by R K Knightly
"Fuck me," Liam muttered, loud enough for only a few in the immediate vicinity to hear.
"Man...that fucking blows," Elle heard Blake say.
Elle herself felt a lone tear almost freeze on her face as she thought of what Caleb was experiencing. She didn't feel bad for Sheila anymore. Her sympathies were for Caleb alone. Not only had she shunned her own mate, but she had also tried to steal another's. She found herself speaking and the words fell cold, hard, and heavy on the ears around her.
"Sheila, you not only conspired to take me away from my home, but you have also neglected your own other half," she said. "As you well know, I had my own true mate before all of this. He was cruel and abusive and he never admitted to our pairing. You are the same type of person as he. You don't deserve a mate, kind or cruel he may be. You deserve death. You will forthwith be placed on the guillotine and die by decapitation."
She had stood forward to speak and Liam looked back at her, wide-eyed but silent.
"At human executions they say ‘May God have mercy on your soul’," she said to the quivering she-wolf. "You showed no mercy on me, so why should I wish any upon you? Your kind does not deserve it and yet we give it to you in the manner of a swift death when you would have reveled in my slow one. I will not say it, but I will give you the mercy of the quick death over the agonizingly lengthy one you deserve."
Elle jutted her chin to the Head Enforcer who nodded back, grimly.
Two other enforcers lowered Sheila onto the guillotine. Her weak body barely struggled as she had not been given sustenance and was weak in both body and spirit.
When she was set and locked into place, Elle nodded her head again and didn't even blink when the loud schunk of the blade cut through bone and flesh and Sheila's head parted with her body into the awaiting basket beneath.
Elle stepped back into line with the other wolves, feeling as her frigid hand was immediately encased in one of Liam's warm ones.
"You're pretty badass, my little wolf," he told her softly. "As petite as you are, you're somehow scarier than Blake when he gets into an uproar about something."
"She tried to take my family from me," Elle told him softly. "The bitch deserved it."
The soft mumbling in the crowd after Sheila’s death increased as the wolves muttered to each other and the guillotine was cleaned and body parts removed for burial. It was a good ten minutes before the crowd was again silenced and a low growl came from the direction of the woods.
"Hands off me, mongrel!" Jeremiah's tone was irate and contemptuous and the enforcers pulling him to the platform had their hands full with him trying to escape.
"You were to drug him with wolfsbane," Liam bit out harshly at the enforcers as the man snarled and tried to pull them off him.
"We did, Alpha," said one who looked to be between 25 and 30 years of age. "We gave him the dosage Dr. D'Amato prescribed and he's still a fucking crazy son of a bitch. You should have seen him earlier. Thought he was going to bust down the cell doors to get out."
"Another dose, Evelyn," Liam ordered. The doctor was prepared and pulled a syringe out of her pocket and walked toward the struggling man. "Give it to Bonham while the others hold him down."
They forced Jeremiah to the cold, hard ground and he was dosed by Enforcer Bonham who was the smallest yet quickest of the group.
Jeremiah slumped and was pulled from the snow-covered ground, finally manageable. They walked him slowly up the few steps and he was put on his knees as Liam walked to within five feet of the platform.
"Jeremiah Bluth, you have attempted to kidnap my mate. She is my family and reason-"
"Mine first! And you killed my sister!" Jeremiah's voice was low and weak and full of raw emotion.
"Mine now. And Cecilia was ill of mind, weak of body," Liam said. "I blamed myself for years for her death, thinking I could have stopped her from killing herself somehow. Forced her take her medications. But there was nothing I could have done to help her. Nothing you could either. It was meant to be this way. I am sorry she is dead. She was my mate. But I will never be sorry for making Elle mine. She belongs here, not with you. You never loved her. You-"
"I did," Jeremiah spoke loudly, voice throaty. "I did love her. I…I still do."
His shaggy head of hair lifted and he gazed over at Elle where she stood next to her parents and Blake.
"I love you, Giselle," he told her. "Carter was right, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did, sorry for how I treated you, sorry for trying to take you away. Please...believe me."
Elle stepped forward once, the gentle slope of her jaw ticking and Liam was immediately at her back in a defensive position.
"I think you are only sorry you were caught," Elle said to him, her small voice loud in the deafening silence. "I think you're sorry you didn't get the mate you expected. And you're mostly sorry you're about to die, because you are. Your words of love fall on deaf ears. Don't mistake love with obsession, Jeremiah. I don't think you have a single loving bone in your whole body. I don't know how you became this way, but I have to think it was meant to be. You lost your humanity when you lost your family. If that was what broke you...I can understand that. But there are others out there that have been hurt and tortured and...molested. They don't treat others as you do. I don't. I may not have lost a family member as you did, but what I had was just as bad, if not worse. I was assaulted and put in a house-shaped cage by someone meant to protect and cherish me. I was looked upon with disdain by you and with pity by Carter. I was molested when I was young and beaten nearly to death over ten years later, but I'm still here. I'm still here and, pretty soon, you won't be."
Elle looked at Liam for a moment, her love for him shining in her eyes.
"I'm glad I got away from you, Jeremiah. Glad you are the piece of shit that you are," she continued. "You've never shown me any mercy or love, so why should I show you any in return? Only because I am better than you – you with your precious Alpha title and all – are you being shown a quick, painless death. If I was as malicious as you I would have you spread out and gutted so the wild animals could feast on your black heart while you still continued to breathe. You would live for a while, always in agony, always crying to be released unto death. Only because I have a heart am I allowing you to be given a quick death instead of the months of pain you deserve. Save your words of love and devotion for someone stupid enough to believe them. I'm done with all of it. I hope you rot in hell for all eternity until your skin turns as black as your soul."
Liam stepped back a foot and nodded.
"Couldn't have put it better myself, love," he told Elle as she came up to his side. He looped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close before addressing Jeremiah again. "She is my equal, and that's where you went wrong. Born Lunas are everything a pack needs. The nurturer, the protector, the one who keeps harmony amongst the people of the pack. You could have had that with her, but I'm glad you were fool enough not to realize what you had all along. With your death the small string that still ties you to her will be severed and she'll finally be free. Pray now, and quickly, before your brain stops its function when my blade slices through your neck."
Liam walked Elle back to the line and turned them, watching as the Head Enforcer eyed him in question. Thirty seconds went by before Liam nodded, the same firm jut of his chin as Elle had given for Sheila.
Schunk!
Elle blinked, her pulse beating rapidly as she thought, It's done. It's all over. No more Jeremiah. I'm fucking free!
An unexpected warmth spread into her chest leaving a large, expanding space where fire snapped and licked at her insides. It made her dizzy with its headiness as the small fragmented string that had connected her to Jeremiah dissolved as it burnt away.
"Fuck...what is that?" Liam's hands shook as he felt it too. The same fire, the same flame. Whatever it was had him looking down on his hands as they quivered for no apparent reason.
And then, what felt like a blooming, sweeping glow took over
Elle's body as she felt herself fill with what she could only describe as a white light and some deeper connection she could not readily place. It made her neck burn hot where Liam's mark stood in stark contrast to her pale skin.
"Your mark! What the fuck is happening?" Liam asked her. Elle couldn't see hers, but she saw that something was happening to his.
First, it became larger, like the tree branch was growing before her very eyes in time-lapse. The blossoms turned to fruit – sweet, ripe fruit that hung heavy on the branch.
The blossoms on Elle's mark grew more vibrant and larger as well, a distinct deep lavender as they twisted and shifted. Gasps could be heard from the crowd and someone yelped a bit when they saw what was happening.
And whatever mystical force that had been there from the moment Liam marked her, grew steadily stronger until he was pressing his body up against hers and sucking in shallow gasps of air with his arms curled tightly around her.
"Fuck! What was that?" Liam asked as soon as his breathing steadied and the flames stopped licking at his insides.
"I…I think I know," a female voice not far off called out.
Chapter 45
It appeared that wishes sometimes came true.
At least Elle's did this time. Her mother and father, though they had decided to remain at Blackriver, were able to come to Christmas at Plumbrook. The house was packed and everyone slept over, including Liam's parents, sister Arden, her mate and little one, and Chase.
Carter was now officially Blackriver's Alpha and he was slowly turning things around. It was a difficult time, but the pack was slowly adjusting. Elle had invited them over for Christmas Eve dinner where he had announced joyfully that he and his mate, Kate, were expecting in another six months.
Christmas was particularly jolly that year and both the Kincaids and Starks got along well on that happy holiday. There was barely enough room and it had Liam thinking if he wanted more children, he'd need to eventually expand the home.
A week later found them at the New Year's party the pack always held to honor another fruitful and peaceful year to come. It was always when people made big announcements and many drank to their good fortune. If one was fortunate enough to be announcing a pregnancy, everyone was always generous in their toasts and happy for the expectant couple.
"Anyone else care to share any good news for the upcoming year?" Liam asked as he lifted a glass to the ceiling in a toast. Three pregnancies and a couple of new matings was enough cheer for many, but they were surprised when Liam spoke to say he had something to add.
"Alright, then if there is nothing else to share, I would like to share my own bit of good news with you," he said with a smile that many in the pack hadn't seen in three years.
Muttering sprung out amongst the crowd as they wondered what the Alpha could say that was important enough to warrant a New Year's announcement. He had never given one before, though he was generous with his praise and goodwill to those sharing.
"As many of know, we are now allied as of Christmas Eve with Blackriver pack since Elle has kin there and is close with the new Alpha and Luna," he said, gaining several approving nods and murmurs. A few whoops were heard as well as many of the younger unmated shifters saw this as an opportunity to visit and see if their mates were amongst Blackriver's population.
"I would also like to announce that come summertime, there will be a new little face amongst the pups," he continued. "Your Luna and I are expecting and wished to share that joyous news with you tonight."
There was applause and cheering as many were glad to see a possible heir to the pack being born. It wasn't six months ago when they thought their future uncertain with the Alpha's true mate being dead. But a true second chance mate was just as good, and sometimes seen as good fortune for an Alpha. Lucky in love was lucky in life for them.
"What's the sex of the babe?"
"Could it be twins Alpha?"
"Maybe triplets!"
The sober and drunk alike yelled praises and congratulations with a few naughtier suggestions on how to ensure a male heir for their next pregnancy if this one turned out female.
"I'll let you know as soon as I can whether we have a future Alpha or not," Liam told them on a laugh before stepping off the picnic bench in the basement of the Packhouse.
Many went up to Elle and Liam to give their heartfelt congratulations and the party continued until many drifted off around 2 AM, sleepy and eager to do a little private celebrating. There were lots of September and October babies born into this pack.
Caleb was there as well, absent in mind as he was.
"Caleb?" Elle walked over to the man who was sipping his beer in a corner of the room.
"Hey, Elle – I mean, Luna," he said, shaking his head as if to rid himself of some unwelcome thoughts.
"Never mind about the Luna bit," she told him. "You're Gamma and you can always call me Elle."
"Fine, Elle," he said. "Congratulations again. I know I already told you when you let it slip on Thanksgiving, but a baby in an Alpha coupling...it's always a special thing."
"No matter who the parents are, it's always special," she said, lightly dismissing her status in the pack. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," he said immediately, his face becoming almost stern. It was like he was trying to convince himself he was just fine with his rejected mate dead these past couple of weeks.
"No, you're not," she told him gently. "But you will be, I'm sure of it. Why didn't you say anything about Sheila being your mate?"
He shrugged at her. "What could I say? My mate was rejecting me because I wasn't the Alpha? That she was a power-hungry, conniving little wench who would rather fuck one of my best friends instead of her soulmate? It's humiliating to even think about, much less share with the world. I mean, you would understand, but many others couldn't."
Elle was silent for a few moments, her mind trying to latch onto something that might make the man feel better and coming up with nothing.
"Did you reject her, or was it the other way around?"
"I've known for years that she was my mate," Caleb said. "Felt the pull right away after she turned 18 a few summers ago. She denied the bond and about six months ago, I finally gave her an ultimatum: admit to being my mate and accept me, or face rejection." He paused. "Rejecting someone is painful and...difficult. I suppose she preferred the pain of the rejection over mating with a Gamma."
"Her loss," Elle said stoutly. "I know my experience with a true mate was different, but sometimes these things happen so that you can find something better, someone more deserving of your love. Look at Liam and me. We couldn't be more opposite but we balance each other out nicely, I think. When...when Jeremiah discovered I was his mate, I thought, “finally, I'm going to be loved unconditionally, just like my parents love each other”. I had been eager for my 18th birthday since I turned 16 and found my wolf. When I turned 18 and smelt him on the training field, I was both excited and scared. When he came up from behind me to tell me I was his, I was shocked. Within a week, I was devastated. Things change quickly. The mate bond doesn't guarantee love, though the pull helps push the couple together. Finding out from Evelyn that Liam was my true second chance mate was a shock because of how it came about. Who ever heard of a second chance happening before it truly was a true second chance?
"I have to believe there is someone out there for you," Elle said. "She may be far away or only over at Blackriver, but she's there. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. And come back as soon as you find her and bring her with you. We'll miss our Gamma while he's gone."
Caleb gave her a hug that she returned for a moment before a growl broke out behind them.
"I realize that you are without a female, Caleb, but steer clear of mine," Liam told him, the growl in his voice edging on playful. "She's cooking a possible Alpha in there and that makes me particularly possessive of her."
"We were just talking about Caleb's trip come spring," Elle said as she wandere
d over to Liam's awaiting arms. "I suggested he starts local before moving south and then to the west."
"You think he could have a second chance at Blackriver?" Liam asked, his brow quirking up with the question.
"Possibly," Elle said. "Jeremiah kept a tight rein on everyone in the pack and didn't allow much movement to occur off the territory. She could be right there and we wouldn't even know it."
"I'll try there first then," Caleb said. "Lord knows with the new alliance we could use all the goodwill between the packs as we can get. I won't keep my hopes up, though. She could be damned near anywhere, if she even exists."
"She does," Elle said assuredly with a nod and a blinding smile. "I know she does. And she's just waiting for you to come find her."
∞∞∞
"Are you sure I'm only five months along? I feel like I’m huge," Elle said as Evelyn smiled down at her with the sonogram wand in her hand.
"You're about normal," the doctor assured her. "It's just that you're so petite you look farther along than you are."
Liam kissed Elle on her temple and nervously shifted his feet. It was the day he was supposed to find out if he was having a boy or a girl and he was anxious to know. He honestly didn't care which it was, but he was secretly hoping it would be a boy. He yearned for an heir to take over his pack one day, and he wanted to have the next several months to think up the perfect name for him. Something strong, meaningful. Powerful.
"And you're eating well? No more nausea?" the doc asked, delaying the sonogram, much to Liam's displeasure.
"Haven't thrown up in two months except for the time I ate that greasy whitefish at the Norfolk Tavern that one time. It didn't agree with me, I reckon."
Come on, come on, come on! Liam thought to himself as his foot tapped impatiently on the ground.