Chapter 26

Izabella’s POV

I was relieved when I finally got home. After being away from it for a few weeks, school was draining.

"I need to fucking swim." I laughed as Jason shoved his bag onto the floor in the kitchen. He had written a Math test, apparently, it didn't go too well.

"I told you to –” Eric was cut off by a loud shout from Joe.

"Pups in the Chamber!" He yelled. I looked up surprised.

"Alpha, what's going on?" I heard a man from Inferno.

"We’re under attack. The entire Eastern fence is down and they’ve already advanced quite far into our territory. Shift and go forward. Keep them as far from the house as possible, Cole," I heard Joe.

"You heard him, we do the same. Pups in the Chamber, elders too." I heard Cole yell.

I followed Jason and the others through the house.

"Izabella, stay," Cohen said as I was about to walk out.

"What?" I looked at him.

"You're not going out there." He said.

"Why? I can fight. Joe's been training me, I’m stronger than –” I tried to point out that I was stronger than a lot of the people that had run out already.

"Dad wouldn't let you go out there. It's too big a risk." Cohen said.

"Dad's not here, I'm eighteen. I can take care of myself. Stop treating me like I'm still a little kid. I can help. I'm stronger than a lot of the wolves that you're letting fight." I said.

"I don’t care, I don't want you getting hurt. I'm not taking any chances. You're staying here." He said.

"No, I'm –” he was gone, and so was everyone else. I let out a frustrated shout.

No. He wasn't going to tell me what to do. I was going to go whether he liked it or not. So what if I was his sister? Everyone out there was related to somebody, and I had enough strength to help. He had let Hayley run out and I was stronger than her. I wasn't some fragile child.

I frowned; I wasn't going to listen to him. Not this time. I ran out of the pack house making my way towards where I could hear fighting in the distance. Screaming, gunshots, howling.

I stopped running when I heard something move close by, but it went silent as soon as I stopped.

I cried out when it just jumped from the bushes. Was it a wolf? It looked like it. Mixed with a bear. I had never seen anything like it. What was it? I dodged it before it could hit me and then I charged at it. Because of its enormous shape, I hadn't counted on it being very fast. I was stupid for assuming it would be slow; it was anything but.

I cried out as I was hurled across the plane before my back hit a tree.

It growled daring me to try again.

I got up ready to go at it again but tensed when I heard Joe shout causing me to look towards him.

"Izabella, what the fuck are you doing out of the house?!" Was that the first time I heard him curse? The wolf took advantage of my temporary distraction, and before I could move, it smashed into me. I cried out feeling like my ribs were being smashed. It was flung away when Joe speared it. "I'm telling you this as your Uncle, and I'm ordering you as one of your Alphas. Go back into the house, and don't come out until I say you can." He ordered.

"No –” but I had to obey. He had used his Alpha tone. It was a command. I felt my body turn and begin to walk back to the pack house as Joe went on fighting with the wolf. I was so angry. Why did everyone want me to stay inside when I clearly had the strength to fight?

I was so lost in my anger as I walked back towards the house, I didn't see another of the wolves emerge from the trees. I heard a branch snap, but that was all before something smashed into me.

Adan’s POV

We were too slow. She was knocked out when the massive wolf tackled her, sending her slamming head-first into a tree. The bark was stained with blood from her head once she fell onto the grass. He began to move again, and before anyone thought of what to do next, I impulsively launched at the wolf. I needed to get him away from her before he could do more damage or get some of her blood.

I slammed my fist into its side sending it tumbling away from her. It might have been big and incredibly fast, but it didn't seem strong.

"Get her to the chamber!" I yelled at Trent as I jumped to hit it again. I was wrong; it was stronger than I had thought and had basically let me hit it. I realized that when he just shoved me back before I could even touch it this time. Since I wasn't expecting it to be even a little strong, I was caught off guard and ended up just stumbling back. Trent ignored what I said about getting Izabella away and we both launched at the wolf.

Just as my feet left the ground, the corner of my eye caught a piece of unusual light. I turned to see a single flame on the grass. Traveller. I landed against the wolf just to launch back off it and bolted to Izabella, but before I could even get halfway to her, the flame had grown, and now, in front of me, stood one of them. I had never seen them before. He smirked and opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, I stabbed my hand into his chest. I gasped in both pain and surprise when his movement simultaneously mimicked mine resulting in his hand in my chest too.

"I-it's a spell. Whatever you –” he coughed as my hand clenched his heart and I felt my own get the same squeeze from his hand, "Whatever you do t-to me, happens to you – you too." He struggled to speak through his breathless pain as he smirked. I coughed falling to my knees as he did, "You won't... You won't ki-kill me n-now.”

I glanced over at Izabella. If I let him go, he could take over any of our bodies, and if it were hers, they would undoubtedly use her blood for these wolves as they seemed to be on the same side.

"I-It's a shame." I coughed, "That – that you think I-I would not." I said. I gasped as I ripped his heart from his chest, and felt mine being ripped out of me.

"ADAN!" I heard Trent and my brothers' voices. When had the others shown up?

I felt my body begin to fall back but Gray caught me before I hit the ground, the trees were a blur of color around me.

"Oh my God –” before Gray could continue, I shook my head. There was no way to save me.

"I –” I tried to speak but I could not even breathe, “Riley –” I tried to whisper that I needed him to make sure she was okay as I had not told anyone yet that she was pregnant. I could not though. I just straggled as the trees faded to black around me and I finally let out the hardest and yet most comforting breath of my life.

Cohen’s POV

I sprinted over to my brothers and grabbed Adan’s heart to shove it back into his chest.

"Cohen –” Trent began.

"Let him concentrate! Don't-Don't speak, we can – we can still save him, he-he'll be okay." Gray sounded so frantic, so worried, so broken. I had never heard him like that. He was like me; we were always composed. It was Adan who had trouble hiding his emotions. Hearing Gray like that only made it worse.

I watched my trembling, blood-covered hands glow a dim blue as I held it above Adan's chest trying to heal him. I was putting every ounce of strength I had into this spell and it did not seem to be working.

"Wake up, come on, Adan, wake up." My eyes were blurring with tears as I fought to keep them down trying to concentrate as panic filled my chest. The knot in my throat was making it impossible to breathe or swallow. It was not working. I could see that it was not. I could feel it but I refused to believe it. I felt like my chest was going to shatter into itself. Gray's sob was the last thing it took for me to break down. "Damn it, Adan! WAKE UP! GET UP!" I yelled wanting to punch him for not listening to me.

"Cohen, he's –” I heard Cole.

"Shut up!" Gray cut him off, "Adan, wake up, wake up." He repeated tough his sobbing. I felt my entire body shaking. This was not happening.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up," I mumbled repeatedly as tears fell down my face while the glow faded from my hands as I felt my strength drain.

I shoved Cole as he tried to push me away from Adam and tried to start the spell up again.

"Cohen, he's gone –” he was saying.

"No! NO! He isn't!" I shouted. I glanced at Gray to see him hugging Adan's lifeless body as he sobbed. "No. No. No." I repeated sobbing, my body going numb as Cole hugged me.