Hnn I know this is kinda dead but I wanted a little feedback, maybe?? Anyways it feels clunky to me but I can't name why exactly. T/W for death and suicide by proxy
Also some background, bc this is literally the ending scene of the story (have I written the rest of the story? no i fucking haven't lmaoo) but anyways: Tomas is a werewolf. In the current political climate, werewolves have been discriminated against for years. There's a rebellion, which Tomas was part of at one time, but they kicked him out because he was too radical. The ends justify the means kind of guy, who doesn't shy away from killing innocents in order to kill one guilty man. He's a person made out of shades of grey and has absolutely no sense of black and white. He just doesn't care about collateral damage like at all. Anyways. Kora is fully human, and at one point he was going to kill her. She fought back, scarring his collarbone, and they've since become best friends. Tomas met Lauren, and they fell in love despite everything he's done. He married her, and she is currently pregnant. Jax and Murphy are two other friends of his. Tomas is about 26, by the way. He's been hunted for a long time now, but the net is closing and if he's caught, the government will make an example of him and use him as a reason to continue to discriminate against werewolves
They had been running and running, and they were running out of energy. Tomas twisted in his saddle, firing at the bounty hunter that was gaining on them. Too soon, his pistol gave a click, signalling it was empty, and he cursed, stuffing it back in his holster and trying to get his horse to go faster. If they couldn’t get away from this bounty hunter, then he would be brought back to the capital to face a twisted version of justice. Everyone knew werewolves didn’t get true justice, but a wolf like him? A rebel and a radical with an ocean of blood on his hands? It would be a mockery of a trial and nothing more.
His horse, exhausted, couldn’t give him any more speed. The bounty hunter’s horse was fresher and she was gaining, and Tom glanced around at his little group. Kora, Jax, and Murphy. They would be going to prison too, for aiding and abetting a criminal. Even Kora, a pure-blood human, wouldn’t walk free from this. None of them would.
"Tom!” Jax roared. The youngest of the group, Jax was in front, and his horse suddenly wheeled as he rode back to them. “It’s a dead end.”
Tom paled, glancing back at the bounty hunter. “No. It can’t be. I’ve traveled this road before.” to their left was a drop-off straight to the sea, the bottom of the cliff sharp rocks covered in a thin sheen of water. It wasn’t a survivable jump. To their right was a steep mountainside, also unclimbable.
“Landslide.” Jax replied, seeming to realize the same thing Tom had already figured out. “Shit. We’re trapped.”
Tom jerked his chin in a sharp nod. They rounded a bend, and they all yanked back on the reins as they came to the landslide. Tom stared up at it, amber eyes flickering shut as he realized there was no way they could all climb it fast enough to escape. He swallowed, wheeling his horse to watch the oncoming rider.
"Get off the horses.” he ordered, getting off of his own and leading it over to the mountainside, tying the reins to a bush. “We’ll face her on foot.”
The other three obeyed, before gathering near him.
"Is this a last stand?” Murphy asked, white-faced. “Are we going to die?”
Tom pressed his lips together. “Maybe.” he didn’t want to discourage the others, but…they wouldn’t all make it out alive. That simply wasn’t possible. He checked his pockets, then swore. He was out of ammunition completely, not just in the pistol. He pulled the useless weapon from the holster, holding it in his left hand and his knife in his right. “We’re going to lure her in. Get her off the horse and get in close. Those pistols aren't of any use if we’re too close.”
They gathered, spreading out as the bounty hunter rode up and slowed, her pistols drawn and her horse prancing nervously. “Tomas Selvar?” she asked, eyes finding him.
He inclined his head, and spread his lips, flashing sharp canines. “Yeah, that’s me. Come on off that horse, miss hunter.”
She narrowed her eyes, eyes flickering to where he held his gun like a club, and a laugh tore from her. “Out of ammunition? Tomas Selvar, the revolutionary, radical, murderer, out of ammunition?”
He tipped his chin up, but didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. She knew that he was out.
She climbed off the horse, letting go of the reins as it headed over to be with theirs, a herd instinct taking over. Also, he scared a lot of horses, because they didn’t like the scent of wolf. “Tomas Selvar, you’re under arrest for murder, incitement of insurrection, threats, and…other things.”
He curled his lip. “What, you don’t even know everything I need to be arrested for?” he asked, taking a step closer to her.
She raised her pistols, pointing them both square at his chest. “I know enough, you filthy fucking dog.” she snarled.
He growled, taking another step. “You aren’t going to shoot me. You know why?” he paused for a moment, lips curling in a mocking smile. “Because that bounty pays less if you bring me in dead. They want me alive.”
She shifted her aim. “You don’t need two working legs, Selvar. Not for the bounty.”
He went still, tipping his head at her. His eyes found Kora, where she had been creeping around the bounty hunter’s side, and his chin twitched in a nod. She leapt forward, grabbing the pistols and yanking them upwards. Both went off, the bullets sailing harmlessly into the air. At the same moment, Tomas charged, leaping at the bounty hunter and raising his club of a pistol, slamming the butt of it down onto her skull. Once, twice, three times, until she fell to the ground with blood streaming from her temple. He stood over her, chest rising and falling with harsh breaths, face twisted in rage.
"Tom, did you kill her?” Kora asked, and he looked over at her. He shook his head faintly.
"She’s unconscious. I think.” he replied, stepping back. He didn’t care if she was dead or not, but he knew Kora did. Sure, most of the time he didn’t care, but Kora had softened him a little. He still killed, but he was a little more careful not to kill without reason now. Not, he thought, that that mattered for long. He could heard the faraway clatter of more horses, and knew that they were done for.
He brushed a hand against the wedding ring that hung from a chain around his neck, thinking of Lauren and their child, yet to be born. “Kora.” he said, holding out the bounty hunter’s pistol to her. He was exhausted from running and fighting, his arms shaky and tired, his legs unable to support him for too long. “I can’t…I need you to shoot me.”
She had already taken the pistol, but drew back, eyes round in horror. “What? Tomas, no.” she said, shaking her head again. “No, no. We can still…”
"We can’t.” he breathed. “You know that. There are too many coming. I want…if I die in a shootout, Lauren won’t get…she won’t get anything. If they take me away, I…I can’t rot in their prison, and I refuse to let them make an example out of me. Please, Kora. If you shoot me, my face will still be…recognizable, and no one will be able to claim that it’s not really me. If I shoot myself, my head will be so mangled that…” he trailed off.
Kora shook her head again. He could see tears pricking at her eyes. “Tomas, Tomas, please don’t make me do this.”
"You have the steadiest hands,” he whispered. “And I trust you.” he took a step closer to her, lifting the barrel of the gun and pressing it to his temple, leaning into it as he met her gaze. “Please, Kora. Tell Lauren that…tell Lauren that I love her, and…and tell her to tell our child the truth about me. What I did. Who I was.”
Kora was trembling, but she held the gun, finger hovering near the trigger. “Please, Tomas. I can’t. You’re my best friend and I love you, please.”
His mouth quirked faintly. “You wouldn’t have said that a year ago.” he thought of the scar that arched along his collarbone, where she had tried to kill him. In her defense, he had tried to kill her first.
She let out a sound that was half sob, half laugh. “A year ago, we hated each other’s guts.”
He nodded faintly, the gun still resting against his temple. “Yeah.” he could hear the hoofbeats coming closer, and he swallowed. “Please, Kora. Do it. It’s okay. It’s okay. Please.”
Tears ran down her cheeks. “No, no, Tomas, Tomas.”
"Please,” he whispered. “It’s okay. I love you, Kora. Please. I don’t want to die at their hands. It’s okay.” he kept looking her in the eyes, gaze soft and trusting, amber eyes clear.
She sniffled faintly, rubbing her eyes with the heel of one of her hands, before it returned to steadying the pistol. The cool metal pressed harder against his temple. “I’ll tell Lauren.” she breathed. “I’m so sorry, Tom.” he kept looking her in the eyes as she cocked the pistol. He saw her finger twitch, and before he had time to process what it meant, the world went black.
.jpeg)
