Page 6

Briggs

Two years later …

The scent of blood and fear permeated the air as Ruby's screams echoed through the infirmary. I paced anxiously outside the room, listening.

"Hold on, Grace is on her way! Her healing powers will help with the pain," the midwife assured her Luna with a strained voice.

I clenched and unclenched my fists, remembering Theia's words from years ago.

The cloudy-eyed Seer's prophecy still rang my ears.

"The mother of your first child will not survive the birth,” she’d said.

Her words had set off a chain of events that broke something in me that I feared could never be repaired.

Ruby's cries intensified, and I felt my control slipping. Onyx pushed forward, urging me to protect our pup, even if our mate wasn't the one we truly wanted.

"Briggs," Colten's deep voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. "I came as soon as I heard."

I turned to face my friend. For a moment, I considered brushing off his concern, but I’d done that too many times of late.

"It's happening," I told him. “I think this is the end of it.”

Colten's eyes widened in understanding. After a year of being mated to the wrong person, I’d finally broken down one night when Colten and I were out on patrol together.

I’d revealed my sins and he did his best to help me carry them ever since.

Guilt should have been hammering me right between the eyes about now. In a way it was, but not for my chosen mate.

And didn’t that just scream cold-blooded murderer?

She knew. You warned her and she didn’t listen , Onyx shrugged.

I had laid it all out to Ruby weeks before the night of the Mating Moon. I told her of Theia’s vision, of the mother of my first child dying.

Ruby didn’t believe me.

She laughed it off, accusing me of using it as an excuse to choose her over Ivy. Nothing I said made her believe otherwise so I let it go.

She was as hellbent on being Luna as I had been on keeping Ivy safe—no matter the price. I would burn the fucking world to the ground if it meant my mate would remain safe and sound.

Ruby may have kept quiet about our agreement, but she showed no understanding of, or belief in, the situation. She didn’t take any of it seriously.

Even if she had, we’d find no solace in one another. Only my Beta had been able to help me power through the charade.

“I should have told you from the start, Colt. I never truly apologized to you for it and I’m sorry."

"At least before Ivy left," he replied in that matter-of-fact way of his. “I would have helped you lessen the blow for her. For you, as well.”

The mention of her name sent a jolt through me. Ivy.

"Yes, well—"

Another scream from Ruby cut me off.

Colten gripped my shoulder. "Whatever happens, I’m here."

My face tightened. As Alpha, I didn’t show much emotion. It wasn’t something most alphas did, wasn’t in our nature.

After Colten had threatened to leave if I tried to find Ivy for my own self-serving reasons while Ruby was my mate, I’d worried I’d lost my friend.

He’d always be my Beta, always do what was necessary for the pack. But his role in my life as my friend remained on rocky ground for a long time.

Which was why I eventually came clean to him.

The door burst open, and Tess appeared, her face pale. "Alpha, we need you."

I followed the midwife into the birthing room, the scent of blood overwhelming. Ruby was lying on the bed, her blonde hair matted with sweat, her eyes wild with pain and fear.

"Briggs," she gasped, reaching for me. "Don't let me die. Please."

I took her hand, feeling Onyx recoil at the contact. Even now, my wolf rejected her as ours.

"You're strong, Ruby," I said, the words hollow in my mouth. "You can do this."

As another contraction hit, I closed my eyes, silently praying to the Moon Goddess. For what, I wasn’t exactly sure. Forgiveness?

My hand squeezed Ruby's, my mind straying back to that conversation I eventually had with Colten. The disappointment in his eyes had been unbearable.

"I couldn't keep it from you anymore," I told him, my voice barely above a whisper.

Colten's face morphed from shock to disgust. "And you chose Ruby anyway? Knowing she'd die?"

“Ruby knows. She thought I was using it as an excuse to forsake my true mate so I could have who I actually wanted as my Luna.”

He blinked, stunned. “She knows and she’s still choosing to go through with it?”

“Yes.”

His palm drug down the stubble on his face. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”

I swallowed hard. "I didn’t have a choice."

"There's always a choice, Briggs.”

My head shook. "If taking my own life would have fixed it, I would have. Theia had warnings about that, too. It was Ivy or someone else. I chose Ivy’s life over everything."

The admission hung heavy in the air between us. Colten's expression altered, understanding dawning in his eyes.

"Briggs, I’m sor—"

"I don't want your pity. I just needed you to know."

A particularly loud scream exploded from Ruby’s throat. Tess looked up.

"Alpha, we're losing her, I can’t stop the bleeding. And the pup’s heartbeat is weak. He’s in the birth canal and it’s too late to do a c-section. The Luna wouldn’t survive it anyway.”

It was just as Theia foresaw–my mate would perish and I was powerless to stop it.

My eyes bore into Ruby’s round belly. “Tess.”

“Yes, Alpha?”

“ Get my son out .”

Ruby's nails dug into my palm. The acrid scent of her fear and pain filled my nostrils.

"Push!" the midwife urged.

“I’m here!” Grace, the primary healer for our pack, came rushing in and kneeled down beside Tess.

I leaned over and caught my mate’s attention, my voice low and steady. "Come on, Ruby."

Her pain-filled eyes locked onto mine. She gritted her teeth and bore down again.

"That's it," I encouraged.

I didn’t like my mate, but she was birthing our child. A child conceived in scornful lust and an Alpha’s duty, but our child nonetheless.

He was an innocent who shouldn’t have to carry the sins of his parents. I loved him no matter who was birthing him.

Ruby collapsed back, panting. "I can't. I can't do it."

"You have to," I told her firmly. "For our son."

She closed her eyes and hummed dourly. "Our son? Is that what you thought of every time you fucked me? And only from behind so you wouldn’t have to look at me? Just to get me pregnant and then your mousy bitch could come back?”

" Never speak of her like that again,” I commanded, throwing my Alpha power at the female to ensure she obeyed. “Not ever .”

Ruby's eyes suddenly widened, her face contorting. "I'm dying you despicable bastard!" she accused.

I accepted her rancor. I was absolutely despicable.

“These useless healers can't do anything!" Ruby blinked back angry tears. "I did everything he asked … for nothing! It was all for nothing!”

Onyx had always been suspicious of Ruby, distrustful of her motives and willful ignorance of what might happen if we mated. He pushed for control.

"What did you do, Ruby?" The words rumbled from my chest.

Her gaze turned hazy, her words slurring. "He said … he promised …”

What was she talking about? Before I could press further, Ruby coughed, specks of blood smattered her lips and chin.

“Explain yourself!” Onyx used his Alpha powers and my voice to force more from the weakened female.

Her words tumbled out in a delirious rush. "Oh, Goddess. My true mate … w-we had … a plan.”

"What did you plan, Ruby?" I growled.

Her eyes fluttered, unfocused. "Take over … Darkwood … through our … your son …"

Rage flooded my veins. " My son ? You planned to use my own child against me?"

Ruby's laugh was weak, bordering on hysterical. "Unite packs. Be t-twice as big … rule through alpha blood …"

I gripped the edge of the bed, shredding the linens as my claws came out. "Why would you think I would ever let that happen?"

Her gaze sharpened, a cruel smile twisting her lips in a sudden moment of lucidity.

"You wouldn't," she declared, "have to ... kill you."

The room went deathly quiet. Both Grace and Tess froze.

"You and your true mate planned to kill me?" I was dangerously close to shifting and tearing her apart.

Ruby didn't respond, her eyes rolled back as another contraction hit. The midwife and healer immediately began talking and moving, though I didn’t hear a word of it.

Ruby’s confession swung at me like a physical blow. This female, carrying my son, just confessed to plotting my death.

Years of trivial annoyance towards her suddenly crystallized into white-hot fury.

If she lives , Onyx growls in my mind, I will rip out her throat.

Ruby's body convulsed with one final, agonizing push. The room was quiet save for her ragged breathing. No infant cries broke the stillness.

Helplessly, I watched as Grace spoke quickly to Tess, the pair making swift movements as they huddled over a tiny body.

Minutes went by. They shared words. Worried looks. But they kept at it, each of us ignoring the patient bleeding out on the bed.

Eventually, Grace took a shuddering breath, shaking her head. Tess squeezed her shoulder.

Moving silently, the midwife tended to my son's tiny body with gentle, sorrowful motions. Her eyes avoided mine, but I could smell the salt of her unshed tears.

"My son?" I demanded, my voice rough, my denial sharp.

The midwife's face was ashen as she turned to me, holding a small, motionless bundle. My heart plummeted.

"I'm so sorry, Alpha," she whispered.

Ruby's raspy voice broke through the suffocating space. "Was it … worth it?"

I looked up to see the light in her eyes fading fast. Her skin was pale and sickly.

"Was what worth it?"

"Losing everything. Both of us … lost." With those final words, Ruby's head lolled to the side, heart stopped.

I stood there rigid, my mind unable to process.

My mate was foretold to die. Theia said nothing of my child!

"Alpha," Tess murmured, her voice thick with emotion. "Would you like to hold him?"

Onyx howled within me, his suffering as horrid as my own. My eyes burned. Hands shook. I managed a jerky nod.

As she placed my son in my arms, wrapped in soft linen, my knees buckled.

"He's so tiny," I choked out, running a finger along his delicate cheek. “So perfect.”

So still .

Tess put her arm around Grace, the pair leaning on one another. "Alpha? If there's anything—"

"Leave," I ordered.

Alone with my grief, I cradled my son close.

"I'm sorry," I apologized against his dark wispy hair. "I'm so sorry, little one. I didn’t know. I never would have allowed this. I never imagined … I’m just so damned sorry."

There was no apology worthy of absolution. Nothing would erase the taint of this from my soul.

I inhaled his perfect scent, committing it to memory forever. A mournful howl tore from my throat. On and on my wolf and I sang our lament to the Goddess above.

Footsteps approached some time later. Colten’s sorrow combined with mine to tarnish the air as he took in the scene before him.

"Alpha—Briggs, what can I do?”

For a moment I was unable to form words. Colten's presence, usually a comfort, now felt like an intrusion. There was only one person I wanted here, and my own actions had driven her away.

"Ivy.” The name slipped out before I was aware of voicing it. “I want my mate.”

Colten's jaw tightened, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he cleared his throat. "I can see to the burial immediately, if you'd like."

A surge of protectiveness coursed through me. "No. I will bury him myself.”

I struggled to my feet, cradling the precious bundle in my arms. Colten reached out as if to steady me, but I shook him off.

He glanced at the bed. "What about the Luna?"

Fury bubbled over as I remembered Ruby's fevered confessions. "Burn her body. Send her ashes to her true mate, if you can figure out who it is."

Colten’s brow furrowed. "Her true mate?"

"Just burn her, Colten," I snapped. "I can't deal with this right now."

As I brushed past him, heading for the door, Colten's voice stopped me. "Briggs, you don't have to do this alone."

My head hung low, my hand on the doorknob. "Yes, I do.”

***

The midnight air was crisp, biting at my skin as I dug. Moonlight filtered through the drooping willow branches, allowing enough light for me to complete my task.

Thud.

Thud.

The shovel struck the earth rhythmically.

"I'm sorry," I told him for the thousandth time. "I'm so sorry, little one."

Over and over I apologized as I dug. Deeper and deeper I went.

Memories flooded back to Ivy standing right at the spot where I was digging. At the place I first knew she was mine.

Her hazel eyes had sparkled that day as she laughed at something Emery said. The moment our gazes connected, I felt that undeniable pull.

"Dammit," I cursed, driving the shovel into the ground with renewed force.

Once the hole was deep enough, I gently lifted my son, cradling him one last time before lowering him into the earth.

"May the Moon Goddess watch over you," I brokenly prayed through constricted lungs.

The first scoop of dirt dropped atop my precious pup.

“May your soul be at peace.”

Scoop.

“May my sins never touch you again.”

Scoop.

It took many more prayers to fill the hole in the earth. There weren’t enough to fill the one in my soul.

The walk back to my cabin felt endless. Each step heavy, weighted with grief and regret.

Mate , Onyx demanded. We need our mate.

I picked up my pace, breaking into a run. By the time I strode into my study, I was little more than a male possessed.

Picking up my phone, I dialed.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“My study. Now.”

Within moments, my most ruthless enforcer materialized in the doorway. His dark eyes scanned me, assessing.

"Alpha," he greeted.

"I need you to bring Ivy Bardot to me."

Baylor's eyebrow twitched, the only sign of his surprise. "You want me to bring Ivy back to Darkwood?"

“To me, specifically.” My wolf clawed, eager.

“Colten said—”

“My Beta has her general location and tries to keep tabs on her, which is knowledge I purposefully do not have. But I’m sending you to retrieve her.”

He slanted his head slightly. “She won’t come back willingly."

I knew what I was about to say went against everything respectable wolves stood for. Everything I once stood for.

"You don't come back without her," I told him with coarse finality. "I don't care how long it takes or what you have to do, Baylor. Use whatever means necessary without truly harming her. I want her here and I want her here now."

Onyx's approval came through loud and clear. We’d waited long enough. Paid our penance.

Paid a penalty we never saw coming. I didn’t deserve her but I found that I didn’t much care.

"As you wish, Alpha," Baylor complied, his face settling into a mask of determination. "I'll leave at first light."

As the door closed behind him, I slumped into my chair. Reaching for the bottom drawer of my desk, I pulled out a worn photograph.

Ivy's smile beamed up at me. Unbeknownst to her, I’d snapped it just days before everything fell apart. Before I broke us.

She might hate us for this , Onyx pointed out.

She already hates us , I threw back. At least this way, she'll be here where we can see her, where we can make sure she’s safe. We’ll explain everything and she’ll forgive us.

And if she doesn’t?

Inhaling deeply, I pondered Onyx’s question.

Regardless, she’ll be ours. Marked and mated, with or without her cooperation.

The Goddess owed me and I was sure as hell going to collect my due.