Edward’s tears freely let themselves slide off his face as he lowered his gaze. He tried to cover his crumbling appearance as his mate’s casket was being covered with earth.
He no longer felt normal. It was as if Henley took a giant slab of him when she slipped off his grasp. He was devastated.
Henley died trying to give birth to their son, along with the mother, their pup lost its life too.
Losing your partner was like dying. Only you were left to simmer in pure agony and pain, as you burn alive from the sympathetic gaze everyone threw your way. His head was hung as he looked down at his feet. He fought furiously to stop the betraying tears that fell to the ground from his blue sorrowful eyes. He walked away from it all, not meeting his packmate’s eyes.
“Edward…” He heard Alpha Jopheil call for him.
But he didn’t turn. He couldn’t bring himself to see the pitiful gaze his Alpha held. So he ran as fast as he can, hitting everything in his path. He wanted to do something. To get rid of the pain in his heart. The huge void she left would remain a hollow void forever.
Trees in his wake fell down the ground as he punched and pushed his way through the woods. He wanted to release everything in him.
“Henley!” he screamed in pain as tears continued to escape him. “Please, please, please.”
His hopeless cry for help could be heard miles away. But that didn’t matter to him. All that matters for him were Henley’s memories with him. Her very voice, her touch, kisses, and her grassy green eyes. Every single thing about her flashed before him.
He fell to his knees, shoving his face on the dirt beneath him, his hand form into fists as he continued to cry and muffle his pain.
Was crying the best option? A question popped into his mind.
He was lifeless until she came into his life. Once, he was a stranger in the North, but when she came and brought light with her, everything in his life changed as it suddenly gained meaning.
But now that she was gone, he had died a thousand times wishing she never came to him in the place.
“Maybe then I wouldn’t feel like this, Henley.” He stared into the cloudless sky. “This is all your fault. Why did you come to my life?”
Edward never believed in love, after all, he himself never loved who he was. But that all changed when Henley arrived.
The saying, you need to love yourself in order to love someone didn’t matter to him any longer. Because with Henley, he fell in love with her first and then loved himself.
His wolf howled in pain as he realized he had just blamed Henley.
“I’m sorry, Henley. Please help me. What am I supposed to do?” He cried.
His vision darkened. All he could think of was. The only way of escaping the agony he was dwelling in was to see his beloved mate.
“I’m coming Henley, wait for me.” He breathed hard, reaching for the silver blade from his back pocket. The silver burned within his gentle caress, his calloused fingers carelessly running across the blade in his hand.
‘Edward, are you sure?’ He heard his wolf murmur inside of him.
Was he sure? Another question popped into his head.
“I want to be sure, for her. I want to see her again. So bad.”
He placed the tip of the blade directly onto his throat. Breathing hard, he screamed, trying to will himself to drive the harbinger of his death through his neck.
But he just couldn’t.
He slammed back to the ground, screaming aloud for feeling like a coward.
“You can’t do it, can you?”
A voice unfamiliar to him spoke. Footsteps coming from his side made him turn to see an auburn-haired girl, her eyes as grey as ash. Her disheveled stature made him wonder what she was doing here.
“Who are you?” Was the first three words that came out of his mouth. She replied with a shrug, taking a few steps closer to him. “Stay away, rough.”
She pursed her lips and stared at his hands.
“Your hands, they’re bleeding.” The she-wolf reached for his hand, but he flinched, eyeing her cautiously as he remained stoic.
“Stay the fuck away from me.” He warned. “Are you not afraid of me?”
She smiles, the twinkle in her eyes catching him off guard. “What’s there to be afraid of?”
“I can kill you.”
The she-wolf ran her hand from his shoulder, down to his hand, lightly tapping his skin. “No you won't, you don’t have the guts to do it.”
He stared at her. Her innocent observation all seemed like an insult to him. He had the guts do it. He has done it before. Kill a rogue, but with this one, he was enamored by the sheer serenity she brought with her.
“Please don’t try me.”
She scoffed, backing away from him with a mischievous smile plastered on her pale pink lips.
“Wanna bet?” The rough says.
“On what?”
“If you can kill me, then you’ve proven me wrong. But if I can bring you down, let me fix your hands.”
“Whatever.” He says, not backing away from her challenge. Edward tightened his grip on his blade and lunged at the she-wolf, completely missing his mark.
“Oops, someone’s kinda blind.” She giggled. “You’re so sure of yourself. All huff and puff. You’re actually weaker than I thought.” A sly grin appeared across her face.
His whole world stopped for one whole second as he caught a glimpse of her radiant smile.
Henley.
“Shut up!” He screamed.
“I’m not saying anything.”
She wasn’t. But her eyes and lips were filled with unspoken words that was about to erupt at any second.
His knife plunged through the air, almost hitting the rogue by her shoulder. Anger surged through him as he stared at her with rage.
“Could you please stop fucking smiling?”
“I can’t when you’re looking like a drunkard on stilts.”
Her fist hit his face, making him back away. His vision blurred with the tears he had shed.
“Henley, I’m useless without you.”
“Your stances are off, your strikes are sloppy and your heart.” She said, giving him a blow on his left cheek.
“What about my heart?”
“It isn’t whole. Put all of your heart into it.”
Another wave of anger flashed through him. She was one cocky wolf indeed.
“You’re in no place to talk about hearts.” He growled.
“You looked hurt.”
“What do you know about me?”
“Menopause.” She shrugged.
“My mate died.”
“My mate slept with my friend and got her pregnant. He rejected me to take care of his new family, but he’s still after me. That’s why I’m on the run.”
A wolf on the run? He figured as much. Her confounding beauty was a rare sight in the woods.
“I can’t fathom how hard it is to lose your mate but, will your mate be happy if you killed yourself?”
He stopped. What would Henley react to it? Will she be happy when he finally made his decision?
“No.” He whispers. “No, she won’t be happy.”
“Your mate would have wanted you to move on. A wolf like you still has a life to live. A dream to achieve.”
He felt his hands softened until his grip on the blade slowly loosen, making it fall on the ground.
He sobbed, looked down at his palm. Droplets fell onto them as he called her name again.
“Henley.”
“Good, I win.” With one good kick, he stumbled back to the ground.
The ground felt soft against his back as he slowly closed his eyes.
“You’re good, rogue.” He muttered breathlessly.
She sat beside him, softly lifting his hand.
“It’s Layca, call me Layca.”
~•°•~
There! Ha, I'm sorry it took long for me to update.
But to make up lost time, there's another one right after this. After I edit it though...
So watch out for it.
Loving you always,
Jino.