CHAPTER TWELVE

~RECAP~

Abruptly, his expression turned serious. "Rosie, I've decided to tell you who I like."

~*~

~Tamara Rose

My mouth opened slightly and I quickly closed it. "You-you don't have to do that, Eric."

He shook his head. I had never seen him look so solemn. "No, I do."

I gave a tiny smile. "Ok."

Eric was a faster, stronger werewolf than me. I couldn't have seen it coming if I had guessed--which I hadn't. Not at all.

One minute we were sitting there, facing each other normally, talking.

The next, Eric had placed a hand on the back of my neck and pulled me down to kiss him.

My eyes widened, snapping open like shutters on a window. I gasped against his lips, giving him access to my mouth. I felt his tongue slide in.

A sick feeling settled in the pit of my gut. My chest felt tight, adrenaline pumping through my veins as if someone had shot it into me through a cannon.

"Mph! Mm!" Panic flurried through me, a course of unstoppable, restless butterflies. My hands finally found his shoulders trying to push him off me. If anything, his grip tightened.

This couldn't be happening.

Tears began streaming down my cheeks. This was even worse than when my own mate had betrayed me. This was my best friend, my confidante, my brother.

My chest hurt from lack of oxygen, as did my throat from screaming constantly muffled cries and sobs.

It finally ended.

Eric pulled back, his hands still on my neck. I couldn't even see him through my tears. I pulled away from his touch like his skin was coated with acid, lunging back onto my bed, against the wall.

"Get away from me," I sobbed, turning my face away to face the wall.

Eric was quiet. When he spoke, he sounded broken. "Tamara Rose, I just wanted you to know who I was love in. Who I am in love with."

"No, no, don't say it," I wept desperately, putting my hands over my ears and curling forward until my chin touched my knees.

"I love you, Tamara Rose Catherine," he said anyways, sounding like he was crying himself.

I pressed a hand to my mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit. My life had spiraled down, down, down into hell.

"No," I wept, unable to stop the tears from flowing. Eric was it. He was all I had left.

Suddenly, something occurred to me. Had every single comforting hug on his part, every peck on the forehead and the cheek, every teasing and perverted comment...had they all been a scam? Had he only pretended to be friends with me, all the while disguising secret intentions?

Unable to hold back the pressure that had been pounding on my throat for so long now, I scrambled off my bed and knelt beside my dresser, puking into the garbage can there. I heard a wheelchair roll up and crawled away from him before he could approach. I leaned against the door, panting and wiping my mouth.

"Get away from me," I whispered.

Eric's expression was heartbroken. "Rosie--"

"Don't call me that!" I wanted to yell, but the words came out as a breathless, agonized sob.

He fell silent. With him watching, I scooted away from the door, pressing my back against my closet door and pulling my knees up to my chest, cradling them. Leaving the path to the door was a clear invitation, one that didn't have to be spoken aloud.

His hands were curled around the wheels of his chair. Leave, just leave, I thought desperately.

Only a few seconds passed by, and I could see Eric finally caving and starting to finally go.

And then the door slammed open.

~*~

~Lizzie

Leave, just leave.

Tamara Rose's desperate plea echoed in my head, making me jerk my head to face Mark. His eyes were wide, showing me he'd heard it, too. How could he not? The pack link made it impossible not to.

Within nanoseconds, we had jumped out of bed and raced up the stairs, me beating Mark ever so slightly due to the fact that I had been closer to the door. I bursted through the door to Tamara Rose's room, panting and looking around for my friend.

"Rosie--we heard your cry--what's--"

I broke off when I saw her, huddled in the corner by the closest. Dried tears streaked her face, her lashes still spiked with remnants of the salty liquid. Her hair was tousled, as if she'd been in a struggle. Her lips parted slightly in surprise at my entrance.

I gazed the room until my eyes landed on Eric.

His hair was tousled, as well, as if someone had tried to fight him.

I figured it out just a second before Mark did, which was barely enough time to stop him.

"I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Anger wasn't even a word. Mark looked lethal. Murderous. The air around him wavered, muscles spamming as he fought off shifting into his wolf.

"Mark!" I'd jumped in front of him barely before he had made his move. For once, I couldn't calm him down. He didn't even seem to register the fact that I was there.

His eyes were black when he looked down at me, not even seeing me.

He shoved me out of the way, a little more forcefully than I'd expected. I stumbled, losing my balance, and fell to the ground.

Rosie gasped, scrambling over to help me up. She had only grazed my elbow with her fingers when both our necks snapped in the other direction, hearing the sound of a smash.

"Oh my god," I whispered, horror sinking into the pit of my stomach, heavier than lead.

Mark had grown Eric against a wall.

~*~

~Mark

The expression "seeing red" wasn't even real compared to what I was seeing. Blood. Crimson, scarlet, ruby. All of it: Eric's.

His body slumped to the floor after I had attacked him. He was still breathing. Nothing was broken (by some miracle).

But I wasn't finished.

I took a single step before Lizzie was in front of me again.

"Get out of my way," I snarled.

"You need to calm down," she demanded, clearly shaking despite the authority she faked in her voice.

"Get away!" I roared, shoving her to the side. She hit the wall with a harsh thud.

A sickening snap rung out.

My anger evaporated faster than boiling water. Eric disappeared from my gaze, from my thoughts.

"Lizzie," I breathed out, horrified, by her side in an instant. Her face had been drained of all blood. She was clutching her side, looking less than a second away from fainting.

And then.

A small, thin trickle of blood escaped out of the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes glossed over before she slumped into my arms.

~*~

A/N:

Holy heck. If I was a reader and someone else was writing this story, I think I'd hunt them down and kill them.

I mean, yeesh.