Twice, but who was counting. “I did.”
“They died.”
“Yeah.”
“It must have been like losing your mind. The bonds breaking.”
And I hesitated.
He nodded, this wonderfully strange young man seeing everything I couldn’t say out loud. “I wonder what you would have done to stop it.”
Anything. I would have done anything.
He moved then. He’d been that kid once hiding behind his daddy’s leg, staring shyly up at me as I asked him if he wanted a pop from the machine. He’d gotten a root beer. He’d laughed after he’d taken the first drink, telling me he’d never had one before and the bubbles tickled his nose.
He wasn’t that kid anymore. He was a big guy now. An Alpha. Strong and brave and powerful, so much more that I’d ever thought possible. I’d seen him angry. I’d seen the rage behind his eyes when monsters came from the trees to take what was his. I’d seen him deal death with his hands.
This wasn’t that.
The Omega didn’t have time to react before he was on her, his hands on either side of her head, a grotesque parody of how Elizabeth had held him just minutes before.
But he wasn’t angry.
All I felt was blue.
He was sad.
This hurt him.
He snapped her head viciously to the right.
The bones cracked and popped, the sound sharp in the small bedroom.
Her right leg spasmed, her foot skittering al
ong the carpet. Her toes flexed once. Then twice. Her toenails looked as if they’d been recently painted. Elizabeth must have done it. They were pink before claws sprouted from each one.
The violet faded from her eyes.
It took only seconds for her to still.
It felt like ages.
I wasn’t like the wolves. I couldn’t hear the moment her heart stopped.
I wondered what it sounded like. A thundering drum that skipped some beats before falling silent.
She slumped with a low exhalation.
The claws fell away.
The hair receded from her face as her shift faded.
All that was left was a young woman.
Ox leaned forward, his forehead pressed against hers.
I closed my eyes.