Dawn

28

Literally so sorry for how long it took to come back with this chapter. School is suffocating me right now.

Anyways, the last chapter was cliffhanger... Sorry for that! Please vote and comment :)

Enjoy...

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As my paws raced through the grass, fingers and toes sprouted from the tips, the fur retreating and giving way to flushed pink skin.

"Hayden!" I screamed, uncaring of my nudity or the eyes I felt watching me from the bushes. He was dead. My mate. My best friend.

Sure, he was annoying and immature and an overall pain in the ass, but I loved him for it. He was invasive, possessive and he got carried away easily, but he was always there. Whether I wanted him to be or not.

My knees sank into the moist soil as I let out a low sob. Beneath me, Hayden lay, his eyes wide open and his lips parted— blood soaked his neck. The dark scarlet pool began at his throat and dripped to the ground, soaking the earth. I ached to touch him, but all my hands could do was hover above his body, trembling with a feeling I wouldn't wish on the most evil of enemies.

"Dawn!"

Reluctant to leave Hayden, my swollen eyes slowly drifted around to see Indie sprinting through the trees.

Cold tears gushing down my skin, I turned back to my mate as Indie arrived by my side.

"No..." she whispered. "Is he...? He can't be... No! No!" Her hands, shaking, slapped over her mouth as her eyes squeezed shut. She buckled, a silent scream locked in her throat. I ducked my head and cried with her, leaning on Hayden's chest for comfort. I could still feel heat in his veins; I could still feel warmth in his body.

Soon, he would be cold.

How could this happen? Hayden was an Alpha. He was strong, smart and always prepared. Who did this?

I wailed as I cried, as loud as I could, desperately trying to push the horrific sensation of loss out of my body. It felt like my heart strings were snapping one by one, like my lungs were drowned in acid, like my brain had been sliced in half.

"It's okay," I whispered, tears clinging to my lips. "I's okay, I'll kiss it better for you, I'll kiss it better, you'll be okay, I'll make it better..." I didn't care about the blood. Not one bit.

My lips pushed through through it to his neck, ignoring the salty taste that made me want to gag. I wanted to kiss him, to kiss away the pain. It's all I could do. I left a final kiss on his open lips, staining them red; my fingers, trembling uncontrollably, tried to brush his eyelids shut. It was too difficult: my hands wouldn't cooperate. The tight grasp of Indie's hands helped me, and I gave her a small nod of appreciation, one that she returned. My chest heaving, I collapsed on Indie, clutching her like a life-line and sharing my pain.

A twig snapped.

Both of our attentions switched to the announcement of someone else, and we searched the trees for a face.

We found one.

He was tall— too tall. His eyes were forest green, the brightest I had ever seen. Black clothed him from head to toe, with the exception of a white bow on his back and a silver dagger in his hand.

Blood dripped from the dagger and the stranger wiped it on the hem of his shirt leisurely as he strolled towards us. I could smell that it was Hayden's blood.

"Who are you?" I demanded as I leaped to my feet, my nostrils flaring. His eyes trailed down my body and an amused smile danced on his lips, causing me to cover myself— but I never broke eye contact.

"Here," Indie quietly offered me a bundle of clothing from her backpack as she stood up beside me and I quickly slipped on the shorts and tank top.

"Who, me?" the stranger replied, his eyebrows shooting up as he checked behind him exaggeratedly, a grin on his face. I didn't reply, simply maintaining my glare. He shrugged and his smile stretched wider. "Who do you think I am?"

I took a step closer to him, my eyes burning with hatred. "I know you aren't a Shifter, I can smell it. So who the fuck are you and what are you doing here? I want to know the name of the man who's throat I'm going to rip out in ten seconds."

"Ooo, feisty," he laughed. "I'd like to see you try."

Before even I could comprehend it, I was gripping his throat and snarling. "Who," I pressed my thumbnail into his neck, "are you?"

"Ah ah ah," he warned, his eyes glinting with laughter. For the first time, I noticed that his blade was pressed against my neck. Reluctantly, I released my hold and he casually straightened out his shirt collar as he cleared his throat.

"I'm sure you must have heard of me," his voice was as facetious as it could get; it was infuriating. "My name is Arcas." He cocked his head at me. "No? Still don't know? Well, that's an ego killer, isn't it?"

"Listen you son of a—" Indie started from behind me, halting when, in a flash, Arcas had his bow and arrow aimed at her. He raised an eyebrow, and she remained still, so he put the weapon away.

"Weren't you taught manners? We are having a conversation. You are not involved. Hush." Arcas turned from Indie to me again, his grin returning. "Some people call me the Bear Warden. As it suggests, I protect Bear Shifters. Your little mate over there was making it exceedingly difficult for me." He shrugged and his eyes, wide with fake shock, darted from Hayden's body to me. "Oh dear... it didn't really work out too nice for him, did it?"

I roared.

It took a second for me to have my sharp, elongated teeth in his throat, twisting and tearing his flesh. his blood filled my mouth and I growled with delight. His hands grasped my arms and ripped me off him with incredible strength, but the damage was already done. I spat his blood from my mouth, but gasped when I saw its colour: black.

"What the..?" I snarled, bewildered. As I looked up, I watched the torn flesh of his throat reattach itself and heal. It didn't even leave a scratch. "What... what are you?" I whispered, stepping away from him.

Suddenly, someone spluttered and coughed behind me. I whirled around, expecting Indie to be injured, but my eyes met her confused expression. Shocked, both of us looked to Hayden and watched his chest heave, his eyes snapping open.

"Hayden!" I yelled as I sprinted over to him, not missing the frown that crossed Arcas's face.

"Dawn," he croaked. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

"Me?" I laughed, but tears flooded down my face. "You were dead!"

He frowned, "I was?" His neck was stained heavily with dried bood, but I could see that his flesh was intact. All that a remained was a long, silvery scar that glinted at me from beneath the red on his skin.

I nodded, and he sat up to pull me into a tight embrace. "It's okay," he whispered, "please don't cry, baby."

"I'll see you soon, Dawn!" Arcas suddenly called as he edged into the woods. "You can always find me. I know for sure that you've heard of my mother."

He'd sank into the darkness of the shadowy trees by the time I'd reached the tree line, and Indie was helping Hayden up.

But he left one word lingering in the air. The woods whispered it even after he'd left.

"Callisto."