Tradition Comes Third

What's Best

Author's Note: I know everyone hated the last cliff-hanger. Sorry!

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I jumped up off of the ground and ran toward her. I called out her name, but my voice seemed so far away. The air was knocked out of me when I felt something hard wrap around my waist. I looked down to see Jared had his arm around my stomach, and his other arm was around my throat. Ava's body lied crumpled on the ground, and I couldn't see her move.

"Get off me!" I screamed at Jared as I tried to pry him off of me.

I kicked out behind me and hit Jared's shin. He loosened his grip on me for a second, and I took this opportunity to escape from his grasp.

I ran over to Ava, and got down onto my knees beside her. She was curled up on her one her side. I rolled her onto her back. Ava's blue eyes were barely open. I cupped her face in my hands. She let out a faint moan, and she closed her eyes. Crimson was splattered against her pale skin. I looked down to see that my hands were covered in blood. It must have come from me rolling her over.

"Ava," I said, and I could hear my voice crack. "Ava, please don't fall asleep. Open your eyes."

She managed to open her eyes a sliver before they shut again. She parted her lips to say something, but she was silent.

"Hunter, get up," Dad said.

I took a quick glance over my shoulder to see Dad was leaning up against the car. Jared had his arms crossed over his chest and was watching Ava and I.

"She's dead," Dad said. "Leave her."

"She's not dead," I said. I could feel my eyes and nose burn with tears. "She's alive."

"She'll be dead soon," he said. "If she does not bleed out in a few minutes the wolves will finish her off."

"We're not leaving her here!"

"Are you crying?"

I let go of one side of her face, and wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand. I lowered my head down to her chest. I could hear her shallow breaths.

Jared grabbed the back of my shirt and hauled me up onto my feet. He dragged me back. I dug my heels into the wet grass, and tried pulling him off of me. He turned me around, and pushed me over to the car. Dad was sitting in the driver's seat, and the passenger side door was wide open.

"No!" I shouted. "I'm not going back. Leave me here with her."

Jared didn't say anything as he pushed me back into the passenger seat. He kept his hand on my shoulder. Dad had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other hand had the gun in it.

"I'm not going back to that house," I told him.

"It was for the best," Dad said. "She was a danger to the family."

"She was scared."

"I'm going to find you somebody better. You should be happy."

"I want Ava." My vision became blurry from all of the tears. I blinked and felt them roll down my cheeks. "I love her."

Dad rolled his eyes. Jared let go of my shoulder, and slammed the car door shut. He walked over to the truck. I opened up the door, and I felt Dad press the gun against my temple. I took in a sharp breath.

"Get out of this car and I will kill you," he said. "You're getting out of control. I'm trying to do my best to teach you, but you refuse to learn. I got out of jail, and all I wanted was my family back. You're making this difficult."