His Hunter

XXIV | Nowhere

Cole kept seeing that look in Lionel's eyes. Both of them were equally nervous. It was somehow different for Cole when Lionel wasn't with him. Maybe it was a terrible thought, but if Lionel was hurt out of Cole's sight, he knew he wouldn't blame himself. If something happened while they were together, Cole would hate himself for the rest of his life. 

It was making it hard to focus. They'd found the Reapers. Bullets cracked through the air. Cole knew exactly where Lionel was, two windows ahead of him hiding behind a narrow dip in the wall. He was still alive and unhurt. It was dangerous. He couldn't take his eyes off of Lionel. Every gunshot he heard, he felt his heart beat faster, and his hands shake harder than before. He was sweating, terrified, falling apart. 

He felt the blood loss and his injuries tenfold now. It was a distant ache, dulled by the pressing issue of everything that was happening around them, but it was there. The dizziness and fading vision weren't distant, though. Cole knew that moving from where he was would be idiotic. He couldn't anticipate enemy fire, he couldn't aim his weapon, and he wasn't even sure he'd be able to stand and walk in a straight line. 

He watched Lionel duck around the wall he'd been hiding behind as Oliver laid covering fire, disappearing around the corner. The chaos had been going on for a while now. Or, it felt like a while. Cole wasn't exactly sure how long it had been, which wasn't a good sign. Sure, it was sometimes difficult to keep track of these things in the heat of the moment. But typically, he would have known. He should have known. But his mind was slipping. 

His arm was soaked with blood now. He'd fired his weapon a couple of times, and shooting pain had exploded in his arm and chest. Something was wrong. His wounds were wide open and seeping. 

But Lionel was out of sight. Cole gritted his teeth. He couldn't have that. He had to do something about it. Now that they were together, he would lose all the blood in his body before he let something happen to Lionel. 

"Stop!"

Cole recognized the voice even if he couldn't see Lionel. Somehow, the sound seemed to weave itself into Cole's muscles, winding around his body and lifting him up. Cole was standing. At first, he couldn't see anything. He steadied himself on the wall until his vision cleared. 

"Lion!" Cole shouted, turning around the corner where he'd seen Lionel go. 

"Don't you fucking dare!" Lionel screamed. Cole could hear the rage in him, but also his fear. His mate's hands were shaking, his hair dripping with sweat. Specks of blood were freckled across the left side of his face and a tiny bit in his hair. It made sense why Lionel had been in such a rush, why he'd raced forward without glancing back. 

Cole realized immediately what was happening. There was a Reaper standing directly in front of the door to Ben and Rosy's room. Albert was there. Panic slammed into Cole. He knew what was about to happen, his mind working fast even with tremendous blood loss. He didn't know how he knew, but he could feel the Reaper's intention rippling in the air around him. 

For a second, Cole could have sworn the air around the man turned a sickeningly dark reddish hue. Cole squeezed his eyes shut for a fraction of a second and steadied his feet as he opened them again. He took a deep breath, trying to slow his mind down as best he could even as gunfire rang in the air around them. 

The Reaper raised his gun. Cole couldn't register what type it was. He didn't even notice what the guy looked like. All he saw was the jerky motion of the man's arm. The shaking disappeared from Cole's body. For one blessed moment, Cole was steady. Lionel reacted at the same time Cole did, and they both fired. 

Lionel was trembling, afraid, angry. The bullet from his gun embedded in the wall behind the Reaper with a miniature explosion of wooden splinters. Cole's aim was more accurate. He squeezed the trigger lightly, unleashing two bullets directly into the man's chest. He fell, and Cole stood there, frozen, his whole body screaming at him.