Of Wolf & Man

Chapter Twelve

Liam's arms were being weighed down by the groceries and he was having a hard time unlocking the door so it took him by surprise when the keys flew away and someone pounced on him, knocking him flat on his back and the wind from his lungs.
A growl sounded in his chest as he released the bags and bucked his attacker off and over his head. He heard the thump of them landing and rolled onto all fours to face his attacker.
Russell was crouched in a similar position to Liam's. Ready to beat him to a pulp for what he told Rachel. A growl left his mouth and he bared his teeth.
Liam bared his teeth and growled back. It took him a second to realize it was Russell who attacked him.
When he did he pulled out of his crouch and shouted, "What gives?"
Russell stayed in his crouch and growled again before saying, "How could you tell her how valuable she is?"
Liam's eyes bulged and he stammered for words to say. Before he could, Russell launched himself at Liam and knocked him down. Liam was caught off guard once again as the breath whooshed from his lungs.
Russell shouted, "How could you tell her about that Liam? How could you tell her about us?"
Liam took a chance to swing his fist up and catch Russell in the ribs. Russell fell off of Liam and he was able to catch his breath and say, "What was I supposed to tell her? She was asking too many questions and you know I can't hide anything from her!"
Russell jumped up and punched Liam in the jaw and while Liam staggered backwards he threw another punch at his ribs. Liam bent in pain and threw a left that hit Russell in the temple and said, "I couldn't let her think that werewolves killed her friends when clearly it was Roman!"
Holding his head Russell threw a kidney punch and another before using his other fist to punch Liam in the stomach. Liam doubled over coughing and Russell took the chance to grab his shoulders. Right as he was about to knee Liam in the chest a voice rang out.
"ENOUGH!" the voice shouted. Liam and Russell turned to look at the doorway of the cabin. Rachel was weakly standing against the door holding her arm. Her face ashen. She looked close to fainting.
"Stop fighting." She said, breathless. Russell pushed Liam away and straightened himself. Liam got up slowly keeping his eyes on Rachel.
"Please Rachel, go lay down. You're going to hurt yourself." Liam said. He took a step forward and Rachel raised her hands.
"I'll be fine. You two were so loud I'd be surprised if the police didn't show up. If you two can't behave yourselves then I won't let you inside.
Rachel had Liam's key's in one of her hands. All she'd have to do is swing the door shut and twist the deadbolt and they'd be locked out.
"We can get in even if you lock the door, but I'd prefer not to break it down. It would draw attention to us." Liam said.
"What were you doing not even two minutes ago?"
"Good point." Interjected Russell.
"And you!" Rachel turned to Russell, "Why did you attack him?"
Russell couldn't think of anything to say so he just opened and closed his mouth a couple times.
"Get in here both of you, and grab the groceries." Rachel said turning to walk back down the hallway to the bedroom. Liam and Russell stood there feeling foolish at being reprimanded by a sick girl.
"I don't hear any bags rustling!" Rachel shouted and they got up quickly and collected the groceries, both of them surveying the cabin's surroundings. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary they closed and locked the door.
"This conversation isn't over brother."
"Neither is the fight." retorted Liam and jabbed Russell in the ribs with his elbow before walking toward the kitchen. Russell growled and aimed a kick at Liam's thigh and caught him, giving him a charley horse.
Russell snickered and walked past Liam into the kitchen. While he was putting groceries away Liam limped in and Russell started to regret the fight but he was going to stand his ground.
"You shouldn't have told her. That's all I'm saying." Russell whispered.
"I know. I can't help myself around her." Liam whispered back. He checked over his shoulder and Rachel wasn't there. "Give me a sec."
Liam left the kitchen and checked the hallway. Empty. He walked to the bedroom and saw Rachel getting into the bed.
"Do you need any help?" Liam walked further into the room.
"I can do it. I need the exercise while I'm awake. I'm either fainting or sleeping when I get up. It was nice to be able to walk to the door, even if it was to stop your fight." She neglected to tell him about her search of the cabin earlier.
"Sorry you had to witness that."
"Don't worry about it, it's not the first fight I've broken up and I'm sure it won't be the last."
"I'm still sorry you had to see us fight, we don't do it often."
Rachel finally made it into the bed and pulled the covers to her waist. When she bent to reach for her glass Liam was already there handing it to her.
"I bought stir-fry for dinner and some more juice. After dinner you can take a bath and we'll change your bandages."
"Couldn't I take a shower?"
"What if you fall? Do you really want us to see you naked?"
"Oh yeah, I didn't think of that."
"So, bath it is. Do you need anything before I go back to the kitchen?"
"I think I'm good for now, thanks."
With one last glance at Rachel Liam left the room.
"She's back in bed." Liam said as he entered the kitchen.
"Good. She's getting stronger. We'll be able to move her before the week is out."
"Do we have to?" Liam asked as he pulled the dishes he needed out of the cupboard."You know we do, Jonathan is going to wonder where I am and the first place he's going to look is here."
"What about her being sleep deprived. How can she sleep if these crazy things keep happening to her? If she can't sleep then she can't get better." Liam glanced behind himself again to see if Rachel had left the bed again.
"I'm sure she'll stay in bed now brother. Don't be so paranoid." Liam turned back and began to cut vegetables. "We'll just have to restrain her and take turns watching her through the night. That's the best we can do."
"I'm so worried about her. I did this to her and now..." Liam huffed a sigh, "Now she could die because I was so careless."
"None of this is your fault. We all got comfortable and didn't think that Roman would find her so soon. We're lucky that she's alive and only a small amount of harm has come to her. Still I don't know how he got here, we've been covering our tracks. There's no way he should be here in California."
"He knew she was in America so it was only a matter of time. I should have been paying better attention, I could have saved her friends." Liam's voice broke and he switched to cutting the steak while Russell finished preparing the rice.
"We should get cooking. I want her to eat early so she could take a bath before she falls asleep."
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Rachel sat in bed thinking about what she heard today. Liam was a secret bodyguard hired by her aunt. She was being stalked by vampires and werewolves, which she still didn't believe existed. Rachel couldn't understand why Russell was so mad that Liam told her information. That part of their fight confused her. She had a right to know that they were her bodyguards and what they were protecting her from.
She also wondered who the man from her dream was. He seemed very familiar and his accent indicated he was Russian, so he was someone from her past. But who? Could he have been from the orphanage? She didn't remember much from her time there.
Rachel sighed and took another long drink from her glass. She was almost finished with it and wondered what her arm looked like. Could it really heal as fast as Russell's face had? She wanted to pull off her bandages but she was too scared to look at it. Scared of what she would find underneath. Her hand hovered over the bandages.
With another sigh she put her hand down and took another drink. Before she knew it, Liam and Russell were bringing bowls of food into the bedroom. Liam handed her a bowl and a fork before sitting in the chair by the bed.
Russell sat at the end of the bed since the other chair was wet with Rachel's blood. They ate in silence before Rachel couldn't take it anymore and asked, "What's a lycanthrope?"
Liam and Russell both began choking on their food. After a minute or so they both settled into coughing fits. Russell cleared his throat and said, "Where did you hear that word?"
Rachel sighed and decided it was best to tell them about her dream. While she was telling them about it, she saw many emotions cross their faces. They started with indifference, then surprise, shock, anger, worry, then anger again. "Then he was gone, do you know who he is?"
"We have theories." Russell said.
"Which means you can't tell me."
"Exactly." Russell said looking over at Liam who kept his eyes on his bowl.
"Can you at least tell me what a lycanthrope is?"
"A lycanthrope is a werewolf. It's an ancient name for them."
"Okay so a lycanthrope is a werewolf, got it." Rachel shifted uneasily. The man had a message for the werewolves, but how could she tell it to them? She didn't know the werewolves and she didn't want to. She wanted to go back to her normal life with her normal friends.
Russell stood and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Rachel and Liam alone. Liam kept
his eyes on his bowl, desperately he wanted to tell her who the man was but he couldn't. He couldn't reveal a secret that wasn't his to tell. Without looking up he asked, "Are you ready for your bath?"
Rachel looked down at her bowl, it was almost empty but she wasn't hungry anymore.
"Yes, I'm ready." Rachel moved to the edge of the bed and stood. "Feels good to stand, my legs aren't so shaky anymore."
Rachel set her bowl down on the night table and began walking toward the hallway.
When she got to the doorway of the bedroom the room swayed around her and before she knew it Rachel was falling toward the ground.
Before she reached it, Liam had scooped her into his arms. Rachel's eyes focused and she was face to face with him. Chocolate eyes reflecting her ice blue ones. She held his gaze as he carried her to the bathroom and set her on the edge of the tub.
"Do you need any help?" Liam asked after he stepped away from her.
"No thank you. I guess there was some leftover dizziness from the blood loss. I think I'll be alright now." Rachel looked over at Liam and saw there was concern in his eyes mixed with pain. She still could not place why there was pain in his eyes every time he looked at her. Russell never really elaborated but she was sure it had something to do with her. Their assignment to protect her and keep her in the dark was falling apart.
"Why do you look so sad all the time?" Rachel asked.
Liam looked at her and contemplated answering. Should he tell her the truth and anger Russell and the pack or should he lie and risk upsetting Rachel? This dilemma is what made him so sad, so frustrated. He wanted to give the world to her and he could not. He couldn't be allowed to go anywhere near her after they arrived in Salem.
Once Helene and Jonathan see the damage to her arm and hear how much she knows, The Elders will want his death immediately and Jonathan will surely deliver.
"I've lost something and I'll never be able to get it back. Rather than something I should say someone. A girl. I can never be with her."
"That's horrible! Why can't you be with this girl? You must really love her if you are so sad all the time." Rachel's heart dropped a little at knowing Liam had a special woman in his life. Of course, they could never be together even if he wasn't with someone. Or could they? What would Helene say? Would she be happy or angry that Rachel had decided to date one of her bodyguards?
Would Liam want to date Rachel? Is she even his type? He seemed to like her or was it all an act for the job? Russell seemed nice to her as well but is it because she was the sick girl he is treating?
"Our families have forbidden us to be together, we could run away but that would make matters worse for the both of us."
"So, what are you going to do?"
"Nothing. There's nothing I can do; I will have to forget about her."
"You could fight. If it's true love no one can stop you. You two could be together and be happy. I know Russell wouldn't mind seeing you happy. I would like to see it as well."
Rachel gave a small smile and Liam returned it but it didn't touch his eyes. Rachel held back a sigh and began to fill the tub with water. The steam from the faucet calmed her and helped her forget that she was injured and that her friends were dead and that she was the only female in a cabin with two men. At that thought...two men...where was everyone going to sleep?
"Where is everyone sleeping tonight?" Rachel asked softly.
"You will sleep in my bed while Russell and I take turns guarding you and sleeping in the other bedroom. Do you need help moving your arm?"
"No, I'm sure I can manage. If I need help I'll shout." Rachel looked up at Liam and he nodded and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Rachel stood and shuffled over to the mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was a mess, dirty and tangled from the past couple days. Her makeup had lines in it from crying and was smudged and missing in other places. Her body had no bruising or cuts other than the cuts underneath the bandage on her bicep. Slowly and carefully Rachel lifted her shirt over her body, using only her left arm. She was able to get it over her head and as she was sliding it down her right arm it caught her bandages.
A small gasp of pain ran over her shoulder and she stopped moving. Taking a deep breath, she retraced her steps and lifted the shirt higher off her arm to get it off. Her bra was easy. She unfastened it and the straps effortlessly slid off her body. Her jeans and panties were simple enough but it was tough to keep her balance sliding them off one at a time.
With her clothes just a dirty pile on the floor, Rachel stepped into the bathtub. Being sure to keep her bandages dry, she lowered herself tried to submerge as much of her body and kept her arm on the side of the tub.
She was able to get to her underarms before the water got too close. She slid back up and wondered how she was going to wet her hair. She lifted her arm above her hair and tried to scoop water over her head. It didn't do much. Not without her other hand. She needed help.
Rachel blanched at the thought of Liam seeing her naked. Would it be easier if it was Russell who helped her? Russell was a medic, so maybe he could help her and not make things awkward.
Rachel took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh before shouting, "Russell!"