four

The world spiraled before my eyes; it was hard to tell what was going on; I felt so many hands on my body, and I heard so many voices. I could not tell whose hands were on me, nor could I decipher exactly what the voices were saying. The moment the last member of Damini’s pack left our lands, my body just dropped to the floor without any form of warning. I had taken way more damage than I had imagined, and the aftereffects were slowly setting in. My vision was blurry, but my eyelids refused to shut. Why? I may not have admitted it out loud, but I feared that if I shut them, I would never open them again.

I do not think I am ready to meet my father yet.

My gaze stayed focused on the moon hoisted above us. Its bold light was what I loved most about it; it was unapologetically bright in the midst of darkness, and it shone so beautifully and boldly. It demanded attention, and that was what I loved most about it. I always saw it as my biggest role model; the moon was more than what I howled at; it was an idol in my eyes. I wanted to be everything it was: bold, noticeable, daring, and cold. I found it comical how I lay in the midst of many deceased wolves who were in the same position. Was I about to take my last breath as well? 

I swear, If I survived this night, I would make Damini regret this night. As though the world was trying to add fuel to the fire, my gaze fell on Dante. The zap in my chest was almost unnoticeable, but I did not feel much in there, so it was obvious I noticed it. Flashbacks of our childhood came flooding into my mind, and my anger escalated. 

Hell, how was I going to explain this to Jelena?

Frustration, anger, and regret mixed with my anger, but it was only for a second. It was a huge blow to my ego that I could not even protect my own sister’s boyfriend, my best friend. 

However, one thing was for sure: his death was not going to be in vain. I would avenge him, even if it was the last thing I did.

My body was hoisted off the ground; two men held both my ankles and shoulder blades. The transition from the floor to my position in their arms had me hissing in pain. "Forgive us, Alpha," one of them said before they began to run in what I believed to be the direction of the pack house. My eyes did not leave the moon as they moved as fast as they could.

My mind began to wander back to Damini; there was something different about her tonight. The rage I had seen in her eyes was something I had never seen before, and I have known her my entire life. The pain an alpha has to endure by witnessing their enemy attack their young one is probably one I cannot imagine. The only difference was that I did not attack that pup, but there was no way Damini would ever believe that. She saw me covered in blood, and she was basically known to be one of the most stubborn wolves alive. She would rather believe the sky was green than believe that I was not the one who nearly killed that defenseless pup.

The child was still breathing; I knew it, but my best friend wasn’t.

A lot of my pack members weren’t.

And all for what? Because I decided to go see my bitch of a mate?

Who was I kidding? The death of my best friend was on my head; if I had never gone there in the first place, I would not have to put my sister through this. I would not have put my pack through this.

"What happened to him?"

I wanted to groan as the familiar voice infiltrated my ears. Of all the people I wanted around me, she was definitely the last. 

The warmth and familiar scent of the pack house engulfed my senses. The familiar chandelier that was usually in the main room came into view as my wolves laid me down on the couch. I was able to make out Justin’s voice as he told Veronica, "The bloody canines attacked him."

Veronica’s anger was one that could be felt throughout the entire house, and I almost felt glad that none of Damini’s wolves were here. "What?" she spat. There was a bitter venom laced in her voice, and I knew she was on the verge of losing her cool. That was if she hadn’t already It was easy for me to make out that she was moving around due to the fact that her voice would occasionally sound farther away than closer. "Those disgusting creatures actually had the guts to storm into our territory and attack our alpha?"

"It was insane, really. We caught their scent on our territory, but Alpha Damon’s mind link was weak because he was barely conscious when we found him. We lost many wolves though," Chandler explained before running one of his hands through his chocolate brown hair.

Veronica kneeled next to me, and her blazing amber eyes came into view. Her eyes had always been the boldest thing about her; they were daring and intimidating. Combined with her impressive physique, not many wolves had the guts to get on her bad side. I watched her fiery eyes soften as they inspected my injuries before they lit up with rage.

"I am going to kill that fucking bitch," she seethed before angrily opening the first-aid box. "Bite down on this," she said, placing a cloth in my mouth, and I silently accepted it. as the cotton bulb dripping with spirit made contact with the gash on my shoulder, I bit harder into the cloth and shut my eyes. "Sorry," I think I heard her say, but I did not bother to acknowledge it. She proceeded to repeat the process with my other wounds; those she could not stitch up, she covered with plasters and bandages. "Your elbow is broken, Damon. And I think some joints in your shoulder and knee are dislocated. You know what that means, don’t you?"

Good God.

My forehead, no, my entire body, was glistening with sweat, yet I still managed to roll my eyes. I gave her a single nod as a way to tell her to do whatever it is she has to do. Veronica motioned for Chandler to come over, and just like that, I endured another thirty minutes of excruciating pain.

I felt as though I was on the brink of passing out when Veronica finally wiped the beads of sweat from the top of her head and said, "There, all done. Now, all you need to do is rest and let nature take its course. I am sure you will be as good as new in no time." She assured me before rising to her 5'11" figure. 

Veronica stood in front of me with her hands on her hips and a proud smile on her face. I used my good hand to take out the cloth in my mouth before casting my gaze downwards to inspect the damage that had been done to me. I was filled with stitches and bandages.

"The look really suits you," said the voice of the girl that I had been dreading to see all night.

"Jelena."

My sister smiled deviously at me as she walked into the room. Her waist-long golden hair followed her movements. Her forest green eyes, which were practically identical to mine, did their best to hide the worry that was slowly building within her. But that was the thing: Jelena could deceive the whole world with her mischievous smile, but if you really wanted to know the truth, look in her eyes. It was a trick only Dante and I knew, but I guess it will only be me capable of reading her from now on.

She came to stop beside her best friend and placed a hand on her curvy hip. Her green orbs rolled in their sockets when she noticed that there was no change in my demeanor: "Sheesh, you can never take a joke. If you keep staring at me like that, you will never get better."

I wanted to reply to her; I wanted to come up with a comeback that would have her laughing, but I could not. There would be no laughter tonight, and it was all my fault.

Jelena’s smile started to waver, and I knew she could sense something was wrong. Her façade was slowly starting to drop, and her true feelings were coming to the surface. Her tongue slid across her lips, and she swallowed lightly. If one would look closer, one could see the drops of sweat that were starting to form on the top of her head. She clasped her hands together and asked, "What happened? How did you get those?"

Before I could open my mouth, Veronica had already beaten me to it. "Who else? That bitch, Damini She came into our territory with those barbaric wolves of hers and attacked your brother," she explained with a huff, and it was at that moment that Jelena’s walls came crashing down.

Her head snapped in my direction, and she did not waste a second before asking, "Where is Dante?"

Silence.

Tears began to brim in her eyes, and I could not look at her any longer. I hung my head, but she was not going to allow that. She grabbed both of my shoulders, and I bit my tongue when her hand made contact with the dislocated one. Her green eyes desperately tried to capture mine. Her voice was stronger and a lot more frantic: "Where is Dante, Damon?!"

I shut my eyes, unable to bring myself to speak. How do I tell my little sister that she lost her mate because of me?

Jelena looked at both Justin and Chandler, and her voice got a lot deeper as she screamed, "Where is my mate, goddamn it!"

"You can’t feel him anymore, can you?" These were the words that left my lips, and I could feel her entire body go rigid. Slowly, I looked up at her, and I hated the way her bottom lip trembled and her eyes welled up with tears. It was obvious she was filling her head with lies; she was not telling herself the truth. She knew long before any of us when Dante took his last breath, and my sister was in denial.

"I..." she swallowed before taking a step back. "Is he unconscious? His wolf isn’t responding to Rexyl," she said the name of her wolf with a shudder. 

"He’s gone, Jelena."

The air around us changed, and we all braced ourselves for what was about to happen. She had been in denial for over an hour. She did not want to believe it, and even after I said it with my own mouth, I could tell she still did not buy it. Her head shook frantically as tears began to pour down her face. "You are lying! He can’t be gone!" Veronica inched closer to her best friend and tried to take her in her arms, but the crying woman flinched away. "Don’t touch me! Stop your games and tell me where my mate is!"

"I am sorry, sister," I said with every bit of sincerity within me. I rose to my feet, and Veronica watched me like she was expecting me to fall on my face. "It was all my fault." I told her, and all eyes were on me. I kept my head up as I told them everything that happened. With every word that left my lips, Jelena’s rage grew.

"My mate is dead because of you," Jelena seethed as she focused her bitter gaze on me.

"i-"

"I hate you," Jelena spat before running out. Veronica looked between me and the spot where Jelena had gone before going down the same path. Justin and Chandler looked at themselves before giving me a single nod and leaving me alone. As I stood there alone, I wished for only one thing.

I wished to feel something in my heart.

But even that was too much to ask.