Werewolf Bites (bxb completed)

Chapter 38

Romulus had just confirmed what I feared. Bayne was dying.

"How long does he have?"

"I'm not sure. His heartbeat is going to get weaker and weaker. Until it stops."

"There has to be something we can do. Anything." I pleaded to him. I couldn't even bare the thought of his words being true.

"I'll keep trying to do everything I can. But you must prepare for the worst."

My heart felt like it was slowly being gutted with a knife. It didn't feel real. That he would really be gone.

I had to get out. I had to leave. I didn't say anything before trying to go out the door.

"Erin, wait. Don't do anything reckless." Romulus tried to stop me by gently grabbing my arm. He pleaded to me with his stormy eyes. I didn't let him stop me. I jerked my arm away from him and left.

I went into the woods. I was angry. Angry at the witch. I didn't know why my feelings were so strong for Bayne, but they were. When the moon came out, I didn't join the pack. I went on my own. Running as fast as my body allowed me to move. I wanted to destroy something. I wanted to fulfill the hunger I felt as a wolf. The deep, empty, hunger. It felt like craving something, but not knowing what it was. The craving was cranked up high. It encouraged me to move faster and search for something fulfilling.

I was far away when I woke up. I didn't know where I was. I laid naked in the snow. I waited until the next night to return. It was much faster to return as a wolf. I came back the next morning, after shower and changing, I headed down to the healing room. Nadine and Romulus were talking. Their voices were low. I stopped at the door before entering, pushing my body against it.

"What about a silver bullet? Or wolfsbane?" Nadine said.

"No, none of that is strong enough to kill. Especially not him."

"There's nothing that can defeat a wolf?"

"Not kill, no. I'm trying to find a way to weaken him."

"We have to try. Bayne is almost gone. He died trying to make Erin human again. We have to succeed in that. For Bayne and Erin." Nadine said.

"You're right. It's what Bayne would want. There's no hope for Bayne now. He's not going to wake up." Romulus said.

"What do we tell Erin?" Nadine asked.

"We tell Erin we're putting all of our energy towards saving Bayne, but what we actually need to do is find a way to weaken my brother." Said Romulus.

"Erin won't accept that. Erin cares for Bayne too much." 

"We tell him we're still working on Bayne. We tell him that until Bayne's last breath. Erin won't stop, even if it's too late."

"Can the witches come up with anything? Anything to weaken him?" Nadine asked.

I wondered if I should make my presence known. Bayne was really gone. I trusted Romulus's judgment, but I didn't want to believe that. We lived in a world where fairies and witches lived, there had to be something.

I made my appearance a few moments after, pushing the door open.

"Erin! You're back!" Nadine jumped.

"We were starting to get worried about you. It's been a few days since we've seen you." Romulus said. Dark bags underlined his eyes like the shadow of the moon.

"I had to get away for a bit. Don't worry, I kept it lowkey. How's Bayne?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"He's the same. I'll keep working on him." He said. Romulus refused to look me in the eye.

"Are you, now?" I said.

He rose his head, and watched me with his tired eyes.

"Of course."

"Enough, Rom. I heard you in the hall. You're giving up on him!" I snapped.

Romulus and Nadine exchanged looks wondering what to say next.

"We're not giving up on him. It's just, there's nothing else we can really do. Not without finding Bree. She's seemed to disappeared off the face of the earth. Even if we did find her, theres no way she'd tell us." Romulus explained to me.

"We can't just let him die!"

"We aren't letting him die. We did everything we could. Bayne would want you to be human again. He died trying to do that."

I felt my eyes instantly turn into waterfalls. I looked away from them.

"I'm not doing this without him." I said, turning away from their pallid faces.

I stormed off. I didn't want to see them. I didn't want to see the people who were giving up on him.

The month of January flew by. It was January 26th, the Eve of my birthday. A year ago I was mindlessly finishing my senior year of high school. So much had changed. My life before it all was lost. It was a forbidden memory. A dream that would never be obtained again.

I thought about how tomorrow, I'd be nineteen. I would be a wolf forever. I couldn't go home. I couldn't see my aunt and uncle.  My relationship with them was ruined, and I couldn't hurt them. I didn't want to see Romulus or Nadine. Bayne was alive, but barley. Romulus expected it to be any day.

I went in to the healing room to see Bayne. I had finally brought myself to get a good look at him and accept his absence in my life.

I stood over him. His eyes were sunken in, he was as pale as snow. It looked like he was already gone. His hair was wispier, like dandelion fluff. They changed his clothes from leather and denim to cashmere and cotton. They dressed him nicely for his upcoming passing.  His tie was spruce with a tiny pattern. His vest was black, as was his pants.

He looked nice in a suit, I thought. He probably would've hated it. He preferred his boots and leather jackets. His hair was even styled. He looked clean cut now. It was proven, not even fanciest clothes couldn't stop him from looking like a zombie. The curse she had put on him slowly sucked the live out of him, like a straw sucking up a cold drink.

The small room was packed with wolves. Everyone paid their respects and said their final goodbyes to Bayne.

I brought a single flower with me. It was a crimson rose. A half dead rose. It's the only thing any of the closest stores had. I'm sure Bayne would've laughed at the irony of it. A half dead flower for a half dead man.

I reached for his hand and put the flower near him. His skin was freezing, as if he had been abandoned in a blizzard.

Romulus gave his heartbeat a final listen.

"He's almost gone. I don't think he'll make it to tomorrow." His somber voice said.

Nadine was there, close to my dad. She came by me to comfort me. She hugged me and wiped my many tears. They didn't seem to stop coming.

"It'll be alright. It'll be a peaceful passing." She said.

I couldn't force out the words. My heart ached. I couldn't imagine being in the pack without Bayne. I couldn't imagine doing anything without him. There were so many things that I wanted to say to him. I regretted not cherishing our moments together. I wish it had been me. I wish I was the one struck by Bree's dark hex.

There was a moment of silence. The room was packed like a can of sardines. We all squeezed together. In a moment of silence, we all paid our respects to the fallen guardian.

The front door thudded open. We all turned. Someone was there. Raven came sprinting in, breaking the moment of silence. She pushed past the swarm of well dressed werewolves.

"Rom-Romulus! Erin!" She breathed heavily. She was carrying a giant book in her hands. The crowd parted. Attention was pulled to Bayne and focused on her.

"What's going on?" Ulrich asked.

"I found something. In an ancient spell caster book. I - I think. I think I found a way to save him."