Blood Lust and Love
Chapter 22

DarkBeauty357

It was late at night and Leah had just got a knock on the door. When she opened it a cool breeze swept past her and into her house. There was a slight drizzling of rain outside that made everything eerie and haunting. The way the wind wiped against the trees sounded like little children whispering and singing.

A female pack member, who Leah knew by the name of Linda Lee, stood outside her porch with a smile on her face and a vase of flowers in her hands. A very wide smile showed on her face and Leah felt a warm sensation in her heart when she looked at Linda. "Hey, Luna! I just wanted to give you these flowers. And thank you for congratulating me." Linda said. She had given birth a few days ago. Alec and Leah both sent out a card and gift to welcome all new pack members.

"No problem. How is little Jack?" Leah asked as Linda handed her the flower vase.

"All he does is cry and cry and cry. All night. But it's definitely worth it."

"Well, I hope he settles too. I remember those nights pretty well." Leah replied.

"Right. Well, I better get going, my mate misses me already." Linda said as she could feel him being upset through their bond.

"Okay, have a nice night. I hope you get some sleep tonight!" Leah smiled and waved.

Linda laughed as the bags under her eyes became more prominent, "I hope so too."

Linda left and Leah smiled down at the flowers. Everyone in the pack knew she had a thing with gardening, so flowers were an awesome gift for Leah. With being a Witch and all, nature was very important. It was important to wolves as well, feeling the energy and life that radiated from the flowers was a gift from the heavens.

Quietly whistling to herself, Leah walked upstairs to her room. The door creaked open and Leah walked in her room. She sat the flower vase down on her nightstand and admired the flowers while sitting on her side of the bed. Then she stood up and grabbed the glass of water taking a few sips. She wanted to check up on all of her kids before she went to bed.

"Leah?" A confused voice echoed behind her.

Leah turned around and she dropped the glass which broke into a million little pieces. Her blood ran cold and shivers racked through her body. Leah felt light-headed and nauseous all at once. She cupped her mouth to prevent her from screaming as tears silently fell down her face. Leah's body shock as silent sobs racked through her body.

"No...." Leah shook her head as she looked at Rem.

Rem was still in his torn clothes with blood staining his body. The bullet hole was still visible in his forehead and the torture done to his body was still visible. That was proof that he hadn't even crossed over in the afterlife. For some reason, his soul was still lingering on earth. It wasn't the same case as Charlie because Charlie was able to cross over between both life and death, but only Leah was able to see him.

They both stared at each other as Leah was in so much shock. Leah's eyes traced over all the blood, marks, and torture done to his body. "How? Are you even here..." Leah trembled.

Rem smiled brightly, "I died." Even in death, he was still his happy and relaxed self.

Leah just gawked at Rem so he decided to elaborate, "Everything went black, then all of a sudden this ghost boy, Charlie, I think is his name, popped up and scared the shit out of me. Anywho, he was all like come with me so I came. And then boom here I am. He apparently gave me a temporary ability to visit you in his place. Do you talk to little boys? That's a weird hobby, Leah. You should probably go get that checked out."

Leah started to laugh a little but then it turned into a sobbing mess. "Leah? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"You're dead!" Leah yelled angrily.

Rem paused in his tracks as he tried to approach Leah. "Yes, I suppose that does put a damper on things." Rem looked down at his feet and his face saddened. Thinking of his mate and pack, and other memories that he'd miss out on.

"I told you not to do this! I told you there are other ways. Even Alec said the same thing. You didn't have to die." Leah cried. She shook her head in denial, "You didn't have to leave us." She heartbrokenly cried.

"But I did it to protect all of you." Rem sorrowfully said. Leah looked at the heartbroken expression on his face.

"I know," Leah said suddenly feeling depleted of energy. Then her mind immediately wandered to the person that would be the most in pain. Grace.

"Oh my god!" Leah put her hands on each side of her head as a splitting headache was approaching. "I have to tell her..." Leah spoke. Since Rem had temporarily sealed off his mate bond with Grace, it felt like Rem was dead to Grace. Now that he was actually dead, there was no way that Grace would know unless told.

"Grace..." Realization set into Rem of all the pain that she would now have to go through, and that tore him apart more than any wound on his body. "Can you talk to her for me?" Rem requested.

Leah closed her eyes as her face contorted in pain, "Of course." She hated to be the bearer of bad news but Grace deserved to know. Leah just wasn't looking forward to the pain that Grace would be in.

It was raining heavily outside but Leah didn't care as she trudged through the muddy woods to Rem's house. Leah was soaking wet before she even reached the halfway marker but she was too upset to care.

"It's not all bad you know." Rem spoke.

"Name one good thing about you dying because there isn't any."

"Crow can't see dead people." Rem said and it suddenly clicked in Leah's mind. "I can go back and still be your inside man." Rem stopped to ponder over something. "Your dead inside man but still nonetheless."

"You're really hounding on the dead part aren't you." Leah deadpanned. She crossed her arms and frowned at him.

"What? You can't be the only cool one to die." Rem smirked and Leah just rolled her eyes.

"I don't understand how you can be so happy- Oh my god. That's it!" Leah stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him in a happy demeanor. "You're still here and I can bring you back. We just have to recover your body fast before it decays." Leah planned ahead of herself.

Rem frowned, "I wish we could." He sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Before I left with little ghost boy-"

"Charlie. His name is Charlie."

"Right. Before I left with him. I watched as Crow dragged my body out. Everyone in his pack gathered around and watched as Crow put my body on top of a bonfire and then he through the gasoline and match on me. I watched him burn me." Rem said as he watched Leah's reaction. Her face fell again and she just felt so tired of losing people already.

"I'm so sorry that you had to see that..."

"Eh don't be. It didn't hurt. I'm just happy I at least don't look like the charcoaled chicken that Alec burnt last Christmas." Rem muttered.

Leah shook her head.

"Whenever we are done with this war, I hope they have bomb ass weed when I see the moon goddess."

"Ugh."

"Was it something I said?"

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

Rem combed his bloody hand through his hair, "Ridiculously good looking."

Leah glared at him and then chuckled, "Do you ever stop joking around?"

"Blame my mother. She created the biggest joke ever." Rem pointed to himself.

Leah gulped down another wave of pain. At the same time, she was so sad but yet talking to Rem made her feel better. Rem always had a way of making people feel better. He always brought happiness into any room he stepped in. Even if Rem was in pain, he still wanted to make his loved ones feel better. That was just his thing.

Leah stood on Grace's front porch as she closed her eyes and embraced herself. She deeply breathed in and out and mentally prepared herself.

Leah trembled as she knocked on the door and both Leah and Rem gulped. After a few seconds, the door swung open and Grace looked happy to see Leah. Her bright smile soon disappeared as she took in Leah's state.

Her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. The pained look on Leah's face was enough to tell Grace what had happened.

Grace's neck instantly became red and it was almost hard to breathe as she could feel everything tighten up. "No no no." She repeated and shook her head in denial. She fell to her knees in pain and cried.

Leah crouched down and engulfed her into a hug. Grace clenched onto Leah like she was her life support. "He was supposed to stay with me!" She cried. "This isn't fair. Why would he leave me?" Grace's heartbroken expression made Leah hurt. Grace was looking up to Leah for answers, as more tears fell down her face.

"You know he loved you. He wouldn't leave you by choice." Leah told her.

"Can you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be by myself." Grace asked.

"Of course whatever you need. Alec and I can have you move in for however long you want." Leah offered. Grace lived alone with Remmy ever since his sister moved out, and Grace had a really bad fear of being alone. Now it was like all her worse fears were coming true.

"Really?" Grace said wide-eyed.

"Of course, you don't deserve to be alone and I care about you," Leah said. She pondered over how she would be able to tell Grace that Rem was right beside them watching everything. Grace already knew that Leah was a witch, like the rest of her close friends. So it shouldn't be too hard to explain. "I do have something to tell you, but I think we might need to go inside first," Leah said.

Grace nodded. She sniffled and wiped some of the tears off her face with her forearm. Leah put Grace's arm around her shoulders and helped her stand to her feet. Then Leah put her other arm around Grace's waist to help her into the house. Grace felt so weak as if her body would give out any minute.

Grace's legs trembled and they almost buckled once, but Leah held her up. "I'm sorry..." Grace whispered. Grace hated how she was always so week compared to the other wolves in the pack. Grace furrowed her eyebrows in anger. She was so weak and she hated it. Thoughts kept on running through her mind about her insecurities, like how she felt worthless that she wasn't able to give Rem an heir. She felt like a horrible broken worthless wolf.

"It's okay." Leah helped Grace lay down on the couch and immediately went over to start some tea in the kitchen. Grace loved tea, especially the tea that Leah made because she always had special herbs to add to it. Leah was good at making tea.

After Leah was done putting the tea on she went back until the livingroom with Grace. "I want to tell you something," Leah said.

This held Grace's attention and momentarily, she stopped crying. "What's that?"

"So, you know that I'm a witch and everything, which gives me some abilities that wolves don't."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I can see him. Right now. He is here with us."

Grace's face turned from sad to happy in a split second. "Are you serious?" She gasped happily and pulled Leah closer. "I can talk to him!" She exasperated.

"Yes. As long as he stays with me I can deliver messages. Just no kinky stuff." Leah made a face which caused Grace to smile. She wanted to laugh but she couldn't bring herself around to do so.

"I make no promises." Rem blurted.

"Can you tell me something?" Grace asked as she looked up at Leah. "Did he suffer?" Grace asked.

Leah hesitantly looked over at Rem, who was still in his horribly looking condition. On the contrary, Rem felt no pain right now, but Grace wanted to know if he suffered before he died. Leah looked conflicted at Rem. Obviously, he suffered, but would Rem want Grace to know that?

Rem wildly shook his head, "Don't tell her about the torture. It will do more harm than good." That was his choice and Leah accepted it.

"He said he didn't suffer at all. The only thing that pains him now is not being able to hold you." Leah said then glanced behind Grace at Rem.

He smiled softly, "Thank you."

"I think right now I need to be alone, but I do accept your offer to stay with you guys for the time being. I-" Grace tried to speak but she ended up clutching her chest instead. The pain was too much to imagine and she just needed to be alone for now. She also needed to relay the message to Ava, Rem's sister.

Leah gave Grace a hug, "It's alright. I understand. Just come when you're ready too."

Grace went back into the kitchen to watch the tea and once she heard the front door close, she knew Leah was gone. She slouched down on the ground and gave in to the exhaustion. She was holding back before, but this time she let it all loose. It felt like Grace was having a heart attack with all the chest pains that she endured.

After tea and constant crying, she ended up in her bedroom that she once shared with her handsome mate. Grace curled up in a fetal position and hugged one of Rem's shirts close to her heart. His scent seemed to calm the sharp pains that were racking through her body. She cried his name into the shirt and mourned her dead mate.

Rem crawled up beside her in the bed and painfully watched her. To Rem, she looked so beautiful even if she was a blubbering mess. Rem felt his heart pound as Grace drowned in her tears and it felt like he was drowning too.

Grace was so tired from crying and her whole body felt limp. She couldn't bring herself to move from the bed so she just laid there until she dazed off into bitter dreams.

"I love you." Rem whispered before Grace completely vanished into her dreams.

Later that night, Peyton was still by Isaac's side as he still laid unconscious in the bed. He still hasn't woke up but Peyton hasn't lost hope.

Peyton was currently holding Isaac's hand as his head was rest on the lower half of the bed. Peyton was fast asleep in an awkward position that would surely leave his neck hurting the next day, but he wouldn't regret it.

A cold breeze swept through the room and at that moment Isaac's fingers slightly moved. Another cold breeze swept through the room again and this time Isaac could hear it. The wind whipping against the trees and howling against the night. He felt a warm presence beside him which was very unusual.

Suddenly, Isaac's wolf was on overdrive by all the stimuli hitting his brain at once. The delightful smell of another person in the room. The cold air and even the broken sink that dripped water every now and then. There was a constant loud beeping sound, and there was a warm sensation that engulfed him like a blanket. He had to figure out where this was all coming from.

Isaac's eyes fluttered open and he blinked a couple of times to get rid of his blurry vision. He scanned the dark room and tried to figure out where he was. He couldn't see well as he looked around the room. All he could see was a bunch of dark figures. Isaac figured out that the window was slightly open and that was where the cold breeze came from. There was a light that radiated from the moon and that helped him see better as his eyes adjusted. He could see more clearly now.

Isaac swallowed hard, trying to wet his dry throat. Then he tried to bring his hand to touch his neck, where most of the pain came from, but it was stuck. He glanced down at his right hand and found Peyton sleeping and holding his hand.

Isaac didn't want to wake Peyton up because he looked so peaceful in his sleep. A lovely smile touched Isaac's face and then he realized something that instantly brought him to tears.

Out of all the times he was put in the hospital by his father, this was the first time he woke up and someone was there for him. Isaac bit his lips so he wouldn't make a sound and wake Peyton up, but at that moment, Isaac actually felt so loved and overwhelmed with joy because for once he wasn't alone when he woke up. Then he realized that was the warmth he felt, which was a feeling that he never felt before. Isaac never held a guy's hand before but he kind of liked holding Peyton's hand. Right now, Peyton made Isaac feel different then everyone else. However, he thought feelings probably wouldn't be reciprocated by Peyton.

Isaac couldn't wait until tomorrow to finally see Peyton awake, but for now, he felt so tired even though he just woke up. Although, he was fighting for his life so Isaac was rightfully tired. Thinking happy thoughts he drifted back into a peaceful sleep, anticipating what tomorrow would bring.

~🖤~