Somewhere in the distance, I hear two more of the same distinctive piercing cries. But I don’t need to look around though to know who’s doing it.
I can feel it.
I can feel everything.
Red…
The wolf I was fighting looks at my shrunken frame, impending victory beaming on his face. With his teeth bared, snarling, it almost looks as though he’s grinning.
I can’t even bring myself to push through the pain, to fight him off. Everything inside me is dying, my soul ripped apart as my world shatters.
She’s gone.
My mate is gone.
The opposing wolf charges at me, but I’m ready. He can kill me.
I know I should fight and keep going for my pack. But I’ve already lost Knox. And now that I’ve lost Nyx, there’s nothing else to live for.
We’re fighting a losing battle. It’s over anyway.
It's as if every alpha instinct in my body ceases to exist. That pull I usually feel, the unwavering urge to lead is gone. Nothing exists now except pain and desolation. I feel hollow, empty.
Incomplete.
My hand clutches my chest over my heart, the ache getting even worse.
I’ll be with you soon, Red.
I feel him closing in, ready to sink his teeth in and rip me to pieces when suddenly… he’s gone.
Not gone like Knox and Nyx… but actuallygone.Literally.
Then I hear it. The change in sound.
It seems ridiculous but there’s no other way of describing it. All of a sudden it gets eerily quiet which is perplexing given the amount of wolves in the vicinity.
Through the haze of pain, I turn my head to look over my shoulder, surprised to see more than half of the wolves have just vanished into thin air.
Like the disappearing packs.
Everyone looks around in bewilderment, just as confused as I am. My chest stops moving entirely and I suck in a breath as my eyes find the carnage of bodies along the ground.
It's a literal battle field, the casualties a horrid reminder of what we've just lost.
What I've lost.
Somewhere along the edge of the field near the training facility, I hear a woman’s echoing scream, wild sobbing violating the air.
I don’t know how I do it, but I stand, feet moving without a second thought as I follow the noise.
There’s a group of people forming a circle, and I shove past them carelessly, dread filling me as I know what I’m about to face.
Nyx’s mom is bawling loudly, face buried into her mate as deep sobs wreck her entire body.
Cade has beat me there, naked frame on his knees as he cradles Nyx’s body.
“Come back to me,” he whispers, gently shaking her as if she's merely asleep.
