Chapter 361
Clementine:
The creature threw its head back and shrieked. The sound was extremely loud.
I kept staring at it, and then it hit me again, the north, the tapes, everything.
Rage built inside me as I remembered all the crusaders we had lost and the terrible deaths the ringleaders and pack members had watched.
They could have sent help, but they did not. And now they were asking us to save them.
Something snapped in me. If they wanted a show, I would give them a show.
I grabbed my sword and ran.
“What are you doing, Clementine?” Joshua yelled after me, but I had already jumped into the water again.
I did hear him jump in after me.
This time I swam straight toward the monster.
The creature roared when it saw me coming. It moved around, then opened its mouth wide to swallow me.
If it thought that would stop me, it was wrong. I reached the opening, and Joshua came right behind me.
That was when we entered the monster’s mouth.
I landed with a thud, feeling a wave of disgust. The inside was huge.
If it closed its jaws, we would be swallowed whole.
The monster began to shut its mouth. Too much was happening at once.
Panic rose inside me. Joshua tried to grab my arm to stay steady.
I raised my sword and stepped upward into the top of its jaw.
Without hesitating, Joshua held my arm from behind. Together we pushed the blade deeper.
Blood spilled down around us. The monster shook even more violently this time.
Joshua dragged me upward and helped me pull at the wound.
The monster tried to close its mouth, but our weight forced the jaw farther apart.
We tore the top area open.
And when we pierced through the skin of the monster, I heard Yorick screaming my name and Haiden shouting that the creature had swallowed me.
Panic filled their voices. Then everything shifted. The monster’s body split open from the head area.
It fell apart slowly, almost sliding away from the center.
As its mouth collapsed around us and the water rushed inside the opening, Joshua wrapped his arms around me and swam us both out of the torn body.
“Clementine!” I heard Yorick shout excitedly.
As soon as Joshua helped me reach the surface, we turned around and watched the monster’s dead body floating behind us.
It was broken from the middle now. Joshua held me tightly, guiding me toward the shore.
The others started to swim toward us as well. The ones giving Mira aid were also visible, moving in our direction.
I could barely stand when Joshua pulled me in without warning.
I had been so happy and excited to celebrate that none of my reactions were coming out the right way. I was too stunned.
My stomach ached, and the cold water and weather had numbed my limbs so much that I hardly realized when Joshua grabbed my face and pressed his lips against mine.
It was brief, just a quick peck before he pulled back.
“We did it!” he shouted, not even thinking about what he had done. That was how excited he was.
Renee reached him, hugging him, and they began celebrating.
I was still stunned as I turned my head to the side. That was when I realized another disaster had been waiting for me.
Ian stood behind everyone. He had likely stopped in his tracks when he saw Joshua kiss me.
The expression on his face carried more hurt than anger.
“Ian,” I whispered his name, but Renee reached me first.
She threw her arms around me and jumped up and down with me, shouting in excitement.
I hugged her back lightly and gave her a tap on the back before my eyes drifted to Ian again.
The others were dancing around in the light rain.
The storm had eased for a moment. The flood had completely stopped.
Pack members who had left their homes were returning, hugging each other, thanking us and praising us.
One woman even reached me and pulled me away from the others.
“We have heard about you. We knew the minute you arrived, everything would be fine,” she told me as she gave a peck to the back of my hands, but my head kept snapping toward Ian.
Haiden and Yorick were talking loudly with the pack members, surrounded by them.
Even Troy was gathered by a group of young women who were touching his biceps and looking him up and down, and he seemed confused, almost shocked by all the attention.
We had not expected such respect, but there was no moment for me to enjoy the slaying of the monster.
My eyes fixed on Ian again, and I saw him start to walk away.
I pulled free from everyone and began to run after him.
“Ian,” I called out, breathing hard, trying to catch my breath.
“I want to speak with you p>
I stopped, taking a heavy breath, my arm wrapped around my stomach.
He paused for a moment, and I noticed the way his muscles tensed.
He turned around and gave me a hard stare.
“I came here to speak with you too p>
he replied.
“But it seems like you are a little too busy with your new friends,” he remarked.
“That is not what it is. He is not my friend,” I told him, trying to reassure him that nothing was happening between me and Joshua.
“We killed the monster. It was just the heat of the moment. Nothing else. It meant nothing,” I said, feeling terrible that he had seen me like that.
If I had seen him in the same situation, I knew I would have been upset too.
“And killing a monster earns him a kiss from you?” Ian questioned, stepping closer before stopping and stepping back.
That alone told me he was debating whether he should even come near me now.
“That is not what it was. I do not even know if he knew what he was doing,” I mumbled, trying to smile to show him how ridiculous the situation was.
“Well, you did not slap or push him either,” he remarked.
His tone made my chest tighten.
I wanted to explain that I had been frozen, but the words were not coming fast enough.