cloud

The moment I see him, my steps speed up. I don't pay attention to anyone else as I stomp down the hall and toward Raiden who gives me a guilty smile.

"Hey, babe!" He tells me when I'm close enough.

I ignore his greeting and pull him closer to me. My arms wrap around him, but my anger doesn't disappear as I stare up at him.

"Who the hell told you that you could run off and get hurt?!" I scowl. "After you told me you would come back to me!"

Raiden's eyes soften and he stares at me guiltily. "I'm sorry for scaring you," he says.

"You better be," I scold. "And don't do it again, you fucking asshole!"

"I won't," he promises and I nod.

"Good, now let's get you back into bed."

Before he can protest, I lightly push him back into the empty room and toward the bed. Raiden stares at me amusedly but takes a seat. His arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me with him. He opens his mouth to say something but stops before pulling me closer to him. He sniffs around before looking at me with a frown.

"Why do you smell differently?"

I fight back a wince at the question. I knew he would eventually ask me and I wasn't surprised that he noticed so soon. Before I would've made up some lie, but I knew that he would want to know the truth. Even if the truth ultimately hurt him. So I tell him, carefully watching the way his face drops and morphs into one that reminds me of a kicked puppy. I raise my hand and run it through his hair.

"I'm sorry," Raiden mumbles, his voice quiet.

"Rai," I pull his head to me. "I didn't tell you that for you to feel bad and beat yourself up."

"You lost your wolf for me. Something I knew you cared about."

"I love my wolf, don't get me wrong," I tell him. "But I love you also, idiot. You're my mate and yeah, I don't have my wolf anymore, but that's okay. I'm used to that Raiden. Losing you is something I never wanted to go through."

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asks me hesitantly.

"I am," I confirm. "As long as you're okay, then so am I. I love you, you dumbass."

I lean forward and capture his lips. Raiden returns the kiss and his hands move to my sides. We stay like that for a minute. Enjoying the other's touch and company.

After being away for so long and returning home just to find him injured, it was long overdue. The only thing I wanted to do was go home and curl up on the couch with him like we'd done when I first got here and watch shitty movies together, but when I catch Tatum moving around in the hall, I push my want to the side and turn to Raiden with my arms crossed over my chest.

"If you get out of this bed, I'll make sure you end up having to stay in here longer," I warn. "I'll be right back don't move, you hear me?"

Raiden looks up at me and just grins. "Sir, yes, sir."

I roll my eyes and pull away from him and exit the room to go after Tatum. As I walk down the hall, I spot Gray, Onyx, and Gaius sitting in one room with a child. A young boy who didn't look much older than seven or eight.

"So what are you going to do?" I hear Onyx's surprisingly angry voice. "Kill him?"

"Calm down," Gray tells him. "I never said that."

"You never said you wouldn't," Onyx pushes. "He's a child, Gray."

"A child with a wolf the size of a teenager. He shouldn't even be able to shift yet, Onyx and from the reports, he's wild. He's practical—"

"Feral?" Onyx cuts in with a scoff. "Given where he grew up, is that such a surprise?! He needs love, and care, not to be treated like he's some monster. Come on, you know that better than anyone."

Gray sighs. "I don't disagree with you. I never said that I was going to kill him. I'm trying, okay? I'm trying to find a home for him, but the fact of the matter is nobody wants to take in a wolf that's—"

"—So Gaius and I will," Onyx cuts him off. "If nobody wants to take him in, we will. We'll show him what it's like to really be loved. To have a family."

Gaius turns to look at Onyx with wide eyes, and as much as I want to stay and listen to the rest of the conversation, I force my feet to continue onward.

When I reach Tatum's mate's room. He is, unsurprisingly, sitting inside. I knock on the door before entering. Tatum doesn't bother looking at me. His mouth is pulled into a long frown and he just sighs.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask him hesitantly.

"Him," he gestures to the man. "When we were...there. I caught his scent in one of the rooms. He's been through hell and back, Cloud."

"When he wakes up, you'll be there for him, though."

Tatum drops his head, his eyes not meeting mine. "I don't think he is going to wake up."

"Tatum—" I try to say, but he shakes his head.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," he admits. "The rooms. They were filled with documents on the experiments they went through. He's been tortured, Cloud. Not only was he used as a fucking breeding rat, but they also injected him with that feral shit. They don't go into too many details, but I know that the reaction he had to it wasn't good. He's dying and I don't mean just his wolf, but his whole body is practically deteriorating from the inside out. I tried it. I tried marking and it didn't work, I tried to help him, but even if he does wake up he'll be..." Tatum takes a deep breath. "He'll be in pain."

"What are you saying?" I ask him quietly.

"I'm saying...I'm saying that I think it's time to let him go," his voice is quiet.

"Tatum...are you sure? You don't want to keep looking? To..to..." my voice trails off when he looks up at me.

His eyes are glossy, tears drop from them and I see just how broken he truly is. The mask that he usually wore dropped and for the first time, it felt like I was seeing the real Tatum Knowles. This wasn't just something he didn't think much about. This is something that's been eating him up inside. This was something he was sure about.

"I can't watch him continue to hurt," he tells me.

I move toward him, placing my hand on his shoulder and I nod. "Okay. When are you going to...?"

"Now," he tells me, just as a doctor enters the room. She doesn't look over at Tatum and I don't blame her. He was a mess. I had never seen him like this before.

"I'll stay with you," I promise him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you ready?" The doctor asks him and Tatum just nods. His eyes remain glued on his mate as the beeping begins to drop.

I squeeze Tatum's shoulder and we sit there and watch until the flatline can be heard.

And then Tatum breaks.

The end!

(Sorry 🙈)

The series isn't done yet. Both Reo and Tatum will have their own books eventually. There will be a vote after the epilogue is up to decide whose book will come first so be on the lookout for that!