38. More Than Life

Antony's POV (that's a first)

I almost lost my composure at his obvious death threat to my son, but then I remembered that Alex had told me that the most pivotal part of our plan was to remain calm. In theory he can't control me if he can't get under my skin. A shiver physically went down Alex's back which made it harder than ever. No! I have to be a good father; he deserves that much.

Alex's soulmate, who was shorter than I thought he would be, turned around and snapped, "Enough! If you don't shut up then I will not hesitate to force you underground with the rest of them."

Damn, I was starting to like the kid's spunk.

"You wouldn't dare. Hell, you wouldn't be able to get me down there."

"Is that a challenge?"

The air was thick at Ash's words, and he took the silence as a point taken and turned back to look at us. He took another few steps until he was in front of us. He held his hands up to show that he was no threat to our safety, and I felt myself relax a little bit. Up close I could see why my son loved him so much. The rising sun in the background accentuated his crystal blue eyes, and even though he was short his body was proportioned in a way that gave him elegance. He reminded me of his father when we were younger.

"Prove it. Prove to me that you aren't just trying to gain our trust to betray us later." His words surprised me out of my state of mind.

"I don't exactly have a way to prove it to you without a doubt... I know you are unlikely to believe me, you have no reason to," I reasoned. I was not expecting complete and total trust, I was simply hoping that he would hear us out.

"Listen... I just cannot believe you. I also don't exactly want you here right now so please kindly leave," he responded. I went to turn around and leave when Jackson walked up to his son. He whispered something super softly into his ears then suddenly everything happened at once.

A huge pile of vampires and even some wolves ran at us with the intention to kill. Ash tried to stop them, he did not want this violence to ensue, but obviously whatever the father had whispered had set them off. I held Alex close to my chest to try and protect him, but I could see the inevitable coming. One of us would get hurt, and it wouldn't be him. The first vampire reached us and tried to sink his teeth into my son, yet it wasn't about to happen. I spun around so fast that he attached to me. I could feel blood leaving my body faster than it could be made, and I could distantly hear that the pack had come to our rescue. Oh boy, this was about to get intense.

Alex's POV

I was thrown the the side, still pulled tightly against my father, basically helpless while watching him die. His skin was too pale, his eyes starting to close and drift. I got out of his grip and kicked the attacker hard in the crotch. His shout of pain was loud before he crumpled into a small pile on the floor.

I held my father up and tried to stop the excess bleeding from his neck before I was suddenly pulled away from him. I fought out of this person's grip before he was joined by another. I shouted loudly, probably crying hysterically. Suddenly I felt the vile creature that had started this mess put his hand over my mouth and begin to openly talk about my father dying right in front of me.

I tried to bite his hand like I had Ash's what felt like a year ago, but it didn't work this time. The sky felt my distress and rushed to console me, but he was holding me in a way that I couldn't call in the storm.

Suddenly Allystar became visible through the fighting. He placed a shocked hand over his own mouth and dove through a whole bunch of bodies to our dying father. He placed his hands on his neck the same way that I had before he too was almost pulled back. Unlike me, however, he got teeth to the neck. His eyes were pure terror, and the strength flowed through my veins like a train; nothing would be able to stop me.

I fought so hard that I got out of the bastard's grip and basically flew at the person attached to my brother's neck. Ally's face was blank while he still struggled, but he was weakening. I struck the vampire hard, effectively knocking him out, maybe killing him.

I sat my father up and pressed against his wound again while Ally fended off those coming at us. A loud call shouted, "retreat!" but they would not let any of us out. They were going for the slaughter. Someone grabbed the back of my shirt... Hard. I was yanked back and thrown into the crowd. I tried to leap back through, but it was like the bodies in front of us formed a barrier.

Everyone was struggling, the pack was being torn apart. We never wanted this, it was supposed to be a peaceful meeting to set aside our differences. The metal on my ankle burnt more than it ever had before, and the rain came crashing down harder than anyone had seen in a while. Visibility was shit, and I felt the world shifting around me. I was losing myself to the storm; I swear it was going to take everything that I had.

Everything was blue. I could see a few figures in my glow, and all of them were fighting. It was like I was in my own bubble, even sound couldn't be heard. I realized that I was revealing my position to every single person in this clearing, but it was too late to stop me.

I felt a force hit me from the side like a piece of bricks, and I turned my head to see Jackson with his face extremely close to my neck. His hands were on my forearms, trapping me down. The light grew brighter still as my fear heightened. My breath was caught in my throat, and barely heard over the rain I whispered, "why?"

"Because you deserve everything that's coming to you, you filthy piece of vermin," he replied darkly. It was the worst feeling ever, his teeth inside of me. When Ash had done it, it was tender, warm, calming. Now it felt as if my entire body had turned into ice. My light was flickering as I began to lose energy. I was fading again, except this time there was no new chance. I was on my last try, my last life, and the final thing that I muttered before I was lost to the darkness that was swirling around the edges of my sights was, "tell Ash that I love him more than life itself."