For Fox's Sake (#3, Completed)

38. Marshmallow

 JAMES

Natalia's wolf let out a roar that echoed through the quiet forest. Teeth bared and claws outstretched, Ciara looked every bit the primal beast. But somewhere under that wild rage was my stubborn, fiery mate... I just had to get through to her.

"Natalia," her name tore from my throat, raw and desperate, "you have to fight it."

Ciara slammed into me, sending me stumbling back, but I held my ground. I had to. For her. My every instinct screamed at me to hold on to her, to fight for her, to reach her.

"I'm not leaving you." My cry was drowned in snarls and roars, yet the emotion was clear. Desperation. Fear. Love.

Claws raked through my clothes, biting into the flesh beneath. The sharp sting of pain was immediate, but it was irrelevant; the blood staining my shirt, insignificant.

"Fight, little wolf." I pushed on. "Don't let this shit win. You hear me? You're stronger than this, stronger than him... I believe in you. In us. Always."

It was a plea, a declaration, my mind straining to break through while her blows rained down relentlessly. Still, the attacks were also reassurance—it meant she was here, alive. And I would bring her back.

My back slammed into the rough bark of a tree as Ciara snarled. She aimed to cause damage while I barely held her off with my shifter strength.

"You are Natalia Macalister," I rasped, my voice hoarse yet unwavering. "My little wolf. My mate. You're the most stubborn woman I know. You never back down from anything, so don't you dare back down from this."

Every word was a tether trying to pull her back. "Damn it, Lili. Come back to me so I can tell you how much I fucking need you. How completely and utterly you've changed everything. Changed me."

I reached out, letting my hand graze her fur. Pain flared up my arm as Ciara bit down, but I didn't flinch away. Instead, I locked my gaze onto hers, searching for my mate behind the beast.

"Your smile makes me believe I can be whole again. When you look at me, all the broken parts feel mended." My breath hitched with the intensity of my emotions, and my fingers dug deeper into Ciara's fur, my hand shaking with the effort. "You are everything I ever dreamed of, everything I never knew I wanted. The only person I've ever loved. Do you hear me?... I'm lost without you."

Blood trailed down my arm, but I didn't care. I was an Alpha—I had fought bigger and badder than this, but none of those battles mattered as much as this one.

"I love you, little wolf," I confessed, raw emotion bleeding into every word, every syllable. "And I won't abandon you. I won't run. I won't hide."

It was a vow. A vow I intended to keep. Even if it was the last thing I ever did.

"No matter how hard you push, I'm not going anywhere." It didn't matter if I had to bleed for it. "I won't leave you alone in this fight. I won't let you lose yourself to this."

Yet, there was nothing. 

None of my words or promises made a difference. Ciara's feral eyes didn't flicker with even a drop of humanity besides them.