Tame My Heart... Or Else

Chapter 42 - Part 1

"How dare you judge me!" I yelled, "My best friend just died, so I'm sorry that I can't find the will to live at the moment! You have no right, no right in this world, to judge me!"

Wes glared at me for a moment longer, before a small smile crept up onto his face. "Now that's the Liza I know."

I gaped at him. "Wait, wha-"

I was cut off when I lunged forward to catch Wes as he collapsed. His whole body grew slack, except for his face, which was an expression of agony. I lowered him to the ground, and he curled himself into a ball, clutching his stomach.

"Wes!" I shouted. I hadn't seen anything touch him. There was no one in this alley except for us. Nothing to have caused the pain that he was currently writhing with on the ground.

He scrunched up his face, his eyes tightly shut, trying to fight the pain. "Hailey." he breathed so softly, I barely caught her name.

"Hailey? She's not here. I can go get her-"

'"Hailey!" Her name was torn out of his lips like a cry of a wild animal. I jumped back in terror, and watched in utter horror as his mouth started to froth.

"Wes, calm down. Please." I begged as he started to thrash even more violently. His eyes opened, and I saw them roll back into the back of his head. My trembling hand covered my mouth, as I tried to hold in the screams that were threatening to escape me.

Suddenly, he pushed himself up, until he was swaying on two feet. I reached up to steady him, but he swatted my hand away without even looking at it. He took a few shuddering steps towards the edge of the alley, before another wave of torturing pain consumed him and he fell to his knees.

"Wes, please." I sobbed, running to stand in front of him and push him back into the safety of the darkness. "Tell me what's happening. Please."

His crazed eyes gained a little of their humanity as they took in my face. "It's the connection." he moaned, and then the animal was back. Without another glance in my direction, he pushed me away from him. His whole frame shuddered violently, and then his blond wolf was sprinting out of sight.

I tried to hurry after him, but then a nearby growl sent me fleeing back into the safety of the alleyway again. I pressed myself against the wall, as I heard the ragged breathing of an animal came closer and closer.

A streetlight on the opposite side of the road illuminated the wolf. Its fur was a muddy brown, and the way it walked was faintly familiar - it was a kind of swagger, but its paws hit the ground in graceful succession. There were two bloody claw marks dragged down its side, showing the reason for its laboured breathing.

The wolf stopped under the streetlight, and slowly looked around. I gasped as its eyes caught in the light.

Lidia.

I felt my anger bubble up inside me as I watched as she casually scanned the street, not affected by the shouts, barks, and howls around her. Not one flash of guilt. Nothing to say that she was sorry she had inflicted so much pain on her own friends.

My body was itching to jump out of the darkness, and get my hands on her. She had killed Rosie, and so many more. But I couldn't. I knew she would only bring one more causality to the pile if I did, and Wes had talked some sense into me. I wasn't going to throw away my life, I was going to make it count.

So with a loathsome glare in her direction, I slipped deeper into the darkness. I jogged down the alley, trying to stop my gun from banging too loudly against my hip. Speeding around a corner, I came to a stop and caught my breath.