Defeated

XXXIX- Trust

Tai hadn't registered what had happened. She could taste blood, the bitter taste burned her mouth. She could feel that her fingers were drenched in it, covering every inch of her skin, marking her with the horror she had just inflicted.

She was responsible for another death.

"Go!" Ace yelled. "Faster!" He was pushing her forward. Her feet moved, stepping effortlessly over fallen logs and dips in the ground. Ace was behind her, frantically looking around, praying they weren't being followed.

Ahead was Brandon and Raiden, setting the path through the woods. Both were in shock, but both were desperate to put as much distance between them and Rogue as possible.

"Where are we going?" Ace shouted. "We need to hide somewhere-"

"I know! I have a plan!" Brandon called. "Just trust me!"

Ace just stared at Brandon's back as they ran. Brandon had jumped into action as soon as Ace did when Tai lost control. They weren't fast enough to stop her from attacking Stacey, but they both pulled her off and dragged her away as soon as they could, while Rogue was in shock, dealing with the sudden loss of his mate.

Tao was wild, ferocious, snapping and growling at them. It took the both of them and Raiden to force her out of the kitchen and out of the pack house. They knew they didn't have long to calm her down. They needed to go as soon as possible. They all knew that Rogue would kill Tai for what she had done.

"Raiden!" Brandon panicked, looking back at the pack house as they pinned Tai to the ground. "What do we do?"

"I don't know!" Raiden gasped. "She usually goes off on her own when she loses control! I can't do anything to help!"

"Tai!" Ace yelled and he used all of his strength to pin her to the ground. "Tai, it's me! You need to calm down! We're in danger if we stay here-" But Ace was still weak, recovering from his coma. Tai knocked Ace off of her, pushing him to the ground. He landed with a thud and gasped, his shoulder crunching painfully.

At the sound of Ace's exclamation of pain Tai's wolf faltered and it was all Brandon and Raiden needed to pin her back down.

"I think she dislocated my shoulder," Ace winced and stood up, holding his wounded shoulder.

"You need to do something!" Brandon said.

"Before my touch snapped her out of it!" Ace said. "I don't know what else I can do..." He trailed off, an idea coming to mind.

"What?" Raiden called. "What is it?"

Ace shook his head firmly. "No. I can't. I can't do it."

"So what?" Brandon yelled. "We're running out of options here!"

"No. She would hate me. I know it!"

"Would you rather we all be dead?" Brandon asked.

"What can be so bad?" Raiden asked. "I'd rather we all live, to be honest. Tai would too!"

"I could mark her," Ace murmured. "It's such an intense feeling I'm positive that it would overpower the anger she's feeling and allow her to take control again."

"Then do it!" Raiden cried. "We can't control her for much longer!"

"Marking your mate is meant to be intimate. Consensual," Brandon said lowly to Raiden. "It connects you together in a way a regular human couldn't even comprehend. It's the deepest and strongest connection that a werewolf can have with another person. It affects the way you think, your touch, everything."

"I wanted more time," Ace whispered, but he looked and Tai and sighed, shaking his head. "Raiden is right. Living is more important and we won't if we stay here. Keep her still." Ace approached Tai, his expression grave. He bared his teeth, letting his sharp canines extend. He wanted this over quickly. If he didn't get to share this properly with Tai then he wasn't going to let himself enjoy it. He couldn't do that to her.