A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 48• Elms

She was struggling against the restraints which held up her hands above her head. The tape over her mouth didn't stop her from mumbling to her kidnappers whenever they came by to check on her. Not if she was feeling well, but if she was still there. To see if all three of them were still there. Right next to her sat Selena. The poor girl had been drained and barely had enough blood left to keep her heart pumping. Leah wondered if she was even still alive. "Not plotting something are we?" Leah glanced up to see Bill's accomplice, the man who nabbed her in the first place, Louis. She'd overheard them using their actual names, alongside some very convenient nicknames. Louis walked up to her, removed the tape from her mouth, and brushed the hair from her sticky forehead. "I brought you some water." He said. When he reached out his hand to hold the cup to her lips, she almost kicked it out of his hands. Louis was quick to grab her ankle and hold it in place with a tight grip. "I am trying to keep you alive." He snaps at her. "Like you care." She barked back, but her voice made her sound weak. The man in front of her chuckles and tries again with the cup. "Drink." He ordered. But Leah kept her lips pressed together. "Don't make me force it down your throat. Drink." He ordered her again. She parted her lips ever so slightly, giving Louis perfect access to give her the water to stay alive. "We need you alive, sweetheart. So, yeah, I do care." Louis mutters to her. "Like the others before me?" Leah questioned. "They gave up way too easily. You and your friends. You're feisty. Just how we like it." He smiles.

Louis hadn't changed much since then. A few wrinkles, and his hair color a little, but other than that everything was the same. Leah observed the man as he sat beside her, tapping his finger against the cup of coffee she made for him. The other man, Ian, sat across from them at the table. "So, he's back?" Leah decided to start the conversation. "Technically, he never left," Ian replied. Louis glared at him. Somehow this all felt like his fault, his mistakes, as if he caused all of this to happen. "He's going after Selena first. Her daughter, Megan, received a phone call after her dad was taken from the hospital. Her grandmother was found dead in her living room. Throat slid in brought daylight." Louis started. "And Eric was taken from the hospital. So, what, Salvini's just taking him on some trip in a wheelchair across town? Let him watch as he murders other Greenwoods?" Leah thought it sounded ridiculous, but then again, she also thought Bill was dead. "He's going to kill them. All of them. He'll be coming for you after that." He said. "You said that. But how would he be able to find me? How did you even find me?" Leah asks him. The older man scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Bill's daughter... she- uh, she might've tried to shoot you in the head." He mumbled. Ian snorted quietly as Leah looked at him with a deadly glare. "I stopped her." He added. "Honestly... I- I just- no." Leah replied.

"He's on a murder spree." Ian cut in. "Someone might've angered him," Louis added. Leah gave him another look. "What do you want me to do now? Barricade the house? Move away again?" She questioned, "You can't barge in here and drop a bomb on me like this after all these years, Louis." She continued. He knew that. This wasn't news like 'I dropped your eggs' or 'I broke your grandmother's vase'. "What do you want me to do, Louis?" Ian gave his friend a look. "Hide," Louis mumbled. "And have him find me again? I have a family to take care of. We can't run forever." Louis let out a sigh and nodded. "Besides, he's as good as new. Running seems pointless but so does fighting." She stated. "He's insane. Even threatening to kill his kids." Ian informs her. Louis continued to nervously tap his fingers against the mug. Somehow, all the images of her blood being sucked out of her body were suddenly all getting back to him. It was like a slideshow with the same images being displayed on repeat. Leah briefly looks up at Ian. "Could you give us a minute?" She questioned. Ian noticed something was off with his friend and nodded his head. "Where's your restroom?" He asks. "Down the hall on the right," Leah tells him. Ian shot a quick glance at Louis, lost in his mind, before leaving the room.

Leah looked at the man seated next to her. "I can see you. In the cabin." His confession was quiet, she could barely hear it. "I don't want to end up there again." She tells him. "He won't take you." For some reason, the thought of a bullet between her eyes comforted her more than returning to that murder cabin she was locked in all those years ago. "You're of no use to him anyway." He added. "My blood not pure enough?" Leah questioned. Louis shakes his head. "It didn't work on her. Nothing did." He explained. He carefully reached out to grab her hand, scared to make a wrong move. But she didn't pull her hand away. "I want you to be safe. Please." She nodded her head in agreement. Ian soon returned to the dining room. "There has to be something we can do." He spoke up. Leah and Louis both looked up at him. "We need to stop him. We can't be here." Louis reminds his friend. "There's no one we can, like, put on guard or something?" Ian suggested. "After the Casper situation, I don't trust anyone near her when we're trying to protect her from Bill. Not if we're not going to be there." Leah gives Louis' hand a gentle squeeze. "It's alright." She assures them. He shot her a short glance before looking down at their hands. It takes him back to the cabin, where she first held his hand. He told Bill she was too weak to have another load of blood taken. Bill left her alone for the rest of that day. He felt bad for her. She'd pleaded for him to do something, so he did. It's the only reason she's alive today.

Megan rested her head on the pillow as Jayden tucked her in. "I'll be right back, okay?" She just nodded her head slightly. He hopped down the stairs to meet his brothers again. "Anything yet?" He asks them. Jerry held his phone to his ear while shaking his head no. "I've called her five times already. Send her plenty of texts. We can't reach her." Jack cut in. Jerry growled and removed the phone from his ear again. "She's not answering." He said. Jayden snatched the phone from his brother's hand. "Let me try." He says. He sends his sister a text message. He made it very clear it was him sending the message and not his brothers. "How's Meg?" Jack asks his brother as he is typing. "She's fine," Jayden answered. Jack scratched the back of his neck. "Should I check on her?" Jayden doesn't even look up at him. "No, it's fine. I'm heading back anyway. Maybe you could fix some food?" He suggested. His brothers nodded their heads. He handed Jerry the phone again. "When she responds -" Jerry gave him a look. "Seems more like an if, this time, Jay." He cuts him off. "Just tell me," Jayden tells his brothers and turns back to the stairs. When he got to his room, Megan was sitting up straight with the remote in her hands. "Hey," Jayden greeted her. Megan briefly looked at him as he started to approach her. "Too quiet?" He asks. She nodded her head again. Jayden sat beside her. "Jack and Jerry are making something downstairs for later. If you want, of course." He informs her. She hummed quietly in response.

"Hey," He reached out his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Your mom's fine." He assures her. She turned her head back to the screen without responding. She wanted to be with her mother. What if something happened to her too? She would never forgive herself, and in this case, she wouldn't forgive Jayden for not letting her go. There was a soft knock on the door. Both teens looked up as Jack stepped into the room with a hot cup of tea in his hands. "Made you something warm." He spoke softly. A weak smile appeared on her lips as Jack walked over to her and set the hot drink down. "That was hot." He hissed under his breath causing Megan to giggle very quietly. Jayden could only watch while his brother made her laugh and smile. "I'll leave you two alone," Jack tells them. "Thank you," Megan called after him quietly. Jayden looked at her briefly. "Is something wrong? Aside from... you know." He asks her. She looked at him and suddenly her eyes started to water. "I'm sorry." She apologized. He sat up a little and cupped her cheek in his hand. "No, no, hey, what is it?" He questioned. She hesitated for a moment. "I keep getting this image in my head. With my grandma and Bill. It's just..." She let out a sigh. She didn't want to say it. "I look like him the most." He guessed. She felt horrible. "I get it." He smiles at her, "I'm more handsome though, right?" He teased. She smiles weakly again. "Definitely." She answers. Jayden scoots away a bit. "I can leave if you want. Just give me the word." He said. She started shaking her head. "I don't want to be alone." She says.