Casmas Clan: Josiah and Clara
Chapter Twenty One

~ Clara Clara awoke to someone shaking her. She didn't want to wake up, the more aware she became, the more pain she felt. Her eyes opened to stare up at a vaulted ceiling. Her brow creased in confusion, where was she? How did she get here? This wasn't her bedroom or her house.

Clara raised a hand to her forehead, but it stopped mid-way as the memories of the night came flooding back. She cried out in pain when she suddenly jerked to a sitting position. A scary-sounding howl seconds after her cry, caused her to flinch unconsciously. A hand clamped over her mouth before she could cry out again over the sudden movement. Clara's gaze shifted to the right and the man kneeling beside her. She had seen him around town several times, when she and Josiah were still together, though she didn't know who he was.

"Stop sounding out your pain, you're making Josiah's wolf more insane each time, and we need him to calm back down. Or he can kill us all."

Clara's eyes widened and she quickly glanced around the large room. Bodies were strewn everywhere, almost all werewolves, with a feline body here and there that were still slightly moving. Other felines were corralling the few still living wolves into a corner of the room with no windows, while others were tending to the fallen.

At a soft growl behind her, Clara stiffened, before slowly turning in that direction. Her eyes widened even more and fear clogged her throat, at the sight of the large, sandy-colored wolf standing a couple of feet away. It looked menacing with blood dripping from its jaws and covering most of its body. Clara couldn't help but scream and curl into a ball on the ground when the wolf took a step in her direction.

"Shit."

At the softly spoken word, Clara slowly uncurled enough to peer around once more. The wolf was gone without a trace, causing her gaze to lift once more to the man still sitting beside her.

"Why the hell did you do that for?"

Clara flinched at the man's anger. "I..."

"Shut up, it doesn't matter, the damage is already done. For your information, little girl, that wolf was Josiah and he would never hurt you. Hell, he just killed for you, to protect you, and you shunned him. I'm through with you. Catalina! Get over here and watch the witch."

Clara watched in stunned silence as the man angrily pushed to his feet and stalked away. She was confused as hell and didn't know what to do. Her eyes darkened seconds later when his words finally penetrated her mind. That w sounded more like a b!

~ Harvey Harvey stepped to the side to allow the lioness to take his spot beside the witch. His anger was at the boiling point and seeing Dermet's unconscious and bloody form, didn't help matters. He was pissed at Clara. With Josiah's wolf in complete control, he didn't understand Clara's fear of him. He just knew his mate had shunned him and fled. The pup would probably never return now, even if the wolf finally relinquished full control back to the human. Kneeling beside Dermet's side, Harvey made certain the Alpha was still breathing, before checking out his injuries to see if he could be moved. Once ascertained of that fact, Harvey lifted Dermet and began leaving the ruined den. Harvey stopped beside Catalina and Clara. "Bring the witch, Catalina. We need to tend her wounds as well."

Turning to the rest of the room after Catalina nodded, Harvey raised his voice so the Clan could hear him as well.

"As for the rest of you; I want you to split up. I want half of you to clean this mess up. There are to be no survivors. The other half of you, gather our wounded and dead. Bring them to the old den to be honored and tended."

Shifting his hold on Dermet, Harvey turned away from the Clan and headed for the door. Once he reached it, he used his shoulder to shove the broken and splintered wood out of his way. With one quick glance back, to make sure Catalina and Clara followed, Harvey headed down the sidewalks towards Dermet's old home.