That night, I remained seated rigidly on the couch, eyes trained on the door, waiting for them to arrive. Because inevitably, they would. Cora had made sure of that.
“I’m sorry, Chris, but it was the only way. You know Derek will find a way to save you, we all will! I just...I couldn’t let another one of our pack members die,” Cora beseeched me, over and over again, while Monica lay curled up on the chair beside me, silent and miserable. Even though I didn’t blame her in the least, I knew I was coming off that way. I knew she felt guilty, responsible. But yet I’m still the one who belongs to Deucalion now. What does that even mean? Will he take me to their home? Make me work for them? Kill me?
When the door burst open, both Cora and I leapt to our feet, expecting to see Deucalion and Kali, maybe even the twins. Instead, it was Isaac who charged inside, eyes glowing. We’d left the entire apartment dark, save for the light from the microwave in the kitchen and the natural light filtering in from the darkening sky in the windows, so it was difficult to figure out it was Isaac who had arrived.
“Where-what-they’re not here yet?” he panted, stopping by Monica’s chair and bending to lace his arms around my shoulders carefully. Isaac had been my friend for a long time now, and even though I trusted him with my life, I didn’t want him to be here. I didn’t want him reporting to Derek how I gave myself over to Deucalion. In fact, I didn’t want Derek to know any of this. But he will. In less than forty hours, he will be here. And he will know everything.
“They’re coming,” I mumbled darkly, pulling my sweatshirt down farther on my wrists and hugging my arms around my body. I was scared; there was no denying that. The Alphas terrified me, even though I knew Aiden would be there. He wouldn’t let them hurt me, not badly at least. But the sheer idea of being under the control of Deucalion, who scared the pants off of everybody, including Derek...it brought goosebumps to my skin. It brought back my old nightmares of glowing red eyes and bloody bodies, from when Peter was Alpha. It brought back everything I’d ever hated about werewolves. Everything I’d kept from Derek.
“Nope...they’re already here,” Isaac growled, his claws shooting out as he stalked in front of me and Monica protectively. Cora let out a hiss as well, her eyes glowing ice blue as she joined Isaac’s side and prepared to fight the Alphas. Foolishly, I threw off the blanket around my legs and stepped in front of both of them, unable to say anything as the front door shattered from the impact of Kali’s foot, and the Alphas arrived. Isaac and Cora both lunged forward, pushing me back as they fought off Kali. I flinched when her razor-sharp toenails whipped mere inches away from my face, and somebody’s arms hastily pulled me back.
“What do you think you’re doing? Let Kali beat them. She won’t kill them,” Aiden’s low voice whispered in my ear, and I suddenly realized he wasn’t just holding onto me for my safety; he was restraining me.
“Are-you-fighting-with them?” I hissed as I struggled in his grasp, thrashing my legs out and gyrating my arms, all to no avail. Aiden had betrayed me, and my trust; he’d promised he and Ethan wouldn’t stand by Kali, but here they were.
“Of course not. We’re just here to make sure you don’t get seriously hurt.”
Tears prickled my eyes as I watched Isaac and Cora get the crap beat out of them. Kali slashed Cora across the face with her claws, knocking Isaac across the loft at the same time. But never one to give up, Cora threw herself back at Kali, hissing and swiping with her own claws, but with one well-placed kick to the stomach that ripped open Cora’s guts, Kali took her down. Cora’s blood sprayed from wall-to-wall, showering over me and Aiden, as well as Deucalion and Ethan who stood in the corner of the room, waiting. Deucalion tapped his cane lightly on the ground, the pleased smirk on his face sending currents of fury through my veins, and I struggled in Aiden’s hold once more.
“Please let me go, Aiden. Please, I’m begging you. I can’t just stand here and let them get hurt-”
“It’s the only way, Chris. If I let you go…”
My mouth opened to tell him not to worry about my safety, when Ethan exchanged a nod with Deucalion and then suddenly dove across the living room, snatching a still-sickly Monica up in his arms and holding her by the throat. I gasped, the pain of their betrayal really sinking in when Aiden too lifted me up by the throat and went to join his brother in the middle of the living room. Isaac seemed to be incapacitated, but Kali grabbed Cora’s mutilated body and held it up as well, as if presenting to Deucalion. Puzzled, my mind raced to figure out what was going on; obviously, Aiden wasn’t holding me by the throat just for fun - it was a threat. One rip of his claws across my throat, and I’d be dead. But who wants us dead? Deucalion?
“So what do you think, Derek...fiancée, sister, or beloved pack member?” Deucalion shouted suddenly, his Alpha voice booming across the silent apartment. I struggled to crane my head around, but Aiden’s hold on my neck was starting to become painful. Derek isn’t here; he’s still in Texas. So who is Deucalion talking to? I wondered, kicking my legs vainly. There was sound of some sort of struggle, and then my heart broke when I heard the very familiar sound of Derek’s low, threatening growl. No. He can’t be here.
“Leave them alone,” he spat, and from the sound of his voice I could tell he’d been hurt. Badly. I thrashed around even more, trying to scream Derek’s name to let him know I was okay. But Aiden’s hand was slowly closing my windpipe, and I realized I would suffocate to death soon. Oh no. That’s when Deucalion’s plan suddenly came together in my mind. He had Aiden and Ethan manipulate me so that our guard would be down. He made Cora think he was coming for me. He knew Isaac and Cora would put up a fight, maybe he even expected Scott to be here too. He got all of the people Derek loves in one room, and slowly defeated them one by one. And now he’s going to make Derek choose which of us to save, or else we all suffocate. Brilliant.
“Now, now Derek, that didn’t sound like an answer. So I ask again: who will you save? You can only save one, and mind you, if you don’t choose in approximately fifty-two seconds, they will all be dead.” Deucalion’s voice was silky and even, frigid and emotionless and sharp enough to cut through me like a blade. I had to admire the cleverness of his plan, the fool-proof thought he’d put into it. Even as my lungs began to scream for air and my legs ran out of energy to kick, I hoped Derek would choose Cora. I didn’t think I could stand the pain of losing her and Monica, not so soon after Erica and Boyd. And, selfishly, I didn’t think I could bring Derek back from the pain of losing his sister and his third pack member. It would destroy him. It would destroy us.
“Thirty seconds,” Deucalion sang, and in my heart I knew he had timed it exactly right. My vision grew spotty, darkness encroaching on the edges of the room as I spluttered and struggled to gasp in even the smallest amount of oxygen. How could Aiden do this to me? I wondered, the seconds till my death ticking down. I trusted him. I actually trusted him.
“Ten...nine...eight…” In the back of my mind, I vaguely wondered who was restraining Derek. Ennis is dead. Kali, Ethan, and Aiden have me, Cora, and Monica. So who captured Derek and dragged him in here? Certainly not Deucalion. So who? But it was seeming like I would never know, as the last five seconds counted down and still Derek hadn’t made a choice. Finally letting my eyes droop closed, I allowed a single tear to slip past my eyelid as I accepted the fact that I was about to die. So Derek wouldn’t choose me, was the last thought I had before Deucalion let out a growl and told Derek his time was up.
“Wait!” I heard him yell, but just as I began to pass out from asphyxiation, I felt Aiden’s hands loosen, and I slid from above his head, down into his arms. It was too late, though; my lungs expanded painfully as I sunked in too much air, and I began to choke on my own breath. My lungs were blowing up and shrinking rapidly, sending excruciating pain radiating throughout my chest. I clutched vainly at my heart, gasping in burning hot agony as I writhed in Aiden’s arms. My heart was pounding a million beats per second, the hammering on my ribcage surely cracking my bones. I’m going to die anyway. It doesn’t matter that Aiden dropped me at the last minute; I’m going to die. Prying my eyes open, I realized all hell had broken loose in front of me. Ethan had released Monica as well, and she lay in the corner of the room coughing and spluttering as badly as I was. But my attention immediately flew to Kali, whose claws were poised at Cora’s throat, her ferocious grin trained on Derek. I could only see his back, as a tall, blurry figure held him down by the shoulders, forcing his knees into the ground, as Deucalion stood by, watching patiently as though his plan hadn’t just gone south.
“Poor choice, Derek. Poor, poor choice,” Deucalion’s smooth deep voice rumbled slowly, before Kali’s lips spread in a terrifying smile and she tore her claws across Cora’s neck, ripping her throat out without hesitation. I tried to scream out, tried to get up and help, tried to do anything but splutter for air and clutch at my chest, but I couldn’t. I saw Derek’s head fall, and in almost the blink of an eye, Deucalion and Kali were gone.
“Next full moon, we’re coming for you, Derek. Consider this a warning,” Kali hissed before she sauntered out of the loft, leaving Derek to scramble forward and catch Cora’s body in his arms. I wanted to go to him more than anything, but I was suddenly more concerned with myself. My chest seized, the pace of my heart beat hammering a painful imprint into my ribcage, and my throat began to constrict.
“Aiden…” I spluttered, the air in my lungs expiring as I choked and began to grow dizzy. The feeling of asphyxiation returned, and I almost let my eyelids flicker shut.
“No! No, Chris, no. I’m so sorry, so so sorry. I never meant…I’m sorry I betrayed you. I just…I never meant for it to go this far. I never meant for you to get hurt,” Aiden cried, ripping open my sweatshirt and pumping his hands over my heart rapidly. I tried to shake my head, trying to communicate to him that he was making the pain in my chest worse, when suddenly Aiden was pushed out of the way and Derek’s face swam into my blurry, darkened vision.
“Der…” I gasped, using up the last of my oxygen in an attempt to say his name. Tears poured down my cheeks as I realized, for the second time that night, that I was going to die.
“No. No Chris. I will not let you...I will not let you die,” Derek growled as he pulled my shirt off as well, trying anxiously to figure out what was wrong with me. I couldn’t move my hands; I couldn’t even feel them, or any other parts of my body as a matter of fact. I was choking and suffocating and my heart was racing too fast and...I was going to die.
“Derek, she’s going to die. She’s suffocating,” Aiden’s voice filtered from above my head, and my vision grew too dark for me to see Derek’s face anymore. I’d resisted the heavy, persistent tug of unconsciousness the entire night, but now it felt too strong for me to withstand any longer. The worst part was, I couldn’t die looking at Derek’s face. I couldn’t tell him one last time that I loved him, or that I was pregnant. Oh no...my baby! The understanding that if I died, my baby would surely die as well hit me harder than anything else had, ever, and with one last surge of energy my eyes flew open and I gasped wildly.
“DEREK!” But I couldn’t say anymore before my heart sped up too quickly, my heart seizing as my back arched up and I was sucked into the darkness.
*** *** ***
The biggest shock of my life came when consciousness flooded into my mind, as if turning on all the lights and reawakening my body. I let out a scream, sitting straight up and gasping for breath. As I did so, it became clear to me that I was no longer choking, I was no longer in pain. I was also no longer in the destroyed living room of our apartment. I was in bed, my bed, and when I whipped my head around, I saw Derek beside me, his hands clenched tightly around one of mine as tears chased each other down his pale cheeks. My heart broke at the sight, and without any words, I threw myself into his arms and held on tightly. Breathing in Derek’s smell, I closed my eyes and savoured the feels of his embrace, soothing me as it always did.
“-everybody’s dead, Scott, everybody. Anyone he touches dies-”
I jerked back, meeting Derek’s eyes in shock. Was Scott here?
“What did you just say?” I asked quickly, clambering off of Derek’s lap as a sneaking suspicion tickled my spine cold.
“I didn’t say anything, Chris.”
“Yes, yes you did! You said...something about how ‘everybody’s dead’-”
“That wasn’t me, Chris. That was Isaac, downstairs,” Derek said quietly, standing up to walk me over to my dresser. Confused, I stared in at my pitiful reflection. Hair matted with blood, scratches all over my face and bruises all down my neck. I was just about to turn to Derek and scold him for lying and making me see my poor condition, when right before my eyes, the scratches healed themselves. The mottled skin on my throat began to fade from a disgusting purple, to a lighter yellow-ish, and then finally back to it’s normal creamy pale color. I gasped, bringing a trembling hand up to my mouth as my greatest fear was confirmed.
And then my eyes glowed yellow.
****************************************************************************
PLEASE COMMENT GUYS - THIS IS THE BIGGEST GAME-CHANGER OF THE ENTIRE SERIES!!!!! I cannot WAIT to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading! xoxox