I closed my eyes and breathed in my mate's scent. Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn't believe that I lost her. One minute she was standing in front of me about to kill, and the next, she was on the ground, blood pooling out of the shot to the chest. I should be angry with Liam, but the broken look on his face stopped me from attacking him, murdering him for the death of my mate.

"Cooper?" someone asked, knocking on the door.

They knew better than to call me "Coop". They knew that I couldn't handle being called that name because that name was associated with my mate. It was associated by the way that her eyes seemed to lighten up when she says it, even when she was trying to be pissed at me. It was the way her lips curved into a smile as she started to say it. It was the breathless chuckle as she said my name when she was trying not to laugh. And, it was everything about her.

"Cooper?" the person asked, again. "Open up, please. It's been a week. We're all hurting."

Not as much as me, I thought, a tear escaping my closed eyes. I lost her. I lost everything.

"Please," the person said, their voice cracking. "I miss her too. I miss my sister."

"It's unlocked," I croaked out, my voice barely above a whisper. I opened my eyes to see the mess that I had made in the room. Everything was either turned over or destroyed except for the bed because her scent clung to it. I could still feel her presence on this bed because she loved laying down when she wasn't eating or training.

The door opened, and I heard a small gasp. "Oh, Cooper," the person said. There was pain and sorrow, and I couldn't detect any pity. The voice was so broken that I had to look up to see who had came to my door.

It was Gigi. She looked so disheveled and so skinny that I knew that that this was taking a toll on her as much as it was taking a toll on me. Her eyes were red and puffy, and I could see dark circles underneath her eyes, indicating that she hadn't been able to sleep good. She looked around at the mess I had made and spotted a picture on the ground.

A small smile appeared on her lips as she walked over and took it into her hands, brushing of the broken glass. "I still think that she will waltz in, ya know?" she asked, chuckling humorlessly. "She'd have that stupid smirk on her face like she knew what she did was wrong but didn't care and would say 'sup?'. It annoys me everytime, but it's better than this." She sighed and handed me the picture.

I took it from her and couldn't help but smile. It was supposed to be a picture of Ry, Gigi, and I, but at the last minute, Ry had decided to shove me out of the picture. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and both of them were laughing because I had gotten pissed. "She had a way of making everything seem better," I said, my voice cracking. "She was like the glue to this pack."

Gigi nodded her head and cleared her throat"Fernos came again," she said, getting down to business. "He is in the meeting room with everyone else. He says that Ry did leave something, but you need to be there, too."

I pursed my lips and shook my head no. I wasn't fond of Fernos, even though he said that he was trying to help us out. I wanted to blame someone for my mate's death, and he was an easy blame. He had to know that it wouldn't work out, so I didn't know why he was here.

"She specifically told you to come," Gigi said. "She threatened to come back from heaven or hell if we watched it without you."

"I don't want to go," I said. I looked at the picture. "Leave. Now."

"Would you stop acting like a fucking baby?" Gigi snapped, finally blowing up. She growled when I glared at her.

"I said leave," I snarled, clutching the picture so hard that the wood cracked. "Get out of here and don't-"

'NO!" she roared, punching a hole through my wall. She turned her glare towards me, and I felt afraid. Her eyes shined bright with unshed tears and fury that I couldn't imagine. Gone was the girl that tried to make people and now stood a warrior, a fighter that had seen many things but kept a light attitude.

"I-"

"YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE THAT LOST SOMEONE IMPORTANT!" she yelled, interrupting me. A sob broke through her as she fell to the ground. She covered her mouth and tried to silence it. Deep pain resonated through the Protector bond, and I was sure that the others could feel her pain.

"Six months," she cracked out. She took a deep, shuddering breath and shook her head. "You got to see the true her for six months." She shook her head again, a tear falling from her eye. "Try seeing her true self for eighteen years."

"I-"

"Yes, but you started to bully her after others did. You didn't try to stand up to her and placed my mate, her brother in a tight spot when you threatened to take away his position. The only reason as to why he kept it was because you were scared of Ry."

I shut my mouth.

"This is hard on all of us, Cooper," Gigi said. "I lost my best friend, my sister. Rhett lost his sister. Vulcan, Becca, Liam, and us three lost the person we were supposed to protect at all cost. Fernos lost his son and the girl that promised that she would do anything in her power to keep him alive. The pack lost their Luna, and they are thinking that they lost their Alpha too."

"Rhett is handling it just fine."

"No, he isn't," Gigi said. "This is tougher on him than anyone, including you. He lost his last true family member. And before you say it, yes he still has his son, but he lost his blood. He lost his mother, his father, and now his sister."

"So, I lost my-"

"And that was hard on everyone too," she said, interrupting me. She looked up at me. "The pack needs you to be strong, needs you to be Alpha. Rhett hasn't had time to grieve. He's been putting himself into his work and not letting himself grieve. He has barely given himself time to be with his son, because he is afraid that he will lose him too."

I sighed and moved a hand through my hair. I wanted to give up. I wanted to throw in the towel, but I knew that Ry would beat me if I did. "I won't have a Luna to help me."

"That is where Mitchie, Melina, me and, surprisingly Meridia come in. All four of us will take on the Luna duties." She shook her head and chuckled darkly. "Meridia didn't want Ry to actually die. She was afraid that Ry would take Vulcan away from her even though you two are, were, fully mated or going to be."

I sighed and closed my eyes before opening them. "Ok," I whispered. "I'll come." I stood from my bed and walked towards the door. I stiffened when I felt Gigi hug me but let myself relax into her warm embrace. "Will we survive?" I asked in her hair.

"I hope so," she replied, pulling away. She scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Because, you definitely need a shower."

***

I followed Gigi into the meeting room and saw my mate on the projector. My breath caught in my throat as I took in my brown haired beauty and was upset to see that she looked so tired.

"Alpha," the man, Fernos said, bowing his head. He didn't move towards more, his face a mask. "It is nice to see you, again."

I barely nodded my head, keeping my eyes on the screen. "Can we play it now?" I asked, my voice cracking. "I need to hear her voice."

"Yes, Alpha," someone said before pressing the pay button.

My mate stared at us, waiting for something. Her whole body was relaxed except for the twitch of her eyes as she tried to make sure that she was safe. "Well?" she asked, finally, raising an eyebrow. "Is he there? Or, did you all decide not to wait for him and start this. If you did, then there will be repercussions." She smirked and sent us a wink.

Her face grew serious and she took a deep breath. "There are two reasons for you watching this video. One, I am alive and Fernos did not do what I had asked and destroyed this. Or, two, I am surprisingly, dead. Surprisingly because of how many times I "tried" to get myself killed, I usually am alive and pissed. So congratulations Andrew, you may now suck my dick."

I couldn't help it. I had to chuckle. Even though she was in video, I could still hear sarcasm. I could still feel how she made people feel and tried to lighten the mood with her sarcasm. I could feel the love for her family, and I was still in awe of this beautiful female. I could still see the strong female that I knew and fell more deeply in love with her.

"And, Cooper," she said as if she knew that I wasn't paying attention. She gave me a pointed look, causing me to duck my head and mutter an apology, even though I knew that she wasn't going to do anything. She sighed and moved a hand through her hair. "I need you to do a favor for me," she said, seriously. "I need you to stay alive."

I opened my mouth to say something. I knew that she wasn't going to hear me, but I couldn't help myself from replying. However, I closed it when I saw her raise her hand.

"I hope you realize that arguing with a video isn't going to help your case," she said. She beamed before turning serious again. A sigh escaped my mate's mouth as she moved a hand through her hair. "The reason as to why I need you alive is because you are the one that needs to train the next Red Wolf." Ry looked at the screen, and I could tell that she wasn't focusing on us. "I have figured out that that the next Red Wolf will be controlling water. Because, you can control water, it will be easy for you to train her or him."

"Bu-"

"I have asked Tabitha to help you out. It seems to me that she knows a thing or two about helping out Red Wolves." She seemed to give her a pointed look before turning to look back at me. "I love you, Coop. Never forget that. Stay alive for me, please. Help everyone out, and if you ever find love, take it." She smiled. "It is ok, I want you to be happy." She blinked back tears and cleared her throat. "I love you forever and always, Coop. And, I'll see you on the other side." She kissed her hand and placed her hand on the camera, making everything turn black.

Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the black screen and took a shuddering breath. "I'll try, Ry," I croaked out. "I love you too."