Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Fallon POV

We arrive back at the wolf territory. Libby is not speaking to any of us. She understands why her brother had to be killed, but it doesn't make any of it any easier. I have watched her cry until my heart aches for her.

I did not want to kill my friend. I did not want any of this to end this way, but it happened, and there is nothing I can do about it now except move on from this horrible event.

"He loved you, but he was so messed up. Umbra and the ancestors pushed him to make sure you became a reaper, and now look. It cost him his life," Libby sobs as she gets out of the truck. She races to Mother Agnes for comfort.

I get out of the truck with Ryan. He puts his arm around me to comfort me. "He would have never stopped hunting you. You did the right thing. Libby knows it, but she needs time," Ryan says, trying to comfort me.

"I know," I say. I lay my head on Ryan's chest and close my eyes.

Ryan picks me up and carries me home. "You need to rest," Ryan says. Maybe he is right. I feel like I should be with Libby, but I doubt she wants to see Ryan or me right now. We are responsible for killing her brother afterward. I would not want to see the person that killed my brother, even if he deserved it.

Ryan carries me into the house and lays me on the bed. "Rest, my love, and do not worry about Libby. She knows it was the right thing to do," Ryan says.

I roll over on my side. "What about Umbra? She got away with her minions," I ask.

Ryan hesitates. "I know where she went. You and I will go after Umbra together, but first, you need to rest," Ryan insists. I know he is right. So I close my eyes and drift off into a peaceful dream.

I dream of my mother, not my birth mother, but the woman that raised me. I dream of coke and cookies, a noisy house, movie nights, and her scent. I miss her so much. So much has happened so fast. I want to think about her just for a moment. I want to grieve her, and I do not feel like I have been given time to grieve the mother who raised me.

I feel Ryan touch my hip. "Relax your mind, my love, and rest," Ryan whispers. I feel him lay behind me and put his arms around me. He pulls me close to him and holds me. I feel safe.

When I open my eyes, Ryan is gone. My bedroom is dark, and I feel like I have lost a day or two. I sit on the side of the bed and ponder what I should do and if I should just go back to sleep. I feel so tired and weak for some reason.

I decide to get out of bed and take a shower. "Ryan," I call out to him, but he does not answer. He must be with Alpha Mayhem or Libby. Maybe the two of them can calm her and help her through this. I know she blames me, and that is okay.

I go into the bathroom. Ryan's clothes are on the floor, so I know where ever he went, he showered first. I guess he did not wake me for a good reason. Maybe he is worried about me. I am worried about me, so I am sure he is too.

"Fallon," Ryan calls out to me.

I step into the shower and into the hot water. I let it run over my body. Ryan opens the bathroom door. "Are you okay?" Ryan asks.

"I think so. It was an exhausting day. My friend is dead, and I do not know how I should feel about it," I say.

Ryan stands outside the shower, listening to me ramble on about my friendship with Bruce and how close we once were. Why did he have to lose it on me? That is not love. That is insanity.

"Where were you?" I ask Ryan. After rambling through the last few years of my life with Bruce, I remember that Ryan was not here when I woke up. I want to know where he was and why he left me.

"I was with Mother Agnes and Libby. I kept tabs on you through our mind link, but I needed to check on Libby. I needed to know that you and Libby would be okay. I know how important she is to you," Ryan says.

Ryan is right. Libby is important to me. I need to keep her in my life. "I need to see her. Does she blame me?" I ask Ryan.

Ryan shakes his head. "No, and she does not blame me either. Fallon, remember I am the one that took his life, not you. I killed Bruce, not you," Ryan says.

"But I was going to kill him. You only took the burden from me to spare me. And you waited until Libby left the room. I was about to kill him with her watching. He wanted me dead, you dead, and his sister. How can she defend him now?" I try to rationalize everything that happened at Umbra's.

I turn off the water and open the shower door. Ryan is waiting with a towel for me. He wraps me in the towel. "No one is to blame except Bruce. Everyone seems to know that except you. Libby loves you and is worried about you," Ryan says.

I lay my head on Ryan's chest. "Why don't you get dressed, and we will go see Mother Agnes and Libby together. You need to see they love you and are not angry with you," Ryan says.

I nod my head. I cry into Ryan's chest. I lost a friend, but it was the right thing to do.