And for the first time since I had known him, I saw fear on his face.
And I smelled it.
He looked around wildly, taking us all in.
He held his hand out for me.
I stepped forward to take it.
A hand wrapped around my ankle.
I looked down.
Kelly panted up at me. “Don’t. Please don’t go. Please. Stay with me.”
The moon and the stars shone down on the scar on his neck.
“Robbie?”
I turned to look at Ezra again.
He held his hand out for me, his fingers trembling.
I hesitated.
He nodded slowly as he dropped his hand. “I see,” he whispered. “You too. Just like everyone else. How you betray me.”
The Alphas snarled as they took a step toward him.
“You think you’ve won?” Ezra said as Omegas filled the coming night with their fury. “This is just the beginning. And I won’t stop until I have what belongs to me. I will tear the world apart.” His tattoos flared to life once again.
“Get down!” Gordo screamed.
And without thinking, I collapsed on top of Kelly, covering his body with mine.
He whispered, “I found you.”
And then the world filled with a bright flash of light, and everything exploded.
like an echo/a door
I was lost in the dark.
Voices rose around me.
“He’s not breathing, oh my god, he’s not breathing—”
“Carter, would you stand the fuck back? You need to let me help him!”
“What did he do? What the hell did your dad do to him? He doesn’t smell like wolf, he doesn’t smell like—”
“I don’t know, okay? You’ve got to let me at him, you’ve got to let me—Ox! Get your ass over here now.”
“Kelly? Kelly! Come on, man, open your eyes. Please, god, open your eyes, please, please, please—let me go, Joe, you fucking let me go right now or I’ll kick your ass. Let me—Ox! Ox, you have to help him. You have to—”
I felt my heartbeat in my eyes as I drifted away.
My head was pounding as I burst through the veil that had fallen over me.