Alphas War

Chapter 46

Zach's hand slipped from mine as he crumbled to the floor. The momentum carried me a few feet further before whipping around to see the mayor stood in the entrance to the mansion, a gun in his hand.

The barrel of the gun was pointed directly at me, and yet, I couldn't move away. I was completely frozen as I stared down at my husband, face down in the grass, drowning in his own blood.

I hadn't realised I was screaming until my throat began to burn from the pain. Every last drop of energy that was keeping me on my feet diffused out of my body and I crumpled to the floor beside Zach, my screams continuing.

My salty tears dripped into my mouth as my screams turned to sobs and I curled around to press my face beside him, needing to feel his warm breath on me.

"Ella!" Ryder suddenly yelled before another booming gunshot reverberated around us. I felt the whoosh of the bullet just above my head as it flew past me into the nearest tree. But I didn't care.

"El, we need to go," Liam sounded so far away, so distant, as he spoke. He sounded completely unsure of himself as I cried, not moving a muscle.

"Ella! We need to move," Ryder hissed, looping his arms beneath my own and hauling me up with what little strength he had.

"No!" I screamed once I realised what he wanted. "No! I can't leave him!" I thrashed in his arms, fighting to get back to where Zach's body lay perfectly still. "I'm not leaving him!"

I was yanked to the side with all the strength Ryder could muster, just as another bullet went flying through the trees. "Ella, we are being shot at! We need to go," he growled, shaking my shoulders slightly.

I turned with tear filled eyes to Chris and Liam who positioned themselves behind a large tree trunk, a few feet from Zach's body. "Please," I begged, my voice broken.

They shared a quick glance before emerging from the safety of the trees and lifting Zach's body from the ground. Another shot rang just as they managed to get back behind the trees and I turned to see the mayor charging towards us.

"Go," Ryder barked to the brothers who turned and started to move deeper into the thick of the trees, out of sight.

I continued to stare at the puddle of blood on the floor. Far too much blood.

"Ella, I need you to help me out. We need to move okay?" Ryder grabbed my face, turning me so I was looking straight into his deep green eyes. "The guys are taking Zach back to the pack. That's where we need to go, okay?"

All I could do was nod, words eluding me as he grasped my forearm and tugged me into the woods. We ran for a while, having to pause every now and then to catch our breath before starting up again. The whole time, I could taste my salty tears as they streamed down my face, making my nose run and my eyes sore.

Ryder didn't say a word. He simply guided me through the trees in silence - something I was extremely grateful for. There was absolutely nothing he could have said that would have eased the splitting pain in my chest.

Zach had been shot.

With a silver bullet.

In the heart.

And it was all my fault.

My legs collapsed beneath my weight as my cries grew louder and I curled up into a ball on the ground, allowing the pain to completely take over. Suddenly the burning poison flooding and singeing my veins was merely a pin prick of pain in comparison to the pain of my heart being shredded into pieces.

"El," Ryder whispered, crouching down beside me. Through my blurry eyes I could see he was weak. His dim eyes were hooded, his hands shook and he swayed a little from side to side. "The sooner we get back to the pack, the sooner you'll see him."

"It's..." I hiccuped, wiping my nose with the back of hand before another sob wracked through my chest.

"Shh," he cooed, stroking my hair in a soothing manner. Once again, he hauled me up from the ground, steadying himself on a nearby tree as he stumbled. "Let's go."

Our pace this time was much slower. We had used up as much of our energy as we could and if we ran for another minute we would collapse before we reached the territory. It seemed we weren't the only ones to slow down as we soon caught up with the rest of our friends.

Still, nobody said anything as we plodded on in silence, the only sound being my sobs. Finally, our surroundings began to look familiar and we could smell the packs scent.

When we reached the border, the wolves on patrol howled loudly, alerting the pack of our return. In front, Lexi began to choke violently and we all found ourselves dropping to the floor, knowing we were safe from harm.

"Ryder!" A familiar voice called but I couldn't bring myself to lift my head. I simply buried it in my forearms and allowed myself to cry. "Thank god you're okay."

"I'm fine Ty," Ryder groaned, the pain evident in his voice. "We need nightshade berries."

Without wasting a second, Tyler was off. Moments later he returned with sacks of berries that my father had gathered after the last time we had to deal with wolfsbane poison. Everyone ravenously devoured the berries, eager for the relief they provided from the sizzling agony.

"El?" Tyler lowered to ground beside me, a handful of berries in his palm. "Come on," he said, squeezing my shoulder with the other hand, "this will make it better."

"No!" I wailed, hiding my tear stained face from him. He had no idea. Those berries weren't going to take my pain away like they had for everyone else.

Before he could ask what I meant, a rustling came from the nearby trees before Chris and Liam appeared, Zach draped over their arms, hanging limply like a rag doll. They managed to lower his body to the ground before completely collapsing from exhaustion.

"Oh my god," Tyler grunted from beside me, his eyes locked on the bullet lodged in Zach's back. "Call the pack healer!" He barked to one of the border wolves. "Ella," he whispered, kissing my cheek, "please eat these."

He forced the berries under my nose and I reluctantly took them. With every mouthful, I could feel the heat inside of me dissipate, leaving a cool, refreshing feeling coursing through my veins. The pain subsided, leaving me with only the agonising ache in my chest as I stared at my mate, unrecognisable beneath the blood.

"Zach," I whispered, reaching across the ground to where his hand was limp at his side. I took it in my own, wincing at how cold his skin was - he was never cold. "Wake up," I begged, before the world began moving around us and he was taken away from me and I was left in a heap on the ground, alone and in more pain than I had ever been in my life.