Only You

Chapter 17

A/N: ***Trigger warning: this chapter contains self harm and attempted suicide.***

Chapter 17

Emma screamed. She screamed so loud her voice shook the walls. She thrashed around in bed, scattering Regina's ashes until they stuck to her body, sticking to the blood that flowed down her face, staining the sheets underneath her. Every ounce of her body felt like it was on fire as the reality of the situation finally hit.

Regina was dead.

Regina was gone.

And Emma was all alone in the world again, this time with an eternity ahead of her.

She didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't know how to function without Regina. She didn't know how to live without her.

At some point the sun came up, causing Emma to move for the first time since Regina died, just enough to close the curtains before she returned to weeping uncontrollably. She didn't care when her body began to feel sick from the sun. She continued to cry, screaming so loud she was sure people in town could hear her.

Eventually, she passed out from exhaustion before she felt the effects of the sun, her body no longer having the energy to cry. She woke up the following night to the sound of wolves barking outside and scratching against the front door. She knew immediately that their Wolf friends were outside, and they were there because they heard her cries. At first she ignored the sound, hoping they would eventually leave her alone, but after fifteen minutes they still didn't falter, their barks growing louder with each passing minute. Emma reluctantly rolled out of bed, intent on screaming at her visitors to leave her alone. But the moment she opened the door, she rushed over to the barking Wolves, falling to her knees in front of them.

"She's gone," she cried, her tears falling to the ground, mixing with the dirt, creating a bloody mud under her knees. Omega was by her side immediately, resting her head on Emma's back. Emma wrapped her arms around the White Wolf's body, holding her friend as she continued to weep, staining her white fur with her blood tears. Alpha and Beta disappeared, leaving Omega to comfort Emma as she continued to cry.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know how to live without her," Emma sobbed, her body shaking against Omega's. Omega cried with sympathy, letting Emma know she understood her pain.

A few minutes later, Alpha and Beta returned, each carrying a small dead animal in their teeth, offering their kill to Emma, knowing she probably has not eaten.

"It's okay, you keep them tonight." Emma attempted to wipe away her tears, smearing her face with her dark red streaks. Alpha inched the rabbit closer to Emma once again. "It's for you," Emma insisted, causing Alpha to growl. "Okay, okay." Emma pulled herself away from Omega to grab the animal.

She decided not to drain the blood into a bowel like they usually did, since she wouldn't be sharing the blood with Regina. Instead, she bit the animal, draining it's small body quickly, offering the carcass back to Alpha to eat. She did the same for the squirrel that Beta offered, handing the carcass back to the Red Wolf. She watched as Alpha ripped the rabbit in half, offering the larger piece to Omega, before eating her piece. Watching Alpha and Omega interact caused an overwhelming sense of grief to overcome her once more, forcing her to collapse onto the ground, her tears forming a pool of blood under her head. The three Wolves cuddled up next to her, forming a circle around her as she continued to weep uncontrollably. Emma laid on the cold ground for the rest of the night, curled up on her side with her knees pressed against her chest, surrounded by her Wolf friends, until her body informed her that sunrise was approaching.