The Rise-Book II

Chapter 44: The Mountains

Billy didn't wait much longer, he nailed the Alpha in the mouth then flipped him around and slit the alpha's throat. He slit his throat, cutting it deep and letting his blood spill onto the ground where he was already bleeding. The alpha fell before Billy; he fell and Billy took two steps back before he fell on his knees.

My heart constricted.

"Billy!" I called out in desperation.

I ran to him and caught him before he fell backward. Jaxon was soon next to me, eying Billy in a mix of horror and shock as the fighting died down and the wolf laying between us wheezed–a death wheeze.

I moved my hands over his belly and tried to stop the bleeding. Ryder was soon next to us and pulled off his shirt while Jaxon just stared open-mouthed at Billy. He soon pulled his shirt off and handed it to me. My shaky hands mechanically took it and pressed it against his stomach that was leaking out blood, too much blood.

"Dammit Billy," I growled out.

"Stop your whining boy," he coughed out. He looked up at me and smiled gently. "Ethan you know it won't heal."

"Yes, it will. We'll just have to carry you," I replied, pressing harder against his wound while Ryder let out sharp breaths; I started to tug off my shirt. Quickly I ripped it off and handed it to Jaxon who held it firm over the wound in Billy's chest.

Becker was crying out behind us. It was then that the surrealness of it hit me. The realness of life and death dancing on a tightrope that could easily snap.

"Shit," Ajax hissed out as he walked over to us. Deryl, coated in Abram's blood, was over next to Becker, trying to pull him away while Billy wheezed harder.

"Billy," Jaxon barked out. "Dammit, no, you just need to hold on."

"Jaxon–"

"It will heal," Jaxon injected. "Just hold on, it will heal."

"Jaxon," Billy wheezed out, his face growing paler as his blood pooled around us. "Jaxon you take care of my daughter, you understand? You take care of her."

"Billy?" Jaxon's voice was cracking and my hands on the shirt now soaked in his blood were shaking.

"Tell Andrea I'm sorry and that I love her," he wheezed out. "You take care of her," he wheezed out one more time before his chest stopped.

His chest stopped and I felt my heart freeze. I looked at my hands then back at him. "Billy?"

I reached up and slapped his cheek. "Billy?"

"Oh my God," Ryder breathed out.

"No," Jaxon murmured. "No, no, no. Dammit, Billy!"

I slapped him harder, my heart constricting at the sight of the male I had known my whole life paling by the minute in front of me; his lips barely parted without the breath of life coming out of him. "Billy!"

Ajax pushed Jaxon back then held his head to Billy's chest. He let out a shaky breath and shook his head. "I'm sorry."

I sucked in a breath and sat back on my heels while Jaxon just stared at him, his eyes wide with disbelief. Deryl walked over to us, dragging Becker with him who looked like his soul was breaking in half. Looking around I saw Terrance on the ground with his neck tore out. I clutched at my chest because two of my pack members, wolves that were my responsibility, had gone to the moon.

"We have to go," Deryl said. "More than likely there are reinforcements coming and we definitely shouldn't wait in front of a cave of rogues for them to find us."

"We have to take them back," I said. "We need to carry them down so we can give them a proper funeral."

"It will slow us down and we need to go," Deryl replied. "I'm sorry Ethan, but we can't carry him, it will take too much time carrying three bodies. We have to move quick–move now.."