Purgatory- A Saraid Maddox Novel Book Three

The air was thick in her lungs as her body struggled to hold on to the magic that was keeping the veil open, allowing her to search for a sign, anything that would prove that they hadn’t imagined her. She stood in place, looking around at the room that looked identical to her own. There was nothing. No sign of Wendy at all.

“She’s not here.”

Saraid turned toward Liam, confusion and frustration evident in her features. She knew deep in her core that they had not imagined Wendy. She was alive, and she was somewhere in this purgatory world. She just had to find her.

“If she is here, we will find her, but right now we need to preserve your strength. Let’s come back tomorrow after you have fed and slept.”

Fighting against herself and her better judgement, Saraid gave in to Liam’s request. She knew that she would be of no use to Wendy if she was too weak to get her out of there. She would get her out of there. She had to, for Chase, and for herself. Wendy was like her sister, of course, she would travel to the depths of hell, cross every mile on the other side, to bring her back.

“Okay, let’s go, but we are coming back first thing in the morning.”

Liam leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her forehead and smiled, “I promise.”

The grey slowly brightened to whites and purples as Saraid called her magic back within herself, until she once again stood in her room, hand held in Liam’s, surrounded by those closest to them. She met the eyes of Jax, Chase, and Guin.

“Well, what happened? Was she there?” Chase asked impatiently.

Saraid’s heart sank at the excitement in his voice. He missed Wendy as much, if not more than her, and now she had to let him down. Unable to find the words, she slowly shook her head. A small tear fell from her cheek as she shook her head.

“I’m so sorry, Chase. If she is there, I will find her, and I will bring her back. I promise.”

His expression turned from sadness to outrage as he stalked across the room. His hands grasped Saraid’s arms tightly and he yanked her from Liam’s hold. Pain seared through the skin of her back as he slammed her into the wall.

“Don’t you do that! Don’t you dare make promises that you can’t keep!”

She couldn’t speak. There was nothing she could say, she let him down. How could she blame him for not trusting her? She stood there, held against the wall, starring into his eyes so full of pain. Sure, he was hurting her, but she knew the pain he was inflicting was nothing compared to what he was feeling.

Liam and Jax made a move to pull Chase off her, both with a murderous look in their eyes. She didn’t want them to hurt him. He was hurting enough. She opened her mind to them, immediately feeling their rage slam into her.

“No, Don’t! He is just upset right now. I’m okay.”

She watched as both Liam and Jax stopped in their tracks, looking at her as if they were trying to decide whether to obey or to rip Chase apart. The look she gave them, pleading with them to not advance any further, must have been enough because she could see their bodies visibly soften. She turned her eyes to Chase, tears pooling in the corners.

“Chase, you know me. I do not make promises that I don’t intend to keep. If Wendy is there, I will find her, and I will bring her back to you, back to us, because I love her and I love you.”

His grip on her arms softened slightly as he rested his head on hers. He released her arms and pulled her within his own and held her against his naked chest. Wrapping her arms around his waist in return, Saraid let her body melt into his embrace.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I lost control Saraid, it won’t happen again.”

She softly shook her head and looked into those tortured green eyes. “I’m okay, Chase. I don’t break that easily. I’m part Lycan and part vampire now, I’m damn near invincible.”

Her attempt at humor was lost on him. He felt guilty now on top of his sadness and the combination of the two made Saraid’s heart ache even more.

“As long as we all have each other, we can get through anything. We can do anything because we love each other. I know how much Wendy means to you, we all do, and we will do everything that we can to bring her back. Do you trust me?”

Her question confused him. He didn’t mean to make her doubt his trust. He did trust her with every fiber of his being. He softly nodded and leaned his face into hers for a gentle kiss.

“I love you too, Saraid and of course I trust you. I trust all of you with my life.”

Liam and Jax closed the distance between themselves and Chase. Liam’s hand clapped Chase’s back as he lay his head on his shoulder.

“As do we trust you with ours,” Liam whispered before he leaned up to place a kiss on Chase’s cheek.

Chase allowed his body to lean slightly into Liam’s while still holding on to Saraid. Jax stood off to the side, holding on to Saraid’s empty hand.

She was relieved to have Chase relaxed again, but deep down she was holding on to hope that she could keep her promise. She couldn’t handle it if she had to break his heart again. Not to mention, it would kill her to get her hopes up on rescuing Wendy, just to be disappointed. She knew that Wendy was there, but what she didn’t know was whether her powers were strong enough to get her out and could she get her out before whoever else was there got to her? If the past three years were indicative of anything, it was that she was no where near strong enough to pull this off. The questions continued to plagued her, but one thing she knew for certain, she had to try. She just had to.