“There’s a song that I listen to when I need to know that it’s okay to fall apart. The chorus says to let it hurt, let it bleed, let it take you right down to your knees. I’m there. I’m on my knees hurting, bleeding, burning, from the inside out. What if it doesn’t stop? What if it’s just too much? How long do I let it hurt? How long do I let it bleed and what if I can never get up off my knees?” ~Jacque
Decebel looked around at the others and saw that they were all as shocked as he was. The rain stopped, and the wind died down. The ground around them was just a forest floor. Peri’s sacrifice had broken the magic. Peri’s death had saved their lives. Decebel gritted his teeth together as the anguish continued to build inside of him. He wanted to grieve for Peri. He wanted to show her the respect she deserved and he would, whether it be in this life or the next. But first he had to get to his mate.
He heard the sobs of the females and the murmuring voices of the males attempting to comfort them, but they would find no comfort, not here in a place that continued to take from them and to rip lives that completed their family from them.
“Where did she go?” Elle asked as she looked around the forest for any sign of Peri’s body. “Why isn’t her body here?” Tears stained her face and her hair, wild from the storm fell loosely around her shoulders.
“I don’t know,” Vasile answered. “What she has done for us will not be forgotten, and we will give her the burial she deserves once this is finished.”
The others nodded and mumbled agreements as they attempted to pull themselves together.
Lilly buried her face in Cypher’s chest as he enveloped her in his large arms. He whispered to her gently, “I’m sorry little one; we will make it out of this.”
Lilly wanted to believe him, but then part of her wanted to curl into a ball and let the sorrow swallow her.
“Vasile, we must hurry,” Decebel told him. He turned in the direction where the cliff edge had appeared to be and walked a few steps, taking a deep breath. There, he thought, there is my Jennifer. He took off at a dead run, not caring if anyone followed him. His one thought, his only thought, to get to his mate, to see his child, and then to die telling the woman he loved how precious she was to him.
“It’s been a long time,” the Great Luna told the white wolf.
Lucian phased back into his human form and stood beside Alina’s body. He looked at his creator and felt the warmth and love flowing off of her and into him.
“Why did you let me live?” he asked her, thinking of the long centuries he had spent wandering the dark forest, aching for companionship, and at times, longing for death.
“Because you have a purpose still in this life and it is an important one.”
He looked down at Alina and felt the sorrow from her death and remembered the pain in his brother’s eyes. “Was her purpose done?” he motioned to Alina.
The Great Luna shook her head as her lips tightened into a thin line. “No, it was not.” She frowned at the still body of the Alpha female and walked over to her. She knelt down and eased her arms under her and picked her up effortlessly.
“Come, Lucian. I will not leave a child of mine out in the dark.”
Lucian followed her without hesitation. He heard weeping up ahead and then he and the Luna emerged into a tiny clearing where one of the girls from the circle, Jacque, he recalled her name, sat with the brunette, Sally, lying in her lap. She looked up at them and her tears fell harder and she began to rock back and forth.
“Why?” she asked the Great Luna. “Please tell me why?”
She turned and carefully handed Alina to Lucian and then went over and knelt by the two girls. She murmured something he couldn’t hear and then Jacque nodded her head and then slumped forward until her forehead rested on the Luna’s shoulder. He watched as the goddess caressed the female, calming her.
“Let us go,” she finally said as she picked up Sally in her arms and motioned for the other to follow.
“Where are we going?” Jacque asked.
The Great Luna smiled at her as a proud parent smiles at their child. “There will be no more death today, not of my children. It is time that I interfered.”
Jen felt sweat sliding down her back and matting her hair to her face. The warm air felt cool against her damp skin and she welcomed that small relief. She squeezed her eyes closed as she embraced the pain of labor, knowing that she was bringing a precious life into the world, a life she and Decebel had created. She bit her lip as she fought back the urge to scream, as the contractions
became more painful and closer together. Cynthia told her to find a focal point, to grab onto a thought and hold it in her mind, and to see it with clarity. She had no problem picking a focal point because he had been her focus since the day he had growled at her in that hospital room. He had claimed her and even when there were no signs other than what he felt, he had made it clear that she was his.
She pictured his face in her mind, his amber eyes, and the secrets they held. She envisioned his high cheek bones, straight nose, and firm lips that often stayed in a permanent scowl aimed at her, but could quirk up in an amused smile at a moment’s notice. She pushed all of her focus into that picture of him and finally the pain subsided from the contraction. She knew she wouldn’t have a respite for very long.
“Okay,” Cynthia said as she pushed the blanket over Jen’s knees so she could see how far dilated she was, “that was a strong one.”
“No offense doc, but you stating the obvious isn’t really an indication that you know what you’re doing.”
Cynthia chuckled. “Yes well, between the two of us, I think I’m just a tad more qualified.” Cynthia felt what she was looking for as she did her exam on Jen, “Okay it’s time to start pushing.”
Jen went still. “What?”
“Jen, I know you didn’t really get a chance to take the classes you needed to for giving birth, but surely you knew that this was the way she would come into the world.”
“If I didn’t need you right now, I just might knock you senseless,” Jen growled as she felt another contraction coming on.
“Okay here we go Jen,” Cynthia coached. As soon as you feel it hit, I want you to bear down and push, okay?”
Jen nodded and curled her fingers into the blanket as the contraction ripped through her. She tightened her stomach and pushed just as Cynthia told her.
“Picture your focal point, Jen. Breathe...okay, good job,” she patted her thigh gently.
The contraction passed and Jen was left breathless and dripping with even more sweat. She wanted to cry. She wanted her momma and she wanted her mate; hell, she just wanted someone to tell her she could do this, but there was no one and she was giving birth in a damn cave.
She felt a tear slide from her eye and she gritted her teeth to hold them back, but as another contraction built, she couldn’t contain them any longer. They poured from her eyes, blurring her vision, as she heard the doc’s voice once again telling her to push. She did. She pulled her legs up and pushed with all her might and when the contraction was gone, she knew it wasn’t enough.
“I can’t do this,” she said as she panted. She reached up to wipe away the tears but her arms were so weak that she couldn’t even do that. “Cynthia I can’t do this without him, I can’t.”
Cynthia looked up at Jen and her eyes were glowing. “You can do this and you will do this,” she said firmly. “This is your child, Jennifer. A miracle that you and Decebel created out of love and you will not let your mate or your little girl down. You are going to suck it up and do what needs to be done.”
Jen heard Cynthia; she felt the truth in her words and she tried to grab on to that truth. She had to do this. There was no out clause when in labor. She listened to the sound of the doctor’s voice as another contraction came and she pushed hard. She felt a stabbing pain and gasped. Immediately, she stopped pushing, and when she looked down at Cynthia’s face, she knew something was very wrong.
Cynthia’s eyes widened at the sight of the gush of blood that flowed from Jen’s body. The blood was bright red and there was so much. She flipped through her mind, quickly trying to remember all the things that could cause that much blood. She grabbed another blanket she had laid out and placed beneath Jen, attempting so soak up the fluid. Finally it hit her, an abruption, a placental abruption could cause this much blood, and was also extremely dangerous.
“Jen we have to get her out, I need you to push as hard as you can when this next contraction comes, do you hear me?” Cynthia looked into Jen’s panicked eye. “You can do this.”
Jen knew from the sound of Cynthia’s voice and the fear in her eyes that something was seriously wrong. She tried to take some slow deep breaths to get herself under control. She needed to be strong and as much as she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry her eyes out, she couldn’t. Her child needed her and she would not let her down.
The contraction started and Jen took a deep breath. She pulled Decebel’s face up in her mind and imagined him there beside her telling her she was strong, telling her he wouldn’t leave her side and that everything would be alright. She pictured him so clearly that she swore she could hear his voice. Then he was saying Cynthia’s name. Why on earth would he be saying Cynthia’s name in her little illusion. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see him there at the entrance to the cave. She saw her mate, strong and tall, and by the look on his face, royally pissed off. He was pounding on the invisible barrier that kept him from her side and she wanted to tell him she would be okay, to somehow ease the panic in his eyes. But the contraction hit and she couldn’t think about that anymore.
“PUSH JEN!” Cynthia yelled. “Come on that’s it...breathe... okay, and push again! You’re doing great!” Cynthia could feel the baby’s head and knew they had to hurry, Jen was losing too much blood much too quickly. She heard Decebel yelling at them and asking her if Jen was okay. The anger and rage in his voice was tangible and sent chills down her spine. Another contraction followed immediately after that one ended, and she was yelling at Jen again. Her attention was divided though, and she finally answered Decebel. “She’s had a placental abruption. I don’t have time to explain what it is so don’t ask. The baby seems to be doing well. I hear her heart rate and it’s normal. Jen, however, has lost a lot of blood. We need Sally if you can get her.”
Cynthia’s eyes watered as she saw the head begin to emerge and she was shaking as she maneuvered her hands into position to help ease the infant out on the final push.
“Okay, Jennifer, you can do this. One more, big, hard, long push for me.”
Jen nodded and then turned to look at Decebel. Her eyes locked onto his and a tear slid from them.
“You can do it baby,” he told her through the barrier. “I’m here, I’m not leaving.”
Jen nodded and then took a deep breath and pushed. She pushed with all of her strength, calling on her wolf’s help to give her the endurance she needed. She felt the pain as her child was born and tears streamed down her face as she looked at Cynthia who held the messy little life. She had turned her over and had her nearly hanging upside down attempting to clean out her nose and mouth and then the most glorious sound filled the cave.
Jen heard her daughter’s cry and felt the tears gush from her eyes. She was alive; she was breathing. She turned again to look at Decebel and saw that he was on his knees; his eyes were wide in utter awe of what he saw. Jen tried to look down at Cynthia and her baby girl again but her vision was blurry. She tried to raise her arms to ask to hold her child but they wouldn’t respond to her command. The light was fading and she felt herself drifting. She was so tired and cold, so very cold.
Cynthia let out a deep breath once the baby began to cry. She was cleaning her up as quickly as she could and once she had laid her on a clean blanket she grabbed the surgical scissors from the kit and cut the umbilical cord and then clamped it off with the clamp provided. She wrapped her up tight in the blanket and then went to hand her to Jen, but froze when she saw that Jen wasn’t moving and her eyes were closed.
“Shit!” Cynthia breathed. She looked over at Decebel who was on his knees and barely holding back his panic and then looked at the baby again. The baby was breathing, alive, and vibrant. Decebel was alive and on the verge of freaking out. She pushed the thoughts aside and focused on the here and now. She set Cosmina, she remembered them saying that was what they wanted to call her, down gently on more blankets and then turned to check on Jen. She was breathing, but it was labored and shallow. Her pulse was weak and slow from lack of blood to circulate through her body. She had lost too much and Cynthia had no way to give her a transfusion. She felt warmth at her back and saw a soft glow begin to fill the cave with light. She stopped her exam to turn and see what it was. The transfusion was no longer an issue, because she was also out of time.
Decebel felt as though his lungs were on fire. He couldn’t get enough air as he watched his mate and his child. Jen had passed out, or at least he hoped that was all, but he didn’t know for sure. He just knew there was so much blood, too much blood. He watched as Cynthia placed their baby next to her and then began to check on Jen, but before she could do more than check her pulse, there was a soft glow emitting from behind her and then three entities, the Fates, were standing behind her.
Decebel’s heart began to pound as he realized that it was time. They were here to collect him as the sacrifice for Jen’s death. He wished he could hold his mate and child once before he went, but then he had gotten to see Cosmina be born and had gotten to see his amazing mate give birth to their little miracle. He didn’t want to die, but he could now with a small amount of peace.
His ears perked up as he heard them begin to speak―to Cynthia, not to him.
“The child is born, the debt is now due. You have proven yourself honorable and through your silence deemed yourself worthy. We accept your sacrifice in place of the child.” The forms moved forward and seemed to reach out and touch Cynthia. She turned slightly and her eyes met his; she gave him a small bow of her head. Decebel watched in utter astonishment as Cynthia’s body seemed to deflate and was slowly lowered to the ground. Her chest was not moving. There wasn’t the slightest movement. Cynthia’s life was over, and she had given it willingly.
The Fates turned and looked at him, at least he felt like they were looking at him. And then they spoke to him.
“The magic that lives here has been given what it requires, a sacrifice. It is null and void of its power.”
Decebel nearly fell on his face as the barrier disappeared and the Fates along with it. He didn’t hesitate as he stood up and ran to his mate. He picked up Cosmina in his arms and held her close to his body and then knelt down next to Jen. She was barely breathing and she was pale, so very pale.
“Jennifer, baby, please stay with me, stay with us. We need you,” Decebel whispered as he leaned close to her, careful not to crush his daughter. He heard voices and running footsteps and looked up when the commotion grew louder. Vasile, Adam, Cypher, and the others came rushing in. They took in the scene before them and then jumped into action.
“Decebel,” Vasile said as he moved quickly to his side.
“She needs a healer now, Vasile.”
Vasile looked up at Adam. “Please get Rachel.”
Adam didn’t wait for any other instruction but immediately flashed. He was back in less than two minutes with a very frazzled looking Rachel.
She rushed to Jen’s side and laid her hands on her She pushed her spirit into Jen and began to seek out the damage her body had sustained. She saw the tear in the uterus and pushed her power there and mended the tissue. She took care of the destruction the birthing had wrought on Jen’s body and the aftermath of labor. She was careful to check for any other problems, but the only thing left was the blood loss. Rachel moved her spirit to Jen’s heart and pulsed power deep into it. She helped her body’s blood cells multiply rapidly, replacing the blood loss and sending it to her starving organs. As her heartbeat gained strength and her breathing evened out, Rachel pulled back from Jen and then pulled her hands away. She opened her eyes and stared at her waiting.
Slowly Jen’s eyes began to flutter and then blink slowly. They opened and landed on Decebel.
“Dec,” she whispered.
He smiled as tears welled up in his eyes. “Hey baby,” He leaned down and kissed her gently and then held up their baby girl. “She’s perfect.”
Jen’s eyes lit up at the sight of their child and her lips trembled as the tears came. “Of course she’s perfect, I’m her mother.” Decebel chuckled as he handed Jen their baby and then helped her sit up, propping her against him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and tucked her into his side. His face buried in her neck and he breathed deep. She was here, with him and their child, it was a miracle. He looked up then and saw Rachel hovering over Cynthia’s prone form. Vasile knelt next to her. Rachel looked up then and met his eyes and he nodded. He realized what she would have seen in the last of Cynthia’s memories. Cynthia had asked the Fates to take her life in place of his child. She had willingly given herself so that their baby could live and have both her parents with her.
“Cynthia,” Jen said realizing for the first time that the doctor was not moving. “She’s... is she, Dec?” she stumbled around her words as he heard her pulse increase.
“Shh, baby,” he told her. “Cynthia has gone on to the next life. She gave herself in place of our child and the Fates accepted her sacrifice.”
Jen’s free hand came up to cover her mouth as she suppressed the sob that was there. Her heart was divided, part of it broken over losing her friend and part of it rejoicing over the life of her little girl.
“Thia Cosmina,” She looked up at him through her tears. “That’s what we will name her, in memory of the one who gave her life, in memory of our friend.”
Vasile looked down at the doctor and he felt pride and pain at the same time. She had been brave and loyal and given of herself until there was nothing left. He knew she felt that she could never be forgiven for her part in Jacque’s kidnapping, and she had found a way that she felt she could atone for it. As he stared at her still form, his mind wandered to all the death, pain, and torment that the day had brought and his heart broke all over again.
“I hate to interrupt this joyous, and at the same time, depressing, moment,” Reyaz sneered as he walked into the cave, “but I have business to attend to.” He pointed at Lilly and she fell to her knees grabbing at her throat. She attempted to suck in air but none would come and she began to struggle even harder.
Cypher snarled in a blind rage and charged his brother. Alston threw out his hand, just as Reyaz raised his other hand at Cypher, blocking the spell he might have tried. Cypher crashed into his brother with a force that hurled them both back and crashing into the wall. Cypher stood quickly and turned to check on Lilly. She was breathing and Crina was helping her to her feet.
Reyaz got to his feet while Cypher was distracted and, just as he turned back, Reyaz swung and landed his fist in his brother’s face. Cypher stumbled back and felt his head swim from the blow. He shook it, trying to regain his bearings, but the noises around him were muffled. He heard his brother’s laughter, a deep rumble that seemed to be in slow motion, fill up the cave and then he felt the shutter of the walls as Reyaz threw out his hands launching his power at them. Adam, Alston, and Cyn were throwing their own magic as balls of white light flew at his brother. Reyaz jumped, spun, and ducked as he tried to keep from being hit. He got in a few shots that knocked Fane to the ground and Sorin into the wall. But he was out numbered and the panic in his face showed that he knew it.
With a renewed fervor he tossed a ball of blazing fire at them. It crackled as it flew through the air, the oxygen fueling its heat. He hit Cyn square in the chest and she fell back with a shout, more of anger than of pain. Suddenly Reyaz’s body was flung back and he crashed into the cave wall. An arrow shot through his right shoulder and pinned him to the wall. A second arrow flew through the air and pinned his left shoulder to the cave wall. Thalion stood across the room with his bow still raised. His shoulders heaved with his breathing as he tried to gain control of his rage. He looked Reyaz in the eye and smiled a menacing smile. “Be glad it is not I who will mete out your death. For what you just did to my mate, my future Queen, is punishable by death. But in my long life, I have learned there are things so much worse than death.”
Cypher stepped up to his pinned brother and shook his head. “You are a disgrace to your family and to your people. You have betrayed your king and your sentence is death.”
Reyaz’s fought against the arrows that held him captive but it was no use, they wouldn’t budge. “LORELLE!” he roared. He refused to give in, even if it meant calling out for help from the traitor fae.
Lorelle appeared at the entrance of the cave and looked in at them all. Her face showed no emotion as she looked at Reyaz. “You called?”
“Help me,” he snapped at her. His face had morphed into a beast as all the evil that ran inside of him leaked out onto his flesh and features.
Lorelle laughed. “Help you, right, well since what I wanted accomplished is done, I have no more use for you. My sister is dead, and by her own hand at that. You and I are finished.”
“DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE!” Reyaz yelled but was cut off when Cypher’s fist collided with his face.
“Your time is coming Lorelle,” Alston suddenly said. “You will be dealt with.”
Lorelle laughed again. “You’ll have to find me first.” She gave them all one last look and then flashed.
“Are you really going to kill me, Cypher, your own flesh and blood?” Reyaz asked.
“No, I’m not going to kill you.”
Reyaz sagged in relief.
“He is.” Cypher pointed to Vasile whose eyes were glowing and his canines had lengthened. He stalked towards his prey slowly, letting him feel what it was to be hunted and what it was to see your death coming for you.
“For the crimes against my people, for the death of my mate, our healer, and our friend, I sentence you to death. I would rather imprison you and let you rot, but then I would have to run the risk of you getting out. So instead I will just have to be satisfied that you will die by my hand.” Vasile grasped Reyaz’s head in his hands and gave a quick twist. The bones made a sick crunching noise as his neck broke. His body would have crumpled to the ground had the arrows not held him in place. Vasile stared at the broken man before him and it was then that everything flooded into him, every emotion crashing down on him, and he flung his head back and howled.