Changing You ✦ The Sequel

Chapter 32 {R}

"I don't think you care enough about me shooting you," Asher stated, drawing the weapon back and looking down on it with a smile tugging just briefly at the corners of his mouth. "So maybe I should shoot one of them, huh?"

The second Asher turned to aim at Ryan, Zach barged right into him, shoving him off his feet.

Both of them slammed onto the ground, the gun falling just out of their reach.

They both crawled towards it, struggling to fight the other off, and I didn't breathe again until Zach was the first one to grab ahold of it.

He smacked the iron holster of the weapon against Asher's head, just beside his left eye, with such force he instantly fell back, blinking hard against the spots that blurred his vision.

I didn't get time to shout a warning as the wolf, who I realised had to be the other girl, Everly — the one with hair a shade as pale as this wolf's fur — had already jumped at Zach.

Teeth sunk far into his shoulder, making him groan out in pain as she dragged him off like a prey, ripping open his skin even further.

He had a hard time finding a good aim as he was fighting to get off his back, off the ground, because he'd never be able to defend himself in a position like this.

To do that, he had to turn around with his shoulder stuck between a pair of jaws that worked like a bear trap. The movement damaged his skin to the bone, it cost him being able to use his right arm, and I saw him bite his own tongue to stop himself from crying out.

He traded his dominant hand for his left one, barely aimed, didn't blink twice and pulled the trigger.

It was a messy shot. The force of the bullet knocked Everly off her feet, her sharp whine piercing the air, and I didn't know where she'd been hit until her chest coloured a dark shade of red.

It reminded me of watercolour paint, and the way one drop can soak up an entire blank page with just enough water.

The eruption of anger coming directly off her pack mates was so strong it suffocated the air, and for a second I thought it was fear itself that made it hard for me to breathe, until I realised it was Jack's hand wrapped around my neck, cutting off my oxygen.

A sob so loud escaped Ryan's throat that it caught everyone's attention, and it wasn't even the fact that my own brother was threatening to kill me that broke my heart; it was the torture on Ryan's face as Camila twisted his damaged arm so brutally onto his back it snapped.

She forced him onto his knees, pressing further, her eyes glowing a bright gold as she stared Zach directly in the face.

He lifted the gun up to her forehead, and he would've shot her then and there if I hadn't choked out a cry of pain.

His attention shifted to me and I had never seen him gone paler than he did in that moment.

His eyes moved between mine, hands clenching around the weapon in his hands, ready to fulfil his promise to never let anyone hurt me again, but he and I both had never expected that person to be my brother.

I felt the blood stream down my neck in small, trickling lines as Jack's claws dug into my skin like five little knives.

Zach's arms were trembling and I could tell keeping the gun raised up like that was hurting his bleeding shoulder beyond words, but he remained frozen in that position from disbelief, from shock. Panic.