‘It was over in a matter of seconds, almost anticlimactic.’
DON’T BE AFRAID
WHEN THE WORLD COMES UNDONE
Cole Stanton & Meghan Devlin
prompt: flameheart by two steps from hell
The smoke in the air burned sharply at the back of his throat as he ran, moving with all the speed and agility accorded to him by his heritage, weaving around corners and past other wolves, some of them in their feral forms as they battled the flames and their enemies. Cole moved as one possessed, racing past them all, dodging obstacles as they sprang up in his path. Dia was safe, she was with the Aldens. Natasha was with Irina. Nerys was with Keegan. Lily was with Steven. There was someone missing. Cole had to find her, and it was her scent he tracked with a fierce desperation, picking past the smoke and the blood hanging heavily in the air, a potent and painful cocktail that made his chest constrict horribly, like a vice was tightening around his heart, threatening to crush it at any moment.
Suddenly her scent was there, along with the sound of her voice, a gasp of alarm and a denial. A plea.
Cole flew around the corner without hesitation, without forming a thought or a tactic; he simply acted, followed his instinct, namely the one that told him to protect. The large male looming over Meghan where she had fallen to her knees in a tangled heap with her hair around her pale face didn’t see him coming until it was too late. The impact was enough to crack something in his chest, he felt the bone give, but he drove his enemy back with an aggressive snarl, all the way into the far wall. Plaster cracked and dust rained down through the drifting smoke and his enemy cried out in pain. Cole didn’t stop, driving a knee up and into the other male’s stomach even as he wrenched him down by the back of his collar, landing not just one blow but two in rapid succession, before he drove his elbow down between their shoulder blades. They stumbled and buckled to their knees with a breathless cough and Cole seized his opportunity, turning quickly and taking a firm grip on hair and jaw alike. One swift and strong jerk was all it took to break the man’s neck and the tension dropped from his frame immediately as the life left him in an instant. It was over in a matter of seconds, almost anticlimactic.
She looked up at him through wisps of unruly hair when he reached his hand down to her and her own was shaking as she reached up to accept his help. Gently he lifted her to her feet before drawing her close, her head against his chest as her arms wrapped around his back and her fingers knotted in his shirt. She was out of immediate danger now, but he still had to get her out and away from the smoke. Cole allowed himself a moment to press a kiss to the top of her head before he told her it was time to go. Meghan nodded her head and let him take her by the hand so he could get her to safety.