Red Moon (Colors of the Moon #2)

Chapter 30

With every bit of strength I still had, I crawled to Jaida's motionless form. She was still lying on her side a few feet away and because my leg was still useless, I had to drag it across the ground, smearing the running blood. Damn it hurt.

I paused next to her and turned her over, until her back was lying to the uneven ground. The first thing my eyes landed on was the dark red circle formed right over her heart. My own heart felt like it had crashed down to the bottom of my chest. I couldn't breathe, as I watched her struggle to catch her breath.

With surprising strength, she grabbed a hold of my T-shirt and pulled me closer to her. My face was inches away from hers, her breath tickling my skin.

"Tell... Tell Natalie... I... love her." The words were nothing more than a whisper on her lips.

A struggling breath squeezed through her throat, while her hand on my shirt loosened. She focused her eyes up to the sky, while I continued to stare at her.

Seconds ticked by, which I counted with the beats of my heart. I waited for another painful breath to squeeze its way through her throat, yet nothing happened. I strained my ears, only to realize I could no longer hear her heartbeat.

No.

No, this wasn't supposed to happen. The bullet was supposed to hit me. It was meant for me. I should be the one... Not her...

"Ren!" Blake's voice reached my ears, accompanied by the sound of rushing footsteps.

Yet I just sat there, with my head still over Jaida's body. I couldn't move. I couldn't think.

It should have been me.

Wasn't mist supposed to be building up in my eyes? I was supposed to be pouring my eyes out right now, yet I just sat there, my face completely dry.

A firm hand on my shoulder pulled me backwards and then another one appeared under my chin, forcing me to tilt my head upwards. I came face to face with a panting and pale Blake.

"Ren? Can you hear me? Are you hurt?" A deep line was waged in between his eyebrows.

I heard him perfectly fine, yet I didn't know how to answer him. I was hurt, but it didn't matter. Not with Jaida...

"Jaida... She's..." I couldn't even speak it aloud. The words refused to leave my mouth.

"No..." Blake's voice broke, as he moved his eyes to the still girl next to us. His Gamma. "Jaida..."

His hands shook, as he grasped a hold of her wrist, looking for a pulse. There was none. Not a single heartbeat for our wolf-hearing to catch on.

"What happened?" He asked through gritted teeth. The pain I saw in his eyes echoed the pain I was feeling.

"Snider... He shot her." It felt like my mouth was moving on its own. "He... Jaida... she saved me... He got away... We need to go after him."

I jumped back to life, knowing what would make me feel better. Getting my hands on the bastard would help ease the pain.

"Our warriors are already trailing after him. He won't get away." It wasn't a wish he was speaking. It was a promise he made. I heard it in his voice and saw it in his eyes.

"He has a pulse." An oddly familiar feminine voice reached my ears.

Her words made me snap my head sideways, until my eyes landed on Maggie. She was kneeling next to a lying Hunter, her hands feeling for a pulse.

Hunter! I couldn't believe I had forgotten about my only friend? What kind of monster was I?

"Hunter? Is he..."