I Love You, I'll Kill You

I was frozen with panic, and I had a feeling so were the rest of the pack. My heart skipped a couple of beats every few seconds. My eyes were wide; I was sure they looked like they were about to pop out. I tried gulping the lump in my throat, but it wouldn't budge. I was crossing my fingers that someone would speak, but no sound erupted from any of the werewolves. Besides, what werewolf wants to say anything when they're caught in the glaring sight of their alpha?

Troy stared down at us, his eyes darker than I had ever seen them. I could just barely detect the flames roaring behind those furious eyes of his. His face was contorted with rage; his hands clenched so tightly at his side that they were shaking. I was waiting for blood to start flowing from the great pressure. His angry eyes skimmed around the fire, and when they landed on me, they stayed on me. I tried cowering behind Shayne's large body, but even that would do little good. The gaze might even burn through Shayne, and that wouldn't help my situation, let alone make it worse.

"You," he growled, taking the first angry step down the sand dune. A shiver of fear shot down my spine, and I suddenly wished I hadn't agreed to this little trip. I was shivering, and it wasn't from the cold. I got to my feet quicker than I ever had, and the rest of the pack followed my movement. Shayne blocked me from Troy's view, shielding me. I could hear Troy's footsteps getting closer, and when I thought he would walk through Shayne, the footsteps stopped. I looked down to see that his feet had stopped right next to Shayne's. "Move," Troy growled in the same dark voice. It didn't even sound human. It sounded more animal than anything.

Shayne didn't follow his order, and stayed standing in front of me, refusing to budge. "Don't blame her for this. This was our idea, not hers," he tried to explain. I had a feeling Troy wasn't going to listen to him.

"I do not care whose idea this was. But I know that she is a seductress, Shayne. She has blinded you—all of you—with her strange powers," he snapped.

"She's just a girl, Troy. She's a human, and even you can detect that." I glanced around Shayne enough to see Troy shake his head. All the fury was still there, written on his face.

"No, she's something more than human, Shayne. You and I both know that there is something...strange about her. She's up to something; she wouldn't be here otherwise. She is working for that damn bloodsucker." He looked to the rest of the pack. "You all are fools for thinking that she is anything but innocent. She's a con-artist, and she will play you all until you have your backs turned, and then she'll stab you in the back."

Shayne said in a louder, defending voice, "Enough."

Troy turned his gaze backed to Shayne, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "Are you going to defend her, Shayne? Will you fight me...and lose, like last time?" I had a feeling I was missing something. I had a feeling that Shayne had fought Troy, but never found the reason why.

Shayne was calmer this time, but sounding like he was straining to keep himself under control. "Troy, I ask you as a fellow pack member to see reason. Ever since the accident with Zoe-"

"Don't you dare speak about Zoe," Troy cut him off, growling in a menacing voice, sounding more like an animal than human again.

"This needs to stop, Troy. None of us can ever speak to you because you always react in an ill-mannered way. You've got to stop being angry all the time, Troy." Shayne was really trying. It sounded like this was something that had been talked over with the rest of the pack members before.

Troy growled again; that animal sound. "Do not speak as though you are alpha. I am leader of this pack, and you will treat me as such."

"Then be the leader, Troy. Don't drag us down with you because you blame yourself for what happened to Zoe," Shayne shot back.

Troy's lips pulled back so that he showed his clenching teeth. "How dare you..." he growled. And then, with such strength, he pushed Shayne; pushed him so that he flew almost eight feet before he landed on his back. I stared in horror, suddenly feeling vulnerable. My eyes shot back to Troy, and his eyes were glued to me; a look of such anger that it felt like it was burning me. Fear clutched me, surrounded my body like a blanket. I took a step back, unable to hide the fear from my face or body language. Troy got into a stance that looked like he was about to fight, but I had a feeling it was something else. I felt the others move, but I had a feeling they were too slow.

I turned to run, and that's when my ankle felt that I had put too much pressure on it, and I fell to the ground with a loud scream in both fear and pain. I cringed in pain for half a second, but when my mind remembered that something was after me, I pushed myself to get to my fee; to get away from whatever was trying to get me. I stumbled twice, falling back to the sand as my ankle refused to work. I gasped when I felt the back of my sweatshirt being pulled on, and then I was lifted off the ground. I stared with wide eyes as I was turned around, only to meet the angry face of Troy. He held onto the front of my shirt, practically choking with such a tight hold. I searched for someone who would help me. Behind Troy, Shayne was getting to his feet, blood sliding down the side of his lip.

Everything was suddenly going in slow motion. All of the other werewolves looked like they were about to protest about something, but were too scared to do any more than that. Shayne was rushing to us, a look of panic on his face. I looked back to Troy, and his hand was pulled back, ready to strike. There was no way Shayne would make it in time. I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the pain.

A gust of air hit my face, but no blow. I peeked one eye open, afraid that he was just screwing with me. Both my eyes snapped open when I saw Troy's arm being held back by someone's hold on his wrist. He was struggling against the hold on his wrist, but it barely budged.

Desmond's hold on the werewolf's wrist tightened every time he tried to get free.

"Release Grace or you lose an arm," he said in a relaxed tone, seeming to be having no struggle at all with the werewolf, who wasn't so fortunate. Troy seemed to contemplate this proposition for a moment. Lose the girl or lose an arm. I know which one I would choose. He finally growled, sending one last glare at me before releasing his hold of the front of my shirt. I stumbled back, but someone caught me before I landed on the sand once more. But even when I was released, Desmond didn't release his hold on Troy. Instead, he pulled on the werewolf's arm further, making it look very uncomfortable.

Desmond spoke in a very calm, but menacing tone. "If you ever lay a hand on Grace again, I will make sure to tear every one of your limbs off...and slowly. Do you understand me, mutt?" He didn't even give Troy the chance to reply. Instead, he pushed him with barely any force, but it sent him well over ten feet. Troy landed in the sand face first. I stared in awe for a moment. I started to get to my feet, and it wasn't until then that I remembered someone had prevented me from hitting the ground. I looked up to see Derek, Joshua's twin, help me to my feet. I smiled a thank you, which was enough for him, because he returned the small smile and nodded his head. As soon as he helped me to my feet, he backed away so that he stood next to the rest of the pack.

I limped my way toward Desmond, wanting to be close to my savior. I didn't want to be away from him any longer. He stood there for a moment—looking perfect and statue-like—moving his eyes across all the werewolves, making sure none of them were going to try to fight him. When his eyes caught me limping toward him, his eyes grew from shielding to soft. I smiled as soon as I saw his eyes grow warm, and he returned it with a tiny one of his own, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. I cringed as I stepped on my ankle wrong again and let out a gasp of air. Within a blink of an eye he was by my side, his arm under mine, making sure that I wouldn't fall down.

I smirked at him from beside me. "I knew you would come looking for me. Though I thought you would have come to rescue me sooner."

He raised an eyebrow. "You needed rescuing before this?" he asked, glancing to the group of werewolves, who were now huddled in a small circle, refusing to be anywhere near the vampire.

I shook my head. "No, but I'm glad you showed up when you did." And I really was. If he hadn't showed up, than Troy would have killed me, or at least tried. He smirked down at me for only a second, and then his eyes quickly shot up. His eyes got wide—full of panic—and then, before I could even turn my head to see what had frightened him so, he pushed me. I felt a strong gust of wind shoot past me before I fell. Again, I landed on the sand. I turned around from my spot on the ground, hearing growling sounds behind me. When I turned and looked at what was going on, I gasped loudly, swallowing a scream.

I stared in horror. Desmond was lying on his back with a giant wolf towering over him. The only thing that kept the wolf from snapping at Desmond's face was that he had a hold on the wolf's muzzle, holding it just inches away from his face. His teeth cringed as he struggled to keep the wolf from biting at him. The wolf's fur was as black as night, and from what I could tell, so were the eyes. They eyes were full of such hatred, and it reminded me of something. I gasped again when it hit me; the wolf was Troy. This was his wolf form.

I whispered in a panicked voice, "Oh, God." I couldn't think of anything else. Desmond glanced to me then—still holding the wolf by its muzzle—and quickly turned back to the growling canine above him. His arms were beginning to shake, and that's when fear sparked within me. I yelled, "No!" and then began to run toward the two fighting supernatural creatures, ignoring my aching ankle. I jumped onto the giant wolf's back, trying to push him off Desmond.

Desmond shouted in a strained voice, "No, Grace!" I didn't listen, and continued to hold onto the giant wolf by its large shoulders. It growled, beginning to strain against Desmond's grasp on his muzzle. With a quick movement, Troy released his large muzzle from Desmond's grasp and reached behind him. Unfortunately my arm was just in his reach. I screamed as his large jaw clamped down on my arm, and like a Frisbee, I was thrown off of him. He tossed me eight feet away, like I was nothing. I landed hard in the sand.

"Grace!" Eric screamed my name, running to me in record time. I could hear him, but his voice was distant. My arm felt numb, and I had a feeling it was bleeding. Heck, I had a werewolf grab me by my arm and throw me; it was bound to be injured. I opened my eyes, hearing more growling sounds, and again, Troy was on Desmond, still trying to snap off his head. Desmond took another quick glance at me, and when he saw how hurt I looked, his expression became fierce.

With amazing power and speed, he pushed the werewolf off of him and was on his feet in less time. He situated himself in a fighting position, his lips pulled back so that his fangs glinted against the burning fire. Troy paced, walking back and forth, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. His wolf form was huge, but I remembered that Shayne's was just as large. It was when I had first met him—when he had first found me—and I remembered seeing a large animal stalking around me. And then, like magic, he was a human.

"You will pay for hurting Grace," Desmond growled, sounding like Troy had before he had changed. Troy replied with his own growl, pacing faster, and then, with that otherworldly speed, sprang. But before he could come in contact with Desmond, who looked small in comparison, he was rammed by something large. Another wolf appeared, shielding Desmond. Desmond stood there for a moment, his eyes wide with shock. I stared in horror as the giant wolves fought, snapping and biting at each other. Fur was flying, and I could do nothing but stare with an open mouth as the two wolves fought in an intense battle. The two wolves were different in color. This new werewolf's fur was a light copper color, unlike Troy's black coat.

Eric shook his head. "Shayne's never going to win if he refuses to kill Troy."

My eyes shot up, going wider than they already were. "Shayne? Are you saying that other wolf is Shayne?" I asked with panic. Eric simply nodded his head, refusing to take his eyes off the fight. I reluctantly turned my head back around to stare at the awful sight. The wolves were relentless. Both of them were growling, snapping, and biting as much as they could. I couldn't tell who had the upper hand, but I was hoping Shayne was winning. Both of them were so evenly matched that I couldn't even guess who was winning. Desmond appeared beside me, but I wasn't surprised. I was getting used to his inhuman speed. Eric, on the other hand, jumped away from him, but only moving enough so that he could still touch me. Desmond bent down beside me and began to slip his arms under my body.

"Wait! We can't just leave them like this!" I protested, knowing exactly that he was going to do. My outburst didn't stop him, and he lifted me into his arms. I thought of struggling, but I knew that I would lose no matter what.

"We can't do anything. This is between Shayne and Troy," he replied in a flat voice.

I felt tears begin to sting behind my eyelids. "No! I can't leave him like this! Please! Desmond!" I screamed, begging for him to stop. He did, and I think it was the 'please' that did it. I fought my tears, but I lost. Watching Shayne fight like this tore my heart. I clung to Desmond’s shirt and turned my eyes away from the awful dog fight and cried. He held me closer, but said nothing. All I could hear was the sound of tearing fur, growling, snapping, and a weep every few moments. I couldn't handle to watch the fight any longer, but I couldn't leave Shayne, not without knowing he was going to be all right.

"Do something," I whispered through my tears. Desmond didn't reply, but I knew I had his attention. "Please. I can't bear to hear these sounds any longer."

"I cannot interfere. Shayne's position as alpha would be counterfeit if I helped him. If he truly wishes to be alpha, than he must fight without any aid," he explained in a calm voice, but that just made me cry harder. He held me closer to him, covering my ear with one hand, but it still didn't cover up the sound of the snarling and fighting. And then, like music to my ears, all the sounds stopped together.

My eyes opened then, but I wasn't sure I wanted to look. I pulled my face from Desmond's shirt, making him move his hand from my ear, and looked around the lightly lit area. The bon fire had gone down a bit, but it gave off enough light to illuminate all of the werewolves, who were still grouped together. My eyes scanned the area, and they landed on the two fallen figures. Panic clutched my heart as I fought to get out of Desmond's grasp. He released me, setting me on the ground. As soon as my feet touched the sand, I ran.

"Wait! Grace! It's not safe!" Joshua shouted amongst the others, but I didn't listen. I continued to run toward the fallen wolves. Tears stung my eyes while I walked to the light wolf; Shayne. When I reached him, I took in all of it. There were wounds all over his body, and they looked serious. He was still breathing, so I knew he wasn't dead. Not yet. I bent down next to his large wolf head, and that's when I lost it. My tears escaped my eyes like a waterfall. The sight of Shayne so cut up hurt my heart. I reached and touched his large wolf ear, but got no reaction. I moved closer, moved so that I could lift his head and rest it on my lap. Nothing happened when I moved his head. I stared down at the large wolf head in my lap, stroking his head, begging for him to wake up. Desmond came from behind me, but said nothing.

I looked to him with tear-filled eyes, just now noticing his white shirt stained with blood. I didn’t want to glance to my arm to see how much blood I was losing. "He won't wake up," I choked on my words.

"He's just been in a serious fight, Grace. It's to be expected that he is unconscious." Desmond didn't sound happy when he said it, but not mad. He sounded hurt or in pain.

I turned back to the giant wolf, and more of my tears fell on his face. "Please, wake up," I began to chant with sobs over and over. The other wolves moved behind us, some of them going to check on Troy.

Eric walked up to me, bending down next to me. A tiny smile was on his lips, and it made me wonder how he could be happy at a time like this. "Grace, we owe you a great deal of thanks," he said.

I lifted my eyes from Shayne. "Why is that?" I asked with a sniffle.

His smile broadened. "Well, let's just say that you have given our pack a different view of things. You encouraged Shayne to fight Troy, because when he saw Troy hurt you, his first reaction was to protect you, to make sure you were avenged. And not only that, but you made it so that his reaction was to also protect Desmond, a vampire of all things. And all because he knew you cared for the...Desmond." He had stopped himself from saying something insulting, and I was proud of him for trying. Though, I didn't know what to say to his comments. Instead, I turned back to the wolf's head in my lap. I continued to stroke his head, hoping he would wake up before Desmond dragged me off again.

"Troy's out, but not dead," Matt said, walking over to Eric and me.

I didn't look up as I said, "Who won?" There was a long pause, and I didn't like it. I looked up, and when I did, Desmond was kneeling right in front of me. I searched eyes for the answer, but found nothing.

A smile suddenly formed on his face. "Shayne won because he didn't faint before Troy. Troy blacked out before Shayne," he said. I tried to smile, but I couldn't. I needed Shayne to open those golden eyes of his to be able to smile. I looked back down, and when I did, his body twitched. That didn't stop me from continuing to pet his large head. And then, just like I had been wishing, his eyes opened, only they were more wolf eyes than their usual dark copper.

"Shayne," I whispered his name, and those wolf eyes turned to me. Even though he was in his wolf form, I could tell how tired he was through those eyes of his. He made a low whimpering noise, but as soon as I continued to stroke his head, the whimpering stopped and his eyes closed.

"He's worried about you," Joshua said, moving with the rest of the wolves to make sure their new alpha was indeed alright.

I snorted. "He's worried about me? I think he's the one who's hurting more."

"True, but Shayne always worries about those he cares about more than himself. It is a wolf’s duty to protect his pack. And from what I've seen these past few days, he really cares about you and has begun to see as you as part of the pack," Derek said. I hadn't expected that to come out of the silent one's mouth.

"Grace," Desmond said, catching my attention, "We need to get you home. Your wounds need to be treated."

I had been trying to ignore my wounds. I looked down, and sure enough, my arm was bleeding. My sweatshirt was ripped to shreds when Troy had grabbed me with his jaws, and blood had soaked it.

"Isn't it hard for you to not attack her? I mean, you are a vampire." Craig asked, eyeing Desmond's reaction.

Desmond sighed, but nodded his head. "It is a struggle, but I have had years of practice to learn how to restrain myself. You do not need to worry; I am not going to harm her." Craig took his word and turned back to Shayne and me.

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked, wiping away my tears.

All of them gave a faint smile, but Eric said, "He'll be fine. He's just a little beat from the fight." It was a horrible pun, but I wasn't going to say anything. I took one last glance down at the wolf's head in my arms. I sighed, and lifted his head off of my lap. He made a whimpering sound when I gently set his head on the soft sand. I stood, as did Desmond. He came to me and lifted me in his arms once more. I hated having a hurt ankle. He turned and began to carry me up the sand dune. I glanced back to the werewolves, waving my hand 'good bye'. They returned it before I was carried over the dune and they were out of sight.

I relaxed in Desmond's arms, closing my eyes. I quickly began to fall asleep in his warm arms, and I was betting part of my sudden tiredness from blood loss. Before I fell into that dark abyss, I told myself that as soon as I got my wounds taken care of, I would be back to visit the wolves, to make sure Shayne was okay.