Revolting
Chapter 83 -

Chapter Forty Five - Grief Heath

The horrible noises that grieving woman was making made all the hairs on my arm and the back of my neck stand on end. She threw her body over the corpse, sobbing. William glanced back at me, his face pale and stricken, still cuddling the toddler to his chest. The Alpha put a comforting hand on William's shoulder, and the Luna had wrapped Daisy in her arms. Everyone's face was wet with tears. Even my sister sitting in the corner, still on in her chair, was weeping quietly. I stood helplessly at the door, a mere bystander, not sure what to do. I wanted to comfort my mate, knowing that the deceased was not just a pack member, but his long-time friend as well. But I felt awkward and uncertain in the moment, with so much emotion in the room. William stood, and the Alpha took the baby from his arms. William came to me, and I pulled him against my chest. I felt his grief as a heavy lump in my ribs. His tears wet the collar of my shirt, and I stroked his back, trying to offer him whatever comfort I could.

Suddenly Daisy pushed herself off the bed, ripping her body away from the Luna. Over William's shoulder, I watched as she started to back away from the people in the room, moving toward us, moving toward the door. She never took her eyes off her husband's body as she moved away. When she bumped into the door frame, she glanced up at us. I saw that there was a wildness in her eyes, and I stiffened.

"He killed him. Michael killed my mate." She whispered through her teeth, speaking to no one in particular. Her whole body was trembling, even her teeth were chattering. "HE KILLED MY MATE!" With an inhuman screech she pushed us aside, and started running toward the door.

William broke from my arms and looked at the Luna. "She's going after Michael."

The room erupted in chaos then. Hannah, who had been still and quiet throughout suddenly launched out of her chair with a strangled cry. "No!" William pushed away from me and started running after Daisy, with Nina close on his heels. Not knowing what I could do, or how I could help, I followed after. The Alpha was bellowing for someone take the baby. We crashed through the old house, our collective feet pounding against the old floor boards, making the whole house quake and shake.

Daisy crashed through the back door, picking up a spade as she rushed by, and brandishing it as a weapon. She was fully prepared to exact her justice with a garden tool. Hannah caught up to her by the barn door, and tried to wrestle the small shovel out of Daisy's hands. "Stop Daisy, you don't really want to do this," Hannah cried.

Daisy wrenched the spade back, glaring at her friend. "This is your fault!" She screamed. "You brought him here, you all brought him here!" Her angry, grief-stricken gaze took in all of us, me, William and Hannah. With a frustrated scream she tore into the old barn, running through the darkness, using her supernatural night vision to navigate through the clutter and debris that remained in the dilapidated building.

She skidded to a halt as she approached the place where Michael was tied to the post. Correction, the place where Michael HAD been tied. The post was vacant now, and the guard that had been posted to watch him was sprawled across the floor. Nina ran to the guard and knelt next to him, pressing her hands to his neck. "He's alive,” she said with a relieved sighed. "Just knocked unconscious."

"NO!" Daisy screamed, "No he can't be gone!" I'm not sure if she was speaking of Gabe, or of Michael. She swung the shovel wildly at the post, sending splinters flying. "How could you do this to me! Why?" She swung again and again at the post, giving the old beam the brutality that she wanted to unleash against Michael. She swung until the handle of the spade shattered, and then she threw the remaining pieces into the darkness. Then, her rage spent, she collapsed. All the bones seemed to melt in her body as she fell to the floor in a heap, her eyes staring, unseeing and vacant now. Nina and William ran to her, cradling her body like a child.

Hannah watched, her face pale and drawn. I saw her open her hands, staring down at the burns on her fingers and palms. I knew then what she had done. She helped the Alpha escape. Maybe not directly, but she had helped. She had rejected him, but still something had moved her to save the man that was fated to her. I wanted to be angry. That man had nearly killed me, twice. Now he had taken the mate from her best friend. Her only friend. But the supernatural bond that tied Hannah to Michael was... beyond reason. If it had been William in that position... tied to a pole with silver burning his wrists... I probably would have done the same, if not more. I put an arm around her small shoulders, and pulled my sister against my side.

"It's going to be okay, Hannah." I tried to sooth her.

She turned her head, and watched as William scooped Daisy's limp and defeated body off the floor and started to carry her back to the farm house. Nina was bent over the guard, who was slowly regaining consciousness. The Alpha strode in then, and after a hushed conversation with his wife, he began to help the fallen man to his feet. Hannah turned her face up to me, her scar glinting silver in the little bit of moonlight that entered the barn through the collapsed ceiling at the far end.

"No," she mumbled, shaking her head sadly. "It's never going to be alright."