Shudder

38

Shock had long ago taken the place of the excitement I had felt on the Annual Gathering Run with all the packs. It had been a wonderful, beautiful thing to have witnessed and been apart of, but now....now the beauty was becoming tainted as I stared at someone who was no longer a friend. Who hadn't been for awhile, but my brain just didn't want to let go of the hope that Jason might return or apologize. He never did though and that should've been enough -- now it was.

I watched Jace as he sneered at me, his face splattered in speckles of blood, of Lupus blood. He didn't raise the gun at me, instead he just stared with that disgusted look on his face while his fellow Jaecars buddies huddled around him.

"Jason..." I sneered back and glanced worriedly at the pack members who'd been shot. They were being taken care of so I whipped back around to my ex-friend and now enemy. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Because, Rori, you're unnatural and all of these need to be destroyed, including you!" He barely held his voice in check as he said this. The hate flowing from him had me flinching back and into unsuspecting arms. I almost yelped, but Roman's familiar scent put me at ease.

"What right do you have to kill any of us!" Roman snarled, his fur sprouting through and poking into my skin.

"He doesn't," a cold, cool voice spoke up. One that was oddly familiar, but I just couldn't seem to figure it out. At least, not until she was within view. She was still the same, only she, too, radiated hate and an icy coldness I'd never seen until I'd changed and become the beast.

But it was so much worse than just that, she knew something and that something was probably Cole.

"Claire," I growled, my muscles tightening with the urge to spring at her and strangle her pale throat, but I remained still because one step closer and the Jaecars with their raised weapons would fire bullets that I was sure was laced with Wolf's Bane into my system.

"Oh....Rori. You seem to be doing," she paused, eyes raking over my nakedness and spat, "lovely."

"What do you want, Claire?" My lips, pulled back and I could no longer contain my snarl. She was here for something, not just to kill the supernaturals. "Is it to really try and kill all of us supernaturals?"

Claire studied me, lips curving into a smile that was far from pleasant as her eyes raked over my nude form with such disgust. I felt Roman's arms tighten around me and as I watched Claire's mouth open to speak, another cut in before she could breathe a sound.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Tidus Reem snapped as he marched his way over to Claire and the Jaecars. He held no fear in his walk either, even when they raised weapons to him, he only scowled further.

He paused before us, but his eyes never left their searing stare into Claire. Claire herself didn't look shaken though, if anything she appeared smug for a second before it melted into a mask of innocence.

"Why, nothing. We heard there would be an Annual Gathering and came to see the festivities," Claire parroted off, trying to seem as innocent as ever.

"Don't play with me, Jaecar!" Tidus snapped, puffing up with anger and ignoring the clicks of guns being cocked. "Why. Are. You. Here?! You're kind don't come here nor are they welcome unless they want a death wish!"

Claire actually flinched and stepped back then. She gazed at Tidus warily before straightening.

"I'm here, not to harm my people. Nor am I here to harm all supernaturals as my dimwitted lacky says, though that day, I'm sure will come. For now though, I'm here for her!" Claire snarled, sticking a pasty finger at me. Roman snapped then and shoved me behind him as though it'd keep Claire from getting what she wanted.

"The Lupus? Why?" Tidus asked, scowling a little more.

"Because she took everything from me," Claire said gravely, but then her face brightened as an almost sick smile came upon her face. "Well, almost everything!"

She snapped her fingers and suddenly a body was being pushed through the mass of Jaecars, 'ows' and grunts of pain accompanying the pushing until finally a familiar figure, one who I'd dreamed about getting back the moment I'd lost him was standing before me.

"Cole," I whispered, my eyes brimming with tears I would not shed in front of the Jaecars or supernaturals.

Cole gazed at me, through black and blue eyes and stringy strands of dirty black hair. His shallow face was covered in bruises as well as any skin that was visible, but I was sure that if the clothes he had on, were off, his entire body would be covered in them. His clothes hung on his body loosely and the shoes he wore were ripped open. The sight made me sick and angry all at once that even though they'd had Cole for a month, they tortured him and barely fed him, if at all.

I swayed dangerously and looked around, hearing nothing, but seeing everything. Too much of everything. Roman was tense like the other Lupus, Tidus was just extremely annoyed his gathering had been soiled and Claire was yakking about something, but I didn't know. All I could picture was her head, bloody and bodyless, on a silver platter. Rage was the only thing on my mind, making her suffer and before I could even keep myself in check, let alone alert others, I was springing at Claire.

My fingers wrapped themselves around her slim neck and squeezed, lifting her off the ground as my other arm wound back and connected with her delicate face. The bones shattered beneath my fist and I could hear her cry of pain through the pulsing throb of my heartbeat in my ears.

But somehow, without wanting to, my fingers released Claire and I wobbled, my mind hazy. Not with rage, but with the heaviness induced from being injected with a drug...or something. As the rage I had for Claire vanished, I could feel a throb of pain shoot through me. I glanced down at myself and all I could see was the blooming splotch of blood that slowly trickled from my side down to my leg. I had been shot, probably by a Jaecar and now the Wolf's Bane was flooding my system.

I didn't even have time to say goodbye or have thoughts that were sentimental, the only thing I did feel was a sense of dull panic before my body dropped to the ground and I lost myself to the darkness.