Alpha Ultima

Chapter 24

I don't know how long it takes, minutes or hours, for this goddess forsaken swirling black smoke of death to finally clear enough for me to move, but the second I feel the release of my limbs, I'm already moving. I make a mad, albeit naked, dash across the grass to where my very still, almost lifeless mate lay.

He hadn't shifted, he was still in his wolf form. Blood pooled underneath his body, the metallic scent making me gag. My fingers brush through his thick, dark fur, as I pulled his body closer to mine. His large head lolled to the side, eyes closed and jaw slack. My heart pounds painfully against my rib cage as my eyes burn with the fire of my tears. My throat torn raw with the screams bursting from my chest.

My pack begins to move about so quickly. Cries of fear and pain surround me. The two enforcers who had stood behind me against the vampire now rush to my mates beta's. A god awful sound echoed, and it takes a moment to realize that the cries of anguish are coming from myself.

My fingers curl into Quinn's deep fur and I drop my head onto his chest. I feel the slight movement of his breathing and I can no longer hold onto the sobs that have been building in my chest. They are deep and raw and heart wrenching.

"Luna, please. We need to move them to the medical wing." The dark haired enforcer pleads with me. "They are alive, for now. They need to be cared for."

His words sound so far away, like they're muffled or under water. I feel through the bond and find Quinn's lifeline. It pulsed to life, weak but fighting, and I huffed out a soft breath in relief. Next, I began to feel through for my connection to Xander, it felt like I was wading through sticky, almost inky black webs. They were thick and dense, it felt wrong. Through the webs I could feel a slight thrum of our bond and I reached out to touch it. It flickered to life under my touch before disappearing completely, leaving me feeling cold and alone.

"Luna! Please!" A murky, far off voice cried as they grabbed my shoulders and tried to pull my body off of Quinn's.

I felt like a passenger in my own body as Lupin took over. She cried out and held on to Quinn tighter, thrashing against the strangers hold on our body. My naked breasts pressed against Quinn's soft fur as we held on even tighter. We lost Xander somewhere, we couldn't let Quinn go too.

"Adam, stop!" A familiar voice commanded. "Get your hands off of her."

I felt the strangers hands remove themselves from my shoulders and become replaced with another. The scent was calming and brought an ache to my chest. I looked up, my eyes filled with tears as they met Sam's pretty blue ones.

"Come on, little miss. I've got you." His voice was calm and soothing as he wrapped his arms around my cold body and lifted me into his arms.

A broken sob escapes me and I throw my arms around his shoulders. Burying my face in the crook of his neck, I can't help but inhale his deep woodsy scent, taking in all the comfort from him that I can.

He came back. I sent my thanks up to the Goddess, where ever she may be, at Sam returning home. When did he get here? Was he apart of the fight and I completely missed it? Good Goddess, my emotions and attention span must have been so all over the place that I didn't even feel Sam cross back over the pack boundaries.

"It's gone! I can't feel it anymore. It was there and it felt wrong but it was still there! Now it's gone. Xander's gone and you left me. I can't do this. I don't know what to do and it hurts so much."

My breathing was erratic and uncontrolled. Fat tears fell from my swollen eyes. My voice muffled in the crook of Sam's neck as he held me tighter. Sam stood and began walking to Goddess knows where, his hold on my shaking body never wavering. The heat coming off of him seeped into my stone cold soul.

He was here. He didn't leave me. I couldn't lose my best friend. These past few days without him here felt cold and lonely. I've spent almost every day for the past five years with him by my side and for him to just disappear like he did, it hurt.

I know that logically, I could understand why he left. I don't know how I would have felt to have the sting of rejection from my mate. He was such a strong man and watching him crumble and pull into himself, was hard to see. But illogically, Lupin was devastated that Sheriff had left her behind. I was devastated too. Feelings and emotions aren't rational. It's hard to stop the onslaught of it all coming at you at once. The overbearing weight of it sitting in the middle of your chest.

"I'm right here, little miss. I didn't leave you, I'm right here." He pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head and kept walking. "I promise you we will get him back, okay? Just hold it together for a little bit longer. We need you to be strong. The pack needs you."

Suddenly, I felt another presence come up behind us and Sam's steps faltered. I could feel his uncertainty on how to proceed before he took a deep breath and just kept on walking.

"Sam-" Tyler's voice was soft and questioning.

"No."

"Please, just give me a moment."

"No. There are two vamps tied up and unconscious in the far tree line. Follow my scent to them. Have them dealt with. I don't have time for you right now." Sam's voice was hard and unwavering and I was proud of him for being so strong.

Tyler didn't respond and I felt his presence fade the more we continued on. A few moments later we arrived at the pack doctor's home. Sam didn't even try to put me down as we were ushered into the same room the two of us were in not that long ago to discuss my infertility issues. That felt like years ago at this point.

I took a few more deep breaths, feeding off of the comfort and strength of all that was Sam, before lifting my head and pressing a kiss to his cheek. He put me down softly and stepped away from me. I turned to look around the room and was stunned to find it in chaos.

In my shock, sounds and awareness had really just escaped me. As my feet touched back to the ground, clarity hit me like a freight train. The pack doctor was shouting demands and a few others ran around like chickens with their heads cut off as they got the medical equipment together for her.

My eyes fell on Yuki, Quinn's dark colored wolf, and the sight of him almost had me falling to my knees. Blood was seeping out of his mouth and nose. His chest moved in minute movements, a slight rise and fall of his breath which came in sparse moments.

The painful scent of Quinn's lifeblood seeping out of him had my stomach rolling. My body was overcome with an uncomfortable warmth and saliva filled my mouth. I was too hot. Why was it so hot? The world around me began to swirl and I realized I needed to sit down. I took a single step back towards Sam before his voice cut through the fading colors in my vision.

"Oh shit, she's gonna faint-"

And it all went dark.