Chapter 253: Save him
[ Old worlds - exactly where Orion was tackling Kieran]
"NOOOO!!!Orion, stop!"
Autumn froze.
She had no problem catching up with Kieran but the sight and smell that met her... drowned her in horrors.
The sound had hit her first...the wet, tearing growl of flesh ripped apart...the crushing thud of bodies colliding... until the view came into plain sight.
Orion’s massive wolf form, jaws locked deep into Kieran’s throat and shoulder...his crimson fur slick with Kieran’s blood.
But he lay beneath Orion...very still...his body convulsing in the agony of a torn shift and the assault.
Why the hell wasn’t he fighting back?!
Autumn’s eyes widened. Her legs buckled even though she was slightly levitating off the ground. For one breath, she could not move at all.
Then her throat cracked.
"Kieran... "
The gasp ripped from her lungs like it was breaking her open from the inside... however it was met with no answer.
"KIERAN??!!!"
The whole forest trembled with her scream.
She ran...no,she hurled herself forward...blind to branches, blind to the ground. Her body collided with Orion’s massive frame, shoving him aside with desperation.
"Get off him! " Her voice shattered against the night. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!!! You are killing him..."
Orion stumbled back, eyes blazing, a guttural snarl still dripping from his jaws. " Isn’t that what you vowed to do all along? Just making your job easy!"
But Autumn didn’t look at him.
She was already on the ground.
Already gathering Kieran into her arms.
Her knees sank into the mud, soaking instantly. Blood...his blood...ran down her hands, her arms, soaking her chest as she pulled him against her.
"Kieran??" Her voice cracked, trembling so hard it barely made a sound. "Oh God, Kieran..."
His head lolled weakly against her shoulder, his breath rattling shallow. His eyes were fading gold...and they fluttered until they found her.
And then he smiled.
It was faint, broken, a ghost of what it once had been, what she remembered it to be...but it was real.
"Autumn..." His voice was a rasp of blood and air, but it carried her name like it was everything. "You finally... came back to me..."
His hand twitched, trembling as he tried to raise it. His fingers brushed the air, aiming for her cheek.
But his strength betrayed him.
The hand dropped...limp. His head tilted back, exposing the ragged ruin Orion’s teeth had left.
"NO!" Autumn screamed, clutching him tighter, rocking him as though her body could keep him warm. "Stay with me! I am going to fix this..."
Her face pressed against his bloodied hair, her tears mingling with the red. Her whole body shook.
Then, slowly, her head snapped up.
Her eyes locked on Orion.
Red rimmed, blazing.
Her voice shredded the silence, "What have you DONE?!"
Orion looked a little surprised and a little too offended. " Why, Autumn? Are you going soft on him? Did you forget what he did? ... Are you going back on your promise?!"
Autumn quickly stood up with Kieran in her arms, pressing down his wounds, making sure the tear didn’t open any further.
She wiped her tears away. " I did not forget anything. I will avenge my father when the time is right. But now is definitely not it. I can not invite someone and murder him... it’s against any civilised law... and you too will respect the order!"
Her voice was final and it bore into Orion.
There was finally some hesitation and remorse on Orion’s face. " I... I am sorry. I got carried away. Jasper got away. I was worried sick for him. And then this one came running along and I lost it... Forgive me Autumn! "
Autumn simply nodded her head. "That’s fine. I forgive you. I will take him back and treat him. You go after Jasper and bring him back as soon as possible. That boy is going to get some serious disciplining... "
Autumn turned around, shaking her head.
Orion nodded. " Understood. I will get him back in the earliest! "
He lunged forward , shifting back into his wolf before sprinting towards the direction where Jasper had vanished.
Autumn turned her gaze back at Kieran. " Don’t you dare die on me, you understand? You took too much from me. You still need to pay. You can’t get off that easily Mr. Ex Mate. You can’t go anywhere until you have my permission... You understand?! "
Kieran coughed as if in response, blood flecking his lips. His gaze flicked, unfocused, struggling to stay on her face. "Autumn..."
She shushed him instantly, leaning down until her lips brushed his forehead. "Don’t talk. Please. Save your strength."
But he tried again, his words raw and broken. "You... still smell the same."
Her throat tightened. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. She shook her head fiercely. "Stop.Don’t push your luck.I said you are not allowed to talk, didn’t I ?"
His lips twitched into the faintest ghost of a smirk, though his eyes were glazed. "Hmmm, I like this bossy babe..."
But he didn’t get to finish what he was saying... more blood bubbled out of his throat and the open, gaping wound. He choked on his own blood, almost convulsing. Autumn held him tight.
"Shut up, Kieran." Her tears slipped freely now, streaking her cheeks as she lifted him more securely in her arms. She had no idea why she was crying.
Autumn adjusted her grip around Kieran, feeling his weight sag heavier against her chest. Every ragged breath he took rattled through her bones.
His lashes flickered, a faint twitch, and a weak exhale brushed her cheek. That was enough to make her knees buckle again.
Kieran stirred faintly in her arms. His lips parted again, barely shaping words.
With one last tear streaking her cheek, she forced her body upright. Mud clung to her legs, blood soaked her arms, but she lifted him as if the world itself demanded it. His head lolled against her shoulder, his hair damp against her throat.
She staggered forward... not because she lacked physical strength but because her heart was growing too weak...too heavy..."I am going to get you out of here. You are not dying in these woods."