Page 28 of Cruel Alpha Beast (Roseville Alphas #1)

Weak, but somehow still conscious, I walk alongside Sawyer as the witches levitate his body. He’s not dead yet, but he is out cold. I keep my eyes on him, ready to catch any signs that things are going south again.

I feel numb inside.

I’ve already thought I lost him once. I can’t lose him again.

On the other side of me, Danielle is doing her best to keep his wounds contained. She still hasn’t gotten healing magic fully mastered, but she’s getting there. At the very least, no new blood has leaked from his wounds, but they aren’t closing either.

Why couldn’t that magic have lasted? I wonder to myself. Why couldn’t it have saved him for good?

Ellis stands over Danielle’s shoulder, watching fearfully as she tries her best to keep healing Sawyer as we head for the outskirts.

“He’s not going to get better, is he?” Ellis mutters fearfully.

“I can do this,” It sounds like Danielle is trying harder to assure herself more than him or even me.

Ellis’s pessimism persists, but I’m able to tune it out by thinking hopeful thoughts about Sawyer making it home, recovering, and living a very happy life with Shea and me.

It’s going to happen, I tell myself. It has to.

“I can’t lose you, Sawyer,” I tell him out loud. “I know you can hear me.”

***

The witches who helped carry Sawyer with their powers file through the kitchen door as soon as he’s stabilized on the couch.

After holding hands and singing in a language I don’t understand, I can see that his wounds are not fully healed, but they’re looking much better.

Still, I know I will have to sit vigil over him all night because I won’t be able to sleep.

The only people remaining in my living room are Jasper, Ellis, Greg, Danielle, and Monroe, though there’s a part of me that doesn’t even register their presence. In fact, if I didn’t hear Greg on the phone with Lucas, saying things like, “You should come here, just in case,” and “Bring Shea.”

Monroe makes me a hot tea that I largely ignore. Danielle sits at my side, grabbing one hand of mine that isn’t attached to Sawyer’s. Jasper and Ellis linger against the wall, both terrified that they just might lose one of their oldest friends.

“You don’t all have to say here,” I say, my entire being numb. “You can go home and get some rest.”

There are two answers mumbled back at me, and they both sound almost exactly the same.

“We’re not leaving you,” and “We’re not leaving him.”

It’s fine. It’s all the same to me, anyway.

Greg sits at Sawyer’s head, silent tears falling down his cheeks.

When the front door opens, he quickly rises and meets up with the people walking into my kitchen.

He speaks in hushed whispers, I don’t even bother trying to eavesdrop on.

But my ears do perk up when I hear a soft, sweet little voice.

“Is Daddy okay?”

It’s Shea, and she must have just been woken up to come here.

“Oh, no, Shea, stay with Uncle Greg,” my brother says, but he’s clearly not fast enough to stop her from sneaking past him.

“Shea, come here,” Monroe says, trying to pick up where Greg had failed.

“I want to see my Daddy,” Shea says.

In my haze of numbness, I almost start laughing. Of anyone here, Monroe should know how stubborn my daughter is when she’s tired.

“Let her come here,” I say, letting go of Danielle’s hand to reach for Shea.

“Lacey, don’t you think that will traumatize her?” Danielle murmurs to me.

“It’s her father, and he’s going to be fine,” I say.

At that moment, Lucas walks into the living room. He takes one look at his son and bursts into tears, wailing at the sight of Sawyer lying there like that. Not quite dead yet, but not looking very alive.

“My boy,” he keeps saying. “My boy.”

Shea finally grabs onto my hand, and when she does, she sees her father’s shirtless body, and the angry scars all over him. Immediately, she starts crying, too.

“Daddy! Daddy, wake up!”

Just then, Sawyer’s eyes start to open, and everyone in the room leans forward. He’s able to twist his head toward Shea and musters something like a smile. The numbness inside of me starts to thaw, and tears spill from my eyes again.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he murmurs. “I love you, so, so, so, so, so much, Shea. Always have, always will.”

Before his eyes can close again, something bright shines in the dimly lit living room. It takes me a second, but then I realize that it’s Shea’s eyes burning bright white.

“Mommy, what’s happening?” she asks, turning to look at me.

“You’re okay,” I tell her, recognizing the warm glow as the same from the forest. “You’re okay, sweetie. Just let it happen.”

And just then, the magic flies out of Shea’s eyes to the shock and awe of everyone in the living room.

I watch as the magic, recognizing that Shea was created and maintained by the love Sawyer and I have for each other, repairs his wounds for good this time, leaving only a few scars, and soon, Sawyer is sitting up straight, breathing heavily.

He stares down at a confused Shea and smiles widely at her. “You just saved my life.”

***

The next day, I stand at the outskirts of town, exactly where I ran off to five years prior, the light summer breeze blowing through the white maxi skirt covering my bottom half. Flanking me are Ellis and Jasper, who insisted on joining me as backup.

Across from me stands Penelope in her finest silks, looking much healthier than she had the last time I had seen her. Danielle and Monroe mirror the alphas on my sides, both smiling widely at me.

“I stand here in my husband’s stead, humbly thanking you for your help in the forest,” I say, trying to sound as official as I can.

“And I thank you for using your wits to figure out how to cull the danger in our forest,” Penelope replies, bowing her head. She then gives me a cheeky smile and asks, “How is Sawyer recovering, if I may ask?”

“I’m sure he’ll be perfectly fine any day now,” I assure you. “The magic could only do so much for him, but we’ve had nurses from the infirmary check on him regularly.”

“Good,” Penelope says.

“And how are you doing?” I ask. “I know you raised Violet since she was young…”

Penelope sighs heavily before answering. “I’ve been finding ways to make peace. Punishing the ones who blindly followed her over me has helped some, too.”

Just as the three witches are about to turn around, I’m surprised to see Ellis step forward and hold a hand out for them to wait.

“Um, I just wanted to say,” he starts awkwardly, as if he’s not sure how to speak to a witch without fully insulting her, “that if your coven ever needs our help again… Well, you all know where we live.”

Danielle eyes him carefully, nodding her head once.

“Thank you, Ellis,” Penelope tells him. “I hope to never need to take you up on that offer.”

“Same,” I snicker.

“And, the offer goes the same way for you,” the coven leader adds. “Good day, shifters.”

“See you later, Lacey,” Monroe chirps out.

Danielle waves over her shoulder. “We’ll call you soon.”

***

“Oh, come on, Nurse Lacey,” Sawyer grumbles from the couch. “You’re just being overprotective. I feel fine . There’s no signs of infection, no bleeding, I’m just tired, but you probably would be too, if you were dead one and a half times.”

I chew on my bottom lip. “Alright, fine, you can come with us for a walk. But if you get tired, you sit down, and you call Greg to pick you up.”

Sawyer accepts my terms and makes a big production out of getting up and putting some clothes on. He hardly has any scars left over, but I still worry. I fear something could go wrong at any second, like the magic disappearing again.

But I suppose, three days out, he’s probably fine.

As Sawyer gets ready for a trip outside, I help Shea get into her sneakers, and soon, the three of us have left the house and are walking around the town.

With Sawyer keeping an eye on Shea as she hurries ahead, I’m free to look around and see the valley slowly but surely rebuild.

The wildflowers are looking more and more beautiful.

The trees stand tall. And the people in town are back to their kind and caring selves.

Even those who suffered from the plague are back on their feet, with no signs of the black spots growing on their skin.

According to the nurses who came in and out of our house the last few days, each symptom disappeared at the same time.

The exact moment that Willow and her tree were destroyed.

“Hi, Paul!” Shea waves at the man who had fallen on our porch.

“Well, hello, there, dear,” Paul says back kindly.

Seeing Shea being so accepted by everyone in Roseville fills my heart. I mean, of course, they would, since she’s the daughter of the alpha. But knowing that she also single-handedly saved Sawyer’s life? She’s practically a celebrity now.

Hell, even people have been treating me with far more respect. No more hairy eyeballs, no more mocking laughter. And they only whisper when they’re telling their friends next to me that I’m the woman who helped save the town.

I lean into Sawyer’s ear, watching as he eyes his daughter lovingly. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I think so.” He grins back at me. “It’s high time for another one.”

Heat burns in my stomach, and I’m not entirely sure if it’s coming from Sawyer or me. Either way, I call out to get Shea’s attention.

“Hey, beautiful,” I say. “Want to stop by Grandpa’s and see if you can hang out for a bit?”

***

Completely alone, with nothing and no one to interrupt us, I stand at the foot of our bed, raising my arms so Sawyer can help pull my pretty sundress over my head.

He stares down at me with heavily-lidded eyes, gazing at me like I’m the most beautiful thing in the world.

He pulls me in close, his hands warm on my skin.

I reach around his neck, pulling him closer so I can kiss him. When he can’t stand it any longer, Sawyer gently pushes me back onto the bed and comes to rest between my knees. Using his mouth, he really takes his time, gently lapping at the wetness dripping from my core.

My back arches as he continues suckling. I reach down for that chestnut hair I love so much and run my fingers through it, but also ready to grab him if he dares try to tease me.

Luckily, Sawyer has no intention of stopping any time soon. Moments later, he introduces a finger inside and uses it to help me ride out my first climax.

As I’m coming down, my chest heaving as I catch my breath, Sawyer climbs on top of me, positioning his hips against mine. He enters me softly, then slowly builds me back up. His eyes meet mine, only intensifying the connection we have as wolves and lovers.

Before I know it, Sawyer’s hips are bucking against mine, and the second wave crashes over me. I can’t help screaming out in pleasure, thankful that Shea is nowhere near the vicinity.

Sawyer flips me onto my side, reaching behind me to touch my most sensitive part as he fucks me from behind.

Though I can’t see him, it’s still so intimate, so passionate.

And when he finishes inside me, breathing heavily against my back, I can’t help thinking we could probably save another village all over again.

*****

THE END