Chapter 29
Emery
Apiece of my heart that had been missing my entire life, ripped away and shattered right in front of my eyes. A single nod. One snap—and he was gone.
Tyler lay still on the pavement. His neck twisted, his eyes vacant. Empty. Lifeless.
I couldn’t breathe. The only thing I could hear over the ringing in my ears was Hudson’s heart-wrenching screams as they dragged him back inside, giving voice to the howl of despair in my chest. Self-loathing curdled in my stomach, my deepest and most distant thoughts roaring at me to do something.
Anything to save the one piece of my heart that remained.
The rust-colored light from the dark moon above danced over my fingers where they met the ground. Taunting me. Suppressing the beast inside me and silencing my wolf completely.
Until the eclipse passed, I was little more than a mortal man.
Useless. Helpless to save anyone.
“Ty… ler…” I choked, screwing my eyes shut. I couldn’t look at him. Those once beautiful amber eyes gone dark. Lost and somehow still begging. Pleading with me to come to his rescue. “I’m… so sorry.”
“Fucking pathetic.” The butt of a rifle came down hard on the back of my head, knocking me to the asphalt.
The man above me pressed the heel of his boot into my spine, twisting.
“You told a mortal everything about our world, and then you brought him here. You should be thanking us for cleaning up your mess.”
“F-Fuck you, Davis,” I spat through gritted teeth as something in my back popped with the pressure of his foot. “Tyler was ten times the man you’ll ever be.”
“Death is too good for this trash.” Another boot connected with my jaw.
My head spun, blood pooling in my mouth as my cheek smacked the pavement.
“Maybe when the boss is finished bleeding your pretty little chew toy dry, we can put the leftovers to use.” A fist curled in my hair, forcing my gaze upward to meet Parker’s ugly face.
“Bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Evans?
Bet you’ve been dying to sink your teeth into that witch. ”
Sick laughter echoed around me. “You love mortals so much?” Davis sang with another twist of his heel, making me cry out in pain. “We’ll shove Garland’s heart down your throat then. Give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“We’ll even let you get a head start,” Parker growled, still gripping my hair and inching closer. “Give those human legs a chance to put some distance between us before the hunt begins.”
Seeing red, I spat directly into the man’s face, covering him with blood. With a swift motion, he slammed my head into the ground. My nose cracked. Tears blurred what remained of my vision. The strength to scream was nowhere to be found as I sagged against the pavement.
“Leave him alone, Parker!” Gage’s voice echoed across the lot, sparking the smallest amount of fury in my gut. “He’s had enough!”
“Shut your fucking mouth, traitor,” Parker roared, stepping away from me. “The boss only agreed we’d let your brother go. Never said shit about you.”
A sharp sniff came from above me, cutting through the stillness that followed. “You guys smell that?” Davis muttered.
“Kinda twisted,” Gage snarled, “calling Hargraves your boss. A mortal. A man willing to kill his own son. What kind of leader is that? Is that what you backwater bitches stand for?”
The sound of Parker’s fist colliding with Gage’s face met my ears. “Won’t be mortal much longer. Soon as that whelp of a witch breathes his last.”
A strange, sickly sweet scent mingled with the smell of blood filling my nose. Like sugar left to burn on the stove. Stinging with every ragged inhale, yet somehow screaming familiarity.
The temptation of maple syrup—laced with venom.
Gage spat blood on the ground, growling under his breath. “And then what? You’re all gonna bow to one of the bitten? Doesn’t seem your sty—” A pained grunt left him. His knees hit the pavement.
“Now shut the fuck up,” Parker sighed, bored as he walked away, pacing the perimeter fence.
“Seriously,” Davis groaned above me, wafting the air in front of his face. “What is that stench?”
Several other wolves took sharp inhales, their faces twisting with disgust. Parker took several steps toward Tyler’s body, making me fight against Davis’s hold on me as he kicked him with the toe of his boot.
He barked a laugh. “Meat’s already starting to spoil, that’s all.
Someone toss him in the dumpster before I hurl. ”
“Don’t you fucking touch him!” I snarled, pushing off the pavement and breaking free of the other wolf, intending to rip Parker’s throat out for daring to go anywhere near my Tyler.
Davis knocked me right back to the ground with the butt of his weapon. “Down, doggie.”
“Decay doesn’t set in that quick, Parker,” another wolf groaned, plugging their nose with their fingers.
Parker rolled his eyes with a shrug. “Wouldn’t know.
I make a kill, and I don’t normally let it go to waste.
” He gave Tyler’s body a shove with his foot, rolling him over.
Kneeling down, he studied his face, frozen in the moment of his death.
“Shame, really. All that effort to pack on muscle. Bet he’s a tasty one. ”
Meeting my eyes where I seethed from the ground, Parker lifted Tyler’s limp arm, stroking the curve of his bicep. “What do you think, Emery? Should I take a little taste?”
“You’re dead!” I bellowed, blood dripping into my mouth from my nose, my body useless and shaking. “You’re ALL FUCKING DEAD!”
My heart knew it. Somehow. Some way. Even if Hudson, Tyler, and I couldn’t have our happily ever after.
None of them would see the sunrise.