Hey!
So, I can't express how many tears and tissues went on during this chapter! THIS ISN'T THE LAST CHAPTER - ONE MORE TO GO!! Hope you enjoy!
Oh, and listen to that song!! ---------------------------------------------->
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Tears streamed down my cheeks as I stared at my father's body, seeing thick blood pool from the bullet wound in the back of his head. I kept the gun outstretched, trembling in disbelief. I just killed my father - I just shot the man who brought me into the world. There were cries of pain and screams coming from around me, though I couldn't hear them; my attention was focused on my father's motionless body. A large puddle of blood was forming by his head, stretching along the ground with each passing second. Sputtering for a moment, Noah rose to his feet, his green eyes widening at the sight of our father. He placed a hand on his chest, realizing he hadn't been struck - the knife was resting near his feet. Shakily, he turned towards me, seeing the tears falling from my eyes. "Nora," he said, stepping around the body towards me. "Hey, look at me."
I kept my eyes fixated on our father - our dead father. Hesitantly, Noah took the gun from my hands, dropping it to the ground. He grasped my shoulders and shook me, grabbing my attention. "Breathe, Nora," he commanded, quietly. A cry of pain filled my ears and I sniffled, frozen. I just killed a human; I was the worst of them all. Pinching his lips together, Noah pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. Slowly, I lifted my arms and slipped them around his waist, releasing a small cry. "Shh, it needed to be done - you saved me, Nora."
"I'm a murderer," I blurted, my bottom lip quavering. "I killed him - I've k-killed so many people. I'm a terrible person, Noah. I-I -" He pressed my face into his shoulder, a tear falling from his left eye. He pecked the top of my forehead, rocking back and forth on his feet. "I'm s-sorry - he's dead because of me! I just killed our father; this is all my fault. . ." He pulled away and looked at me, a pitiful expression appearing on his face.
"Nora, he was going to kill me," he said, shaking his head. "You didn't have a choice; it's going to be alright, I promise."
I glanced towards our father's body, sucking in a deep breath. "It shouldn't have came to this; none of t-this should've happened!" I gestured towards our surroundings where werewolves were launching at each other and few hunters scurried around, shooting silver bullets. Noah placed a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes, seriously. "Listen, you need to stay focused, okay? The war is still happening; don't let your emotions get the best of you, not right now. We're in a life or death situation, Nora."
"But, I j-just - "
"Yes, I know," he interrupted, nodding. "But, if you don't get a hold of yourself, you're going to get killed." Another tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away with his thumb. He glanced over my shoulder, checking to see if any werewolves were sprinting towards us. "You still have to defeat Killian, remember?" Reminding me of my main purpose for fighting in the war, I cleared my throat and blinked away the tears. I couldn't show Killian that I was weak; I was strong. "You're going to be alright - I believe in you, Nora."
"Be careful," I told him, wiping away a tear. "And, kick some red-eye a*s." He grinned and nodded, releasing my shoulder. I glanced towards our father's body one last time as Noah squatted down, picking up the gun. Hesitantly, I whirled around and headed towards the worst part of the war where the majority of the bodies rested. Immediately, I found myself facing a red-eye, snarling with his nose covered in blood. Since I left my weapon with my brother, the only way to defend myself was using magic. But, instead of using fire, I decided to try something else; something that I hoped didn't backfire. Just focus, I thought, imagining in my head what I wanted to happen. Following that, I thought about everybody I cared about.
The red-eye leaned back onto his haunches, prepared to attack. But, as he narrowed his red eyes, a wheeze came from him. He started whimpering, opening his large mouth in hope to howl for help. But, before he could, he started gasping for air, dropping to his stomach. His eyes widened while his throat tightened, almost as if somebody was choking him. Though, nobody's hands were on him - instead, my eyes were only focused on his shaking body. There wasn't any oxygen traveling down to his lungs; I was preventing that from happening. Within minutes, his eyes rolled back and his large head fell onto his front paws.
Then, all of a sudden, I was knocked over from behind. I fell forward onto my hands and knees, before rolling back onto my butt, instinctively. I noticed that one of Drew's pack members had tackled a red-eye to the ground who was trying to sneak up on me. I watched as Drew's pack member ripped out the red-eye's throat with an angry snarl, blood splattering onto my face. I flinched and wiped away some of the blood that landed on my eyelids. Drew's pack member crawled off the dead red-eye and faced me, releasing a quiet nose. Slowly, I rose to my feet, oddly feeling as if I knew him.
My eyes widened. "Hulk?"
His large head bobbed up and down in response. I grinned, eyeing his thick, dark brown fur. "Well, I'm surprised - your fur isn't green." He made a deep, annoyed sound, shaking his head. Somehow, I had managed to find humor during a freaking war - I was unbelievable. I glanced towards the red-eye that could've killed me from behind. "But, thank you, seriously." He nodded, then gestured towards the right with his head. I frowned in confusion, but before I was able to ask him what he was gesturing to, he sprinted off past me.
Catching my breath, I hurried towards the right, trusting Hulk - maybe he was trying to point me to Drew. But, as I was sprinting, I was tackled from the side. A small scream escaped my lips when I pummeled to the ground, painfully. Above me, a red-eye was snarling, his mouth close enough to my face for me to smell his terrible breath. Then, as I processed the situation I was in, he dragged his claws down my stomach. I screamed in agony, hearing my blood pumping in my ears. The pain was nearly unbearable - if I hadn't been used to pain, I would've passed out.
The red-eye growled and opened his mouth to chomp on my throat, possibly end me right there. Quickly, I lifted my hand and forced through gritted teeth, "F*ck you." In a blink of an eye, I twisted my wrist and a pleasing snap! filled my ears. When his neck snapped, his body crashed on top of me, taking the breath right out of me. "Holy sh*t," I breathed, slowly trying to maneuver my way out from under the werewolf. The claw marks on my stomach were stinging; thick blood was soaking my shirt. Not only that, but the blood on his thick fur was rubbing off on me.
After scooting out from underneath him, I staggered to my feet, glancing down at the claw marks. They were deep, deep enough for scarring and stitches. I gritted my teeth together, shakily touching one of the claw marks. I flinched and looked around, realizing there wasn't anything for me to do about it at the moment. I was praying in my head that I didn't bleed out - not before I faced Killian. Keep moving, I told myself, holding back the tears. I continued heading towards the right, praying Drew was close.
Drew pecked my forehead. "That's because he doesn't love you like I do."
The memory appeared in my head, the day he confessed his feelings for me. I wasn't able to say anything back; I hadn't been able to love somebody, other than family. But, as I searched for Drew - not sure if he was still alive or not - I realized that I had strong feelings for him. Yes, we fought a lot, but it showed we cared. I was a difficult person, yet he looked past that. Despite my many harsh remarks and several attempts at escaping, he still stuck with me. He never gave up on me because for once, somebody saw the good in me.
Suddenly, my eyes landed on a large werewolf, one who stood observing the war in front of him. I stared at him, despite the two werewolves launching at each other in front of me. His fur was thick and long, a rich black color with a few patches of dark brown. His murderous, red eyes scanned the area, proudly. It was him, the person that I had been eagerly waiting to face, yet dreading at the same time. Killian was merely twenty feet from me, his chest rising and falling. Chills ran down my spine as I realized this was the person who haunted me in my dreams. Gulping loudly, I stumbled around the two werewolves in front of me, showing myself.
When his red eyes landed on me, he tilted his head to one side. He seemed happy with my presence; he had been waiting for me. His eyes shifted down towards my stomach where I was bleeding and his ears flickered. I scowled at him and slowly, took another step towards the beast in front of me. "It's about time we see each other in person, huh?" He huffed and scraped his claws against the dirt below him. "I know about your plan - you want a special bite, one that could turn anybody into a red-eye without killing their own blood. You believe the whole 'Death granting a wish' sh*t."
He growled, his eyes narrowing. I pointed my finger at him, licking my bottom lip. "But, the only way for you to get that bite is to kill somebody who cheated death - I'm that lucky person, aren't I?" I released a harsh laugh, holding out my arms. "Well, what are you waiting for? This is what you want, isn't it? Lets end this." His claws dug into the dirt beneath him and I clenched my hands into fists, shooting him a glare.
Killian didn't hesitate; he lunged at me, snapping his teeth. I leaped out of the way, missing his heavy body by inches. I barely had enough time to catch my balance, before he was racing after me again. He was smart, knowing that if he gave me even a little bit of time, I was going to perform magic on him. Seeing his mouth coming straight towards my face, I dropped to the ground, releasing a grunt at the pain in my stomach. He flew over my head and as fast as possible, I stumbled back to my feet. When I turned around, he was snarling, resting back on his haunches.
I didn't have enough time to use magic because next thing I knew, he was launching at me once again. Like before, I leaped out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough - his claws scratched my upper arm. A yelp came from my lips and I looked at the scratches, realizing they weren't nearly as bad as the ones on my stomach. I gripped the wound with an angry expression, seeing him whirling back around towards me. "Cute," I forced through my teeth, feeling blood seep through my fingers. His ears flattened, before he came at me.
But, desperately, I raised a hand, feeling a burst of energy flow through me. Killian was a few feet away from me when all of a sudden, his feet left the ground and he was flying backwards through the air. With a wheeze, a dead body of one of his followers softened his fall and blood splattered onto his fur. A wave of dizziness fell over me and I blinked, clearing my vision. I was growing weak; the magic was draining me. Growling, he rose to his feet and took a step to charge towards me, but he was stopped by a large, brown wolf tackling him from the side.
From the tingles that shot throughout my body, I knew the wolf was Drew.
Drew sunk his teeth into Killian's shoulder, though Killian was able to maneuver his way out from underneath him. Drew managed to sneak his claws around and drag them down his side, but that didn't slow the black beast on top of him down. Killian snapped his teeth near Drew's nostrils and I flinched, immediately releasing a sigh of relief when Drew moved away just in time. I started praying in my head as tears pooled in my eyes; he wasn't supposed to intervene in this fight! I held my breath as a mess of claws and teeth filled my vision - this was getting ugly. My eyes were shifting from black fur to brown while the two switched positions on who was beneath.
I held my breath and looked down at the scratches on my stomach, realizing the whole front of me was soaked with blood. Sh*t, I thought, before a loud whine filled my ears. My eyes snapped up in concern, landing on Drew who was laying at the feet of Killain, a large bite wound on his right leg. A whimper came from him and when I noticed the blood flowing from his wound, I screamed at the top of my lungs. "DREW!"
Killian crouched down to finish him and without hesitation, I lifted my hand and focused. Another wave of energy flew through me, followed by Killian flying away from an injured Drew. I looked at my mate, not surprised to find him attempting to get back onto his feet. Stuck, he shook his large head at me with sad eyes and gestured towards the trees, probably his way of saying for me to leave. I forced a grin at him; suddenly, his eyes flickered away. He opened his mouth to howl in warning, but it was too late - I found myself plummeting to the ground. When my back smacked against the ground, I heard Drew's loud howl, shaking the trees around us.
Above me, Killian hovered, crushing the lower half of my body. His teeth came towards my face and protectively, I shoved my arm forward. When his sharp teeth chomped down on my skin, I screamed in agony. Blood started dripping down onto my face as Drew frantically tried getting back onto his feet, howling at the top of his lungs. I tried focusing, hoping to fly Killian off me, but I couldn't - not only that, but I was weakened. Helplessly, I glanced around, feeling his teeth scratching on bone. To my right, I spotted a branch. Staring into his red eyes, I reached towards the branch, straightening my fingers out as much as possible.
Please, I pleaded in my head, hot tears rolling down my cheeks. When my fingers wrapped around the branch, I gripped it tightly and shoved it forward with a cry. It felt as if the world stopped spinning; it felt like everything around us disappeared. Killian removed his mouth from my arm and hovered above me, eyes wide. My eyes shifted downwards where the branch was shoved into his chest, into his heart. Licking my bloody lips, I looked him back into the eyes. "You failed - I win." Then, I twisted the branch and his eyes closed, followed by his body drooping towards me. With the little strength I had left, I pushed him over, allowing him to land to the side.
I took a deep breath as Drew's whine filled my ears. I couldn't look at him; not without bursting into tears. I stared up at the blue sky, seeing birds flying up ahead and the sun shining, brightly. The metallic taste of blood had filled my mouth, but I could barely taste it - it was dull. Suddenly, a shadow blocked the sunlight and I squinted, finding a familiar face looking down at me. Caine kneeled at my side, his black hair falling forward around his face. I looked into his emerald eyes, a small frown on my face. "Caine? Where have you b-been?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said, quietly. I pressed my lips together, unhappy with his response. His eyes dragged down my body, lingering on the wounds on my stomach. When his eyes met mine again, I realized they were watering. "I saw my last vision of the war, Nora." It took me a moment to understand what he was saying; as it started sinking in, he glanced towards Drew who was slowly scooting his way towards me.
A hot tear rolled down my cheek. "Well, I'm no l-longer the bad guy." My eyes flickered down to the wounds on my stomach where blood was flooding from. "You know, I barely f-feel it - it doesn't hurt that m-much."
His lips started quavering. "It's the adrenaline, Nora."
"Drew - he can h-heal me," I blurted, hope suddenly rising in my chest. "His blood." Caine looked towards Drew again, shaking his head. "He can't do anything now, Nora. It's too late." My chest became heavy as my mind started accepting the truth. Slowly, I nodded my head, understanding what he was trying to say. "You n-need to protect him, okay? For me." Next thing I knew, a tear was slipping from his eye.
"I'm sorry, Nora," he apologized, shaking his head. "I failed you; I failed your mother - I'm so sorry." He rubbed the tear away, his attention fixated on my wounds. I found myself becoming comfortable on the cold ground, almost as if I was laying on a cloud. The million thoughts swarming in my head were beginning to fade in a relaxing way. My vision was starting to waver while the blood pumping through my ears started to slow; my chest started to rise and fall slower as I struggled to take deep breaths.
"It's okay," I whispered, forcing a grin. When my vision started to become blurry, I looked at him with sad eyes. "Tell Drew I l-love him - and I'm s-sorry."
Next thing I knew, Noah was appearing before me. The two of us were in our backyard, shooting our arrows at some battered targets. Like usual, I was sun-burnt and a gloating smile was on his face as he nailed the middle of the target. At that moment, our mother came walking out onto the porch in her sundress, carrying two glasses of lemonade. Suddenly, the memory disappeared, replaced by another one - it was one of my favorite memories. Noah was seated next to me on our living room couch, hugging me as I cried in my cheerleading uniform. That was the day I found out I was kicked off the cheerleading team because the Captain had a problem with me. The memory blurred with another following afterwards - Noah was swinging me around on his shoulder after finding out he was hired for his first job. I was laughing, pounding my fists against his back as he pranced into the kitchen, grinning like a fool.
When the memory disappeared, I found myself looking at Drew. The first moment I was face-to-face with him; he introduced himself and I called him a 'monster' - how that wasn't true. The memory slowly vanished, before I found myself at the gas station. I was hiding as he came walking in with Hulk and Brody, searching for me. I threw a package of doughnuts at Brody's face, then found myself fighting against Drew. "I'm an Alpha, sweetheart. It takes a lot more than that to take me down." After those words were spoken, I found myself in our bedroom where I first saw his tattoo. The moment I actually wanted to touch him, to trace his tattoo with my finger. Next thing I knew, I was sitting next to him, eating McDonald's. I was spilling my life to him and he was listening, actually caring about what I said. Then, we were kissing - our first kiss. And, he told me, "There's some good in you - you're just too blind to see it, sweetheart."
After that, everything rushed at me. Brody was cracking his lame jokes, giving me the privilege of being his homie, encouraging me into lighting the candle with my magic, saying the most random things, helping me with Caine, and most of all, being the greatest friend. I never knew what friendship really was until I met him. His sister, Katie, appeared before me - she was telling me her story, hoping to get me to open up. But, of course, being the b*tch I was, I pushed her away. Then, I was gardening for the first time with her, something I sucked at doing. And, her mate, Hulk, followed - all the times of calling him 'Hulk', teasing him about the big, green monster. Despite my attitude towards him and hatred for awhile, he had hope for me.
Lastly, Caine. I was running through the forest, being chased by some red-eyes, when I fell down a hill where he first appeared. "I wish you'd stop putting yourself in danger." When somebody grabbed my hair from behind, the memory changed. I found myself sitting across from him, attempting to light the candle with my mind. I was growing frustrated, but he stayed calm. All of these people flashed before me - the life I never thought I would have. The people that I never thought I would connect with. But, I was glad I did and as I found Caine's face disappearing above me, I knew there was a smile on my face. And, when I slipped into the darkness, I was ready.