WOLF MOON

F I F T Y - F I V E

Kassi

Blood

So much blood

"Ethan" I shook him "Ethan?"

Silence

"No no no no no" I cried, shaking him harder "Ethan, wake up!"

"Ethan, please" I sobbed, trying to get him to wake up and give me one of his stupid grins

My eyes met Rhys, who stared at me in stunned silence

"Help him" I said, my voice sounding far away even to my own ears

My Blood was pounding in my ears and I felt woozy

Time seemed slower than normal and when I looked around, I could have sworn everyone was going in slow motion

"Kas...Kass...Kassi"

Ethan's weight was taken off me

Hands gripped my arms and shook me "Kassi!"

Kaden shook me again, his eyes desperate for me to focus

"Kassi" he urged "Come on"

"B-But" I cried, hugging Ethan's body to me "He's...he's"

"Shhh..." he cupped my face, making me focus on the unshed tears in his green eyes "It's..."

"I killed him!" I hiccuped "He's dead because of me"

"Kassiopeia" Kaden said, his tone harsh "We need to get this chain off of you now or else these Hunters will try to kill you again and Ethan's death will be in vain"

He grabbed my face

"Look around Kassiopeia" he urged me "If you don't pull yourself together, right here and right now, everyone who loves you and willing to help you are going to die. Do you want that? Do you want all these innocents to lose their lives because you couldn't put your grief on hold?"

"But he was my best friend..."

"AND HE WAS MY BABY BROTHER!" Kaden roared, his voice cracking towards the end of his sentence

I shrunk back in shock

All these years that I've known Kaden, he's never once yelled at me or lost his temper. Not even after the numerous times I embarrassed him in front of Sky or got him in trouble with his parents.

It shocked the hell out of me but at the same time, I knew he was right.

I had to put a lid on my grief right now or everyone I loved was going to die.

And I was not letting that happen.

I will not let another person sacrifice themselves because of me

"Rhys already tried to get this shackle off me" I dried my eyes "We think a Witch spelled it"

Kaden cursed and mumbled something under his breath

"Move Alpha" a soft voice said before pushing him to the side

"It's you" I said as I stared at the pale face of the young Witch who I met earlier.

She ignored me, focusing all her attention on the lock

He eyes flashed as she mumbled Latin words

She yanked on the chain

Nothing happened

She cursed and tried again, her eyes burning brighter before dimming substantially

"Damn it!" she yanked on the chain again