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I shot him a look, his eyebrows waggling up and down, just messing around. “Can I kiss you, Talia Ainsley?”
“Hell no.”
“Oh, come on, just one kiss?” He asked, giving me puppy dog eyes, his bottom lip jutting out. I didn’t say anything as his face got closer to mine.
I felt the pull as his lips touched mine softly.
He started to kiss me with hunger, his teeth nipping at my lips softly. I let out a little moan as he started to push me down on the sand, his hand resting at my side, holding his weight off me. When he was literally on top of me, all of his body touching mine, I began to become breathless. The heat made me crave more of him.
He ran his hands up my arms and up my face until they got tangled in my curly hair. My hands just naturally started to move down his neck and over his amazing body. I gently stroked his stomach and back, feeling the grains of sand on his body. He made a noise and shook.
When I was already feeling dizzy from being out of breath, Kieran pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, panting. He looked straight into my eyes and smiled, which made me melt all the way inside. I swallowed, then put my hand on his cheek.
Even after seeing that stunning beach, the gorgeous stars glittering in the night sky, and the massive ocean that had me speechless, nothing compared to the person standing right in front of me. He was the absolute core of beauty itself. He was priceless and timeless, and I could never get tired of him.
“I love you,” I whispered, running my thumb across his cheek. I couldn’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. I didn’t regret it either. I really did love him. I didn’t think I knew.
His eyes opened really wide when he pulled his hands out of my hair. I could tell he was feeling indecisive because I’m a wolf and I could sense it. He didn’t know what to do next. He got up off me. Kieran scratched the back of his neck, feeling a bit nervous, before saying, “You know – uh – um – I’ll be right back. I’ll just get the towel in the car so you can warm up.
I sat up too, a frown making its way onto my face. I could feel the tears starting to well up as I watched him walk to the car, his back muscles all tense. I felt really stupid for thinking he’d say it back or that he actually did love me. I was right, he was running away.
The sound of a gunshot cut through the air, bringing my thoughts to a halt. My eyes shot open in shock. The scene before me made my heart jump out of my chest. I heard a really loud scream, and when I looked, I saw that it was me who had made it! I couldn’t believe it.
Kieran collapsed, making a lot of noise, and grabbed his side where blood was pouring out and rolling onto the white sand.
The doctor came in, rifling through some papers on his clipboard. I stood up, my heart pounding as Lila grabbed my hand and stood up with me. The doctor then said, looking serious, “I’d like to ask the guests to join Kieran Redford.”
The whole waiting room went quiet as we all listened to the doctor. The tension in the room was electric and I could feel the nervousness of everyone. Then the doctor said something that made us fall to the ground in tears.
Just to let you know, I’ve got a few more things to add.
I just sat there, mouth open. I started shaking like a leaf as the world started spinning around me. For some weird reason, I was waiting for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I need to get out of this awful situation. I just couldn’t get my head around the scene that was playing out in front of me. It was a bit of a shock to the system.
I felt the bile rise in my throat. I tried to get up, but my legs went numb. My stomach felt like someone had punched it where Kieran had been shot, and it was like I was feeling what Kieran was feeling at the moment. I could feel the silver grazing my raw flesh, burning it slowly. But I was too numb to care.
I saw an old couple stumbling out of a trail that led to a beach house. I’d say the guy with the tattoo on his shoulder was part of the Eclipse Pack. He had a rifle in each hand, with his shy wife following him behind.
When she finally looked at Kieran, she let out a shrill gasp and took a step back, her legs shaking. Her hand shook as she covered her mouth. “Oh my gosh, Zeke,” she cried, patting her husband’s shoulder and pointing at Kieran’s body. “It’s the alpha’s son.”
“Oh my god,” Zeke said, shocked. Instead of going numb like I did, he rushed over to Kieran and knelt on the ground next to him, dropping his rifle. “Anita, call the cops!” I watched as Anita legged it as fast as she could towards the beach house. Zeke then grabbed Kieran’s head and said, “Listen to me, sonny. We’ll get you the help you need. Help is on the way.”
Kieran groaned and tried to get his head up, but he let it fall back down again. That’s when I snapped out of my shock and ran over to Kieran, stumbling over the sand and falling onto my knees next to him.
Blood was gushing out of his side and I couldn’t help but stare. My hands were shaking like crazy as I brought it up to my mouth. I could feel the hot tears rolling down my cheeks, and then I lost it.
“Kieran,” I said, wailing even louder. “Kieran, Kieran, W – ” My voice was cracking and I couldn’t speak because I was crying. I gave Kieran a little shake of the shoulders. “Kieran, please don’t leave me. Please stay with me.”
Kieran made a noise and I then saw that his face had gone pale and was all pale. He was losing a lot of blood. I grabbed his hand, tore a bit of my shirt off and pressed down on the cut. I heard him groan louder.
“You might want to calm down,” Zeke warned. “You’re making him suffer more than he already is.”
“Zeke,” Anita said, “I could hear the sirens down the street. They’re on their way.”
Alright, let’s go through this. Can you go outside and call them over?”
A few seconds later, two police cars and an ambulance screeched to a halt, their blue and red lights blazing in the dark sky. I let the police officers pull me back and watched helplessly as Kieran was put onto a gurney and set into the ambulance.
One of the cops grabbed the yellow tape that said ‘caution’ and wrapped it around where I could still see Kieran’s blood. I quickly looked away. Two other police officers were questioning Anita and Zeke. One of the paramedics gave me a look from the back of the ambulance and asked, “Would you like to come with us?”
I nodded quickly, jumped into the ambulance and tried to keep it together as Kieran lay there in pain. I felt helpless and broken. I held Kieran’s hand as I waited for us to get to the hospital.
Just to let you know, I’ve got a few more things to add.
I was pacing around the waiting room, itching to get into the surgical room. But when I tried to follow Kieran after they rushed him out of the ambulance and into the hospital, a couple of hospital guards stopped me and tried to calm me down. So, that’s how I ended up here.
I finally stopped crying, my eyes all puffy and red. My hair was a total mess from the strong wind at the beach. My clothes were still damp and covered in sand. But I didn’t care. I was just worried about Kieran’s safe being.
As I sat down on the leather-covered chairs, one of the attendants offered me a coffee. I politely turned her down. The staff were nice, but I still wasn’t feeling okay. The antiseptic smell and the white walls and tiles were actually getting on my nerves.
“Where is he?” I heard Lila scream from the front desk. I could tell she was sobbing pretty heavily and wasn’t taking it well. “Where’s my brother? I want to see him now!”
“Look, ma’am,” the secretary began calmly. “I’m sorry. But please, just take a seat and stay calm. It’ll take a couple more hours.”
“I’ve got no more time to wait,” Lila said. I jumped when I heard something fall to the ground.
“Lila,” Cruz and Beck had said calmly. Soon, the doors were open, and Beck and Cruz were holding a struggling Lila in their arms. Knox quickly followed, looking a bit dishevelled and worried.
Cruz and Beck had sat down and tried to calm Lila down, who was feeling torn. Knox sat next to me and grabbed my hand. “Can you tell me what happened?” Knox whispered and fidgeted with his hair. “Tell me something. He’s my best friend, Tali. I can’t stand not knowing.”
I gave him the full story, and in the meantime, Lila had calmed down and was listening. The same goes for the other two boys. Knox broke down and cried after I’d finished my story, and Lila got angry again, kicking the magazine stand down.
The doors of the waiting room swung open again and Luca strolled in with Brielle, their gaze landing on us. I started to feel down again just seeing Luca. He was my best friend and I wanted to talk to him about all my problems.
But I knew Lila needed to chill. Luca was the only thing that could help. He shot me a look that said sorry for wrapping Lila in his arms. At first, she started hitting him, but he never let her go. In the end, she gave up and slumped into him, crying into his shirt.
Brielle had been cuddling with Beck the whole time, probably because she could tell he was hurt and broken. When Cruz told Luca and Brielle the story, they were gobsmacked. Brielle stayed with me for about an hour. She was my shoulder to cry on. And then there was the whole fidgeting and freaking out business with Beck. She cried with Beck, feeling his pain.
“I feel so helpless,” Beck said, wiping a tear from his cheek. “What can you do when the person who stood up for you all those times you’ve been picked on in junior high is in pain and you can’t help?”
“Shh, Beck,” Brielle said, rubbing his back to soothe him. “Everything will be alright.”
Then, everyone went quiet. It was obvious that we were all thinking about something. We were too nervous and anxious to say anything. The clock read three in the morning and every tick felt like an hour. That didn’t exactly help with my worry.
Lila could sense my worry and sat next to me, holding my hand without saying anything. I was grateful for her comfort. She didn’t need to say a word, she just had to show me that she’d be there for me. I gave her a handshake to show I’d return the favour. The door opened again.