Changing You ✦ The Sequel

Chapter 55 {R & Z}

Zach's footsteps lightly echoed down the stairs before he stepped onto the ground floor. His shirt was put on backwards; thrown on in a rush. His movements, although very much human now, still held the swiftness of a wolf sneaking closer. Elegant. Breathless.

His steps toward Jack were controlled, his palms showing, his voice steady. "Put down the gun."

Jack turned with a flinch, the gun finding Zach. His chest heaved with hysteria, with panic, and the rage in his eyes made him the most dangerous person in the building right now.

"You don't get to tell me that." The words stabbed across Jack's lips. "Especially not you."

Zach's voice seemed empty. Another step brought him closer to the loop. "That's my look." He pointed at the gun. "Not yours."

Jack twisted back at Warner, the gun an extension of his hand. His lips drew back. "I don't even know anymore."

"I do." Zach's voice was sharp. "There are some things you can't come back from. If you do this, you're going to spend the rest of your life regretting it. Take that from me."

The groundbreaking moment struck me. The tables were turning, advantages shifting.

In the distance, I recognised another familair voice. Daniel hushed at Ryan and Reese, reassuring them they were safe now. Relief clashed through my veins; that felt too soon.

Warner stood there, fuming with anger, but awfully alone. I waited for someone to come and stand by him. My eyes scanned the room; from Caleb, to Asher, to Everly. No one made an attempt to help him. All they did was stare back; horrified. It made me wonder how much of this had actually been free will.

Warner's eyes gleamed red as he stepped onto my brother with confidence; without fear. It gave him something desperate, the way he stared death in the eye. He had nothing — no one — left to lose. "Do it," he dared. "I know you've wanted to."

Jack didn't need another push. The bullet would had landed in the middle of Warner's forehead, had Zach not stepped in front of him. His hands were still raised, his words thickly emphasised, trying to get through. "This is not you. He's still messing with your head."

Jack's hands trembled around the gun. There was pain hidden in the way the air locked in his throat. I could see his morals fighting each other, tearing him apart. There was still so much war going on inside his mind.

I felt a flicker of calmness wash over me, just briefly. Warm, like a hand on my shoulder, bringing comfort. Jonah's doing, I recognised. When my eyes found him, I knew it wasn't meant for me.

He tried to keep himself propped up, an arm wrapped around his stomach, closing off ugly scratches. He flinched against the pain as he tried to fix his eyes on Jack.

The tension fled from Jack's arms as the calmness bled through his veins; forged by an upper hand. He eased long enough for Zach to take the gun from him.

Warner's face turned blank, awfully unable to read as he faced the person that had changed his life forever. We could all hear his heartbeat, racing like a lunatic. He seemed uneasy. Uneasy about the fact that Zach had just protected him from a bullet.

Zach seemed the most calm out of all of us as he dumped the weapon on the ground.

"Out of all of us, you lost the most." Zach stared Warner in the eyes. As he spoke, I was sure the whole building held its breath. "And I'm sorry for my part in that."

"I deserved everything you planned here. I did. But none of them did." His eyes glanced over everyone in this room, including Caleb. They lingered on Jack. I was sure his thoughts were with Ryan and Reese. "You won't touch them again." Somehow, his words carried more impact than any thread.