The next morning Sam awoke and stretched across the bed smelling his mate but not feeling her. His eyes shot open and he searched the room for Lilliana but did not find her. He quickly got dressed and spoke to the guards outside of his room.
"Where did Lilliana go?" Sam asked anxiously.
"She headed down stairs about an hour ago. She didn't say where or what she was doing. I'm sorry I could give you more information my Alpha." The guard said bowing.
Sam hurried down the stairs and into the dining room, when he didn't find her there. He moved to search the living room, as soon as he entered the room he heard Lilliana's beautiful laugh. She was sitting on the floor surrounded by children, one of them being Aiden. He noticed Lilliana's family and Ericka standing to the side watching her with smiles on each of their faces.
"I should have known she would want to see him as soon as she could." Sam said to Ericka.
"Yeah I have never heard her laugh and smile so much as when she is with that boy." Ericka said cheerfully.
He watched her for a moment until she looked at him a huge smile creasing her beautiful face. But her eyes were dark, her natural brown almost looking black. Some memory haunted her and she was hiding it very well only those who truly knew her would even notice the pain that flickered across her face before she was laughing and smiling again.
"Sam come here I want to properly introduce you." Lilliana gleamed.
Sam walked over and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her back to make her feel safe and comfortable.
"Aiden come here baby." Lilliana said and watched as Aiden ran over and jumped into her lap. "Aiden, do you know who this is?" Lilliana asked.
"Daddy." Aiden yelled and jumped into Sam's lap.
"Yes son I am your Daddy, right Mommy?" Sam asked with a chuckle trying to contain the bouncy child in his lap.
"Yes my love, that's right. I never could have dreamed that I would find a man right for the job, but here you are." Lilliana said and watched as Aiden ran back off to play.
Sam smiled but then it grew back into a frown as she looked up at him with those dark eyes.
"Lilliana we should talk about what happened." Sam said worried.
"Yes we should but not here and not now. I just love to watch him play and run with the other children. Sit with me for a while and then we will go talk, alright my love." Lilliana said placing a hand on his knee and looking into his eyes.
She would have looked like she was going to cry if it weren't for the smile plastered across her face. "Anything to make you smile." He said and gave her chaste kiss.
"Well maybe after we talk I can give you better one." Lilliana said quietly.
An hour later Sam and Lilliana were sitting by the river behind the den, Lilliana splashed her naked feet into the water stealing a moment of peace for herself before Sam began gently rubbing her back and she cringed at the slight pain she felt.
"What's wrong?" Sam said concerned.
"It's nothing we can't deal with after our talk." Lilliana said tensing a bit. "I killed him, the man who took my son and killed Jerry. Solace was arrogant enough to pit me against him in a fair fight. But it wasn't fair, even without my magic and my wolf not yet fully formed. I killed him with ease and won my family's safety. You should have seen their faces when I almost ripped his throat out, my mother was terrified. Seeing them there watching me, made me realize how much I have truly changed. Before I was weak and innocent, not knowing what pain the world could really cause. Now I can kill a man and feel absolutely no remorse, no guilt." Lilliana said her anguish showing through in her words.
"He got what he deserved; there is no reason to feel guilt or remorse for him." Sam said kissing the top of her shoulder.
"You know what hurt me most; it was not the rack, the silver, the beatings, the rapes or the whips. He came to me when I was in the most pain and whispered in my ear almost as if a secret. That you and Aiden were dead and then he told me how his men ripped apart your bodies piece by piece until there were nothing left but shattered corpses. His words tore into my heart stealing my breath and claiming my strength as he abused my body further. I knew he could be lying but in the state I was in, I couldn't help but hear his words and think the worst." Tears had started falling down her face as she spoke.
Sam pulled her close and let her cry against his chest. "It's ok now Lilliana, we are all safe and alive."
Lilliana sat up and looked into his eyes, "When I felt you near and heard your voice, I almost thought I was dreaming or imagining it, to somehow heal my soul when I needed it most. When I took off the last piece of silver my wolf hesitated because she thought you were lost, when I saw you, that's when she sprang to life. Knowing you were alive was all I had needed..." she stopped hoping he would know what she was going to say.
"When a wolf's mate die's most go through a sort of madness and some don't ever return. Some die from the shock of losing part of their soul. If I would have truly died you would have known the instant it happened. You fought even though you could have given up, the entire pack knows of your sacrifice. Fin was right you are as stubborn headed as I am." Sam said and Lilliana laughed a little. Her smile shining true, with nothing hiding behind her golden brown colored eyes.
"Now can you dig this shit out of my back please?" Lilliana said removing her shirt and pulling her red hair aside.
Sam looked at her back, several small objects protruded from her scarred skin. He gently pulled out the ones he could but others were in too deep. He had to extend his claws and dig into her flesh to remove them. Lilliana cringed and grunted at the pain and then Sam growled slightly as he went to grab another piece from her back. "Lilliana you still have silver embedded in your skin you should not have been able to transform into your wolf with it still in there. Yet again I am amazed at the power you hold in any form." He growled again as he pulled the silver from her and then another. He pulled another piece of something from her back and then sat down next to her again. "That's all I saw, maybe Ericka can find them better." Sam said holding out his hand that was filled with the same pieces that were on the whip. There were several pieces of shell and sharks teeth and what she now knew were silver razor blades. She grabbed her shoe and wiped the pieces into it and then looked at Sam's hand the silver had already started to burn his hand. Instinctually she licked the burns and watched as they healed almost instantly.
Sam then smiled and used the same hand to dig in his pocket and pull Lilliana's key necklace from it. She hadn't planned on using it to heal herself but the moment she grabbed it the light bent around her healing any wounds she may or may not have known she had. When the light was gone, Sam looked at her back it looked much better than it had a moment before and then into her eyes. They shown a deep gold now and seemed like they weren't in any hurry to change back.
"No I think you got them all out, I feel much better now. Thank you." Lilliana said putting her shirt back on.
"It's almost lunch time do you want to head back or stay here?" Sam asked.
