes again.
"It came from Blaise’s room," Callie says as she heads for the door.
I bolt from the bed, rush after her into the hallway, and grab her arm. "Where do you think you’re going?"
"To help." She says.
"Let me go first," I order, taking the lamp from her. No telling what's waiting on the other side. The she-wolf is always rushing into places where she shouldn’t.
Quietly, I open the door to Blaise’s room and peer inside. The light from the lamp casts a pale glow around the room. I hear a she-wolf’s harsh sobs.
Callie edges past me and walks into the room, giving me no choice but to follow.
Sitting in bed, the blankets draped around his waist, Blaise holds Lillian. "It’s all right, Lillian. It was just a bad dream," he says, his voice low as he rocks back and forth, stroking her back.
"I didn’t know where you lived. I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have come here," she wails.
"It’s all right, Sugar. No one’s gonna hurt you here." He coos softly.
She tilts her head away from his shoulder and the light from the lamp glistens over her tears. "I’m so scared, Blaise."
He presses her face back into the nook of his shoulder. "I know you are, but I’m gonna make things good for you, Lillian. You will see."
Callie eases toward the bed. "Why don’t I warm up some milk for Lillian?" she whispers. "It always helps the children get back to sleep when they wake up with a bad dream."
Blaise glances over his shoulder at her, gratitude etched over his features. "And put a lot of sugar in it."
Callie strolls to me and places her hand on my arm. "Light their lamp for them, then give them a little privacy while I warm some milk."
When she leaves my side, I walk to the bedside table and light the lamp. "Need anything else?"
Shaking his head, Blaise settles down on the bed, carrying his mate with him. I hear her stifling sobs and Blaise’s repeated words of comfort. I stride back to my own room, jerk open the door to the balcony, and step into the night. I'm trembling almost as much as I imagine Lillian is. Taking several deep breaths, I stare at the canopy of stars overhead.
Long moments pass before I hear Callie’s soft footsteps. She joins me on the balcony and rubs her hand up and down my bare arm. "Lillian’s sleeping. Come back to bed."
"Did you see his back? They beat him in prison." I mumble.
It's not a question, but she answers anyway. "It looks like it."
"When we find the man who killed your brother, I’m gonna string him up from the nearest tree." I huff.
"You need to let the law handle it." She says softly.
I spin around. "The law sent my brother to prison."
"The law isn’t perfect, but you have to trust it to serve justice. You have to let the law send the real murderer to prison." Callie tells me.
"They had better damn well hang the man, and I want a front row seat."
- Writer
