Everything seems to play out in slow motion from the next second. The earth is not the only thing that shatters. So does the glass from both the cars. And sharp, transparent, fragments begin flying around, slashing anything that comes in the way.

The warriors jump for the throats of the enemies as I stare at the blood that slowly begins to drip from Liam's stomach. Jason goes for the two men behind Liam as he falls to the ground.

Nothing is clearly visible because of the storm and the pools of water filling my eyes. I feel Daxton's grip around me tighten against the storm. I push him back, once again. And for some reason, this time he goes flying back as a bunch of glass pierces his skin, with some, luckily, finding its way to his throat. Leaves rustle loudly around us and some even float around with the strong wind making it difficult to see.

The rumble of a car stops behind as the other four warriors arrive. They quickly shift and Jason orders one of them to go for Daxton.

When the shock finally passes, my feet dreadfully, but quickly, make their way to Liam. By the time I get to him, a small pool of blood has already started to gather next to him.

"No, no, Liam," I cry, trying to stop the bleeding with my hands.

Tears blur my vision so I try to wipe them away with the back of my hand that is now soaked in his blood. He's bleeding out too fast and I can't make it stop.

I rush to the car and grab my phone. Going through my contacts, I scroll down until I come across Olivia. Hitting the screen over her name, I rush to the trunk of the car and pull out a large scarf.

Olivia finally answers as I try to put pressure on the wound with the scarf.

"Hello? April, is everything okay?"

"Liam," I sob into the phone, "He was shot and I can't stop the bleeding. You need to get here. Please," I beg.

The line goes silent for a while followed by some rustling sounds until Olivia finally speaks again.

"April, are you there?"

"Why wouldn't his wolf heal him," I shout through the tears as the pool of blood gets larger.

"April, listen to me. I need you to calm down first. You need to do that so we can help Liam," she says, her voice calm and steady.

"Okay, okay," I sniffle.

"Now. Jason has updated us on the situation," she informs and I look up to see all the wolves have disappeared. They must have ran into the woods and our warriors followed them.

"We are too far away to get there in time so you will need to bring him here. Because the bullet is silver, it is weakening Liam's wolf, which is why he can't heal."

"So what do I do?"

"You're going to have to get it out."

My heart dips into my stomach upon hearing her words.

"Otherwise it'll continue to destroy him from the inside and he won't be able to heal," she continues.

"What? No, no, no," I stammer, "I— I can't do it."

"You don't have a choice, April. You need to do this or he won't make it."

My hands are already trembling. Liam's eyes are droopy and he has almost passed out.

"No, Liam. Please stay with me," I whimper.

"I'll be right here with you. Just look for something, anything, that might help you get the bullet out," Olivia offers on the phone.

"April, we can do this. We must do this if we want to save Liam," I don't know where Jade finds this strength but I am so thankful to her for sharing it with me.

I inhale a large breath and quickly rush back to the suitcase. From my vanity bag, I pull out a pair of tweezers. Tugging on the prongs, I try to split them enough so they can hold a bullet.

I can do this. I must do this.

On my way back to Liam, a wolf passes through my peripheral vision. He stops next to Jason's car and a few moments later Jason joins me by Liam's side.

"How is he doing?" he asks, getting on his knees next to him.

"Not well," I sniff. "Olivia told me I needed to get the bullet out but we don't have any equipment. He could get infected or his wound could get worse."

"April, don't worry about that right now. His wolf can fix all that as long as he's not poisoned by the silver," he calmly responds.

I stare at him wide eyed and slowly shift my gaze to the wound. As I lift the scarf off, which is now drenched in Liam's blood, more blood begins to ooze out. My heart stops at the sight but I try to keep my mind steady.

The tweezers pass through the torn flesh and into the wound. My breath hitches in my throat while I try to navigate it through gash and towards the bullet. The only good thing about Liam passing out is that he won't be able to feel the enormous amount of pain he would otherwise be in.

We're joined by a few other warriors as well when I finally feel something hard hit the tweezers. Carefully, I pick up the bullet, desperately trying to ignore the fact that half of my hand is now inside my mate, covered in his blood.

Everyone seems to let out a sigh of relief once the bullet exits his body and at the same instant, my hands start shaking again. Tears begin to flow as the adrenaline that had me going starts to wear off.

We cover the wound up once again with a piece of cloth and tie the scarf around it to help put more pressure on it.

"Alright, quickly, let's get the Alpha into the car. He needs to get to a hospital. And Tim, you help the Luna," Jason orders, immediately taking charge of the situation.

One of the warriors, who must be Tim, wraps a jacket around me and helps clean the blood off my hands with a handkerchief.

They put Liam in the backseat of the third car that arrived after the massive storm that broke off the glass of the other two.

"April, you sit next to him. Your wolf can help him heal," Jason says, helping me into the car with Liam's head in my lap.

"Please, be okay," I whisper, bending my head down to get closer to him. I say a silent prayer as we set off and hope we can get there fast.

~~~

Faint beeping sounds echo in the air. Each beep provides comfort, carrying the message that Liam's heart is still beating. All the wires and tubes inserted into his arms paint a most horrid image that mortifies me every time I look at it.

So, I keep my head down on his bed. His cold hand in mine has barely started to warm up. Everyone who came to check in on Liam has left now, so no one hears my muffled cries except for the earth which seems to shake with every sob that escapes me.

All of this happened because of me. Liam almost died because of me. I don't even know if he's going to be okay. And I am the only one to blame. The only reason Daxton is so obsessed with fighting Liam is because of me. My mere existence puts everyone here in danger.

I would never be able to forget myself if anything happened to Liam so I pray to all the Gods above, to make him okay.

The door to the room creaks open and someone walks in. I'm too exhausted to check who it is.

"Hey, April." It's Amy.

"I brought you some clothes. Why don't you get cleaned up and then take some rest?"

Her words set my insides on fire. My mate is fighting for every breath he takes and she's worried about my dirty clothes?

"You need to get some rest. We'll all be here to look after—"

"No!" I scream at her and I swear it feels as if the room actually shook under my voice.

"I am not leaving him! Just go," I yell, and without saying another word, Amy quickly disappears.

I can't believe she had the audacity to suggest something so ludicrous. How can I leave Liam here to go and rest? How does she expect me to rest while he's barely alive? It makes my blood boil.

As if to make matters worse, the room violently begins to shake. Of course, perfect timing for an earthquake.

I hold on to Liam and everything attached to his body and wait for it to pass. The door swings open once again and the violent earthquake calms down to slight vibrations that can barely be felt.

I lift my head up to see Tyler standing next to me. He holds an apologetic look in his eye as he looks down at me.

"I'm sorry, April," he says, solemnly.

Before I can ask him why he's apologizing, he lifts up a large syringe and stabs it in my neck.