by Jade Royal
“YOU’RE SORRY?” Jaxson exclaimed.
“I haven’t spoken to her in two weeks. All because you ordered me not to. Now you wanna tell me that the woman that the universe didn’t make for me but is just as special to me as my mate would have been is dead? That I wasn’t even able to tell her how much she made me happy? How much joy she brought to my life? That I would move mountains for her if she asked me to? All you have to say to me is you’re sorry?” Kellan let his head fall. He was deeply ashamed and filled with guilt and remorse.
Jaxson looked at the rubble where the house used to exist. Getting onto his knees, he looked up at the sky and closed his eyes.
“You already killed my true mate! You don’t get to have the only other woman I could fall in love with!” Jaxson shouted at the universe. Everyone gasped at his exclamation. Jaxson stood and began running towards the rubble. His sight was blurry with tears, but that didn’t stop him. Kellan was close behind him as he ran to the rubble. Once he was closer, he didn’t even know where to begin to look. The house was piled high to bits.
“Oh my god,” Kellan gasped. Jaxson followed his gaze. His heart jumped when he spotted two bodies lying on the ground limply a couple yards away. Jaxson climbed over the rest of the rubble and down to the other side, running hard towards the bodies.
“Kyra? Kyra, sweetheart.” Jaxson scooped her limp body into his arms. She was charred from the fire and parts of her clothing had been burned off. Jaxson looked at her face. He smiled sorrowfully because it looked like she was sleeping with sweet dreams.
“Kyra, please don’t leave me,” Jaxson begged, tears streaming down his face.
“I can’t lose another woman.” He stared down into her face. Her eyes remained closed. He pressed his head against her chest listening for her heartbeat. There was none.
Jaxson screamed in agony and cried heftily into her chest; begging the universe not to take this special she-wolf away from him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Hey.” Kyra heard the distant voice of a male. When she looked for him, however, she didn’t see him. All she saw was a bright white light.
“Great Kyra. Ya done killed yourself,” she sighed. She slapped herself on the forehead.
“Alright, so what’s it going to be? Heaven or hell?” Kyra asked talking to herself. Laughter from a man sounded all around her. Kyra looked around again. Everything was white until she saw a dark shadow coming towards her.
“Well, that settles it. The devils’ coming to greet me to take me down to hell.”
“You are hilarious,” the voice spoke. The shadow remained a shadow, but Kyra could see his silhouette.
“I’m not the devil. Just another soul. Like you,” he said.
“So I’m dead? This isn’t a dream?” Kyra asked.
“Unfortunately, Yes. You’ve passed.”
“I guess in my next lifetime I won’t be so hard headed and actually listen when it comes to rules,” Kyra sighed. The man chuckled again.
“You know, it would have been cool to be mated with you. You’re an interesting she-wolf.”
“Excuse me? Mated with me?” The shadowy figure stepped forward revealing himself. He was a handsome, tall man with deep auburn colored eyes. His skin was almost golden. He was wearing white linen pants, and that’s all.
“Hi Kyra,” he smiled. Kyra recognized him from a dream she had when she hit puberty. A dream where this same man had come to her and told her he was dead and was her true mate.
“My name is Troy. Nice to officially meet you. I take it you remember our conversation those few years ago when you first shifted.” Kyra was in shock as she stared at her dead mate.
“How is this even possible?!”
“We can change into a full fledged animals on command and change back to a human form. Once that’s possible everything is possible.”
“Okay, so I guess the valid question is how did I end up here? What? You came to greet me and sweep me off my feet and cross the threshold of the pearly gates?”
“Not quite,” he laughed.
“So what’s the deal?”
“I’ve been watching over you in some moments for a long while now Kyra. I always wondered if you’d be joining me anytime soon.”
“Wait, how’d you die?” Kyra asked.
“Human gangs shot me. We can heal, but a shot to the heart will kill anyone.”
“Oh my god. I’m sorry.” Troy shrugged his shoulders.
“I’ve been dead for a long-time sweetheart. I’ve accepted it graciously. Among dead wolves it's usually customary that once we die the universe shows us the mate we left behind. So, when I passed I saw your face, it was almost like a dream. Being able to see you in my head is a way for me to know who you are so that way I can come to you and explain that we will never meet in the physical world. That you would essentially be mate-less.”
“I never knew about that. I thought it was just a dream only I had,” Kyra said.
“Well, only people with dead mates experience that. Since we weren’t bonded I didn’t think that my death would affect you negatively. When a mated wolf dies usually his or her mate does not survive.”
“So I mean I guess we’re together now,” Kyra shrugged.
“Well, that’s a choice you still have to make,” he told her.
“I don’t understand,” Kyra said scratching her head.
“Well, the universe told me what happened to you. She asked me to meet you here and give you two options. You can come into white light with me. Or you can go back to the physical world.”
“How is it even possible that I can choose?” Kyra asked.
“Close your eyes and listen,” Troy told her. Kyra looked at him apprehensively, but eventually, she closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she used her sensitive hearing to see just what Troy was telling her to listen to.
The sound was very muffled, but Kyra heard her name being called repeatedly. The gut-wrenching cries ran soul deep. Jaxson. He was crying her name and begging for her to live. Kyra felt her tears streak down her face. She heard him beg her not to leave.
“I didn’t leave. I’m right here!” she called out. Her voice only echoed. She looked at Troy.
“You have the option to choose your fate, Kyra, because that man down there is begging the universe not to take you. To have that kind of effect on someone means that you are very deserving of life Kyra. She figures that even though you can be with your true mate in death; there’s someone in the physical world that needs you more than I do. But the choice will be ultimately yours. Do you want to stay here or would you like to go back?” Kyra took several deep breaths. Now that he had called her attention to it Kyra could hear nothing but Jaxson’s deep bawling. Looking at her mate, she felt the natural attraction to the man but Jaxson, what she’d built with him; that couldn’t be replaced by anything. Not even her true mate. She wanted to live.
“Him. I want him,” she whispered. Troy smiled at her.
“Good choice Kyra. You deserve him, and he deserves you.” Troy stepped up to her and kissed her cheek softly.
“I want you to remember me Kyra, but I don’t want you to stop living because of me. I’m at peace where I am and trust me there’s plenty of she-wolf spirits for me to spend my time with. Never think that I am lonely and sad. Because I’m not.” He smiled a big genuine smile that made Kyra believe in his words. He winked at her before snapping his fingers. In an instant, everything went dark.
***
Thump. Thump. Thump. Jaxson’s eyes snapped open. Her heart was beating. He looked down at Kyra, holding his breath. Her eyes popped open, and a fit of coughing overtook her. Jaxson looked at Kellan who was just as surprised. He felt her essence fire back to life in his body. Jaxson made Kyra sit up trying to help her clear her lungs. Even from her coughing and her attempts to breathe he could hear her lungs were damaged.
“Sleep Kyra. You have to go into a healing sleep.” She took a deep breath before allowing her body to go
lax. She let her powers take over and guide her into a healing sleep. Jaxson ran his hands over her face, still in too much of a shock. When he put his hand over her chest, he could still feel the thump of her heart. He looked up at the sky.
“Thank you,” he said to the universe with tears staining his cheeks. He leaned down and kissed Kyra’s forehead.
“Let’s go home,” Kellan said.
***
“She came back,” Bliss gasped as the men returned to the caves. They took the captured shifters to one of their safe houses and contacted their alphas to inform them of the situation. Zander and Niles stayed back until the alphas would arrive while Kellan, Tristan, and Jaxson went back to the caves.
“I felt her…die.” Bliss was crying from her red eyes and tear streaks on her face. Kellan hugged her and kissed her. He kissed Kingston on the forehead as Jaxson took Kyra to her bedroom. The she-wolves all followed behind him very upset that Kyra had essentially died. When he laid her on the bed, he sat down on a stool next to her bed. He scrubbed his face with his hands and looked at Kyra’s sleeping body.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you the way I did Kellan,” Jaxson said. He had to clear his throat after speaking. He didn’t even recognize his voice.
“Forget about it. You were right anyway,” Kellan said.
“What brought her back?” Selena asked.
“Me crying and praying to the universe,” Jaxson sighed. All the she-wolves looked at him. Their relationship had been sketchy for the past two weeks because of the problem with Kyra, but they seemed to be letting it go.
“How long will she be asleep?” Rita asked. Selena took her glowing hands and ran them over Kyra’s body.
“Her lungs are severely damaged, and she has broken ribs. It’ll be at least a couple days if not a week.” Jaxson picked her hand up and kissed her knuckles. He was interrupted from the action by Mira running into the room. She rushed to his side and threw herself at him.
“Thank goodness you’re okay!” She exclaimed. She tried to kiss him again, but Jaxson stood and pushed her away from him.
“Please stop,” he said weakly.
“I told you I-”
“No Mira. Just…no.” Jaxson shook his head. He looked over at the sleeping Kyra. He found himself smiling a little because she was sleeping. She was healing and would wake again to be strong. But she would also wake to the same circumstance. To her anger with Jaxson, to the hurt he’d caused her, and to Mira who didn’t want to see their happiness. Jaxson wanted Kyra to be in his life desperately, but if it wasn’t going to make her happy, then there was no point. Jaxson was overjoyed that she was alive. But he wasn’t going to burden her.
“Kellan, I-”
“Don’t say it,” Kellan said. The look on his friend’s face said it all.
“I’m emotionally drained. It’s been rough on me, and I can’t see any other escape from it. I don’t want to be stuck in between Kyra and Mira. I only want Kyra but like Mira said, if she’s not happy then me and Kyra won’t be happy together. Kyra deserves the best. I’ll do anything to give that to her.”
“What are you saying?” Gemma asked, her lip trembling.
“He’s leaving the pack,” Kellan answered. Gemma gasped and turned to Tristan, hiding her face in his chest.
“I’m sorry. I mean, you all hate me for what I did to Kyra so you shouldn’t care that I’m leaving.”
“We all had a talk,” Rita said.
“We don’t know what happened, but we can’t believe you would hurt Kyra intentionally like that.”
“I appreciate it.”
“I’ll come with you!” Mira offered. Jaxson shook his head.
“I don’t think so.” Jaxson looked down at Kyra and palmed her soft face. He sniffled, leaned down and kissed her plump lips.
“I am so in love with you,” he whispered against her lips.
“Never forget that.” Standing straight, Jaxson gave a strained smile to his pack members before he walked out of the bedroom.
Jaxson went to his bedroom and quickly grabbed a bag and stuffed it with clothes. He was met by Kellan at the entrance of the cave. He bowed to his alpha and held out his head ready to renounce his vows to the pack and to Kellan. Kellan however just stared at Jaxson’s hand and shook his head.
“No. I’m not allowing you to renounce your vows,” Kellan said.
“But I-”
“No. I won’t leave you as an omega out there. I won’t bother you or try to search for you Jaxson. You have full freedom to do whatever you wish. Stay away as long as you need to. But you will always have a place here. I refused to take your vows away.”
“Thanks,” Jaxson said. They embraced in a brotherly hug before Jaxson was on his way.
***
Kyra felt Jaxson’s soft lips against hers. His scent was wrapped around her, and she swore his arms was wrapped tight around her. In that moment she forgot all about her heartbreak and her hurt. All she wanted was to continue being in his embrace. Her wolf howled in her head, waking her from her healing sleep. Kyra sat up and yawned, stretching her sore free body. It was dark in her bedroom, but she soon realized she was alone. Having Jaxson’s scent around her was nothing but a dream because his scent was long gone from her bedroom. All she could smell were the scents of her other pack mates. Looking down at her shoulder she saw that his bite mark was slowly fading.
She was still very much hurt by his betrayal, there had to be something else. There was an explanation behind it, and now Kyra was finally smart enough to listen to the man. The memory of how he sounded begging and pleading for her to live was just too much for her to get over. What if they could make it work?
Kyra jumped out of bed. She went straight to the shower to brush her teeth and wash up. Once she was clean, she dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a cropped tank top. She didn’t care where anyone else was at the moment. She only cared to look for Jaxson. She ran through the tunnels to get to his bedroom. The door was unlocked, so she just pushed it open and entered. Instantly she knew something was wrong. His scent was barely there anymore, and the place looked bare, and the bed was made as if no one had laid in it for days.
“Jaxson?!” Kyra called out. She left his bedroom and ran through the tunnels and out into the main dining area.
“Kyra!” The she-wolves all yelled her name at the same time before running to embrace her. Kyra hugged and kissed all her sisters before the men each gave her hugs.
“So happy you’re back with us,” Kellan said.
“Me too,” Kyra said.
“My little time in the afterlife was very interesting I’ll tell you that.”
“Well let’s not think about the afterlife,” Bliss said. Kyra looked amongst them.
“How long I been asleep?”
“A week,” Tristan told her. Kyra couldn’t help but notice someone was missing from their pack.
“Where’s Jaxson? I wanna talk to him.” No one answered her. In fact, everyone tried to avoid eye contact with her.
“What happened?” Kyra questioned, getting anxious.
“Kyra, Jaxson left,” Kellan said.
“What do you mean left?”
“He left the pack,” Kellan told her.
“Because he said he can’t stand hurting you by being around.” Everything around her faded away. Her wolf howled in despair at the loss. He was gone. Jaxson had left the pack.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Come get this damn vibrating devil box from my table!” Jaxson’s mother screamed at him.
“It’s not a devil box ma,” Jaxson laughed. His mother was staring at his phone as if it was going to come to life and attack her. She was a traditional wolf that hated modern technology. She waved her hand at it, afraid to touch it. Jaxson grabbed the phone and looked down at the caller I.D.
“Hey Jayce,” he answered.
“That’s Jayce? Let me talk to my sweet Jay!” She began reaching for the phone then.
“Now you want to
touch my devil box,” Jaxson rolled his eyes. Jayce cracked up on the other end.
“Hi mama Jess,” Jayce said.
“He says hi,” Jaxson told his mother. She stood in front of him and shouted at the phone.
“When you and Kellan and Tristan coming by to see me? I’ll make you three a good meal. Lord knows you’re probably starving.”
“Ma, back up lady. Damn.” She hit Jaxson over the head before hustling off. Jaxson shook his head and returned to the phone call.
“So what’s up?” Jaxson asked.
“How you been man?” Jayce countered.
“I been great. Despite the fact, I’ve been staying with my mother, and she can be annoying. But I’ve been good.”
“Things have settled here in the weeks you been gone thankfully. Kyra has been doing well too.” Jaxson sighed deeply. He missed the fuck outta here.
“I’m happy to hear that,” he said.
“I wanted you to stop by the caves,” Jayce said.
“Rita had our pup, and I would hate for my little girl not to meet her uncle.”
“Oh shit, I forgot she would be due pretty soon. Congratulations brotha, I’m happy for you. I’ll um-I’ll come by and see the little gumdrop.”
“Thanks, Jax. I appreciate it.”
“I’ll be there tonight.” Jaxson hung up the phone and looked at his mother who’d been listening to his conversation still.
“Guess now you have to go and face that sweet she-wolf you been running from,” she said.
“Ma, I wasn’t running,” Jaxson grunted.
“Whatever. You better go and get that woman. All your friends gonna have pups and you gonna be here pup-less and single, looking stupid. Get your act together. Now come eat these lamb chops, I spent all day yesterday marinating it.” Jaxson rolled his eyes, but he indulged in his mother’s food because it was the best in the world. Maybe he was running from Kyra, but that all ended tonight.
His mother lived three hours away in a small pack of elders. Jayce and Tristan’s parents had also resided in the small pack. He thanked all of them for putting him up for the time he’d been there before he left to make the trek back to the caves. The journey was long enough for him to think about what the hell he was going to say to Kyra when he saw her. It probably wasn’t going to be pleasant, but it was sure as hell going to be satisfying to see her.