Tears of the Fallen Ch. 16

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Confrontations and Awakenings.
13.1k words
4.87
40.2k
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Part 16 of the 23 part series

Updated 10/31/2022
Created 12/23/2012
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JazCullen
JazCullen
6,489 Followers

Oh, the last chapter posted quicker than I thought it would... let's keep up the momentum; here's another one ;)

Enjoy!

*****

Liam hovered impatiently outside his cousin's house, waiting for Elina and Reasa to pack some clothes. He'd deliberately chosen not to go in. He didn't want to give Reasa an opportunity to call him to task for kissing her. The memory of their first kiss blew his mind. It had been so much more than he had ever dreamed imaginable. It was the single most perfect moment of his life and he didn't want anything to take that away, especially not his mate glowering furiously at him. No, Liam was happy to put of the inevitable for as long as possible so he could savour that magical moment. If that was a tad cowardly, he could live with it.

The sound of booted feet on the hard packed earth had him turning his head towards the pack's large meeting circle. The wolves defending the outer boundaries were changing shift, the morning detail already out among the trees. Tired men trundled into the compound, some of them waving in his direction as they scurried home to get some much-needed sleep after a long night.

Liam waved back, feeling excitement as well as some trepidation about what they were about to attempt. They were going into uncharted territory with the wounded vampires at the Praetorian Compound. They had no idea if dream walking in their minds would be a help or a hindrance, but they had to at least try. If nothing was done there really was only one outcome for the vampires, and Liam just couldn't bear to think about that consequence.

"We're ready," Elina said behind him, and he turned back around to smile at his cousin and set eyes on his mate for the first time since they'd kissed.

How did she manage to look more beautiful with each passing day? The sun caressed Reasa's bronzed skin, making him feel jealous that it wasn't his fingers tracing each perfect feature, that it wasn't his lips tasting the satin smoothness of her cheeks. She'd tied her raven hair back in a short ponytail, the hairstyle not only making her cheekbones more pronounced, but also highlighting the gentle curve of her jawline.

She was glorious, and she belonged to him. He ached for the day that her shuttered green eyes finally looked at him, and she realised that he belonged to her as much as she did to him. It would happen. It had to happen. He just needed to be patient until she was ready to accept him. For now, her expression was neutral as she regarded him, her only acknowledgement a slight inclination of her head. At least she wasn't spitting at him as he'd expected.

"Is everything set?" Rafe joined them, his sons Ben and AJ at his side.

Both men had their father's tall frame, though Aaron junior's build was more athletic and his colouring favoured his mother. His wavy, platinum blond hair was shorter than most of the male pack members, but it retained the unkempt look that was common among wolf shifters. He also sported a few days growth that further emphasised his wildness. His smile though was dazzling and took some of the edge off his appearance.

Ben was his father's double in just about all ways. He was as big and wide as the Alpha, and had the exact same colouring of dark brown unruly hair and deep brown eyes. The only thing he appeared to have taken from his mother's side was his nose. It was unusually long and elegant for so brawny a male. He, too, had a killer smile, and like his brother, was quick to display it. Both men smiled at them but didn't speak.

"We're all packed and ready to go," Liam answered, turning as Dayton followed the girls outside.

"Don't you need this?" The Beta held the book on dream walking in his hands, a half smile gracing his face when Reasa tutted under her breath.

"My apologies, I forgot to pick it up." She held out her arms for the book.

"I'll ride up with them," Dayton said to Rafe, his Alpha nodding his agreement.

"Ben and AJ are going too," Rafe informed the group, his tone firm. Not that any of them would have disagreed with their Alpha.

"Lily and Kal are already up at the other compound and the boys will be staying for the duration too. I think three extra Vârcolac and a couple of strong wolves should be enough for security. The Praetorian Compound is being patrolled by the pack as standard anyway, so there will always be additional wolves to call on if needed. Let's just all make sure it isn't needed." His final words were directed at Reasa, who met his gaze without flinching.

"I have no intention of causing any further distress to your pack," the former vampire answered.

"Glad to hear it," Rafe replied, treating her to a warm smile. "If you and Liam can do what Annie thinks you can, well let's just say that will go some way to making amends for past actions. It's not going to absolve you completely, Reasa, but it will be a start."

She nodded her head, accepting what he said. The Alpha's honesty was something she could understand and therefore respect. She hadn't detected one lie from him and that was something she found surprising given the relationship between wolves and vampires in Europe. She had always believed they were liars and couldn't be trusted. It would appear she was learning many new things with her time spent in the Armand-Hanlon compound.

"Okay, everyone load up and get yourselves up to the Praetorian Compound."

They turned and headed towards the two waiting Jeeps at Rafe's command. Reasa had barely taken two steps when the air suddenly became tense and her head whipped around to see Pietro standing in the doorway of one of the other dwellings close by. For an instant she was frozen on the spot, her gaze locked with eyes blazing with hatred, and then she was pulled behind Liam's large frame, hidden from the vampire's view.

"Pietro... " Rafe growled... an unmistakable warning in his tone.

A loud hiss filled the air... a sharp clacking noise following quickly. Reasa didn't need to be able to see to know that the vampire had gone feral. Was today going to be the day that she died? She fervently hoped not. She wanted to try to heal the wounded vampires' minds. If she died after that... well at least she would have done something to try to repair the damage she'd caused.

*****

She was there right in front of him. So close he could taste the warmth of her blood in his mouth, could feel her soft flesh parting in jagged tears as his talons shredded her body. So close, and yet, denied to him by the assembled group of wolves who protected her. Pietro hissed out in fury, his eyes darting quickly from one face to the next, cataloguing each position, as he worked out what sequence he would take to circumnavigate everyone to get to his target.

Liam he would leave until last. He would take down Rafe first, he was Alpha and the others would go to his aid without thinking about it. Elina would hang back to protect her cousin, so she would be next, leaving Liam in a moment's confusion over who to protect first. If he went to Elina's aid then good, Thereasa would be his for the taking. If not... he would have to deal with the huge Vârcolac before he could satisfy his bloodlust.

The thoughts took barely a moment to careen through his mind before he was moving, ignoring the warning voices, his eyes black pools of rage as he flowed towards the Alpha. Sounds clamoured on the air, growls and voices, his name being yelled repeatedly, but he was blind and deaf to all. Instinct drove him, fury and vengeance blazing through his feral mind. She had to die and she had to die now!

Pietro swiped out a hand, batting away the two males who dived in front of their father. They crashed to the ground, instantly forgotten as he focused on the now dark brown wolf as the Alpha shifted to animal form.

"No! Pietro, no!"

The voice screamed at him, fought to be heard through the feral snarls growling from his lips. He knew that voice, had heard it whisper husky words of need and passion, but he ruthlessly pushed it aside. He would not be denied his kill.

The Alpha charged and Pietro lashed out, catching the huge beast in his arms and tossing it backwards. It was on its feet in a fraction of a second, coiling to spring again as he readied his talons to cut into flesh. The venom dripped from his fangs and he had the briefest moment of lucidity. He mustn't bite... he mustn't bite...

The wolf jumped, surrounded by a cacophony of sound, and Pietro struck out with his talons.

Pale blonde hair filled his vision, exquisite blue eyes filled with such fear. The wolf was behind her, shoved out of the way as she flowed into his vision, her stance defensive. His talons passed by her cheekbone by the barest of fractions, one nicking ever so lightly, causing the smallest of marks that instantly healed.

Cassia threw herself into his arms, holding him in a crushing embrace, so strong that he couldn't push her away. She wasn't fighting him, she was merely holding onto him, her words whispering in his ears. "Don't do this, Pietro. Please, please don't do this."

The urge to rid himself of the thing preventing his kill ran so deep it took everything in him not to plunge his talons into the soft, warm body embracing him. He wanted to... he needed to... but she was Cassia, and he could never do anything to physically hurt her.

"Pietro, be calm. Please be calm. Think about what you're trying to do."

As suddenly as the rage had overwhelmed him it died in the face of her words. Reason began to surface, and with that reason, he felt something else inside him die. He had been promised sanctuary with the pack. He had been promised so much, but when it came down to what he truly needed, he was very much on his own.

The one person he had come to rely on to understand him, was the very person who had stood in his way, using his attachment to her to thwart him. Cassia had to have known he could never hurt her. She had to have known that of everyone in the pack she was the only one he would have listened to in his feral state. She had known and she had used that knowledge against him!

"Release me, Cassia. I am once again in control of my actions." The words sounded dull to his ears and from the way she stiffened against him, he knew they did to her too. She held on a moment longer, long enough to whisper for his ears only.

"I'm so sorry... "

It didn't matter. No words she said could ever remove the feeling of betrayal he felt inside at knowing she had deliberately used his feelings for her against him. It was a hot knife in his gut, a pain so intense it eclipsed even the worst pain he could remember from Europe. Cassia had sided with the pack against him. She had betrayed him.

Pietro stepped back when she released him, avoiding looking at her beautiful face. He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to see the remorse he knew would be there because that was who she was, someone who cared so much she would bleed inside at ever hurting someone she cared about. He didn't have anything left in him at that moment to forgive her. All he had was the knowledge that he was alone, as he had always been alone.

His gaze swept over the surrounding pack. The centre of the compound was now full of wolves, all looking at him, waiting for him to go feral again. Rafe was checking over his sons, reassuring himself they weren't harmed. Pietro hadn't meant to hurt them, just remove them from the fight. He knew they would recover quickly from any bumps and scrapes they may have taken.

There was no sign of Thereasa. From the ring surrounding one of the jeeps, he could take a guess that she was safely ensconced inside the vehicle. Nors was there as was Alexei, arms folded with disapproving frowns on their faces. They left him in no doubt that he would have to go through both of them to get to woman, and he had no illusions that they would hurt him badly if he tried.

Even Andrei was glaring at him from his left side, fury dancing in his friend's eyes. They were all condemning him, his friends of hundreds of years turning against him as Cassia had. With a long, loud hiss, Pietro spun on his heel, walking back into the home he had shared with his friends. He knew what he had to do.

"Pietro, wait... "

"Go away, Cassia. I have nothing to say to you."

"You have to understand... we couldn't allow you to hurt Reasa. We just couldn't. I know she hurt you, Pietro. I understand your need for vengeance but it would kill Liam for anything to happen to her, and she's changing. She truly is changing, Pietro."

He wanted to shut out her voice. He wanted to ignore the plea that rang from every word she spoke. He wanted her to just be gone but this was her pack so that wasn't likely to happen. Spinning around, he impaled her with a look that contained all of his rage, all of his feelings of betrayal.

"I understand, Cassia. The pack will always come first with you, as it is what defines you. I am not pack though. I will never be pack or understand that group mentality. Thereasa ruined my life. She turned me into this thing I am now. I will never be happy until she is dead. Today you chose, Cassia. You chose pack over me and while I can understand that on a rational level, I can't on an emotional one. You betrayed me."

Pietro wanted to reach for her even as he said the words that he knew would cut her to the quick. Seeing the tears in her eyes filled him with so much misery that for a moment it almost overcame his feelings of betrayal. But those feelings were too ingrained in his heart and mind. He had trusted in her, he had let down his defences and let her close, and in that moment when he needed her to understand; she had turned against him.

"Tell Rafe I will be off pack lands within the hour. I don't want to spend another second longer here than I have to." Pietro turned away, hardening his heart to the pained whimper that came from the beautiful blonde wolf that had begun to mean so much to him.

"Please don't do this. Please, Pietro. Give yourself time to calm down. We can talk again once you've had a little time... "

"I don't want to see you ever again, Cassia. What we had is over." Misery overwhelmed him at his words and at the tortured sound that escaped her lips, but Pietro forced himself to keep walking up the stairs away from her. Though it hurt him to say it, he knew he wouldn't change his mind. What they had was truly over, whether he wept at the thought or not.

*****

Pietro was leaving her!

Her mate was refusing her, denying her the only chance she had at happiness. Cassia tried to speak, tried to make him listen, but her tears were flowing too fast, the ball of pain inside so intense it felt as if it was choking her.

He had to understand... he couldn't mean what he was saying. She'd had to stop him from hurting her Alpha, from hurting Thereasa and in doing so, her pack. Why couldn't he understand? Why couldn't he just stay and listen to her?

"Pietro... " the word strangled out on a sob, her voice pleading for him to listen but he continued to walk away, never once looking back.

"Cassia, come on, honey. Come home." Dara was at her side, her sister feeling her pain and reaching out to enclose her in an embrace, to soothe her with her wolf's touch.

"Dara... Dara... oh God Dara... "

Cassia's wolf howled its grief inside her mind and she gave herself over to the animal, unable to bear talking any further. She shifted to wolf form, spinning around and racing through the open door out into the forest.

The wolf howled; the woman screamed internally. They raced through the trees, mindless of where they were going, heedless of any who followed. She crashed into trees, tumbling head over heels and then picking herself up to race off in another direction. All the while she howled her anguish, cried out against the torture that was her mate's rejection.

Cassia ran and ran and ran until she fell to the forest floor exhausted, panting and heaving as she whimpered out her distress. Soft hands stroked over her fur, a loving touch holding her shaking wolf form, whispering words tripping over themselves as they rushed out.

"It will be okay, Cass. I know it will. Pietro just needs some time. It will all work out, you'll see. Please don't weep so, honey. Please. You are strong and I am with you. I will always be with you."

Dara was crying with her, holding her wolf and rocking her back and forth. She could feel her sister's pain echoing down their familial bond, knew she ached for her grief as much as she did. Dara, who had always been there for her, always been that second part of her from the moment she had been born and they'd first touched minds.

"It hurts so badly, Dara. It hurts so badly."

"I know, sweetheart, but you're strong enough to cope. Lean on me, honey. I've got you and I'll never let go."

Cassia surrendered to the grief of losing her mate, throwing her head back and letting out one long, anguish-filled mournful howl as her sister kept her word, holding her and never letting her go.

*****

Pietro's head shot up and his gaze turned to the forest through his window, the awful howl ringing on the air for all to hear. He knew it was Cassia who was hurting so badly and he wanted to go to her but his feet wouldn't move. Instead, he turned back to his packing, throwing the last of his clothes haphazardly into his case.

"Are you proud of yourself?" Andrei growled from the doorway.

Pietro turned to look at his friend, seeing the signs in his body language that Andrei was barely in control of himself. "I take no pleasure from hurting Cassia." He snapped the suitcase closed.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Pietro?" His friend stepped into the room, fist clenched in an effort to hold back his feral side. "The pack took you in, gave you a sanctuary and this is how you repay them?"

"Some sanctuary," Pietro snarled back, his aggression levels escalating to match Andrei's. "You let the instrument of my torture live and breathe, Andrei. I can remember a day when you of all people would have ripped someone to pieces for much less but now you roll over and do whatever the wolves ask of you. And you ask me what the fuck I was thinking? What the fuck where you and Alexei thinking?"

The other male paused, taking a deep breath before relaxing his clenched fists. "It's not that cut and dried and you know it, Pietro." Andrei sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "The pack is our family now and we have to consider the bigger picture. Believe me, I understand your need for vengeance. We all do, my friend. You have to meet us half way though; you have to understand that we're doing the best we can here."

"I can't!" Pietro hissed, turning away to grab his case. When he turned back, he'd wiped all expression from his face. "All I see is the people who always had my back are now protecting someone who is the cause of my disfigurement. All I see is those I call friend have aligned themselves against me."

"That's fucking bullshit and you know it! Where the fuck are you, Pietro? The man I know wouldn't wallow in self-pity and pitch a hissy-fit because things aren't going his way. And what the fuck did you do to my niece? Why are you breaking her heart? I should be kicking the shit out of you for that reason alone."

His reference to Cassia was too much, and Pietro dropped the case, hissing at his friend. "Then why the fuck aren't you? Go ahead... kick the shit out of me! Do it!"

Andrei's expression turned cold, the warmth dying from his eyes. "If I touched you right now, I would most likely take your head, Pietro. It's for that reason alone I'm ensuring that I retain a modicum of control. You're too weak to fend me off. It would be like slaughtering a Youngling."

Pietro glared at him a moment longer, before he reached for the case once more and stepped past his friend. "Thanks for the reminder of why we're all in this fucked up position in the first place. I never meant to hurt Cassia, Andrei, I truly didn't. She hurt me first though, but I guess that will always be a moot point with you and Alexei when it comes to one of your own. That I can understand."

JazCullen
JazCullen
6,489 Followers