on'
back. My head throbs like someone's beating it with a sledgehamme
ng was
e midnight, could be three in the morning. Terror claw
or hours. Hours with V
f howling with panic inside my chest. Each step sends shockwaves thro
angs open, creaking
wrong. Too comp
he metallic tang coats the back of my throat and makes bile rise in
I see
rch violently. Her skinGod, her skinis a canvas of unspeakable violence. Burns from cigarettes and worse cover her arms and torso in angry red welts. Cuts slice across her ri
ket a grotesque purple balloon. Blood crusts around her nose, which sits at an unnatural anglebr
d. Moi
sister who used to follow me around when we were children, before Dad twisted ev
e done? What
h her and cause more damage. Her breathing is so shallow, so labored, that I have to lea
er. "I'm sorry," I choke out, my voice cracking. "I'm
ould have stood by and watched, told myself she deserve
to get h
stle any injuries. Her skin is ice cold, hypothermic cold, and she doesn't react at all when I lift her int
t. What if she doesn't wak
my hands as I dial Rosalie'
with sleep, but alert. She knows I wouldn'
the nanny take care of Penelope." My voice cracks, breaking completely. "
he sound of her getting out of
I don't know" My throat closes up completely. "I don't know if she's
medical team meet us there." Her voice turns sharp, efficient, but I can hear
se,
safe, baby. We'll f
un for the car, my wolf lending me desperate speed. Her blo
ittle longer. Please, Moir
*
behind her, still in pajamas with a jacket thrown over them. The Crimson Eclipse pack's med
's condition through the car window, her face go
passenger seat. Her head lolls back at a sickening angle, a
g monsters." She helps me carry Moira toward the helicopter, supporting her legs wh
s we climb inside, her voice shaking with
bile ICU. A paramedic in scrubs rushes forward, her
then snaps into professional mode.
" I sink into a seat, my hands shaki
g vitals, starting IVs, connecting monitoring equipment. The steady beep of the heart
ing my fingers so hard it hurts. "She's
ness, carrying my sister toward the on
r out. She'
ted sooner. Should have trusted my instincts when I first started having doubts about our fa
stopped this? How many time
still form and make a silent promise
e never goes back to that hell. And I'll spend the
*
own'
nto the air as my wolf jerks awake
d, one word echoing with de
AT
floor across the office. His eye
s, his voice already r
ge slams into me like a p
oat in a roar that rattles the wi
splintering under the force. "I'll fucking kill
tense I double over, gasping. It's her pain, tr
ut, my vision blurring r
have extended, his wolf bare
he pull guide me. "South.
and now, deadly and final. "We find whoever
ts hinges as we stride through
one look at our faces, and immediately drops
," my brother growls, his voice carr
h deadly promise. "When we
mate. We'r
ill never b
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