Page 122 of Pulse
Flesh minced into flesh, hands clawed at me, but not once did he even try to tap out. He wanted me to die too much; it was anger that was ruling him this time. The same thing he used against me, the same thing he used to ruin my life and the lives of the people I loved, it was the same thing that was destroying him now. Sweet fucking irony.
“Ash!”
A scream ripped through my mind and my heart twisted as I saw what I’d done. It was her piercing cry that broke the spell. She was the fuckin’ beast whisperer and it was my name on her lips that halted my fist mid-punch. The one voice through the chaos that I would recognize anywhere.
Spitfire.
Dazed, I fell backwards off Hammer and landed hard on my back. I stared up at the floodlights, light searing into my retinas, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath.
I wasn’t a murderer. I wasn’t a monster. I couldn’t do it.
His blood was still on my hands. I felt my skin tighten as it dried across my knuckles. I felt the blood oozing from my face. I felt the throb across the bridge of my nose and knew that it was broken. I used the pain to keep my eyes open.
Noise rung in my ears as my vision began to blur and I moaned, reaching out for something, anything…reaching out for Ren.
“Ren…” I muttered. “Ren…”
“I’m here.” Hands caressed my skin.
“Ren…”
“It’s over,” she murmured, cupping my broken face in her hands.
“Spitfire,” I moaned, fixing my darkening vision on her brown eyes.
She smiled and I realized she’d been crying. She was crying. “It’s over.You won.”
I sighed like I was letting out the last of my anger, hurt, pain…all of it. The rage was gone, Spitfire had my heart and now I was fuckin’ reborn. Then her lips were against mine and I knew everything was going to be okay.
We’d won. We’d fuckin’ won.
Then, I let go.
