Page 46 of Wicked Bite
“You’re a Shade man through and through.” Atlas Savage was the dangerous right hand of the crown, and he would make sure it was done. Even if deep down I didn’t want to, this was the right thing to do for us all.
“More than that, I’m your best mate. So let us go.” He walked around me to the full-length mirror that I’d come in from. He pressed his fingers to it, and the mirror gave way under his hand as he pushed through. He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Are you coming?”
“Yes, I am.” Trudging through the mirror and back toward the hotel felt like a death walk. I’d never hesitated more in my life. This had to end. If I fell fully for her, there would be no turning back, and I could kill Piper in the process if I went feral. Humans were so frail, and Piper was no different.
When we stepped through into my bathroom at the hotel, I stood there for a long moment trying to think of every way I could to get out of this. To save us from the chaos that my family curse would bring. I pulled my phone from my pocket to see if she’d messaged me. I was supposed to be there. I’d told her I’d meet her. But I hadn’t shown up. I’d done the one thing she hated most. My heart sank to see her one text and to have not answered it.
Maybe that’d make it easier for us both. If she hated me, it might make it easier. When all the while I just wanted to prove to her that she could rely on someone, and it would work out and be okay. But nothing about this was okay.
I tapped my phone in my hand and glanced at Sav. “I have to do it to her face.”
Piper deserved at least that much. Deep down it was tearing me up to leave her, but it would be worse knowing she wasn’t in this world because of me, all because I was so desperately close to falling for her.
He pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. “I’ll be here.”
I headed for the door and walked out, leaving him there to clean up the pieces of myself when I came back. It was easier to focus on the patterns of the green carpet as I walked to the elevator rather than on what I was about to do. The elevator ride was a blur of thoughts and potential faces she’d make when I told her I had to leave. Dread filled me and I didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes or the hurt that would befall her face. When I got to the lobby, my stomach sank. I knew it would only take me a minute to get to her house from here. It was too fast, too soon. If I waited just a minute longer then we were still together, if only for another moment in time. But why prolong this for either of us?
I was out the door and into the cold air. Icy sleet rained down on me, prickling my cheeks and turning my nose cold. I glanced up at the sky, looking for a hint of the moon and the peace it usually brought me. But there was no peace for me here under the dark cloudy night sky. A subtle hint of honey drifted on the breeze and my whole body ignited. She was here, she was close. Excitement flooded my body at the thought of seeing her. Then came the sharp pain of knowing we had to break up and this would be the last time. My head snapped to the side and there she was, sliding her way across the road with her hands out. Like she was trying to navigate the thick layer of sleet on the road.
The sound of screeching tires filled the air and my heart stopped. “NO!”
I ran toward her using every ounce of my speed. The headlights shined over her body lighting her up. She didn’t have time to move or react. A bellow ripped from my throat when I realized I wasn’t going to get there in time, either. The car careened around the corner and slammed into her. She flew up over the hood, her legs twisted at weird angles. Her head smacked into the windshield and snapped back. She flew off to the side and the car kept on going, but I couldn’t go for them. I only saw her. Only wanted to get to her. I skidded to Piper’s side and fell to the ground beside her.
“No! God. Piper.” My voice hitched in my throat. Her little body was broken and bloody. A deep gash ran from her hair line all the way down her cheek. Each of her legs was bent at awful angles. My hands fluttered over all her wounds. What the hell do I do? The smell of blood filled the air and began to seep from her body. “No, Little Creature, no.”
Her eyes fluttered open and closed not seeing anything. “Gray . . .”
Her voice was so thready, so weak. Her breaths were shallow and barely moving her chest. My heart tore from my chest. This couldn’t be happening. Not to her. Not tonight. There was no time for an ambulance. They’d never get here in this weather. I ripped my coat off, covering her little body trying to keep it warm. Where was a bloody witch when I needed one!
A rattling cough quaked her body and she groaned in pain. Blood sprayed from her lips and coated her face. A lump formed in my throat. “Shh, don’t say anything. I’ve got you.”
I pulled her into my arms and held her closer to me. But I felt my jeans soak through with her blood. I threw my head back, screaming, “SOMEBODY HELP ME!”
But there was no one. It was too late, and Salem was a ghost town. Her body quaked in my arms. “Wh-where were you?”
“I’m here, love. I’m here.” I brushed the hair back from her face, but when I pulled my hand away it was soaked with her blood.
Every sound was amplified and all I could focus on was the slow shuttered beats of her heart. They were slow and far between. Even her body began to cool. I rocked her back and forth, holding her tighter, trying to protect her from ice and cold.
“Gray, what happened?” Sav was at my side, pulling at my shoulder. “Gray, are you there?”
I couldn’t speak through the ball in my throat and could barely see past the tears in my eyes. “Car. She . . . she was coming for me.”
Her head fell back, and her eyes slid shut. I felt her body go limp in my arms, and I had to save her. Had to do something. I couldn’t let something so exquisite and alive die on the street like this. I forced my fangs out and bit down hard on my wrist.
“What are you doing? No, Gray you can’t.” Sav yanked at my shoulder trying to pull me away from her.
I shoved him back with my one arm. “No! I have to save her!”
I held my wrist over her mouth and let my blood drip between her lips. I let it fill her whole mouth, but she didn’t move, didn’t swallow. It’d been too long since I’d heard a heartbeat. I lay her on the ground and pressed her lips together, massaging her throat trying to get her to swallow one last time.
“Please, love. Just drink. Just drink.” Shudders wracked me from head to toe. “Oh, God! Let her drink!”
Pain like I’d never known seared my chest and ran up my throat. It was like lava burning me from the inside out. This wasn’t us. This wasn’t the end of her story. NO! I’d be damned if I let it be. She was everything right with the world, and I’d see her in it.
Sav pulled at my arm. “This is madness. You can’t.”
“I will save her!” I glared at him. “She will not die this day.”
