Eight Months later…

A month before scheduled, the Gryther’s family and I had decided to prepare the rooftop of the mansion for the baby shower to be held tonight. Invites were limited to the immediate family and closest friends. I didn’t want to attract too much attention as the whole Circle Tribe, including the Ministry of Justice, had found out about my true identity as the last Omega heir of the Falston pack. I didn’t bother inviting them to the occasion. Such a move would prove detrimental to the privacy of the family. As much as we could, we’d like to keep things nice and simple.

Tom and I wanted to raise our child in normalcy. Tomai was the next Omega heir and he had to learn how to live a life of humble beginning, regardless if he belonged in the royal family.

Sweeping a glance across the venue, my heart swelled with joy. The stress and wait were worth the result of the preparation. During the planning, Tom and I were in constant disagreement between which theme should be put up for the baby shower. Mine leaned more on nature – lots of greens and natural colors like sky blue and earthy brown. His leaned more toward the anime like superman and batman. Tomai wasn’t a mortal. So superheroes weren’t really my cup of tea. And I doubted my child would appreciate it either. Or he might.

At the end of the day, we’d found our common ground. Tom had agreed with me that we’d keep every mortal thing from Tomai, so superheroes and everything related to the human world would be kept away from our child – not that we wanted to make him ignorant of the other world – no – our main concern was for him to stay in the forest and not entertain his curiosity of the outside world.

As I walked around, I caught a glimpse of Dad and my sisters gesturing at each other. They seemed to be discussing about the baby shower. Their heads turned in all direction, studying the decors. They looked around in an attempt to see the other guests. Only a few had arrived since the event was about to start in less than an hour. Enough time to make sure everything was ironed to perfection.

I found it weird how much I’d changed. Tom had taken notice of it as well. Usually, I didn’t pay attention to details, but since I got pregnant, I became a perfectionist. I wouldn’t let Tom sleep with me unless he took a shower first and brushed his teeth twice at once. I felt less romantic nowadays. Tom understood. I didn’t have to explain myself why I felt uncomfortable with him sticking his dick in my ass. The doctor said it was normal. The baby inside me didn’t want to share my body with anyone.

All the food was cooked last night. Before I came up here, Steve and Drake and the rest of the servants were already reheating the food. The head chef had already started cooking the entrée – tender loin of the beef, matched with a creamy potato gravy. It was the guests’ request.

I was about to come downstairs to see how the kitchen was doing when a familiar face took me by surprise. Eyes wide open and jaw hanging to the ground, I clenched my mouth shut and took a step back. I didn’t expect him to come here since he wasn’t in the guest list. He was actually the last person I would invite.

Danger lingered in the air. My ears couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of my heart in my chest. The last time I’d spoken to him I got locked away and sold. Knees trembling, I held my breath to hide my fear. But through the glad gaze glazed in his eyes, I knew he could smell the fear enveloping me.

“Hey,” I said awkwardly, lips quivering against my will.

“Congrats with your baby,” he said, sounding slightly more genuine than the last time I heard him speak. It had been almost three years now since our last encounter.

For a fraction of a time, I observed him. The former days of old had passed away. His appearance and behavior had improved so much I could barely recognize him apart from the scar on his left eye. He had it since birth, a birthmark thought to be a curse, an indication that he would never be the leader of the Blairs. He gained weight. His hollow cheeks puffed up and his tired eyes brightened up. His scrawny body thickened. He looked more presentable now than before.

I offered him a cold smile, which hopefully would tick him off that I didn’t want him around. I looked over his shoulder and frowned. “He’s not with you?”

He glanced at his feet and whirled his drink before taking a sip. “Father has been hiding. I don’t know where he is. We’ve searched for him, but he is nowhere to be found. I suspect he’s gone to the outside world to avoid the warrant of arrest sent out by the Ministry of Justice.”

I nodded with a neutral expression on my face.

He was forced to speak when I didn’t. I had nothing to tell him, apart from the fact that I wanted him gone. He had no space in this place. Besides, he wasn’t part of my family. Well, he used to be. But he blew it. He didn’t see this day coming when the table would flip on him. Karma worked wonders.

“So…how’s the pregnancy?” he asked, his cheeks flaming.

“Not bad. I’ve gained a couple of pounds. Well, more than a couple, but Tom is a great help. He does all the chores and I stay in bed most of the time. I can’t walk around with this thing sticking out of my stomach,” I said pointing to my stomach.

He chuckled and finished his drink. His hands were trembling and beads of sweat covered his forehead. “When are you due?”

“Next week at the earliest.”

He nodded and grinned. “Right. I’m happy for you,” he said. Through the gentle tone of his voice, he sounded genuine. He looked contrite for selling me out to the Gryther’s family, which then worked to my advantage. Somehow, it registered to me that without him selling me out, I would have never known Tom.

The guests started arriving. Tom’s cousins walked past Rob. “The occasion is about to start in less than half an hour. Please, take your seat.” I brought my eyes to the front where the platform was. “We’ll be sitting there. You may sit with us if you want.”

“That’d be awesome, thanks!” he said.

The painful memory of what he’d done to me started crumbling down. I felt eased with his presence now. Danger no longer bugged me. It was probably time to forgive and forget. Besides, he’d been a playmate growing up.

“I’ll see you around. I just need to check some things downstairs.” I gave him a pat on the arm and walked past him when he grabbed me by the arm, pulling me back to where I initially stood.

“Can I talk to you in private?”

“Why?”

He loosened his grip on me. “Father needs your help. He’s in a critical condition right now.”

I pulled my arms away. “I thought you didn’t know where he is,” I said in an indignant tone.

“Doesn’t matter whether I know where he is or not; what matters is that he needs your help.”

“I don’t know, Rob. Your father has to face the consequences of what he’s done. Helping him is beyond my will. I’m sorry, but I want nothing to do with him anymore.” I turned around to leave, but once again he grabbed me by the wrist.

“Is everything alright?” Tom came, his eyebrows were crossed in a deep frown. He pulled me next to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He checked on me and then he brought his gaze to Rob. “What do you want from us?”

A troubled look had registered across Rob’s face. Sweat dripped down his face. “I just want to see how Aiden is doing, that’s all. I’m leaving now.”

“You can stay if you want,” I said, feeling a little uncomfortable with how I treated Rob. I also wanted to know what happened to Mr. Blair.

“He’s not invited,” Tom cut in.

“He’s still my brother, Tom.”

“No, he’s not,” he hissed under his breath.

“You can sit wherever you want, Rob. I’ll get to you later.”

* * *

The baby shower had officially started at exactly seven o’clock in the evening. Rainbow of lights danced across the rooftop. The entire Gryther’s clan came over. They occupied most of the seats. Dad and my sisters along with their Alphas took their seats at the very front so that they could see me in action. My three sisters were the sweetest creatures I’d ever met. They were so cool that when I’d found out they were warriors I almost passed out from astonishment. As a guy, I was ashamed to admit that holding a gun scared me. But my sisters fired armalite as if it was nobody’s business.

We’d set up games for the guests to guess the gender of the baby. But before then, we got their dinners served first and after the entrée, we got the games up and running before dessert was served. People danced on the dance floor in the rhythm of the upbeat music. Laughter and giggles filled the place. I’d never seen people this happy before. Their inner child came out.

Rob stayed on his seat, playing with the utensils and looking like a complete loner. I tried ignoring him, but it bothered me to see him like a piece of trash, disregarded by everyone. I used to look up to him. I dreamt of one day becoming like him. It astonished me how fast things had changed in a blink of an eye.

I walked up to him and reached out my hand. “Come and play with us,” I said, one thing I’d always dreamt of. When we were kids, he always turned me down whenever I asked him to play with me. So this time, I hoped he wouldn’t do the same. I was willing to help Lord Blair for Rob’s sake, regardless of our miserable past.

“You know I don’t play games,” he said, smiling.

“Just this time. I swear no one will know.”

He got on his feet and stretched his shirt down. “Can I speak to you in private? It won’t take long, I promise. Just a couple of minutes, that’s all I’m asking.”

Deep inside me, I knew I shouldn’t give him a chance to speak to me alone. He was unpredictable. But for some reason, I agreed. What was I thinking? He led me to a free space on the edge of the rooftop.

“Tell me what you want,” I said to Rob in a firm voice.

“I want you gone,” he said.

“I beg your pardon?” My heart got stuck on my throat as it stopped beating. I should have listened to my instincts. Rob was never to be trusted. Despite the cold night breeze and sprinkle of rain, sweat gushed down my body. “You have to leave now, Rob. It’s not a safe place for a Blair.”

His glare took me aback. “I will leave as soon as I kill you.” He pulled out a gun from behind and pointed it at me.

My heart sank into my stomach. I raised my hands up and held my breath. My throat tightened, disallowing the air to travel through my lungs. “Please, put the gun down. Let’s talk this through, Rob. Calm down,” I said, motioning my hands in an up-and-down manner.

“You should’ve died,” he spat out. “I would have been rich by now without you. Hand it over.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The Falstons will kill you if you don’t stop this now.” In spite of my best effort to stay firm, my voice gurgled, which gave away that I was scared.

I was afraid of losing my child, the last Omega heir of the Falston pack, the hope that would bring purity to the lycanthropy.

“The scroll Darren gave you. I want it back.”

I shook my head. “It belongs to the Blairs and the Ministry of Justice will decide whether to hand it over to you or not. The decision isn’t mine.”

“But it’s under your possession so hand it over. I know you have it.”

“I don’t have it on me.”

“So then you’ll die.” He gripped the gun tighter and readied his index finger to pull the trigger. “Last chance, Aiden, hand it over,” he yelled.

“But I don’t have it on me,” I screamed back.

“Your choice.” He straightened his arms forward; they weren’t shaking – neither did he show any sign of hesitation. He looked adamant to get rid of me and my child. All of a sudden, regret filled me.

I closed my eyes and sighed. Any moment now the bullet would spring out and strike me, killing not only me, but also my unborn child. Fear and agitation enveloped me as I embraced the last seconds of my life. I had come to realize that a viper would remain viper regardless of how nice you treat it.

“Sorry Tom, let’s see each other on the other world,” I whispered under my breath as I surrendered to the will of death.

A gunshot fired.

An excruciating pain struck me. I fell to the ground and when I opened my eyes, I saw Rob struggling to free himself from Tom. Tom wrapped his arms around Rob, trying to snatch the gun. Another gunshot fired in the sky. Tom had managed to raise Rob’s arms to divert the bullet’s direction.

The pain caused my vision to blur. I could barely see them. I started to dose off, but I fought and stayed awake. I searched my body for the wound. It wasn’t on my stomach or chest. Neither did I feel the pain on my arms. My whole body began to numb. Then, as I looked down, blood oozed from my upper leg near my groin. Tucking my lips in, I suppressed the pain and tried to stay calm and relaxed. The baby could feel the pain, which might result in me going into labor.

Behind me, screams and panic destroyed the joyful ambiance as havoc broke out. In less than a second, Dad and my sisters came. It had only been a couple of minutes after I got shot, but now I felt paralyzed. Then, it registered to me that the bullet he used contained poison to stop my internal organs from functioning. Blairs manufactured one of the best weapons around here…and guns happened to be their best asset.

Dad lifted my head off the ground and placed it on his lap. “Son, can you hear me?”

I couldn’t move. Not even a finger. The only way that I could communicate was through the movement of my eyes and expression on my face. Every nerve in my body had shut down.

“Aiden, stay with us, okay.”

Darren appeared in front of me and without saying a word, he grabbed me from the ground.

I found it hard to breathe as the poison spread across my body. My eyes heaved. I could no longer hear my own heartbeat. I’d lost all my senses in that short amount of time. I doubted I would make it alive to the hospital.

Darren slapped me on the cheeks. “Aiden, stay strong. Help is near. We’ve called the doctor to get you treated.”

Like an overcooked vegetable, my head tossed to the left where Tom kept trying to steal the gun from Rob. Eventually, Tom had managed to shove the gun out of Rob’s grip. To my surprise, Drake jumped for the gun, and then grabbed it before Rob did and fired it at my fake older brother. The bullet pierced his side.

Rob fell to the ground, his gaze locked with mine.

In that moment, he remained stoically firm. He didn’t even show the slightest sign of repentance. Poor soul. I just hoped he would find peace of mind with what he’d done to me. I’d already forgiven him and I hoped he could forgive those who would inflict misery in his life.

Tom tossed my head back to the center. “Aiden.” He brushed the hair from my face and caressed my cheeks. “Stay awake, okay. The baby needs you. I need you. So please, stay strong. Keep your promise to never leave my side till we grow old together, remember that?” he said, tears trickling down his eyes.

As much as I wanted to speak, I was too weak to even keep my eyes open.

Against my will, my eyes closed shut.