Providence

Cereally Serious

Seren woke up feeling sore and stiff, every joint creaking with protest and every muscle burning with stiffness. Her throat felt raspy and raw and her stomach ached with hunger. All in all, she felt like she had been put through a cycle in the washing machine...well, she had in a way.

Opening her eyes, she saw a ceiling, something she hadn't seen in a while, and windows. She was enveloped in the addicting, masculine scent of her mate that, if bottled, could make millions. Liam. She remembered the previous day, then. It wasn't a dream; the bedroom she had once slept in every night was a testament to that and the fact that she was imprisoned in it once more told her exactly what had happened after she had fallen asleep. 

He had brought her back. He really was alive.

Holding her breath, she sat up, pushing the warm covers off of her legs. Though she never wanted to get up from the comfort that the bed offered, she needed answers. Putting weight on her feet, she could feel her injured ankle prickling, but it was healing quickly. She realized how dirty she was, sticks and leaves in her wild hair, dried blood from her fading cuts and dirt coating her skin. Gasping, she quickly pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped herself in it to hide her nudity.

A blush colored her cheeks when she realized that he had seen her completely nude and she looked around to make sure he wasn't standing in the corner watching her that very second. Where was he anyway?

She padded over to the door and peeked out into the office, at once seeing his muscular shoulder as he leaned over his desk, face in his hands. The black lines of his powerful tattoo contrasted with how vulnerable he seemed in that moment, but it was soon over when he smelled her and sat up straight, turning to face her. 

When his eyes met hers, she felt the butterflies in her stomach and her body return to that state of awareness that she was always in around him, but something was missing. Seren couldn't feel his emotions though she wanted to know what he was feeling, too. He was looking at her with relief and yet, he looked horribly sad. 

Liam stood, towering to his full height and making her nervous enough to take a step back as she watched him warily. "No," he said, softly. "Don't be afraid. Come, sit and have a cup of tea. We need to talk...I...I need to explain."

Now he was the one to seem nervous, quickly running his hand through his hair until it was a fuzzy mess. Seren almost smiled as she slowly walked around his desk and took a seat on the uncomfortable couch, unable to relax now that she knew this would likely be a difficult conversation. 

He set a cup of tea in front of her, though how he knew when she would wake up was beyond her, and sat opposite her just like he had so long ago when they were making deals. Liam inhaled through his nose, looking at her like he was afraid she would jump up and run away any second. She wanted to. 

"I..." he cleared his throat. "I need you to know that I sent you away on Gloria's advice, for your safety. I had the virus and...I know now that I would have killed you or hurt you had you been anywhere close. I tried to send you east, away from the Red Toothed and the Gray Paws so that you wouldn't run into any trouble."

He winced at her pained and distrustful expression, but continued. 

"You saved my life. Your blood cured me and I wanted to come find you immediately and tell you everything, but then we went to battle," he looked at her suddenly, confused. "You came here while we were fighting. Why? It was too dangerous."

"I wanted to make sure my dad was safe," she looked at the floor as pain flooded into her throat, constricting it. "He...is...is he really...?"

Liam clenched his jaw. "Yes, Seren. I...I'm sorry. I found him and...Gloria together. They were...holding hands," he whispered. It caused him pain to think about it as well.