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I stand above a puddle of dried blood, and I know it’s his.
Turning away, I head inside, down through broken doors, and over more bodies, then I find myself in the back room. Tetrim sits up in his cage, but I turn away. I am not here for him, and I do not need his vitriol right now. The closed door catches my eye, and with nothing better to do, I kick it in.
Maybe Tetrim senses something is wrong, or maybe he’s given up, but he just watches me without speaking. The door splinters, and I find computer banks and monitors. Cocking my head, I step inside. I’ve never been great with technology, maybe it’s the wilderness in me, but I know enough.
I scan through the laptop before I find what I need, what I didn’t even know I was looking for, and I hit record.
“Last night, my pack and I killed every hunter in this area. We didn’t do it unprovoked. Hunters came into my home. They burnt my family alive. They chopped my father’s head off before my eyes. They killed so many, the blood cannot be washed away, even today. They also went after children, innocents who had never done anything wrong. Along with this email, which I am sending to every hunter whose email address is in this laptop, I will attach the videos I have found that show their crimes—not just to wolves, but to every beast, as you call us. You are hunters. You vowed to protect human life and innocents, but you are just using it to cover your sick tendencies, like rape and torture. You aren’t soldiers, you are serial killers, and this is your warning. We will rise. We will not accept this anymore. Every monster will be made aware. You have two choices—die for your crimes or clean house. Stop the madness. Kill those who hurt innocents, not those who are innocents. I know from my mates, who were hunters, that you did not start this to be evil, but to help, so do that. Help. If you don’t, if this doesn’t stop, mark my words—I will hunt every single one of you down and rip out your hearts.” I hit end and attach the videos before pressing send, then I turn away and depart once more, leaving Tetrim screaming my name.
The moon is high.
I avoided my other mates all day, knowing if I met their eyes, I would break. Jai sits upon the same stone that my father did a few nights before.
I cannot look at him. Instead, I look out at those gathered, knowing they are expecting me to lead, but how can I when I don’t even have the energy to speak?
Jai deserves my words though. He deserves so much more.
“Jai was a feral. He thought he had no family, but he was wrong. He had us. We are his family.” I lick my lips as more tears fall. “I always thought I had to do everything alone to be strong, to prove myself to you, but he didn’t care. He barged into my life and stole my heart and soul. He made them his own, all while handing me his. He didn’t believe he should be loved, but I loved him with every fibre of my being, and now he is gone and so is the love he brought into my life. I have lost everyone.” I turn, falling to my knees. “I have lost everyone.”
I look to the moon. “Please, please, I cannot live like this. I have won your war. I have followed you and served you tirelessly. Why are you doing this to me?”
I bow my head as I cry, and for once, I do not take solace in the moon.
I shun it.
I reject it.
CHAPTER SEVENTY
Death is strange. I was expecting, well, I don’t really know—something. There is just darkness that I’m floating in. I can’t feel my body or really think. I just float.
There is no pain.
There are no regrets or grief.
No love.
There is just darkness.
I don’t know why that unsettles me, but before I can analyse it, that uneasiness is gone as well, washed clean by the darkness. I just exist in nothingness.
Suddenly, I have a very real body, and I am falling through the darkness. All that numbness is stripped away and fear, terror, and pain is all I know as I scream and try to stop my descent. The darkness parts, replaced by bright moonlight as I land heavily on a huge pile of leaves. Groaning, I roll to the side to see what’s happening, and the leaves move with me, causing me to slide down the side with a surprised yelp.
The grassy ground races up to me, and when my feet hit it, I expect my legs to snap, but I just stop and stand, and when I glance back, the leaves are gone.
What the fuck?
Glancing around in confusion, I see some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen in my life, bar Quinn’s pack?—
Quinn.
Agony tears through my heart, and I gasp as I spin around, searching for her. If she’s here, does that mean she’s dead?
If not, is she alive?
“Breathe, my child.” The feminine voice seems to reach deep inside me, loosening the constrictive vice around my heart and lungs, and I can breathe normally, the panic receding. “It is only you and me here.”
Quinn . . . She’s not dead, which means she’s alive.
