One last kiss

My hands were shaking and so were my knees as Damon gripped me firmly against the side of his body so he could help me outside towards Loren who was laying just behind Jared's car. Landon, I was surprised to see, was clutching onto her almost-limp body and he looked down at her worried and sad, running his fingers soothingly through her hair.
Immediately when I saw her, I pulled away from Damon and, although I stumbled here and there over my feet, I sprinted towards her with tears brimming my lower lids and my breaths coming out in shaky huffs. It was dark and cold, so Landon had his suit jacket draped over her body. It was now, however stained red with blood which flowed even onto the sand, forming a deep puddle which looked blackish in the dimness which surrounded us. In it flow tiny grains of sand, swirling here and there.
"L-Loren?" I breathed out. She craned her neck so that her face was facing me now. Her eyes were half-lidded and her usually rich brown skin was now a pale shade of brown and had an ashy finish to it. It was a frightening colour on her.
She smiled weakly when she saw me and slowly held out her arms, as if she wanted to be held by me. I took her in my shaky arms gently and clutched her close to my body, still covered in only Damon’s suit jacket, and then sat on the ground with her, gently running my hands up and down the cold skin of her arms to get her a little warmer.
"Why has no one called the ambulance or something or someone just to help?" I choked out, looking down at Loren who seemed so lethargic.
Landon shook his head at me and sighed heavily. “There is nothing we can do. Macy really did try to tear her apart. And it didn’t help that she did it all so unexpectedly. None of us even had time to react. What was strange, however, was the fact that she attacked Loren specifically, despite me being the closest towards her…”
It made no sense though. None of it did. The fact that Macy was a werewolf, and the fact that she purposefully hurt Loren. It would, however, have been naive of me to actually believe that this was all an accident and, perhaps later I could go over this day again, and figure out what the hell she was up to. For now, I would instead focus on Loren who was feeling weaker and weaker and growing colder and colder with every moment that passed by. By now everyone had created a circle around us, and Damon sat right next to me, staring down at Loren.
After a few moments, her teary eyes shifted between the two of us, and she began to speak with breathy, almost staggered words. "I-I don't want you two fighting meaninglessly and running away from each other anymore. Jasmine-" she turned towards me and stared at me intensely, "-You can love people and protect them at the same time. You don't have to push people away because you're afraid you'll hurt them. And Damon-" her eyes shifted towards him, and she held out a shaky hand which he took and placed a small kiss upon, "-You are not your father. You are a good man, with a good heart. Don't ever let other people convince you that because you were that bastard's son it automatically makes you a cold and heartless beast to. You are so much more than that."
He nodded at her, a single tear falling down his right cheek, right down his face until it rested against his jawbone, and then, after a while fell into the sand leaving nothing but a shiny trail on the side of his face. He placed another kiss on her hand and then held it against his cheek, rubbing at the skin of her palms.
By now her heartrate was slowing down at an alarming rate, and the tears streaming down my face began falling even harder as it sunk in that she really did not have long left. "Loren!" I yelled out through tears, "Why are you leaving me Loren? Over these past two years you have been there with me every step of the way. You were a shoulder to cry on and, a spark of wisdom when my own was dim. And now, you're leaving me like everything else I've ever loved in my life. Please... don't go... don't leave me..." I could now barely get the words out and said them almost under my breath. She herself could barely move at all, but uttered, staggered and softly. "W-would you d-do me the honour.... one... last... kiss?"
I waited a moment, taking in deep, shaky breaths and trying to collect myself as I nodded slowly. If Loren truly did love me, then who was I to stop her from having one final kiss from the woman she loved. I leaned down, and placed my lips upon hers, taking my hand and gently caressing it against her face. I’d kiss her this time as a lover, because that was what she'd always wanted. I could taste the saltiness of our tears against my lips, and Loren began to whimper against me, now with new, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. "I-I'm not afraid to d-die... But I w-wish I could h-have loved you a little more." She said, before parting from my lips and then falling completely limp against my body. Immediately I let out a loud, agonising scream. I had done so well over the years, keeping hardly anyone close and, as a result losing no one. But here I was... my first death since leaving Lucien. The pain was familiar and bitter as it stung in my chest, the sides of my temples and the back of my throat. I could hardly even breathe through the tears and found myself clutching on tightly to Loren's body, burying my head in the crook of her neck as I choked on tears and tried to suffocate in her scent of roses. I wished she could love me just a little more too, because although I never thought of her as a lover would think of another, it was an absolute privilege, and honour, to be loved by Loren Parker.
Damon placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I looked up into his eyes which were glistening in the moonlight with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, Jasmine."
I nodded and then clutched on to him tightly and he began rubbing gentle circles on my back. "She lived a good life. And I'm glad she spent the last few of her years doing what she wanted, when she wanted."
We all remained silently sobbing around Loren's dead body, until Jared let out a loud, long howl, lifting his head up to the moon and letting it rip from his throat. Yuki followed, then Blake, then slowly everyone joined in. Our howls were the saddest, most sorrowful sounds I had ever heard. It was as though the pain of Loren's death was being carried with the noise, floating around in the air and then echoing in the distance. It was inescapable and raw. Once our throats were dry and scratchy from our howls, Jared finally spoke.
"So, do we take her back to her parents for a proper burial."
Damon shook his head no. "They would not care that she has passed away. Instead, I will bury her in my family burial grounds. We once spoke of it when we were still engaged and she said, if ever something should happen to her, she'd like to be buried in my family cemetery, right under the cherry blossom trees."
A lurch of fear surged through me at the mention of Damon's pack grounds. Automatically, it meant me going back to my hometown after all these years, the one place I'd been adamant on escaping. It was more Lucien I'd been escaping than the actual place. But I knew that sooner or later I'd need to face him and face my past. And so, I agreed, despite the bone-chilling fear in me. I'd do this for Loren, and for myself.
"Are you sure?" Damon asked, turning towards me. I nodded. "I'm sure."
Damon, although still full of grief seemed as though he was itching to ask me something but, he shook his head and turned away from me. It was then that I remembered that I still needed to tell them all about... Lucien. But perhaps that could wait until after we buried Loren.
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In all honesty I sobbed so hard while writing this chapter! Did anyone else cry or am I just a big baby?
Also, a reminder if you have not yet, to check out my new reverse-harem novel titled "Her Birthright".
And lastly, stay safe and healthy out there, sending everyone my love!