Cutthroat Carmine (Book 1)(COMPLETE) (Wattpad Featured Novel)

44: [sak-ruh-fahys] [final chapter]

Carmine slowly opens up her eyes, blinking back hot tears. Fat droplets of sweat course down her hairline and drip down her nose. Her entire body feels as if it's been tossed into a gigantic oven and roasted alive. Sniffing around, she realizes that the smell of cooked meat in the air is in fact the scent of her own burning flesh. Flaps of skin all around her face are peeling away, leaving behind unsightly, bloody gouges. She winces as pain continues to shoot through her jaws and a deafening ringing assaults her ears.

Carmine scans her surroundings, trying to comprehend the situation before her. She immediately sees Sebastian's body, lying crumpled on the ground a few feet in front of her. Blood is quickly pooling out of his neck and staining the yellow grass all around him.

No.

No.

No!

"S-S-Sebastian?" Carmine mews weakly. She turns to face Bill, who's groaning and writhing on the ground, clutching at his bleeding thigh. She can hear him grumble, "That goddamn asshole...shot me..."

Sebastian sacrificed his life to save me, Carmine realizes, her gaze trailing once more to Sebastian's corpse.

He died in vain. Bill is still alive...and so is his accomplice.

Carmine's vision is obscured by tears and she tries to blink them away but they keep flooding forth, drowning her from the inside. Choking, Carmine lunges forward on her elbows and knees, desperate to feel Sebastian for any signs of life. When she reaches his body, she rests her head against his upper back, hoping to hear a heartbeat. Even if it's just a faint one.

Nothing.

"He was a foolish man," Bill's accomplice says, ramming his boot against Carmine's chest and aiming the silver gun at her heart. "But don't worry, I'll make sure to finish the job right so you two can meet again in the afterlife."

Carmine grunts as her muzzle-clad skull slams against the dirt. "Scr-Screw you," she spits out.

The man cocks his gun. "Mouthy bitch, go to Hell."

But before the man can pull the trigger, a tall shadow looms behind him. He doesn't even have time to turn around before his throat is ripped wide open. Bright red blood splashes all over Carmine and Sebastian's body. The man flops forward on top of Carmine, slimy blood gushing from his neck wound and soaking through her shirt.

A foot kicks the man off Carmine. "Are you alright?" a concerned voice asks.

It's Nyla.

"How-"

"I tracked your blood scent. You had a cut on your lip from earlier."

"Where are my parents now?" Carmine groans, trying to regain some strength by licking the gore that had splattered through the muzzle and on to her lips.

"They should be arriving shortly. What the hell happened here?" Nyla asks, gesturing to Sebastian's body. "How did he-"

Carmine looks away, unable to speak.

"Did he die for you?" Nyla finally asks, shaking her head. "I thought he was probably going to do something stupid like that when I saw him with Bill earlier." Nyla hacks off the padlock securing Carmine's muzzle. The silver mask falls off with ease. Then Nyla starts working on Blake.

As the sun melts into the horizon, a chilling breeze quickly sweeps across the field. A few ghastly street lamps flicker on in the distance. "We better hurry. We don't have much time," Nyla cries.