Dallas's POV
--

She came. She came. I don't know wether to feel relieved that she finally came, or disappointed that she wanted to prevent my death. Even if I didn't want to, I'm still going to die. I know that.

She forgave me. And I forgave her, though I couldn't tell her. My voice was failing me. All I could do was stare at her sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. Probably the mirror image of my own.

Except I'm deathly skinny because I can't keep food down.

Well. All I can do is wait.

When they come, I watch blankly. Like usual. They smile and pull out a new bag.

"T'day's the day, Dal Pal!" Mason says happily, producing a gun. I know what's in it. A silver bullet infused with Wolfsbane. If shot with this, ANYWHERE, you die. Unless it just grazes you.

"Get it over with." I grunt. "I want to die on my bed. Can you do that?" Ian glances at Mason and shakes his head.

"Sorry, Dal Pal. No can do. We aren't pulling the trigger tonight." He says quietly.

"Spencer is." I finish, glancing at them as they grin. The feeling is returning to my body.

"Yep."

And then Ian grabs my arm. And tonight, I actually don't want to die.

I yank free from him, surprised at my returning strength, and punch him in the jaw. He shakes his head in disbelief and dismay and then grabs my arm again, tightly. Mason reaches for my other arm, but I lash out with my feet, kicking at his stomach. I gather my breath in my mouth and yell as loudly as I can. Hopefully my parents will hear. I can't take them both on like this. Ian grabs my arm with both of his, in a hold that threatens to break my bone. We both still, me staring at him with fierce indignation. And then I remember Nicole's words. "You are not a failure." And I kick at Mason again, Ian snaps the frail bone of my arm, and I swing at him with my other arm, nailing him in the jaw again. I'm getting weaker and the pain is roaring through me. Ah, pain. It's a good sign I'm feeling it.

And then Mason loads the gun and aims at me. "Spencer doesn't have to do the dirty work." He says darkly. "I have permission to end any struggle."

I glare at him. I thought he was actually beginning to like me.

"If you kill me, I'll haunt you." I say. "I'll haunt you until you go insane.

"I'm already insane." He spreads his hands, grinning manically. And then something hits him in the jaw. Knocking him out cold.

Dad.

And then Ian drops me.

Mum.

Because of Ian holding me, I also crumple, unable to support myself because of my arm. I curse under my breath, and cough on the floor. For the second time in my life, blood splatters the floor from my throat.

In all our haste, I didn't realize Mason shot the gun. At me. Through my ear.

"Dallas!" My mum cries, lurching forward to lift me off the floor. My father comes to help and wipes the blood currently dripping from my mouth away. I stare at them, not feeling like speaking. But if I don't tell them, they won't know.

"He shot my ear. With a Wolfsbane silver bullet." I say. Ironically, the only pain I'm feeling is my broken arm. My mother carefully lays it out next to me. I don't think my arm is supposed to bend that way. When I speak, my mother stops, slowly lifting her eyes to mine, her face ashen pale.

"No..." She turns my head and looks at my ear. Sure enough, a bloody hole is in it. My father continues cleaning my face of blood, returning from who knows what.

"I'm sorry, Mum. I should have yelled sooner." I mumble as my father starts splinting my arm.

She shakes her head. "No. It's not your fault. You're going to be alright. You will." Her words sound hollow and she knows it.

And then I feel the wolfsbane start roaring through me. How it happened so fast, I have no idea. Wolfsbane is magical. Kind of.

A third person appears. "Dallas! Stay awake!" She screams. Nicole.

"I can't." I don't even know if they can hear me. "I can't."

And then she's in front of me, staring me in the eyes. That's enough to jolt me awake.

"The doctor's coming, Dallas. Stay awake." She demands. I can only nod.

--

"You're lucky it only nicked him." The doctor tells my mum, her gray eyes sharp. She glances at her. "He would have died had you not called."

My ears overhear the whole thing. Despite being shot in one, I can still hear. It's a miracle, really.

Nicole sits on my hospital bed, gripping my hand as the heart monitor beeps regularly. She has refused to leave me alone for a second.

At least I'm going to live. And at least the doctors are Pack doctors rather than regular doctors. We would have had to explain a lot. Although, we did have to explain my engravings. The doctors had to inject me with anti-Wolfsbane (who knew?).

She watches me now, unnervingly. I can feel her eyes trained on her name written on me. I know she doesn't like it just by the feeling of her eyes. I look over at her and she meets my gaze, seeming shamelessly caught staring at my engraved skin. Something's changed. Usually she would have just blushed and looked away, embarrassed to be caught staring at me. Especially in the state I'm in. But she doesn't.

She actually keeps on staring, but this time at my eyes. It's like she's looking at me differently.

"Nic?" I ask, tilting my head curiously.

"I'm sorry." She suddenly blurts, her eyes wide. I shake my head, and grab her hand to pull her next to me. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and put my chin on her head. She seems tense.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Nicole. Absolutely nothing." I tell her.

She buries her face in my chest then, and I feel her shake with uncontrolled breathing. "It's all my fault. You could have died. And it's my fault. " I shake my head.

"Nicole. You didn't know. And you didn't mean to. I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry." I say quietly, gently stroking her arm to calm her. She stays there next to me for a few minutes before tilting her head up to look at me. Her face is red and tear streaked and blotchy.

"I'm trying to apologize for almost killing you and here you are taking all the blame." She says wondrously.

I shrug chummily. "That's what I do." She laughs softly, earning a grin from me.

"Why do you do this? Is it... Really the Mate.. The Mate Bond?" She asks me.

I laugh at her question and she smacks me. "Don't laugh at me." Her voice is humor filled.

"No, Nicole. It's not because of the Mate Bond. The Mate Bond is extra. Even without Mates, you would still be mine. The Mate Bond just makes it easier to know." I grin and become serious, bending my head down. "Remember that. You are mine." She laughs, somewhat shakily, and nods.

"Okay. Okay, Dal." And then she turns her head to kiss me. I grin, pleased. She pulls away quickly, almost like she's nervous. Which she might be. I got over nerves the moment I first kissed her.

Hey, I learned life's short. You have to live in the now.

She looks at the marks on my chest, her eyebrows furrowed. I look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Does it hurt?" She tilts her head. I press my fingers against the skin of the engraving, feeling the grooves and gashes.

"No." She reaches out a hand is if to touch the skin, but stops. I grab her hand and press it against the marks. She flinches. "I'm fine, Nic. It doesn't hurt." She swallows, running her fingers across the line of the word. My chest rises and falls with my breathing, startling her. "Just don't put pressure on it and I'm fine." I say right as she does. This earns a hiss to escape my teeth. She yanks her hand back like she was stung and stares at me with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Dallas?" She asks with worry, panic searing her gaze. I nod.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. It just hurt for a second. You're fine." I assure her, watching her worried gaze. She blinks, suddenly leaning forward to place her lips against where she pressed. I close my eyes, tilting my head back. I'm tired.

"You sure you're okay?" She asks, her voice quiet. Her breath puffs against the engraving. She kisses it again, making me sigh.

"I'm fine, Nicole. Do I look in pain to you?" I peek one drowsy eye open at her. She shakes her head.

"I guess not, no..."

"Then I'm fine." She nods and with a small sound of sleepiness, leans forward so her head rests right below her name on my chest, and closes her eyes. She's adorable when she's tired.

I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles.