Liam rushed to Stephanie’s side in one of the bedrooms within the safe house. His heart ached as he saw her thrash and scream in her sleep. Sweat and tears covered her face only making the pain worse. He couldn’t protect her from this, but he could be there for her when she woke. Liam placed a hand on her forehead and brushed his fingers through her soft hair.

This was almost worse than the times she overused her abilities during an API mission. No, it was worse. She had overused her abilities and she was obviously experiencing something terrible. He was helpless to stop her suffering. Was this, his stomach heaved, an echo of the agony she suffered while she was missing? Was she remembering the torture she had experienced? He would rather start from scratch with Stephanie than let her suffer through whatever horrible treatment she had experienced at her captors’ hands once more. The thought made him feel as if his heart was being ripped out of his chest.

Liam sat on the edge of her bed, continuing to run his fingers through her hair. The action soothed him, but just barely enough to keep from screaming. Stephanie’s cries hadn’t stopped as he moved closer. Aiden had changed her out of her uniform and into more comfortable street clothes much to Liam’s displeasure. He had looked grim when he came out of the room and refused to answer any questions relating to her condition other than that he had healed her injuries.

Something in his voice told a different story, Liam needed to know, but he could wait. Stephanie would tell him when she was ready. Stephanie’s screams died in her throat as she sat up with a start. Liam pulled his hand away, afraid that he would frighten her off with the intimate contact. He was about to murmur something to calm her down when she lunged forward and into his arms.

The suddenness of the motion knocked him to the floor, taking her with him. Liam was careful to shield her from the impact as his arms came around to embrace her. He didn’t dare hope for anything more. After a few moments he started to let go, realizing that his embrace might be too much for her when she didn’t even know him anymore. “Sorry,” he mumbled, embarrassed.

Stephanie pulled him closer and he could feel the tremors shaking her body. “Don’t,” Stephanie’s voice was muffled by his shirt.

He pulled Stephanie tight against his chest as he sat up. He stayed that way, holding his soul mate until long after the tremors stopped. “Do you want to talk about it?” Liam asked, hoping the nightmare was something he could help with. Hale had said that she didn’t remember her nightmares, but considering her state after she woke, she definitely remembered something.

When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was hoarse, and tears streaked her face once more. She told him everything, the beings that spoke to her, the brief memory of them together, and then the torture. He felt as if he was dying as he heard her describe everything in detail. By the end of it he was shaking too, not in terror but in rage. He would kill them. Without a doubt, Stephanie’s captors were with the Order. He would tear them apart for what they had done to her. His chest ached at the thought that she had experienced these horrors alone. He should have been there for her. Why in the hell had he assumed that she had left him on her own, that she had vanished voluntarily?

Liam couldn’t stop himself from pulling her close again. “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” he murmured in her ear. It was more a prayer, a plea, than anything else. He wanted it to be true. He needed it to be true. He had let his soul mate suffer, because he hadn’t done everything he could to find her the moment she vanished. This was all his fault. “I won’t let them hurt you again,” he growled.

Stephanie stiffened in his arms and he let go of her, afraid that he had done something wrong. “That is not your responsibility,” she said after a moment. “I can take care of myself.”

Her words were like a punch to the gut. “You are my soul mate. Of course, it is my responsibility. How could I ever deserve to be by your side if I don’t protect you?”

Stephanie sighed, “I don’t need you to protect me, though. I am an adult, and I’m my own person. I should be able to protect myself.”

Liam cringed at her response. “I don’t think you understand,” he managed to keep his voice level. “If you get hurt then it makes me feel as though my heart is being ripped out, like I can’t breathe. I can’t lose you again. I can’t just stand by and watch you get hurt.”

Stephanie’s body sagged, “I already told you that what happened wasn’t your fault. I don’t want you to blame yourself when I get hurt again. Before you say anything, I will get hurt again, not because of any fault on your part, but because of who I am. I know I can be a bit reckless, especially when it comes to protecting other people. You can’t stop that even if you were by my side at all times.”

Liam forced himself to listen, but her words frightened him even more. He couldn’t handle it anymore. “It doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try.”

Stephanie bit her lip, “I understand. At least, I think I do. Please, just try not to blame yourself if I get hurt.”

Liam nodded. He would try, but it still killed him when he saw that monster slice into her. If he had been just a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, he could have protected her from that monster. He wet his lips before asking, “What did you think of the memory of us?”

Stephanie blushed and he knew that there was some hope. “Um, well. I was very happy. I mean, in the past. I felt happy. I’m not usually that happy, so it was nice.” Her words made him happy for a moment before he realized what she had said. She wasn’t usually happy. That bothered him to no end. “If that is how you made me feel back then, then I understand why I would have agreed to be your soul mate. I hope you understand that I might need some time to get there myself.”

Liam nodded. “I will give you as long as you need. Would you like to go on a date with me?” Liam blurted out. “I mean, after the shard is taken care of and everything.”

Stephanie smiled, bringing him out of his near-blinding panic, “I would like that. Maybe we can get to know each other better.”

“Where would you like to go?” Liam asked. “I’m not all that clear on what goes on out here in Gavinmire.”

“We’ll probably want to go into one of the big cities if we want to make the date more active, but there are some decent restaurants in town,” Stephanie frowned. “What would you prefer?”

Liam didn’t know, not really. Whatever would make her happy would likely make his heart soar. “I have no clue.”

Stephanie gave a small laugh. “I’ll let you off the hook this time if you help me with learning to control my abilities.”

He was hesitant but Stephanie had told him about the beings that existed in her mind before. They were guardians of sorts. They had claimed that she needed to learn control. He knew they wouldn’t do anything to endanger her, but their view of danger was different than those of this world so he still worried that it wasn’t wise to do so immediately. No, the shard was after her and she almost died from losing control after being attacked by the shard. Stephanie needed to be able to defend herself no matter how much he worried about the risks. “I’ll do it if you promise to listen to me and stop when I say,” Liam managed.

Stephanie nodded, “That’s fair. I’ll be careful.”

“Good,” he said simply. Liam pulled Stephanie close and stood up, sitting her back on her bed. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Aiden said he healed your wounds, but…”

“I feel fine. My shoulder is a bit sore, but I don’t think anybody can do anything about that now.”

Liam felt his body go rigid. “Was this an injury you suffered during your captivity?” Liam asked, realizing immediately that she might not be able to answer.

“From what I can tell, yeah,” Stephanie shrugged. “I was injured when I was pulled from the woods.” She hesitated for a moment. “Isiah had the woods searched from top to bottom and couldn’t find where I had been held captive. I don’t know how I got away. I doubt they would have let me go.”

Liam had wondered about that too, “I assume that has something to do with the enchantment you had before your capture. They wouldn’t have been able to remove it by force, and it was one of the old ones so it might have done something to make it possible for you to escape. We’ll figure it out later.” Liam swallowed before he asked, “Do you–would it bother you if I looked at your injuries from back then?”

Stephanie froze and his heart sank as he saw the blood drain from her face. She wasn’t ready. Of course, she wasn’t. She didn’t know him. “I,” she stumbled over her words. Her bottom lip quivered, and he wanted to take back the question. He was about to apologize for asking when she started moving. She pulled off her top, displaying her black sports bra and her body. He looked her over, taking in her beauty and the many scars that covered her torso. “There’s more on my legs, but I think I would prefer to wait until I can change into something more appropriate before you looked at those. Sports bras are like tops to some people so…”

He was angry at the thought of her injuries, but embarrassed. He felt himself redden at the realization that she was baring her body to him. She was beautiful despite the scars that marred her skin, but she had already admitted that some of them caused her pain. He would do anything to fix that. He didn’t know if he could, or if Aiden could for that matter, but he would do whatever it took to ensure that she wasn’t in pain any longer. His mouth went dry as she turned around, displaying her back. He bit down hard on his tongue to keep from cursing aloud. The scars on her back were much worse than those on her torso. He would kill them. He would kill them all. If they dared to target Stephanie again, he would be sure to eliminate them all no matter the cost to himself.

He instinctively reached for her without thinking. She flinched as his hands came into contact with her left shoulder. The action filled him with sadness. Either he had frightened her, or she was in pain. Either possibility made him feel as though he were dying inside. He forced his ability to activate in an attempt to heal the web of scars under his hand. It took everything he had not to pull her close as he did so. His Stephanie, his soul mate, she had suffered too much, and he hadn’t done anything to stop it. He kept at it until he heard the front door to the safe house open. Stephanie stiffened and pulled her top back on. He wasn’t even able to catch a glimpse of her back to see if his efforts produced any fruit.

The bedroom door opened not long after and Stephanie smiled at the approaching detective. He clamped down on the sudden rage he felt towards Hale as he realized what the feeling was. He was jealous of this human man. She hadn’t smiled for him, but for Detective Hale she did. “Are you okay? I heard about what happened from Aiden,” Hale said softly.

“I’m doing surprisingly well,” Stephanie said softly. He winced at the statement. How could she be doing well considering what she had remembered, that torture? Never mind the fact that she had overused her abilities to the point of collapse while unconscious. He knew from experience that what she had done had damaged her body. If she had been alone at the time, she would have died. The thought made him want to roar in agony.

“Your boyfriend’s face tells a different story,” Hale said dryly. “Stephanie, I know you try to hide when things are bothering you, but you should talk to somebody at least.”

Stephanie let out a sigh, “Fine, I remembered some of the things that happened during the year that I was missing, about the people who hurt me.” Hale blanched at her words and looked like he was about to say something. “I remembered the day I agreed to become Liam’s soul mate as well, so it wasn’t all bad really.” Liam frowned. She had been sobbing through the retelling of her memories not too long ago. The detective was right, she downplayed her suffering way too easily.

It didn’t look like the detective bought it either, but he sighed. “I need to have a word with your boyfriend. You get some rest. The boss isn’t expecting you in the office until tomorrow.” Liam watched Stephanie frown but nod. He hoped she really would rest. She needed it. She hadn’t truly rested through her screaming unconsciousness.