45. Calder #3
"Hold on," I tried to say, but it came out as a growl, my vocal cords still shaped for a beast. I pressed my massive paw against the wound, trying to stem the bleeding, but blood seeped between my clawed fingers.
The barn groaned ominously above us. A support beam crashed down where we'd been standing moments before, sending up a shower of sparks and burning debris. The side exit was our only chance now.
I cradled Ethan against my chest as carefully as my Alpha form would allow and ran.
The flames seemed to reach for us, hungry and alive, but I pushed through, ignoring the searing pain as fire licked at my legs and back.
Ethan's blood was warm against my fur. There was too much of it, and panic threatened to overwhelm me.
The side door was ahead, warped from the heat but still intact. I lowered my shoulder and crashed through it, wood splintering around us as we burst out into the cold night air. I didn't stop running until we were well clear of the barn, my legs finally giving out near the tree line.
I collapsed to my knees, still holding Ethan, my body beginning the painful shift back to human form. Bones cracked and reformed, fur receding, until I was kneeling naked in the dirt with my mate in my arms. His face was pale, far too pale, and the wound in his thigh was still bleeding heavily.
"Stay with me," I begged, my voice hoarse and raw. I pressed both hands against the gash, applying as much pressure as I could. "Ethan, please, stay with me."
His eyes fluttered open, unfocused and glassy. "Calder," he whispered, his hand reaching up to touch my face. "You came for me."
"Of course I did," I said, tears streaming down my face, mixing with the blood and soot covering us both. "I'll always come for you. Always."
Behind us, the barn's roof collapsed with a thunderous crash, sending flames shooting into the night sky. Jake's body was being consumed now. Soon nothing would be left of the monster who'd tormented Ethan for so long. But the victory felt hollow with Ethan bleeding out in my arms.
I thought of my phone and calling for help. But my clothes had torn apart in the shift and were now buried under flaming debris. I realized, with sickening clarity, that despite all my power and all my abilities, there was nothing I could do to save my mate.
At last, my body began to shift, the cold fear pulling me out of my Alpha form. I sat there, naked and covered in blood, trying to keep Ethan from bleeding out.
“Please, Ethan,” I begged. “Don’t give up on me.”
His eyes fluttered shut. “Calder… I… I love you.”
Burning tears streamed down my face. “I love you too…”
His hand slipped from my cheek, falling limp to the ground beside him. My world shattered into a thousand pieces, each one cutting deeper than Jake's claws ever could.
"No, no, no," I chanted, pressing harder against the wound even though I knew it was futile. The blood kept coming, seeping between my fingers, pooling in the dirt beneath us. "You don't get to leave me. Not now. Not after everything."
I bent over him, my forehead pressing against his, desperate to feel any sign of life. His breath was so shallow I could barely detect it, his heartbeat a faint flutter against my chest where our bodies touched.
"Somebody help!" I screamed into the night, my voice breaking. "Please! Anybody!"
But there was no one. Just me and Ethan and the roaring inferno consuming the barn behind us. The heat was intense even at this distance, the flames casting dancing shadows across Ethan's pale face. He looked almost peaceful, like he was simply sleeping.
"You can't do this to me," I whispered, my tears falling onto his cheeks. "I just got you back. I just—" My voice cracked completely. "I need you, Ethan. Please."
A cold wind swept through the clearing, and suddenly the temperature dropped so drastically I could see my breath misting in the air. The flames seemed to dim, as if something was sucking the heat from the world itself.
"Alpha Thorne."
I jerked my head up to find Ageratum standing a few feet away, his crimson eyes glowing in the darkness. For once, his expression wasn't cold or detached. There was something almost sympathetic in the way he looked at us.
"Help him," I begged, shame forgotten in my desperation. "Please, I'll do anything. The Council can have whatever they want from me, just save him."
Ageratum moved closer, kneeling beside us. His pale hand reached out, fingers hovering over the wound in Ethan's thigh. "The damage is extensive. He's lost too much blood."
"Then give him yours! Mine! Something!" I was babbling now, barely coherent. "You're a demon, you must have some kind of magic, some way to—"
"I’ll do what I can," Ageratum interrupted, his voice quiet as he reached for Ethan. "But I make no promises." He pulled him away from me and into the shadows. “I’ll be in touch.”
With another blast of icy wind he sank into the shadows and Ethan with him. I sat there on the cold ground, the fire burning behind me, as tears continued to stream down my face.
The rogue was finally dead. But at what cost?