Chapter 57: Chapter 57

"What did you just say?"

I heard Esteban's shaky voice behind me, but didn't respond to it. Frozen, I looked into the face of the devil, who obviously had fun watching everything around him break...

"Love, what did you just say?!" He got louder and I couldn't hold back my tears.

I felt his hand on my shoulder and reluctantly turned to face him, where he looked at me completely absentmindedly. His lips trembled. His eyes seemed to be equally filled with sadness and anger and I didn't know how to get a word out again. He put his hands on my cheeks, gently wiped away my tears with his thumbs and for a very brief moment, feeling so close to him and his pain becoming my own, I even forgot about Pablo until he cleared his throat behind us.

"Oh, Esteban," he began and immediately he broke away from me to stare at his brother full of hatred. He gently pushed me aside and took a step toward Pablo, looking like he didn't care.

My heart skipped a beat, knowing there was no turning back now. The truth found its way to the surface, only I wish it had picked a different moment. One that didn't keep the three of us locked in a room.

"You know, I did you a favor. Would you really want to give up your life here for some woman who would have left you anyway?! I'm your brother and I've always been there!" Pablo yelled at him at that moment , Esteban started at him, but Pablo immediately aimed his gun at me again, causing me to take a step back, crying bitterly, so that I felt the hard wall in my back.

"I'm going to kill you!" Esteban hissed, then glanced at me to stop his movement.

"Oh, how heartbreaking. Two lovers just realizing they can never be together."

We didn't even notice Pablo, whose gun was still aimed at my head, but lost each other in our eyes. I remembered the first time I heard his voice. From his touch taking my breath away and then realizing that Pablo was about to pull the trigger to destroy his brother once and for all, I thought of Reahlyn. I begged for his help, hoping he would hear me, and kept screaming for his help until Esteban turned to Pablo and I too looked at the devil again.

He thoroughly enjoyed having the power over us to control the situation and he showed us that by simply smiling and not showing any emotion.

"You know brother. I actually wanted to shoot this bitch so that we're even, because then I would have killed not only your girlfriend but also my girlfriend, but now I don't even know which of you I begrudge more pain," he explained with a grin and then, as if in slow motion, I watched as he suddenly aimed his pistol squarely at Esteban, who was standing across from him.

"No," I whispered, barely audible, and wanted to take a step forward, but this bang, which went deep to my core, made me freeze like in a trance.

Everything went quiet, so quiet that it seemed cruel and it took me a short while to realize what had happened.

My gaze fell to Pablo, who sat down in his chair behind the desk, gun in hand. He looked dazed and picked up his cigar, then stared into space.

"Love," Esteban breathed and when I let my eyes wander to him, I watched with heart palpitations as his white shirt filled with blood more and more while he looked me in the eyes for help before he collapsed helplessly.

"No.... Oh God, no..." I breathed again and again and hurriedly walked over to sit carefully next to him. "Esteban...."

He flopped onto his back and I immediately pressed my trembling hands to the wound on his chest to squeeze firmly.

It had to be a dream, I kept telling myself, because I wouldn't be able to live with that reality.

"Love?" Esteban breathed and I had trouble looking at him because the tears were running down my cheeks so fast that I could hardly see anything around me. All I could see was the blood that covered my entire hands and oozed unstoppably through his shirt.

"It wasn't my fault, Alice's death?" he gasped, gasping over and over as I used my arm to help myself from the tears and then looked at him with a smile, even though I was dying on the inside, just like him.

"No, it's not your fault..." I sobbed softly and saw his bright smile for the first time while he tried with great effort to put his hand on my cheek.

I would have spared him that trouble, but I had to hold on to the wound. If only I could stop the blood...

"You were the best thing I've had in the last-"

"Shut up! You won't say goodbye!" I interrupted him crying and at the same moment the door behind us was thrown open.

I heard another shot and turned around, terrified, immediately recognizing Reahlyn looking past me. My eyes fell on Pablo and I was just glad that he had finally blessed the temporal ... but unfortunately too late.

"Reahlyn, get help," I turned to him, but he just gave me an apologetic look, which made me louder, stunned. "What are you standing there for????!" I screamed desperately and then felt a trembling hand on mine.

"He knows there will be no more help," Esteban gasped and I immediately took my hands from his wound to cup his cheeks.

"You're not dying! I can't live without you... please, don't die..." I breathed the same words over and over again desperately, but Esteban seemed so calm and composed, as if dying didn't bother him at all.

"Everything will be fine," he gasped and then glanced at Reahlyn to say goodbye with a weak nod before looking back at me.

"You'll have a nice life," he breathed, and I just shook my head in the negative. I didn't want to hear such words. "I'm going to tell Alice what a wonderful person Reahlyn has by her side now."

"No!" I still sobbed, but then I noticed that he wasn't radiating any warmth at all. His eyes glazed over, his breathing stopped and, caught in shock, I stared at him in disbelief, shaking all over until I noticed Reahlyn's hand on my shoulder.

I immediately slapped her away and shook Esteban, but there was no further reaction. no last i love you No last I know you... There was nothing left and crying bitterly I let myself fall on him. I wanted to die too, because I couldn't bear the pain.

Reahlyn pov.;

Those bitter noises she made, distorted in pain, burned so deeply into my consciousness that even my inner wolf suffered the worst agony at that moment.

I just stood there during this, ready to be there for her, but I couldn't bring myself to separate her from his dead body.

I too lost a friend, a confidante, a brother and even though we hadn't had much contact in the last few years, it hurt me so much that I had to turn to the door. I couldn't bear the sight.

She kept screaming desperately, sobbing and struggling for air, until after what seemed like an infinite amount of time, I decided that we had to get out of here.

With a heavy heart I turned back to her, saw the blood on her hands, how she lay on him and shed countless tears.

I carefully placed my hand on her shoulder again, but again she flailed angrily, only to immediately place her hands on Esteban's cheeks again.

"He's not dead... He's about to wake up..." she breathed through sobs, kissing his forehead as she did so, tears streaming down even my cheeks, who was always trying to control my emotions.

I brushed her away quickly, gripping her shoulders again and not letting go even when she tried to fight back.

"Love, Esteban is gone and won't be coming back," I whispered, and again those sounds came out of her, choking my throat. I couldn't help but turn her around to face me, where she was looking at me with her glassy blue eyes, but it was like she wasn't really there anymore. Just a shell, which gave me a stab in the middle of the heart.

"I feel your pain," I breathed, rubbing her cheek with my thumb. "But you have to pull yourself together now. We have to get out of here and you have to think about Benjamin."

She didn't seem to notice me at all. As if she were sleeping. Only her open eyes and the tears made her appear awake and so I gently lifted her into my arms, where she immediately clung to my chest, crying.

I took one last look at Esteban and encouraged myself to think that he was with Alice now and at peace. I didn't even look at Pablo and even regretted putting a bullet in him. I'd rather have hurt him for the rest of his life...

Love clawed her fingernails into my chest so hard that I twitched slightly but also found my way back to reality and so I turned my back on this place of horror and walked with her down the narrow hallway, where Josh suddenly came towards me.

He looked at Love's hands, which were on my chest and covered in blood, then looked into my eyes in shock...

"Go. I won't call the police until you're gone," he stuttered and I quickly disappeared with her in my arms through the flickering lights and up the stairs, where I paused briefly.

"Love, you have to tell me where Benjamin is," I spoke to her, but she didn't react, but snuggled up to me even more as if she were looking for cover in the dark. I almost despaired and turned in all directions, completely overwhelmed, until she suddenly whispered an address, which unfortunately didn't mean anything to me.

"Which way?" I whispered questioningly and she only weakly raised her arm to point down the street, which I then quickly walked down as well until I realized I didn't have a car at all.

"I'll drop you off, watch out."

I carefully put her down in front of me, but she immediately grabbed me so tightly that I could barely breathe. But I put up with it and put my hand on her back while I pulled my phone out of my pocket with the other.

I called Justin and gave him the address, then put it away and picked Love up in my arms again. Though she was no longer crying, she appeared to be in shock, forlorn as she seemed.

When she suddenly grabbed my black sweater and pointed to a house, I knew we were finally there and then I saw Justin with his SUV.

"Take care of her please," I turned to him as he opened the back doors and I carefully placed Love inside.

"Of course, Alpha," he said excitedly, wide-eyed at her bloody hands while I growled softly at him.