Howls of the Lost | Now Published!

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

My screams died on a choked sob as my breath left me. Fear constricted around my heart like a snake, causing it to beat at an exceptionally fast rate. For all I knew, it was trying to beat its way straight out of my chest.

Adrenaline flooded through my veins and I finally ripped myself away from Logan. He let me go without a fight and I stood on clumsy feet. Tears of rage and grief blinded me as I ran to his side, stumbling like a drunk on dollar shot night. He couldn't be gone. Not David. Not like this. When I reached him, I crumpled to my knees and roughly shoved Xander away from him. As I sat there stroking his wolf's tawny coat, he shifted back to human form. The boy who had stuck with me through thick and thin was lying there, unmoving.

Pulling his head into my lap, I blatantly ignored the fact that he was naked. With shaking hands, I brushed his hair out of his eyes, willing him to open them. My stomach was in knots, churning as if someone were rolling around inside it. Then, once I convinced myself to take a deep breath, I realized he was breathing.

Crying out in joy, I hugged his shoulders. He grunted in response. "Easy, Tor," he coughed out hoarsely.

"Don't talk!" I ordered, tugging on his hair as the tears came back full force.

His eyes opened and found mine. A halfhearted smile crossed his face as he took my hand in his. "I have to. I don't think I have too much time left."

"What?" I exclaimed, bewildered. "What do you mean?" I asked, my throat beginning to close up again as the fear returned.

He coughed, wincing as the movement jarred his body. "Something's wrong," he muttered weakly. "I thought he just broke something, but I should be able to feel it healing already. Or at least be able to move."

Realizing he was right; I raked my eyes over every inch of him. When I reached his chest, I had to stifle a gasp. Just over the spot where his heart was, there was a literal indention just about the size of a fist. "You son of a bitch!" I shrieked, whirling around to face Xander.

"Tori . . ." he said, trailing off as his eyes filled with remorse. "I'm . . . I didn't . . ."

"Save it," I spat, lashing out at him. Unfortunately, he easily dodged the assault. "If anything else happens to him I'll never forgive you," I swore as I advanced on him. His eyes hardened when I aimed another punch at him. With a subtle growl he caught my wrist and yanked my arm down to his side, nearly ripping my shoulder out of socket in the process. A hiss of pain escaped me, and he winced at the sound, but otherwise kept his face emotionless.

"Tori, he came after me. It was self-defense," he tried to reason with me, his death grip on my arm never lessening.

"If you weren't trying to kill all of us this wouldn't have happened!" I screamed at him; my sanity nearly gone. Struggling against his hold, I huffed. "Get off of me," I snarled.

"No, Tori," he said firmly, slipping his hold from my wrist to my hand and taking my other hand in his as well. "Listen to me –" he started.

"Why should I?" I snapped, cutting him off. "I need to help him," I informed the vampire, glancing over my shoulder to where David was still lying.

Logan approached us and Xander had my back flush against his chest in a matter of seconds. "Logan" he greeted in a snide tone.

My mate's lip curled in disgust. "Xander," he addressed with the most insignificant nod of his head. His emerald eyes met mine and I could see his fear for me buried deep within them.

"What do you want?" Xander snapped, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Did you really just ask me that?" Logan asked him with a quirked eyebrow.