Fallen (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 60 - Aftermath

*****

I held onto Talian closing my eyes as the island's shaking intensified once he was out.

I felt oddly at ease and calm. The noise around us was strangely tranquil, the rumble almost comforting. There was no distress or urgent need to salvage myself as I waited for the ground to give way beneath us.

He wasn't having the best death, in no way was he leaving peacefully, but at least he wasn't alone. At least I was with him, and he was with me.

I hoped that even though we were not mates, some of the serenity I felt could be felt by him as well.

It wasn't the worst way to die. If anything, it was quite a privilege to have him in my arms.

I hoped the witch had gotten Zev off the island. We had decided – without my Beta's input because he would have argued – that if worst came to worst, she would get him back onto the ground. After all, the reason our pack had a Beta was to have someone to step in if anything happened to the Alpha. We couldn't both perish at the same time.

I tightened my hold on Talian as the quaking became less intense and took it as a sign that we were breaking off. I wasn't really oriented with directions at the moment, but it felt like we were tipping.

The break never came though.

Instead, the tremors gradually faded until there was an unrealistic stillness. I waited for a few seconds; my body still buzzed but I wasn't physically shaking. I could no longer hear anything breaking, no leaves from the trees.

I opened my eyes and exhaled, not quite believing what I was seeing as I found that we were still on the island, and it had completely stopped moving.

The realisation only held my attention momentarily before it was drawn back to the man in my arms. He was covered in blood and bruises. The sight of Talian's pale face and the bluish hue on his lips made me tense. I quickly lifted my fingers to his cold neck. I zeroed in my hearing on him, blocking out anything else as I tried to listen to his heartbeat and breathing.

A relief that made my entire body slump washed over me as faint, strained breathing filled my ears. It wasn't doing well, but it was still there.

A shift from the corner of my eye caused my head to snap up, my body automatically responding to grab hold of the hand before it could touch Talian.

The person let out a pained whimper as another hand grabbed my wrist to stop me.

"Kendrick!" Zev snapped.

"Esme... sorry." I let the tight grip slip and drew my hand back to place it on Talian's arm.

"It's okay. I'll heal him," she said as she knelt, lifting her palms onto his back.

I watched for a few seconds, listening to his heartbeat strengthen but remain at the same pulsing rate. It was a slow, rhythmic and consistent beat.

When she drew her hands back, I let out a breath leaning my chin against his cold, damp hair.

"He's going to need some rest after all of that. It's not a good idea to wake him, just let him come to by himself."

"You were supposed to leave," I told her.

"I tried to." She glanced towards Zev. "He refused; I couldn't catch him. Luckily, I was able to find the amulet the spell was attached to."

"You think I'm stupid enough not to assume you would try to get me out of here?" Zev asked.

I glared up at him.

"I think you're stupid enough not to realise how important it was that you got out of here."