Hahahaha! Next to last chapter. Okay so I know a lot of you are wanting an update on The Choosing. I promise I will update. I just wanted to finish up this story. For that one guest who really wants a Choosing update, it is coming! I promise. One more chapter after this one, and it should be short.
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Please Enjoy!
WillPOV
As soon as I was phased, my voice silenced all the rest.
Will? Brayden asked, surprised.
They took Hunter, I growled as I ran, trying to grab her scent. It was so faint against the smell of the ocean. The drops of blood were few and far between.
But a scream on the wind had me changing directions.
The cliffs, Uncle Derek said.
I'll get Caden, Aunt Leah said, turning back for her house.
Thank you.
Don't thank me, Will. I'm not doing it for her. And then she was gone.
Well, damn.
Can't blame her, Brayden said.
I growled. Then why are you even helping?
An image of Jules flashed in his mind. Because I know what it's like.
Another scream ripped through the cold night air.
I ran, fear and anger carrying me faster.
JulesPOV
Tossing and turning, I gave up the fight for sleep. I had both windows open, ready for the coming rain. I couldn't wait. The pattering would help me sleep.
I frowned as a sound echoed in the woods.
Rolling out of bed, I wrapped my robe around me and went downstairs. Mom and Dad still hadn't surfaced, but the twins had moved down to the living room to play their games. No doubt to give me some quiet to sleep. Their gesture was sweet.
"Jules?" Dox asked when he looked back and saw me. "What are you doing up?"
"I heard something," I said going for the front door. "And it wasn't the two of you."
Stepping outside, I wrapped my arms against the chill wind and listened. It was eerily quiet out tonight. It wasn't even Halloween and it felt like snow in the air.
Across the lake, Uncle Seth came out of his cabin in a hurry.
Before he disappeared, I yelled, "What's going on?" just as another sound echoed. It sounded like a scream.
Looking around and rushed, he jogged over. "Hunter's been taken."
For a second I just blinked at him. And then, "What?!"
He nodded. "Something's happening now, tonight. I gotta go." And then he ran off, phasing into the woods.
Standing there on the porch, something was happening to me. A wave of something I'd never really felt before bubbled up. Fury. Rage. What the fuck was wrong with this world? That poor girl deserved a break. Only nineteen, she'd been nothing but lied to. Sure, she'd made mistakes. But she knew the truth now. And it surprised me to think about her as one of my best friends. I'd spent so much time with her that I felt like I'd been able to catch glimpses of the real Hunter. I knew how much she loved my brother. I'd seen it that day we'd been talking about the boys.
"Jules?" Ash said from the door.
Spinning, I snarled at him. Eyes wide, he jumped back. Lifting my hands, I saw them vibrating so hard that it moved up my arms.
Turning back to the stairs, I moved to jump from the porch. There was no way I was going to just stand there and let whatever was happening to Hunter keep happening. It was her screams that had been echoing through the trees. And that infuriated me even more.
Between one moment and the next, I was jumping from the porch, dropping from the ground…and rolling onto all four paws.
Disoriented, I stumbled around as pieces of my clothes fluttered down around me.
Ash shouted for Dad. But I wasn't sticking around to be inspected. As soon as I managed to get my paws under me, I took off for the woods.
Holy crap. I'd phased.
Jules? Bray asked incredulously.
No time to talk. Where are we going?
Go back home. Now.
No! Where?
He was in the middle of another thought when a different voice cut in.
The cliffs, Will said. And welcome to the pack. His thoughts were ragged with anger and grief, as if he'd already lost her.
Will! Bray snapped, seemingly oblivious to my brother's pain.
Shut up, Bray, I snapped back. I'm coming, Will.
Putting on a burst of speed, I ran for the cliffs.
WillPOV
Finally, I made it to the edge of the trees where the scene made me freeze. Hunter was being held between two guys, beaten bloody. Blood poured from her nose and mouth. One of her eyes was swollen shut. She was just hanging there, limp between them. Her long blonde hair was matted with more blood.
My instincts were screaming to just barge in, but my fight training told me otherwise. With three opponents, all werewolves, I needed to wait until back-up was closer. Hunter was useless to me, and she'd be too weak to run off.
A crack suddenly broke out followed by another scream. I jumped in surprise before looking away from her face. Melice was breaking her fingers. Already four of them were bent at odd angles.
I growled.
Not yet, Henry said. Wait for us to get there.
Hurry the hell up!
"Hunter, Hunter, Hunter," Melice said calmly, shaking his head. "You shouldn't have done what you did. We had our orders from my father. It didn't matter that the truth came out about your dear old dad. Even though that was a bit of an inconvenience, that didn't change what we were supposed to do. If it had just been you to show up, I could have still dealt out the order and we could have gone home, no punishment to you. But nope. You just had to bring your friends." He sneered. "And that mutt male of yours. Really? What do you need him for? You could have been a queen of your own people. A queen next to me, your king."
Hunter defiantly glared up at him before spitting her mouth full of blood in his face. "Bastard," she spat weakly. "You knew he was my father."
Melice used his shirt sleeve to wipe his face. "Of course I did," he snarled. His hand whipped out to backhand her.
I growled again, this time louder as she whimpered. And then I whimpered with her as her knees gave even more. The men didn't seem to be aware of their surroundings, too busy with what they were doing.
Almost there, Brayden said at the same moment Melice put his claws to her throat and started squeezing.
His face was one big sneer. "You could have had everything. Now you'll have only death. One that will make you suffer before it takes you."
This time, I whimpered while she just glared at him. I was about to not give a shit about back-up. He was gearing up to kill her.
"Better I die than be your bitch," she spat, more blood flooding out her mouth and spattering Melice's clothes. There had to be internal bleeding for that much. A lung must have been punctured or something.
But I couldn't help but be proud of her defiance.
And then, with her next words, she rekindled everything I'd ever felt for her. "William Black is the alpha and man you will never be. I hope he or one of his rips you apart slowly before they kill you. I hope they peel the meat from your bones."
He tightened his grip, making her wince. Leaning into her, he grinned, an evil baring of teeth. "You want to die so badly, fine."
Fuck it.
Before he could crush her windpipe, I phased and busted through the trees. "Don't you fucking dare!"
He spun around in shock. Eyes widening, an evil smile pulled at his lips. The evil slipped into his eyes. "Well, well, well," he said. "If it isn't the mutt."
The two other werewolves dropped Hunter's limp body to the ground where she slumped, spitting out blood onto the grass. They came at me but the leader stopped them. When he moved out away from them, we circled each other.
"What makes you think you can win?" he sneered.
I cracked my neck and rotated my shoulders, trying to loosen up. "I'm not as weak as I was. You got lucky last time."
"Oh?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "Did I?"
I nodded toward him. "How's the arm?"
He snarled and ripped off his shirt. The bite I'd left looked red and swollen, like it was infected. Could they get infected?
I smirked.
"You'll pay for this. And then I'll kill your bitch before ripping your heart out."
"We'll see," I said watching his body for signs of his movements. His breathing had sped up. He was either emotional or about to lunge. I was betting on door number two.
Behind me, the shadows exploded with my back-up. Luckily, I managed to keep my attention on the wolf in front of me because he did lunge. Going low, he came for my waist. Snarling, I moved and when he got close enough, I smashed my knee into his face. He flew back just long enough for me to see Bray and Henry taking on the other two wolves. Another wolf I'd never seen before came through the trees to stand over Hunter, growling and snarling at anyone who got too close. My guess was that that copper-colored wolf was my sister.
Chest swelling with pride, I turned back to Melice. "It's over. Give it up and go home. I'll only offer it once."
Breathing heavy huffs, he growled, eyes turning amber. Claws grew out of his fingers. "Never," he growled, a deep guttural sound.
Fine. Two could play at that game. I grew out my own claws and felt the wolf in me surge to the surface.
Almost as if someone had rung a bell, we charged each other. Screw the fight training. This was a fucking brawl. We slashed and punched, tearing at each other. Multiple times I went for his injured arm, hitting, squeezing, and slashing as much as I could. He favored the arm, trying to keep it out of my reach. That concentration cost him. Apparently, he wasn't great at multi-tasking.
Breathing heavy, we separated, still circling. Blood dripped from both of us into the mud. My lip was busted and swollen, scratches down my chest. We both had several puncture wounds in our torsos.
That had just been a play round. Shit was about to get serious.
Even though he kept his eyes on me, he kept messing with that arm. In his distraction, I rushed him, catching him around the waist, and taking him to the ground. I managed to get the upper hand, straddling his torso. And I began to pay back what he'd done to me, swinging my fists over and over. His nose busted like a ripe melon, blood spraying everywhere.
Using his good arm, he put his hand at my neck, pushing me back. One of his legs came up and around. He got the side of his foot against my chest and kicked out. Losing balance, I went down. In a heartbeat, he was on top of me. We were too close to the edge of the cliffs for my taste but I didn't have a choice with a vicious dog on top of me. He managed a few good hits with both arms. I took some hits to the head that left my eyes watering and vision blurry.
On his next swing, I blocked his arm, got my feet to his chest and kicked him off of me. We both rolled to our feet, circling again. Blood dripped from my mouth in a steady stream. I spat a mouthful onto the rocks.
He feinted to the right. I pretended to go for it before pivoting to the left to catch him with a spectacular uppercut. Surprisingly, he bounced back too fast, sending a kick out to my gut. I doubled over, the air leaving my body. He took the opportunity to kick out again, landing a solid shot to my chest.
Flying back, I slid in the mud almost all the way to Jules and Hunter.
Wait.
Where the fuck was Hunter?
Catching my breath, I lifted my head. And I stopped breathing.
With a determined look on her face, she was edging closer to Melice from behind, her claws out. The two wolves with Melice were already out of play, guarded by Bray, Henry, Jules, and Uncle Seth.
But my eyes were glued to Hunter. I watched in horror as she made a pitiful lunge for him. Everything slowed down to crystal clear HD as he whirled around.
"NO!" I screamed as his claws sank into her torso, just under her breasts.
She stopped, a look of shock followed by confusion.
Melice snarled in her face as I scrambled to my feet, slipping and sliding in the mud. I was running for them just when he lifted her with that one hand and threw her over the edge of the cliff. I had a quick decision.
Him or her.
Changing direction, I dove off the cliffs. It was like that scene in the movies where one person is falling, another jumping after, and they just stare at each other. Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. I wished as hard as I could that I could fall faster so that I could take the impact for her. It was likely she wouldn't survive hitting the water. Or at least stay conscious.
She hit the water seconds before I did. Once I oriented, I went to the surface. She wasn't there. Taking a deep breath, I went back under, trying really hard not to panic. When I finally saw her, I dove. The water was darkening around her with her blood. Gripping under her arms, I hauled her to the surface. She didn't gasp for air.
Cursing, I swam for the shore, trying to keep her head above the waves. When I could finally stand, I drew her into my arms and trudged for the beach.
Clear of the surf, I laid her down. She was beat to shit, nearly unrecognizable. The wounds in her torso were shredded and gushing blood. Leaning over her, I listened for breathing and watched her chest. Not a damn thing. Her pulse was weak.
"Dammit," I said, going to my knees. Pressing my hands between her breasts, I started compressions. The wounds gushed even more. I decided to keep pressing. "Don't you fucking die on me. I'm not done with you yet. You hear me?" On the fifteenth compression, I tilted her head, pinched her nose, and breathed.
Nothing.
More compressions. More breathing.
Five minutes passed, tears finally making their appearance.
"Fuck!" I yelled before putting my mouth to hers again.
She coughed.
Frantically moving back, I tilted her head up so she could get the water out of her lungs.
"Thank you, God," I whispered.
But I knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. Her skin was still paling out, lips tinging with blue.
Those lips trembled. "Will," she whispered.
Gripping her hand, I leaned over her, my tears falling into her hair. "Hold on, love. Please. I'm getting you to Carlisle."
"I'm so sorry," she rasped out. Blood poured out of her mouth and she coughed, spattering some on my chest, neck, and face.
"Shh," I said, putting my hands under her body. When I lifted, she screamed. "Don't talk. I'm getting you help."
Leaning up in my arms, she said it again with a little more strength. "I'm sorry."
I looked down at her as I moved as fast as I could. "I know, baby. I know. We'll talk about it later, but you gotta stay with me."
"C-can't. I'm s-so tired. And c-cold."
"No!" I shouted, shaking her. "Keep your eyes open. Hunter!"
They flipped open, but immediately fluttered.
I was losing her.
"Will!"
Looking up, I saw Caden running out of the woods. He hadn't shifted. He was still dressed.
He ran up to us, eyes fearfully searching Hunter's body.
"I…I think he stabbed her heart. It's slowing down."
He reached for her. "Give her to me." When I hesitated, he roughly took her out of my arms. "Move!"
Caden knelt down, cradling her as her eyes started to close. Her heartbeat had slowed considerably, blood still pouring from her mouth. He hefted her up, tears staining his cheeks. "No, you are not going to die on me. Not now that I have you back."
I knelt there, naked, wearing nothing but my imprint's blood feeling like my world was falling apart.
But out of nowhere, the world around me started changing. And then something happened to the air. It began to crackle as if a lightning storm had moved in, but there wasn't a cloud to be seen. The night was eerily clear and cold. I looked back to Caden and Hunter. He was leaning over her. She'd gone utterly still, deathly still. But the air was crackling, and I realized it was with power. Caden's power.
My skin prickled with it, tightening. God, the power was insane. I'd known that the Children had the ability to project their energy. It was way to test if someone was an opponent worthy enough to challenge. I'd never heard of it being used to heal.
But apparently, that's what it was going to be used for. Caden put his hand over the wounds and bent over her, rocking. I could see his tears fall on her skin and bloody shirt.
The air tightened so fast and became so thick that it was getting hard to breathe. Fighting the constriction, I held Hunter's hand and sent her every positive thought I had.
Behind Caden, in the woods, Leah and Gage came running out of the shadows. When they saw what was happening, Aunt Leah gasped behind her hand while Gage's eyes teared up.
And right then, I prayed she lived not just for me. Gage was already attached to his sister. He couldn't lose her now. And Caden? Hunter was his daughter, the child he'd thought died in the womb. What the hell had I been thinking, sending her away?
I prayed so hard that if she survived, I'd give her the life she deserved. The life she should have had.
Holding her hand was getting hard. Her skin kept shocking me, the air crackling between us.
Others started to come out of the shadows to surround Leah and Gage. Leah was hugging her crying son. Uncle Derek and Brayden had a bloody Melice between them. He watched with utter hatred and snarl on his face. Jules came out beside them in her wolf form and snapped at him as she passed. She came over to us, sitting down beside me so close that her furred side brushed my human one. She pressed her nose to Hunter's forehead. A shock snapped between them. Jules jerked back, wiggling her nose. Uncle Seth and Aunt Shelby were hugging Piper to them while Jason stood close by.
When my parents and the twins stepped out of the trees, I fucking lost it. Dad hugged Mom to his chest. She cried into his shirt. Despite the growing intensity of the shocks, I gripped her hand to my chest and huddled around it, crying.
Even though there was a huge group of people, the area was silent except for the crackling.
And then…
Hunter jerked, a huge, long gasp ripping from her lungs. Her eyes snapped open, wide and green.
Uncle Caden fell back on his ass, no longer possessing the strength to hold them both up.
My heart racing, I pulled Hunter into my arms. She was still bruised and bloody, but the wounds hand closed until they were just small round punctures. My hand hovered over her, brain unable to process the miracle.
"Will," she whispered.
Swallowing hard, trying to keep the tears at bay, I looked down at her.
"I love you."
I used my hand to wipe the blood from her lips. "I love you, too. So damn much. I'm so fucking sorry." I pressed my trembling lips to hers.
"How touching," a sneering voice said.
Raising my head, I flashed my teeth at Melice threateningly.
Standing up with Hunter in my arms, I moved toward the crowd while Aunt Leah rushed for her husband. Gage came to me, walking beside me with his hand on his sister's hair.
Jason stepped forward. "I can take her." He flashed his own teeth and Melice. "While you take care of that waste of bones."
I hesitated, pulling back a little.
"It's alright. She's one of us. I won't hurt her."
For once, I didn't look to anybody else for affirmation. I just studied him, then glanced at Piper. They seemed close, and I'd learned that she was a good judge of character.
Nodding, I let him take her. Once she was transferred, I brushed her hair back before putting my lips to her forehead. "You rest. I'll come to you as soon as I'm done here."
She swallowed and sighed tiredly. "Okay. Kill him slowly."
I smirked at her before looking up to Jason. "Be careful with her."
He gave a short nod. "Of course." And then he turned and loped into the woods. The center of my chest gave a dull thud. My soul screamed to go with her, but I had business to take care of.
So I decided to take the pain out on our prisoner. Turning to him, I wore a cold expression. "Let him go."
Everyone shared glances.
"I said, let him go. Now."
"Will?" Dad asked.
"Every man deserves to die with a little dignity. Tonight, I'm stronger than he is, and he already knows he's dead. At least he'll get in a couple hits before he goes."
He snarled at me.
Derek looked at Dad.
I growled. "Don't look at him. I said, let him go."
Derek tilted his head and let go, hands in the air. Brayden disgustedly pushed the guy toward me. The crowd made a circle around us. He was trapped.
His arm was a mess, the bite marks no longer discernable. Those amber eyes darted around, no doubt looking for a hole in the defense. He wouldn't find one.
Again, we circled each other. His claws were out again. When he desperately swiped at me, I dodged it, batting his arm away.
"You know you can't win. You nearly took my woman away from me. I'm alpha enough to be seriously pissed about that. But then I think about the fact that you beat the shit out of my dad and put your disgusting hands all over my sister. Add that to the pot and you get a mixture of white-hot rage and a vicious urge to kill. Oh, wait. And you smacked around my mother. Now that sin is what you're going to hell for."
He threw a couple more punches, but I blocked them all. It was after the second one that I noticed something more than desperation in his eyes. There was also fear.
And it made me pause. The anger and hatred I could deal with, fight against with my own. But the fear was another story. He was scared to die. If Hunter had had a hard life, what had his been like?
Straightening out of my crouch, I just stared at him.
He must have been able to read my expression because he snarled. "Pity? Don't pity me."
Shaking my head, I looked over at Derek and Brayden. "Just tie them up. We'll ship them out tomorrow."
"I thought you didn't give second chances?" he yelled as the two men went for him.
I turned back. "I changed my mind. Go back home. And stay there."
As I turned around to go to my mate, several people yelled out, but my mother's voice was the loudest. "Will!"
In one smooth pivot, I grew my claws and thrust up. And just like Melice had done to Hunter, I dug my claws up and under his ribs, slicing whatever was in reach. He choked in surprise, blood spilling from his lips. His hands gripped my wrist as I lifted him up.
"You should have taken the second chance," I growled.
His lips moved like he was trying to say something, but nothing came out except more blood.
Growling, I gripped him around the throat with my other hand and threw him at the feet of his two goons. They hadn't caused problems once their leader was caught. Now, they blinked down at him in shock as he choked on his own blood. I must have done more damage to him than he had to Hunter because it didn't take long for his heart to stop, eyes going glassy.
I looked to the two wolves gaping down at him. One of them fell to his knees beside the body.
I felt utterly cold as I looked at them. "He should have taken the second chance." They glared up at me. "Take his body back to his father with this message." I held my arms out, blood dripping from my right hand. "This is my territory. And it's going to stay my territory."
And then I walked away toward Dad. "Where's the rest of the pack?"
"Up at Walker's. Chained in silver." He looked down at me, pride and concern clear in his expression. "What do you want to do?"
Taking a deep breath, I said, "Right now, I want to get to Hunter. About the other pack?" I shook my head. "Whatever you think is best."
He nodded, clapping a hand to my shoulder. "You did good, son. I'm proud of you."
I wasn't sure how I felt about him being proud for what I'd done. I'd taken lives over the past few days. I wasn't proud of that. But in our world, it was necessary for survival.
I nodded. "Jules phased."
He grinned. "I noticed. Go. I'll take it from here."
I looked to Mom standing beside him, looking anxious. "I'm fine, Mom. But I'll talk to Carlisle in the morning if it will make you feel better."
Unable to hold back, she threw herself at me, hugging me tight. "I love you."
I didn't exactly know what to do with my hands. They were covered in blood. Hell, all of me was covered in blood and it was awkward to be hugging my mother while I was naked.
"Hug me, dammit," she sniffled against my chest.
Chuckling, I did as she told me to. It was brief because I really needed to get to Hunter. After kissing Mom's cheek, I ran for the woods. After phasing, I ran my heart out. I must have zoned out because I didn't remember the trip. Just phasing and then the next moment, I was at the foot of the steps leading up to the big Cullen house. Grama Esme met me on the porch and draped some clothes over my back. I nuzzled her hand before going into the woods.
Once I was dressed, I went for the house. Grampa Edward came into the clearing helping Caden through the woods. The man was walking on his own, but he needed a crutch.
Going over to them, I took my uncle. I wrapped his arm around my neck and my arm around his waist. "I'll take him up."
Grampa nodded. "She's in surgery right now. You'll have to wait in the hall."
I frowned. "Surgery?"
"My power," Caden panted, "healed the fatal wounds, not all the damage."
"Then shouldn't I be in there? My being close to her could help."
Grampa shook his head. "She's stable right now. If you go in there, it could destabilize her. Carlisle's moving as fast as he can."
I nodded and together we got Caden inside. We got him up the stairs and into the recovery room. Jason was standing in the hallway across from the E.R. room. Jerome, Melice's former enforcer, had joined him. I narrowed my eyes at him, pretty damn sure I'd told him I didn't want him on my territory. Once Caden was situated, I went back into the hallway.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded.
Jason just watched us.
Jerome was a lot bigger than I was. At least six and a half feet tall, and shoulders broader than the width of the bedroom door. His skin was so dark that purple highlights showed up when moved just right under the light. And his eyes were permanent amber, just like Uncle Caden.
Surprisingly, he bowed his head in deference. "With all due respect, I care for her. I practically raised her and trained her."
"And he came with me," Jason said. "You gave the specific order that we were to watch over them."
I gave him a scathing look. "And you think you can take him?" I jabbed a thumb at Jerome.
Jason smirked as he flashed a gun and hunting knife on his hips. "Why do you think my father forces me to train with weapons?"
I looked back at Jerome. "For the record, I don't trust you."
He nodded. "And I don't blame you."
"You saw what happened to your former leader?"
Again, he nodded.
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the wall. "Good." When Grampa Edward came out of the recovery room, I looked up at him. "Update?"
He tilted his head, like he was listening. "Almost done. She's doing well, vitals are stable."
"And can you get a read on her? Is she in pain?"
He smiled a little. "Pain is far from her thoughts, Will. She's thinking about you. But I doubt you'd like me to go into detail with an audience."
I looked at the other two men before nodding. But I was relieved she was going to be okay. I hadn't realized how scared I'd been until the thumping in my chest started to calm down. Now that the anger was receding, worry took its place. I wanted nothing more than to see her, to touch her.
As we waited, more people started to trickle in. Jules and Piper were first. Jules came to stand by me with Brayden not far behind, though he was clearly pissed at her. Piper stood close to Jason at first before frowning and going to stand with her brother. I noticed Jason's unhappy frown. Gage was next. I told him everything that Grampa had just told me and that his dad was in the recovery room.
Aunt Leah, who'd followed Gage, went straight to the room. But not before she stopped in front of me to say, "I'm glad she's going to be okay."
Mom came up without Dad. No doubt he was taking care of everything else. She came to stand by me, wrapping her hand around mine.
As the minutes ticked by, I couldn't help but flash back to the cliffs, everything that Hunter had said in the face of her impending death. She'd been beaten within an inch of life and still she'd defied him, throwing her loyalty to me and our pack.
It was about an hour later that Carlisle came out of the room. I pushed away from the wall, trying to see around him.
He gave me a steady look. "She's doing very well. If my calculations are correct, she should be surfacing from anesthesia within the next half hour."
"Can I go in?"
Nodding, he stepped aside. "She still looks pretty beaten. If she were a vampire, I'd say give her blood. But since she's not, it's going to take a little time."
I brushed past him into the room. Carlisle had lifted the bed so that her upper body was elevated. She was breathing on her own. And someone had cleaned the blood off of her skin and hair. Under all that blood, a myriad of bruises marred her skin. The fingers of her left hand were in splints. Since they didn't believe in hospital gowns, they'd put her in a men's large t-shirt. And no doubt, either my grandmother or one of the other females in the house had slid some panties or boxers over her hips before surgery started.
Frowning in her sleep, she tilted her head toward me. Pulling up the recliner, I sat next to the bed and took her right hand. It was warm and alive, the blood beating through her veins. The relief inside me was so great that I let the tears fall. I could feel my heart rate speed up to match hers. Reaching up, I brushed the hair out of her face.
Carlisle must have pumped more meds than he thought because it took longer than a half hour before she started mumbling back into consciousness. Her eyes opened slowly as if there were weights trying to keep them down. Her hand squeezed mine a few times.
"Hey," I said softly, sitting forward. I kissed her fingers. "It's okay. You're safe. I promise."
She tried to say something a couple times before clearing her throat. "Will?"
I stroked her hair. "Yeah, baby. It's me. I'm here."
She woke up enough that I could see the focus of her hazel eyes. And when they started to fill with tears.
"Hey, hey, what's this? It's okay." I wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Her body and the bed shook with her silent sobs, her body turning toward me. Getting up, I sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her as gently as I could to my chest. I rested my cheek on the top of her head.
"It's okay, baby. It's all over. And you're staying here with me. With your dad and brother. I'm never letting you go."
She looked up at me from under her lashes. "Never?" she choked.
I shook my head and ran my thumb over her lips. "Never." When I stood up, she grabbed at my shirt, panic in her eyes. I gently gripped her hands. Kissing her fingers again, I said, "Easy, easy. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to move you over a little, alright? That way I can lay with you."
Hiccupping, she nodded.
I put my arms under her, counted down, and then gently lifted her. She winced a little as I moved her over, but breathed a sigh of relief when she was settled once more. This time, when I sat down, I stretched out my legs. Hunter turned toward me, resting her head on my chest. Her left hand, a swath of splints and bandages, rested on my stomach.
There was a knock on the door.
Gage was standing in the doorway, looking tense and worried.
I motioned him in with a nod.
He came over to stand over us. He reached out to brush her hair behind her ear. Her lip trembled again. Not a word was said between them as his eyes shimmered and he cleared his throat several times before planting his butt in the recliner, making it clear he wasn't going anywhere for a while.
Eventually, he managed to say, "Do either of you need anything?"
I shook my head. "I think we're good for now. She needs to rest."
It wasn't long before she fell asleep with me slowly rubbing her back. Even Gage eventually passed out in the recliner. Despite everything that had happened and my own injuries, I couldn't sleep. I must have sat there for hours, quietly talking to the others who trickled in. And when they left, I watched Hunter sleep. Her bruises started to heal, the swelling going down. It was like trying to watch a flower bloom. You look away for a couple seconds only to look back and see that it was further along.
Into the later hours of the morning, her fingers started twitching on my stomach as if the bandages were bothering her. I wondered if they were already healed. She kept trying to bend them. When she couldn't she frowned and growled in her sleep.
Chuckling, I gently rubbed her hand with my thumb, trying to soothe her. It worked. She calmed and fell back into sleep.
Another hour later, Gage jerked in the chair. He'd scared himself awake, blinking confusedly. I tried not to laugh. After a moment, he shook his head and stretched. He stood up and looked down at his sister. "Wow, she already looks almost normal."
"We heal that fast," I said quietly.
He nodded. "I know. But with the damage she took, it's still surprising."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm gonna go get some food. You want me to grab you something?"
I shook my head.
But he said, "Come on. You need to eat. You lost a lot of blood. And as your future brother-in-law, I refuse to let you be weak when my sister needs you strong. So you're eating."
Smiling, I raised my hands in surrender. "I guess I'll take some grub then."
Straightening his shoulders, he gave a curt nod. "Good choice."
I chuckled as he left.
Hunter mumbled in her sleep and took a deep breath before her eyes fluttered open. Once she blinked the sleep away, she looked up at me. I kissed her forehead.
"How do you feel?"
She took a deep breath and winced. Digging under the sheet, she lifted the t-shirt to the gauze under her breasts. Cupping herself, she adjusted so she could see. The white was blushed with a little blood. "I've been better. What happened?"
I frowned. "You don't remember?"
She shook her head. "I remember being on the cliffs, you showing up. The fight." A frown pulled her brows down. "And then…he stabbed me. After that, it's all blank."
In the moment, the scene had been generic. The adrenaline had pushed me into action, keeping the emotions at bay. Now, thinking back on it, my chest tightened at remembering her body jerk when his claws sank into her. The look on her face as she plummeted toward the ocean. Holding her in my arms as she died. Everything inside of me hurt. I wanted to hunch around myself. Or better yet, hold her to me and never let go.
"Will?"
Clearing my throat, I beat back the emotion. "Well, uh, after he...you know…um, he threw you over the cliff. I jumped after you. You were in a bad way when I got you to shore. I did CPR, but the wound was a fatal one."
She frowned, fingering the tape around the gauze. "Then how-?"
"Caden. He did something with his energy. Healed you enough to get you here to Carlisle."
An expression of surprise and awe covered her expression. "He's a healer."
"Does that mean something?"
She nodded. "Being able to heal that way is incredibly rare, and only the most powerful can do it. I had no idea he was that strong." And then she looked around as if hoping he was in the room. "Where is he?"
"As far as I know, still in the recovery room next door. I'm pretty sure he'd have been in here if he'd woken up."
"He's that drained?"
Gently taking her hand, I met her eyes. "Hunter, you were dying. Right in front of me, in my arms. If he'd gotten there even a minute later, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
That seemed to hit her hard. The look of shock on her face was hard to take in as she sank into my side.
While she was still thinking about it, Gage came back in with a tray. He blinked when he saw that she was awake. With his foot, he dragged over a rolling dinner tray to set between the bed and the chair. There were two plates of food.
"I wish I would have known you were up. I'd have gotten you something."
She smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. I'm not very hungry right now. But thank you."
"She can have some of mine," I said.
Reaching over, she touched Gage's arm. "How's dad?" she asked when he looked up at her.
He slumped a little. "Still out. But Doc says his vitals are fine. He just needs to recoup. Mom is with him."
Relieved, she nodded and sat back, putting her ear to my chest. "I suppose we should Carlisle in here to look over me."
"Not yet." Reaching over, I picked up the heavy fork. All the food was either already cut up or soft. I managed to get a glob of mashed potatoes on the tines and moved them to her lips. "You need some food. It'll help you feel better."
Giving me a look, she opened her mouth. The chicken had been grilled and cut up. It was slow, but we managed to clear the plate. Gage had gone to fill the glass of water a few times. But when she was done, she sighed contentedly.
"Thank you."
"Of course."
Gage stood up and gathered up everything. "I'll take these down while the doc comes in."
We both smiled at him in thanks before he left and my great-grandfather came in.
"Well, I know your vitals are good. I think all I need to check are the punctures and your fingers." He looked to me expectantly. "Um, Will-,"
"I'm not leaving," I said with a very direct stare.
Hunter tried to hide her grin. "It's nothing he hasn't seen before, doc."
"Ah," was the only answer we got.
Rolling onto her back, Hunter lifted her shirt, tucking the end under her breasts. They were large enough to hold the fabric up.
Carlisle snapped on a pair of gloves before carefully removing the tape. Underneath, the skin was bruised but healing. Butterfly bandages covered the four punctures.
"Well, I'm happy I didn't use stitches. You're healing very fast."
But Hunter was frowning down at the wounds.
"What is it?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "Honestly, I shouldn't be healing this fast. I was stabbed with the claws of another werewolf. This should be taking days, only just a little faster than a human." An understanding widened her eyes when she looked up at me. "It's you. Being this close to my true mate. No wonder our kind never stop searching. This is incredible." Then she looked at her bandaged hand before holding it out to Carlisle.
Smiling, he took some scissors and cut the bandages off. Once he got everything off, he put her hand under a portable X-ray machine. He told her not to bend her fingers until the pictures came through. Naturally that was the first thing she wanted to do, so I took her hand in mine, rubbing my thumb over her fingers. But there was no need. When the pictures came back, all the fractures and breaks were healed. Experimentally, she lifted her hand and started flexing it. The knuckles popped, but she didn't wince.
"How does it feel?" Carlisle asked.
"So much better now that I can move them."
He grinned. "Well, I'm very happy with the way you're healing. I'd say, stay at least until this evening. And then you can go home."
I looked down at her when she didn't seem all that excited as she rolled her shirt down. "Okay. Thank you."
"I'll be back to check up. Maybe you can go back sooner."
She was too lost in thought, so I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Grampa."
He stopped next to me. "And how are you healing up? You never let me look at your wounds."
Leaning forward, I lifted my own shirt. Everything was healed up or scabbed over. He leaned over me, prodding some of them that he was concerned about. Wincing, I flinched a couple times.
He looked up at me. "Tender?"
"Little bit."
"Well nothing seems enflamed. If you start to feel any other discomfort, let me know. We'll clean them out."
Nodding, I lowered my shirt. "Thanks. I will." When he started for the door, I stopped him. "How's Jules?"
He grinned. "Excited beyond words. Although Brayden is still scowling around."
"Still mad that she didn't listen to him?"
"Of course."
I sighed. "I'll talk to them later."
My grandfather chuckled. "Yes, I think it should be you. Your father is all hands out of the situation."
"Probably a good idea, given Jules's temper."
"And yet you're going to step in?"
I shrugged. "I'm her brother. I think I can deal with her better. And Bray is my best friend. We'll figure it out."
Beside me, Hunter yawned into my shoulder.
Carlisle smiled. "I'll leave the two of you to rest."
"Thanks."
When he was gone, I looked down at Hunter. "Want to explain to me why you're not excited to be going home?"
Biting her bottom lip, her eyes zoned out. "I really don't know if I can stay there now. After what happened." She looked up at me. "Did it look as bad as it was?"
Breathing in deep, I let out hard. "Well, your room is a mess. Blood everywhere."
She shivered. "I really don't know-,"
I hugged her to me and kissed the top of her head. "It's alright. We'll figure something out. I'll talk to my mom."
"Thank you," she sighed.
Now that I knew she was definitely healing up, the tension in my body eased, finally letting me be tired. I moved down on the bed and curled around her. With her tucked against my chest where she belonged, I let myself rest.
A couple days later…
HunterPOV
Somehow, Will had talked his parents into letting me stay with them. Jacob had sighed when Will told him I'd be sleeping in Will's room. Once he'd made sure I was settled in, he'd gone to collect some of the boxes from my house.
Right now, I was helping his mother fold clothes while listening to Jules and Brayden fight. Apparently, it was stemming from the night everything had gone down and she'd phased. She hadn't listened to him when he'd told her to go home.
"Would you get over it already?" she growled, furiously punching buttons on the controller she was holding while she annihilated the twins at the game.
He growled right back. "No, I won't let it go. Jules, you could have been killed. What if he'd gotten past Will? I was busy with the other guys. You could have gotten seriously hurt."
"And how you do you think I feel, dumbass? I imprinted on you, too. I was scared for you, too. But it's the pack's job, my job. I am the daughter of the alpha."
Nessie and I shared a look over the stack of towels.
"Besides, we should be talking about Hunter," Jules continued.
My stomach dropped.
"I mean, really. The poor girl's been through hell, and now she can't even go home because of what those assholes did to her."
Shocked, I looked over at her.
"As my future sister-in-law, I think we should concentrate on taking care of her."
Jacob chuckled from where he sat on the loveseat. "And what do you propose?"
Accepting the change of subject, Bray scowled as he sat at his mate's feet. Jules shrugged. "Well, you won't let me and Bray live together, and honestly, I think, as the eldest, Will should be moving out first. He is eighteen. So, since Hunter is nervous about going back to her place, why don't we renovate Grampa Billy's house? You're not going to live there even though you inherited it. And Aunt Rachel and Aunt Rebecca don't want it. Too many memories. Then, when the time is right, Bray and I could take Hunter's old place."
I wanted to remind them that I was in the room, but I also wanted to hear how they thought about me. And I didn't totally hate the idea.
Jacob looked over his shoulder at me and Nessie. "What do you girls think?"
Again, Nessie and I shared a look.
"Well," she said, "if that happens, you'll be staying with us longer than you probably wanted to."
I frowned. "That's all you're worried about with that plan?"
Laughing, she shrugged and tossed a shirt onto my and Will's pile of clothes. "Hunter, you're family now. Will told us about what you said that night. I think it's a wonderful idea. In all honesty, we were trying to figure out what to do with the house. Jacob?"
He shrugged. "I think we should tear it down and start from the foundation. I could talk to Edward."
I teared up, folding a towel. "That would be…lovely. Thank you." I set the towel on the table and breathed deeply.
Nessie came around the table to hug me. "Oh, it's alright, sweetheart."
The front door opened.
"What's going on?" Will asked. Looking worried, he came over, taking me from his mother.
"We're giving you and Hunter your grandfather's land," Jacob said.
His face went into a mask of shock. "What?"
He stood up and came into the kitchen. "Well, we can't all fit into this house. And she's not comfortable going back to hers. Jules made some good points. Neither I nor my sisters are going to live there. Might as well make some good use out of it."
Will just gaped for a moment. "And you're okay with me just moving out to live with my girlfriend?"
Jacob gave him a look. "No. But, you're my son so I happen to know you're going to do it anyway. Besides, you're eighteen. And the project wouldn't be finished until after you graduate."
Will looked down at me. "What do you think?"
"I…I think it's very generous."
A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Brayden got up to answer it. On the other side were Will's two aunts, Alice and Rosalie. Alice was grinning with a very large book in her hands.
"So," she said in a very perky tone. "I saw myself planning a house."
We all just sort of blinked at her for a second before we all busted out laughing.
Hmmm...So what do we think? Are we maybe liking Hunter at least a wittle bit? Some of you still hate her. I personally love her. But that's just me...So tell me how you feel? Love y'all! xoxoxoxoxo