Chapter 190

Matt

I couldn’t move.

Every breath I took sent waves of pain darting across my body. I couldn’t make sense of what was happening. One moment I was fighting Ronan, and the next Alyx had Celeste on the ground with her leg in his grip. I didn’t think twice before I lunged for Alyx. It didn’t matter if it left me open to Ronan. It didn’t even really matter if I died. What mattered was that Celeste made it out of here okay.

Then there was pain. So much of it that stars danced across my vision. Then the distant sound of gunshots and more pain. My whole body shook and sweat broke out across my skin. Somehow, at some point, I’d shifted back into my human form.

I was really injured then.

“Matt?” I felt someone’s hand on my arm. Heard their familiar deep voice, but I feared that if I opened my mouth, I’d just start screaming. “Come on, man, you’ve got to get up.”

Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

“Please.”

I peeled my eyes open. The world spun for a moment before I could make out the person kneeling beside me. Jack. His hair fell into his eyes, and he had a concerned look on his face. A gun lay discarded on the pavement beside me.

“Celeste?” I managed to croak.

Jack looked over his shoulder. I tried to follow his gaze, but nausea rolled through me as another wave of pain struck my body. I whimpered, and Jack’s gaze darted back to me. My eyes were open again, but I could feel them drooping.

“Stay with me, Matt. Celeste is coming.”

True to his world, her face swam into view moments later. “What happened?” I slurred. God, I couldn’t even talk. I could barely think.

She ran her fingers through my hair, and tears dripped off the end of her chin. “The brothers are dead,” she said. “We won.”

“It’s over?”

She shook her head. “They’re still fighting. I have to put an end to it.”

My eyelids fell shut again, and it took longer this time to open them again. When I finally managed to look at her face, she was crying even more. “You’re going to be okay,” she said, her voice breaking. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I know,” I said.

Jack still had his hand on my arm, and he picked up his gun. “Go, Celeste. I’ll stay with him. I’ll make sure he’s okay.”

She nodded and wiped at her tears. “I love you,” she told me, running her fingers through my hair one more time. She kissed my forehead, not seeming to mind the blood or sweat that coated it. “Hang in there.”

Then she was gone, running toward the heaviest part of the fight. The last I saw of her, she was mid-shift, turning into a wolf as she leaped through the air.

“Hey, look at me,” Jack said. I forced myself to drag my eyes back to him. The pain was so unbearable, I almost wished I’d pass out. “You’re not allowed to die. If you die, I’m going to kill you.”

I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t have the energy. There were tears in his eyes.

“Jack…” I trailed off, wincing.

He shook his head, strands of sweaty hair falling across his forehead. I couldn’t tell if my wounds were healing fast enough. Blood pooled on the ground around me. If I were human, I’d be dead already.

“Look, I know I’ve been an ass, but I don’t want you to die.” His voice broke. “I want to be friends like before. I want things to go back to the way they were or, I don’t know, a better version. I’m sorry for the way I acted.”

“It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not. I was a dick to you, and I was horrible to Celeste. I don’t want to be that guy anymore.”

“You haven’t been in a long time,” I managed. He had to lean down to hear me.

His face shuttered at my words, and he sucked in a shaky breath.

The more I lay there, the more my senses started to sharpen. Unfortunately, that meant the pain was sharpening, too. I scrunched up my face as two of the bones in my arm suddenly snapped back into place. It was a good sign. It meant my body was finally managing to catch up with my injuries. The downside was that it was unbearable.

I couldn’t help it. A scream tore out of my mouth as my leg, the worst of my injuries, snapped back and the skin began to close.

I couldn’t seem to stop screaming as the waves of pain rose.

“Matt,” Jack said, leaning slightly away with wide eyes. I clamped my jaw shut and hissed air in and out through my teeth.

It felt like hours, but eventually the pain subsided enough that I could breathe normally. “I’m fine,” I panted. “I’m fine.”

The wounds still needed days to heal, but I thought I was at least out of the woods.

“You’re scaring me.”

I looked over at Jack. He was half-reaching for me, a look of panic on his face. “Help me up.” He closed the distance between us and carefully pulled me into a sitting position. Blood marred my naked skin, but that didn’t seem to bother him. He let me lean my full weight against his chest as I stared around at the decimated street.

Celeste stood in the middle of it all, wind darting through her brown fur. Around her, the fighting continued, though no one seemed to go for her. A ripple of power lanced through the air and the ground rumbled beneath me.

“What–” Jack gave me a wide-eyed look. I just shook my head.

My leg was still too bad. I couldn’t stand up, couldn’t walk. All I could do was watch as Celeste stood amid the fight. She tilted her head back and howled. The crackle of her power lanced through the air like lightning, and then the street was being torn apart.

“Oh my God,” Jack breathed.

I clung to him, panting as I watched the love of my life tear through the earth with her powers. Around her, the buildings began to crumble. Wolves and humans alike took off, trying to escape the rubble. Most of the humans weren’t fast enough to get out of the path of destruction. The wolves that did took off toward the trees.

The crackle of energy died down and our allies circled Celeste. I lost sight of her as the familiar wolves darted forward, howling cries of triumph. Then the wolves that could run took off down the street, giving chase to the retreating figures.

Was this really it? Could the fight be over?

Jack tightened his grip on me. “What just happened?” he asked.

“She used her powers,” I breathed. “She saved us.”

Jack met my gaze. “What does this mean?”

I glanced around at the rubble. The buildings closest to her had all fallen, but the rest of the ones on the street remained intact. Jack was staring at the one he hid in. It was far enough down that it hadn’t collapsed. A look of relief darted across his face.

He turned to me, his eyes wide. “I need to go.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

He lowered me carefully to the ground, and I settled back against the pavement. Celeste was already running for me, still in her wolf form. Jack took off toward the distant building, sprinting as fast as he could. I had a feeling I knew who waited there.

Celeste stopped in front of me and let the change come over her. She dropped to her knees beside me, panting.

“Is it really over?” I asked.

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. She pulled me into a hug, running her fingers through my hair. I turned my face into her bare neck and breathed her in.

We did it. We actually did it.