She froze, time stilled around them and that picture would now be etched in her mind forever as it was all she saw wherever she looked.
Nobody moved, she heard faint gasps and a low growl behind her but she couldn't turn around.
For Lola, it felt as though hours passed without either Jax or Lavina moving but when a hand weighed down on her shoulder and forced her to turn she noticed everything moving a lot faster and people not having noticed what happened.
She looked over her shoulder at Jax and Lavina and saw that they stood apart from each other, Lavina was by the table and Jax wiped his thumb over his lips and turned his head, his eyes locked with Lola's, and his hand fell to his side.
"Lola," Ash said and tried to get her attention.
Melissa had her arm hooked in Ed's and watched with a glimmer in her eyes as her worst fear came true.
But at that moment Lola couldn't breathe, she couldn't hear what anyone said and needed to get away from all of the people that surrounded her.
On her way out she bumped into Mrs O'hare who seemed to bathe in relief when she laid eyes on Lola.
"Thank god you're here. Have you seen Justin?"
"What?" Lola asked. She saw Mrs. O'hare's lips moving but the words weren't registering.
"Justin texted me last night saying he would be with Lavina but she says she hasn't seen him since this morning. Do you know where he is?" She asked.
"No-" Lola shook her head. Mrs O'hares's face twisted into unnatural shapes and the trees started spinning around her.
"- I have to go," she said and pushed past Justin's mother.
She ran away from the lights and the laughing. The smell of sugar and eggnog felt far away enough for her to break without being caught. Lola fell to her knees, the dress suffocating her and the cold doing little to ease the panic attack that was coming down hard.
"Lola!" His voice roared behind her and he looked around without spotting where she had fallen.
"Lola!"
She tried to get up, to keep running and to get away but her legs were jelly and her body couldn't hold her up.
Jax spotted her on the grass in the dark where the streetlights didn't hit and he ran over, taking his jacket off on the way.
The light from a car lit up the street where they were, away from everyone else. The headlights were aimed at Lola and lit up the area around her. It seemed to drive faster, aiming straight at them. Jax watched as he ran, his eyes widened and he hurried, running faster and dropping his jacket to the ground. The tires screeched as they turned a corner and jumped a sidewalk up on the grass.
Three men jumped out from the car as it drove up next to Lola, and Jax jumped over her limp body, landing on one of the men.
Her eyes were bulging from their sockets and she tried to stand but fell each time, the cold had forced her body to go numb and she watched as the men with inhuman speed took on Jax who, for some reason, wasn't shifting. One of the men pulled their hand from his neck and she saw the needle of the syringe reflect under the headlight.
He fought to get one down and then moved on to the other two but he looked around, noticing how neither of them tried to approach Lola.
"RUN!" He ordered.
Her eyes burned and the tears began to fall, she crawled on the grass but her body collapsed and she couldn't else but watch how the men overpowered Jax who was getting weaker by the moment until his body fell from a singular hit. Two of the men grabbed Jax's unconscious body and tossed it into the SUV.
They got in the car and one of them locked eyes with Lola, a gruesome smirk pulling on his lips when he saw her tearing eyes just before he slammed the door.
Lola watched the car drive away faster than it had arrived. Her body was shaking and she didn't blink as she looked down the road and questioned everything that had happened in the past five minutes.
"Lola?" She heard Melissa calling her name and Ash's voice echoing from afar.
They ran down when they saw her on the grass, the last of the car's light brushing over her before it disappeared down the road and into the darkness. Ash watched where it disappeared and looked down at the tire marks on the ground.
"What happened?" He asked and looked at the blood stains and trampled path.
"Are you okay?" Melissa asked and fell next to Lola. She tapped her hands around Lola's body to make sure she wasn't injured.
"They took Jax," Lola whispered hoarsely.
She couldn't trust her own eyes but saw that Ash already knew based on the scene they left behind.
"Who?" Melissa asked.
"The vampires came and they took him..." her doe eyes looked up at Ash. "...they didn't even try for me this time," she choked.
"Because they knew it was futile," Ash said.
He sucked on his teeth and his fingers coiled into fists.
"Fuck!" He slammed his fist into a tree and his cheeks flushed as his wolf stepped up.
His anger ten-folded and his Alpha aura was stretching out for miles around the town. Every wolf would feel it and know that something was wrong and they would do anything to find their Alpha.
Ash knew he had to head back to the mansion and gather the pack. He had to set up a rescue mission for his cousin. He glanced at Lola and knew he had to do all of this while also keeping her from straying off on her own.
The sound of sirens forced their attention back to the party. Ash helped Lola up but when he let her go she fell against him- her body was too weak to carry itself. He put his arm under her legs and lifted her into his arms, cradling her close to his chest.
They walked back to the party and felt the shift in energy as they entered.
Officers stood on the dance floor with their hats in their hands and their cars had the sirens still on with the blue and red lights turning on the roof.
Ash put Lola down but held her close to keep her steady. The officers stepped aside and that was when they saw Mrs. O'hare, crying uncontrollably and her husband staring blankly at the floor with his arm around his wife.
"No...this isn't happening," Lola said under her breath. She turned to Melissa who was already crying, knowing what the O'hares knew without hearing the words. Only one thing could make a parent break like that.
The officers went and talked to the Mayor and the Blackwoods and they started shutting the party down. Everyone hugged their loved ones close and began walking to their cars and heading home.
Officer Max O'maley was a trusted friend of the Cliftons, he was the one who had given the information about the body. He gave the O'hares a ride home and would stay with them for as long as needed because that was the kind of officer he was. They had all gone to school together here in Wild Cliff, they knew each other's parents and kids and rarely missed the first birthday parties.
"Let's go," Ash whispered into Lola's ear and guided her wounded body out to the car.
Melissa and Ed were heading to her car when she stopped and looked at Lola. A tear fell down her cheek and she tilted her head to the side.
"Don't do anything stupid, please. I can't lose you." She said under her breath, any louder, and her voice would break.