Chapter 21 - Cillian #2
The fight continued, Eric and Cillian exchanging blow for blow.
Eric swiped at Cillian’s face, and his eye began to sting when blood trickled down from the fresh cut above it.
He growled, dancing forward. Eric was a formidable opponent, darting in and out with quick, easy dexterity.
At one point, Eric lashed out, and a line of fire ran along Cillian’s front leg.
He yowled, managing to get away, his leg now throbbing in agony, blood matting his fur.
Then Cillian’s footing stumbled, and everything went to hell.
He tried to pivot, to correct the mistake as he staggered slightly, the injuries and exertion distracting him.
He heard a triumphant growl seconds before Eric lunged, taking full advantage of the situation.
His jaws clamped around Cillian’s neck. Cillian gaped.
He could feel something warm and hot trickling down his neck.
He flailed, claws lunging for Eric but unable to get purchase.
Before he could manage to wrench himself away, Eric dragged him to the ground.
Cillian managed to wrench himself out of Eric’s grasp but stumbled.
His legs gave out from underneath him, and his head slammed against a rock.
Groaning, Cillian barely managed to move, instead staring up at the night sky as the world spun around him.
Without realizing it, he had shifted back to human, dazed and disoriented.
Before he could do anything, Eric was looming over him, human once again as well.
With a triumphant smirk, he placed his foot on Cillian’s throat, slowly pressing down on his windpipe, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
He continued applying pressure slowly, clearly savoring the moment as he began to crush the life out of Cillian.
Just before he would have passed out entirely, Cillian grasped Eric’s ankle and yanked.
He twisted it, hoping to hear the snap of bone.
Instead, Eric growled, jerking his foot out of Cillian’s grip.
He lunged for Cillian, but grasped only air as Cillian rolled away just in time.
He staggered to his feet, throat aching.
Eric jumped up as well, glaring at Cillian with murder burning in his eyes.
He sneered and lunged forward before Cillian could shift back into a wolf or make an attack of his own.
His hand wrapped tight around Cillian’s neck and squeezed.
He shoved Cillian back to the earth, then pinned him beneath him, making it impossible for Cillian to clamber up.
Eric’s hold on Cillian’s neck tightened, and the world at the edge of Cillian’s vision began to turn black.
Eric smirked, his eyes burning with malicious glee.
He continued adding more and more pressure, slowly crushing Cillian’s windpipe.
“I’m going to enjoy slicing you to ribbons,” he snarled. “And then I’m going to have my fun with Amber. If she’s good enough, I might even keep her around instead of selling her. Your pack is mine.”
Cillian panted, grimacing, barely able to breathe. He glared at Eric, but he couldn’t fight properly. He tried to reach up, his hands turning to wolf paws, and attempted to claw at Eric’s face, but the gash across his arm made it nearly impossible to strike swiftly with the force he needed.
“You should have seen how terrified she looked earlier,” Eric hissed. “I think she was waiting for you to save her. Too bad you failed. She’s mine again. And you can take that thought with you to the grave.”
Eric began to press even harder, preparing to deliver the killing blow.
But those words had ignited a fire in Cillian, and a sudden burst of strength that he couldn’t fully explain shot through him.
With narrowed eyes and gritted teeth, he shoved upward, launching Eric off him.
Eric went flying, a shocked, almost confused expression spreading across his face.
It might have even been comical, but Cillian didn’t give himself the chance to gloat or savor the moment. He needed to end this once and for all.
He sprinted toward Eric, shifting back into a snarling wolf. Before the other man could get to his feet, Cillian was on top of him, shoving Eric back to the ground. His jaws clamped around Eric’s neck. He felt Eric twitch, then flail as he crunched down.
Panting, Cillian released Eric, then stepped back, sweat dripping from his brow into his eyes.
He watched the light die in Eric’s eyes, and the other shifter stilled.
One final breath, and then nothing. Cillian shifted back to human, the aches and pains of his injuries throbbing dully.
He waited for a moment to see if Eric would move again. He didn’t.
Once he was satisfied that Eric was gone, Cillian took in the rest of his surroundings, letting the world flood back to him.
All around them, the rest of the wolves were still in a furious battle.
He watched one of the goons attacking Franco, who was backed up against a tree.
Without waiting, he dashed toward the fight, barreling into the goon and knocking the wolf off his feet.
The wolf shifted back into a man, one with a scarred face and broken nose. He rounded on Cillian, baring his teeth. But something about the expression on Cillian’s face made him falter.
“Your boss is dead,” Cillian said. “I would suggest you back off now and surrender before you end up in the same boat as him. You understand?”
The goon glanced over at Eric’s body. He paled and took a step back, then another. With one last, panicked glance at Cillian, he spun on his heels and sprinted away, darting into the woods away from the camp.
He called out as he left. A few moments later, shuffling and cries of alarm echoed from deeper in camp, and more shifters raced into the woods.
Cillian watched them, looking to see if any of the wolves were running back into camp. None did. They all extracted themselves from the fight and sprinted into the woods, disappearing from view.
“We’re going to need to round them up,” Camden said, coming to stand next to him.
A long gash ran along the side of his neck and down along his collarbone.
“So they don’t cause any more trouble. I don’t want the Night Pack to make another resurgence in a few years and have to deal with all this again. ”
“I’ll send out patrols to scout the area,” Franco said. “They’ll be able to find them all, no problem.”
Cillian nodded, barely listening. At the moment, he had a much bigger priority. He hadn’t seen Amber since the fight began. He needed to find her, to see that she was all right. He wouldn’t be able to think of anything else until he could reassure himself that she was unharmed.
He wandered in the direction he had seen Eric’s man drag Amber. After a moment, he heard the muffled, annoyed sounds of someone struggling, coming from one of the nearby tents. Slowly, he pushed back the flap.
Amber was sitting on the ground, hands still behind her back. Whoever had dragged her in here had bound her feet before leaving to make sure she didn’t make a break for it during the fight. She was wriggling her arms, clearly trying to see if there was any give in the rope.
Her head snapped around toward the door when Cillian stepped in. The anger and hostility in her expression and posture evaporated, replaced with relief.
All of Cillian’s anxiety began to ebb at the sight of her.
She had a few scrapes and bruises, but otherwise appeared unharmed.
He raced over to crouch in front of her.
She was staring at him as if she thought he was a dream.
Then her eyes widened, her features creased in concern as she took in every injury. She saw his arm and sucked in a breath.
“It’s worse than it looks,” he said with a flippant smirk. “I’m fine.” He reached out to brush a strand of hair away from her forehead and pulled out the gag.
“Thank god,” she said. “I thought you were going to die—”
“Almost did once or twice,” he admitted, smirking. He bent to untie the ropes around her ankles. “But that happens. Besides, I’m still here. I’m still breathing.”
She hesitated for a moment, as if nervous to ask her next question. She forced herself to ask it, anyway. “And… Eric?”
His lips thinned. “He’s dead.”
She nodded, as if that was what she had expected to hear, but she didn’t say anything.
Her eyes seemed to flicker with a myriad of emotions.
He couldn’t blame her. His hand ran up and down the side of her arm in soft, comforting strokes before he gently twisted her so he could undo the ropes binding her hands.
The second the ropes tumbled to the ground, she spun back around and pulled him into a hug.
“Oof,” Cillian grunted, though he instantly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, ignoring the pain from his injuries as she continued to hold him.
“I’m so sorry for running,” she said, her voice muffled in his neck. “I should have listened to you.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m the one who needs to apologize.
If I hadn’t been such an ass, you wouldn’t have felt the need to run in the first place.
I should have handled that better instead of just not listening to you and then throwing you into your bedroom.
” He pulled back to look at her fully, his hands on her shoulders.
“I’m sorry. I never should have done that.
I fucked up. I just couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt or putting yourself in danger. I acted like an idiot.”
“You did,” she agreed, her eyes sparking with amusement. “But I was an idiot, too. You were right that I couldn’t keep running. I just didn’t want to listen. I was scared, though I shouldn’t have been.”
“I can understand why you would be,” he said. “And I won’t chastise you for it. The only fault I can find with any of this is that you weren’t able to see how strong you were.”