The bullet meant for Serenity hit me instead. It struck my back and seemed to pierce through my lung. I collapsed on top of her but kept her shielded beneath me.
"Elias? Elias!" Serenity scrambled up. Her body and hands were covered in my blood. She looked completely dazed. She cradled my head in her trembling arms, but my vision had gone red and blurry. I couldn't see her expression.
Warm drops fell onto my face. I couldn't tell whether it was blood or her tears.
"Don't cry… Didn't you say you never wanted to see me again? Then I'm not worth your tears…" I wanted to reach up and touch her cheek, but I had no strength to lift my hand.
Serenity suddenly gripped my hand tight. She tried to stop the bleeding, but it was useless. "Don't die, Elias, please don't die!"
My consciousness began to slip. I didn't know if I'd ever wake up again. So there were things I had to tell her now?—
"Serenity." I squeezed her hand. "I love you. I always have. I never stopped… Forgive me for realizing it so late…"
"Stop talking…" Serenity suddenly bent down and pulled me up from the ground with all her strength. "I won't let you die! Do you hear me, Elias? I'll get you to a doctor. If you really love me, then hold on!"
Hunters aimed their guns at us while Herman and the others rushed forward to cover us. Serenity draped my arm over her shoulder and dragged me toward the church entrance. Every step was a struggle. I was far too heavy for an Omega, but she gritted her teeth and kept going.
Behind us came the sounds of battle. Gunfire, roars, and howls blended together. Bullets tore into the walls and ground around us.
"Faster—we need to go faster!" Serenity gasped out the words.
My chest and legs hurt so badly I nearly passed out, but I bit my tongue hard to shock myself awake and match her pace.
We burst through the church doors together. Outside was a forest. I spotted my own footprints in the dirt from when I had arrived.
"That way." I struggled to point Serenity in the right direction. "That way… leads to the highway… toward town…"
Serenity nodded. Then I heard footsteps and gunfire behind us. Some hunters had broken through Herman's line and were chasing us down!
"Don't look back! Just run!" I shouted at Serenity.
She dragged me forward with everything she had. To dodge the bullets, we plunged deeper into the forest. Branches whipped against us, sending fresh waves of pain through my wounds. My consciousness drifted in and out. Suddenly, the scene before me felt eerily familiar.
Memory transported me back to childhood. In my daze, I was still that boy who'd just escaped the vampire cage, and the person pulling me forward was the golden-haired girl who'd saved me…
"Elias, are you okay? Stay awake! Don't pass out!"
Because I'd gone silent and my pace had slowed, Serenity anxiously turned to check on me. Her golden hair swept through the air.
It was a full moon. The Moon Goddess gently bathed the forest in silver light, illuminating her hair as if coating it in a silver sheen. Under that light, her golden hair appeared pale and shimmering—almost platinum…
My eyes flew wide open.
Memory and reality merged completely in that moment!
"Serenity, it was you all along…" I called her name, my voice trembling.
"What?"
She looked at me in confusion, but I couldn't say another word. Only one thought screamed inside my mind.
Not Liv.
It was never Liv!
The savior I had been searching for all these years had always been Serenity!
CHAPTER 23
