Chapter 48

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*Corey*

"– Corey?"

"Huh –? I mean, yeah?"

I looked at Izabella, confused and slightly annoyed that she pulled me from my daze because I was trying to decipher something.

"Again? What's going on with you?" she asked.

I was currently at Izabella's house with all our friends and by all, I mean all. Even everyone from high school, the friends that had come with getting over our dislike for Sean and Jayden's friends Kaden, Layla and Bentley. There were seventeen of us and we filled Izabella's house.

Only Jayden had refused to come. He looked pretty worn too. Instead, he just wanted time alone with his new guitar, so we let him stay at Inferno because my mate was an adorable introvert that no one could say no to.

"I, uh... It's nothing..."

Everyone looked at me frowning at the reply and I chuckled.

"Fine... I... I just feel like something's... off but I can't place my finger on it," I mumbled, running my hand onto my chest as it felt somewhat strange and tight.

"Maybe it's Jayden?" Zeke suggested.

"Jay... No... I think I would know if... I don't know... Maybe," I mumbled.

I wasn't sure, I could feel that something was wrong, but I was too far away to feel his emotions. It could have been anything. Had I turned the stove off at home? I couldn't remember.

"There is no 'maybe', Corey. You feel these things so you can protect your mate, you should go check on him. Better safe than sorry, right?" Sean said.

"Besides, I bet you miss him." Hayley smiled.

I rolled my eyes but smiled. Maybe I did. Alright, I did. I still couldn't believe that. The only way I had been able to make it through the day was by constantly texting him and getting his teasingly annoyed texts back.

"I do, I –" My body wincing for no reason cut me off and I shook my head, making a decision. I needed to check on him.

Looking at my phone, I realised that despite having read the message I had sent him a few minutes ago, he had not replied. He always replied quickly after reading.

I dialled his number, but there was no answer, it just rang. That was strange. Jayden answered my calls almost immediately and then was embarrassed about how fast he had answered. I knew he had his phone near him. The fact that the phone just kept ringing made my heart stop. Something was wrong.

"I'm going to Inferno," I announced.

"We'll come with you," Trent said.

I didn't object to keep from wasting any time. I didn't mind who came, I just needed to see Jayden quickly.

-----

"Jay?" I called as I walked into their practically empty packhouse.

It was quieter than ever before, eerily so. We only passed by one pack member who was heading into the kitchen. Jayden's friends as well as Jason, Trent and Sean had come along.

It had taken just minutes to get to Inferno because I had pushed my legs as fast as they could possibly move. Sean and Kaden had kept up while it took the others a minute or two to catch up.

"Jayden?!" I yelled louder when he didn't answer.

"Maybe he's asleep. You know how he sleeps," Kaden said.

"You mean like you?" Trent said, earning a glare from Kaden. Bentley chuckled.

"You guys look upstairs. Bentley and I will check Alpha's office," Layla said.

I nodded and ran upstairs.

His room was quiet from the outside. Was he asleep? The possibility made my shoulders sink in relief.

"Jay?" I called.

Nothing... I lifted my hand to knock but just barely heard a very muffled, harsh voice. Only, it wasn't Jayden's. I couldn't make out what was being said but the voice was not one I recognised.

"Jay?! Who is that?!" I tried to push the door open. It was locked and panic returned to my chest. I heard grunts before something smashed.

"Cor –" The sound of a key struggling to get into the keyhole, his voice sounded desperate and terrified.

I tensed before trying to shove the door open.

"Corey, what's going on?" Kaden asked.

I heard Jayden shout as another smashing sound sounded inside the room and quickly stepped back trying to control my wolf as my body felt like it was on the verge of shifting. I knew who was inside and was going to kill him, but I needed to keep in human form because I did not doubt that I would lose control if I shifted. Using all of my strength, I kicked into the door making it smash off of the hinges.

Before I could even step into the room, I caught sight of Jay's bloody, almost nude body on the carpet and completely lost control for the first time in my life.

-----

*Sean*

I stepped into the room, shocked at the state of the room. It had been just a couple of seconds since Corey smashed the door in, but the place was a disaster.

It looked like blood had been splashed and smeared onto the walls, spilled on the carpet and there was ripped skin and barely recognisable body parts everywhere. It was unlike anything I had ever seen despite the wars our pack had entered into in the past and I was stunned. There was no way we would be able to recognise this person so Jayden would have to tell us who it was.

I turned my attention to Jayden's unconscious body on the floor. Corey's blood-covered wolf stood by his head, licking his face gently. It was clear none of the blood on Corey's fur was his own.

My eyes shifted back to Jayden. Why was he unconscious? He was covered in blood and barely any clothing... His blood? It seemed like it. There were bruises forming and wounds all over him. It looked like he was in very bad shape.

"Ja-Jay?" Kaden stuttered, stepping forward to check on his friend.

"Whoa –" I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back when Corey's blackened eyes moved to us and he let out a low, warning snarl, baring his teeth and hunching toward the ground like he was about to pounce at us.

"Corey," Jason began in a careful tone but was interrupted by another, more intimidating growl.

"He's gone, isn't he?" Trent whispered.

I swallowed, shifting to pull Kaden back further. I had never seen a wolf blackout before. Just heard about it from older pack members. Interacting with Corey's wolf while he was in control of them was different from trying to get through to an animal blinded by rage and a carnal instinct to protect its mate. His human side was lost in them.

"Stay back. He doesn't want anyone close to Jayden right now. He doesn't know who we are..." I said.

At the moment, Corey's sole purpose was to protect his mate, but Jayden was not healing. He did not seem to notice that. He just assumed we were there to harm his mate.

"We have to get Jay to a doctor," I said.

Why wasn't Jayden healing?! He had drunk some of Izabella's blood, it was supposed to make him heal faster! Even without it, he should have been healing slowly at least.

I stepped closer, my blood running cold as I realised I couldn't hear Jayden's breathing, but Corey jumped in front of him. He gave me another guttural sneer before following it with a menacing bark.

"Corey, calm down. We need –" I was cut off by another growl and sighed. Last resort. "Lay off, Beta. That's an order," I spoke using my Alpha tone. "Calm down."

Even if Corey didn't recognise us, he would not be able to disobey me.

The wolf hunched, seeming conflicted as he nudged his nose against his mate's head before giving a soft whine and backing away from Jayden. Despite continuing to whine as he stared at his mate from beside the bed, he still let out a low growl when I walked over to Jayden.

I knelt down and felt relief wash over me as I could finally hear his faint breathing. Corey's whining died into menacing growling again as the others surrounded Jayden and I turned my attention back to him.

"Get Jayden to a doctor while I fix Corey," I said.

"Fix Corey how?" Jason looked at me.

"My commanding is working," I said as the others took Jayden away. Luckily, he was breathing because the fact that Corey was still clearly agitated and leering at us despite my earlier command made it clear it may not have worked if Jayden was gone.

"Sift," I ordered while digging through Jayden's wardrobe before tossing the first thing I touched towards Corey.

When I looked back at Corey, he was back in human form, his eyes back to their calm blue and the coat I had thrown wrapped around his waist. His dazed, disoriented gaze ran around the room, trailing along the blood-covered walls as if surprised by all of it before he lifted a hand to his bare chest and looked down seeming confused.

"Corey." His eyes snapped towards me when I spoke. "Who am I?" I asked.

He stared at me for a few seconds, clearly having no idea, before replying.

"Alpha..." he said slowly.

I smirked. Well... Was it that easy to tell that I was an Alpha even when he was completely out of it? I clearly looked strong and imposing. It was not even official yet, we still had a few years before we would take over, but it seemed I naturally commanded respect even from a Beta who had no idea who I was.

"Seriously, Sean. His name, Corey," Jason said, rolling his eyes at my reaction.

Corey squinted at me. "Uh... I..." He shook his head slowly. "I don't know..." he said before he took a breath. "Should-should I... should I know?" he asked, looking a little afraid. "Where..." he looked around again.

I sighed. "You know you did this?" I motioned around the room.

"I'm... pretty messed up then," he mumbled.

I couldn't help but laugh before I straightened my face as I looked at him.

"We came here because you were worried about Jayden –"

"My mate!" he interrupted, glaring at me.

"I am not a threat to him. Yes, that Jayden, and when we got here, you saw someone hurting him –" I stopped when I saw his face turn from dazed and confused to frightened.

"Jayden – Where-where is Jay –?" He looked around, panicked.

"Doctor," Jason said.

"Why?" he asked, eyes blackening again.

"Calm down, Corey. He wasn't healing. You'd feel it if he isn't okay. The doctor's got it," I said.

Corey opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Instead, he stumbled back and leaned his head against the wall, sighing. I couldn't tell what he was thinking but he seemed to still be processing what just happened. I kept watching him cautiously, uncertain about whether he might go insane again.

"On the bright side... You killed the guy," Jason said lifting his hand.

I had to double-take when I saw the finger he was holding.

"Put that shit down, you idiot!" I snapped at him.

He laughed throwing it at me. I dodged it and smacked the back of his head. What the hell was wrong with him?!

"I did...?" Corey asked softly, "Yeah... I must have." He smiled looking around. "He's dead. They're both dead," he muttered in relief.

"I'm confused," I admitted. "Who was this?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know what his name was. I need to see Jayden," he said, lifting his phone from the torn mess that used to be his pants.

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