26
Ryder
No.
I didn’t want to do it.
Alvin’s claws pierced Ness’s skin, but her countenance was perfectly calm. If it hurt at all, she didn’t show it. Her expression was placid, as peaceful as it’d been when she’d accepted her fate after falling off the rooftop.
Ness knew what the next step would be. I didn’t know if I would have the strength to follow through. Maybe my mate had a clear view of what needed to be done, but I would never be able to live with myself.
“Death cannot hold me back from you forever,” Ness said with a small smile.
Alvin’s lip curled. “Let’s test that.”
Without thinking, I moved. I didn’t have time to worry. I couldn’t afford a single thought or else the window might vanish. Ness had given the signal. I just had to follow through.
I wished I could speak. If I’d had a human jaw, I would have told my mate how much I loved her. She’d brightened my life and given me purpose when I’d had none. I didn’t want to lose her just yet. I certainly didn’t want her to die without knowing what she meant to me.
However, I lashed out with my tail. The razor-sharp barbs sliced through delicate flesh. She didn’t make a sound until those barbs hit the man behind her.
A small sound like triumph left Ness’s throat just as a weak smile touched her lips. Her skin paled. The falling rain washed the blood from my tail almost as soon as it blossomed from her stomach.
Behind her, Alvin staggered back. He tore himself off my barbed tail and stared down at the hole that it’d left in his stomach. For a moment, I thought he might heal. I prepared myself to attack again, but Alvin slumped to the ground.
I didn’t waste time. I shifted back so that my tail would shrink and vanish without further hurting Ness. She began to fall, but I caught her in my arms. The rain pelted our bodies and tried to wash away the blood pouring from her wound. No amount of rain could hide the damage that I’d done.
Though I bent my head over hers, she turned away from me. I thought she was angry, that maybe I’d misread her signal. Instead, her gaze landed on Alvin.
“Is…he…dead?” Each word seemed to steal more life from her.
I gently turned her face back towards mine. She fought me, at first.
“Is he…dead?”
I glanced up even though I hated taking my attention off hers for even an instant. Alvin remained unmoving. The rain pelted his unblinking eyes. I’d dealt a blow that he couldn’t heal from. How Ness was still holding on, I would never know.
I prayed that meant she would begin to heal. Perhaps she was stronger than Alvin, she would return from this.
But by the time I looked back to my mate to tell her that we’d won, her heart had stopped. Her eyes were closed, and a peaceful smile sat on her lips. She knew.