The Scared and The Scarred

Chapter 27

With my eyes glued to his lifeless body, the branches holding him retreated, allowing him to fall to the ground. The trees surrounding at the edge of the woods returned to normal, but the rain still fell.

The chaos around me was dying down as the rogues retreated, feeling the loss of their leader. They knew they had lost, and there was nothing worth fighting for anymore. I paid them no mind as I walked slowly towards the spot where Luca lay.

The pack members I passed were not celebrating, and there eyes held pain instead of victory. I ignored the looks of sympathy, making up every excuse I could think of to explain the sad expressions they gazed at me with.

It felt like it took hours for me to actually reach him. He lied in the same spot, motionless, with Alice and Nick by his side.

I dropped to my knees beside him, staring at his face. He was in human form now, his eyes closed. Looking at his face it was easy to believe he was sleeping, but when your eyes trailed down, away from his face, all you saw was the blood that covered most of his body.

Three large claw marks trailed down his chest, the edges of the cuts burnt from the silver claws which inflicted it. I put my hand on the side of his face, a shiver running through me when my fingers met his cold skin.

"Luca.. Wake up." I spoke softly, shaking him gently.

"Celia.." Alice whispered. "He's gone."

"No!" I yelled. "He's not.. He's not."

Tears blurred my vision as I shook him, "Come on Luca, stop it."

"Celia." Nick spoke, standing. "He's not going to wake up."

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! He's not dead. He can't be dead." I cried.

"Come on, we need to go inside, you're going to get sick." Nick said trying to pull me away. "Someone will bring him in but we can't stay here." He said, his eyes full of emotion.

"No! No!" I screamed, pulling away from him. "I'm not leaving him!"

"Just give her some time, Nick." I heard Alice whisper sadly. "Imagine if that were Belle." She said softly, causing another shock of pain in my heart.

My mate was dead.

"No no no no no.." I whispered.

"I can fix this, I can fix this." I told myself quietly, pushing my wet hair from my eyes.

I thought back to when I was younger, I'd went on a walk the day after a bad storm. I'd always loved walking in the woods after a storm. The trees sparkling, all the leaves looking new and fresh and clean. The air feeling easier to breath. It was one of the things I'd always loved.

About halfway through my walk, I'd found a bird's nest that had been blown out of a nearby tree. Three small baby birds, still unable to fly, lay on the ground near their nest.

Two of them had been injured, and one was dead.

One at a time, I held them in my hands, focusing my energy on them, healing them.

The last one was more difficult. I didn't know if I could do it, and it took more energy than the other two, but after a few minutes I felt it begin to move. I took all three of them home that day, raising them until they were able to fly.

This was different though.

This was a person, much larger than a small bird, and more important than anything else in my life. 

This was my world.

Taking his hand, I held it tightly in mine, closing my eyes.

"Live, Luca.. Live." I whispered.

I felt my energy draining from me, each second leaving me feeling weaker than the last.

"Celia what are you doing?" Alice asked in a panic, noticing my exhaustion. "Celia, you'll kill yourself!" She shouted, running towards me.

I shot my free hand into the air, and a thick wall of vines quickly grew around Luca and I, boxing us in from the rest of the world.

"Celia!" Alice and Nick were shouting from the outside. They ripped at the vines, trying to get to me, but no matter how many they pulled away, a new one quickly grew in its place.

"Its going to be ok. We'll be ok." I whispered to Luca, pushing the hair from his eyes.

I struggled to keep my eyes open, as I poured the little energy I had left into healing Luca. The wounds on his chest had closed, but his chest remained still.

"We'll be ok." I said again, weakly.

I fell beside him, a weak smiled forming on my lips as I saw him take a deep breath.

"You'll be ok without me. You'll be ok." I said as I lie next to him, his hand still in mine.

And with that, I closed my eyes.