Page 13 of Alpha's Redemption

“Leave her, let her go. Let her be with her son,” I croak out.

The nurses move around, fussing with lines and tubes when Macey grips one of their arms.

“If I was in her place, I wouldn't want to wake to my son gone,” Macey stammers, choked with emotion. She’s right; Emily wouldn't want to be here. Ben was her whole world, just like I couldn't live without my son.

“Turn her machines off,” I order Doc. I don't care if they can restabilize her; I know Emily, and life wouldn't be worth living stuck on life support without her son. She held on long enough.

Nurses nod, turning machines off while Doc presses a stethoscope to Ben's chest, calling his time of death, though we know he’s gone; his heart no longer beats and his blood pressure bottoms out as blood leaks from his eyes, nose, and mouth. Macey pulls the beds apart so the nurses can clean him up. I continue to sit up with him, letting them remove his tubes and lines before Macey moves his mother over. Emily’s body convulses, and unconscious process has her gasping as I lay Ben beside her.

Standing beside her, I brush her hair back while Macey kisses her hand before cupping it to her cheek. She then lays Emily’s hand on Ben's shoulder.

“It's okay, Emily. Ben is home,” I tell her while patting her hand. “He’s safe beside you,” I tell her as my tears drip on his little shoulder.

I stroke her hair again, leaning over to kiss her head. “You got your wish. Ben was Beta to Nightshade. He’s pack, just like you. You can let go now. You don't need to hold on. We brought Ben home. He’s safe with you now,” I choke, my voice trembling as her mouth opens, gasping but not actually breathing.

ChapterSeven

Valen

My heart breaks for Everly, Zoe, and Macey as they tell Emily it’s okay to go—that she doesn't have to hold on any longer. Moments pass and hushed whispers circle the room as they try to soothe their friend. She gasps one last time and I hold my breath, waiting to see if it’s a false alarm, yet praying it isn’t. She shouldn’t suffer anymore, no one deserves to suffer this fate. Everly drops her head on Ben's shoulder and sobs. I feel Emily's pack link sever.

My heart pangs with pain—if only briefly—yet the pain, anguish, and despair that floods from Everly through the bond as she mourns her family breaks my heart further. Marcus hugs Zoe close as she falls apart. Macey just stares vacantly ahead, sitting back down in her chair.

The doctor checks Emily and nods, calling the time of death before saying he’ll leave to let them say their goodbyes. The girls tuck the two of them in like they’re saying goodnight and not goodbye, and the doctor comes back and tells Everly what will happen next.

“Come on,” Marcus whispers to Zoe, pulling her from the room, and Macey quickly follows, closing the door behind them.

Everly kisses the mother and son once again and stands upright. I watch as she swallows down the emotion that threatens to consume her. She tugs her shirt off, pulls it back on the right way, and cleans her face with some water from the sink basin, washing away the tears that stain her face. I move toward her, wanting to comfort her, but she pulls away, looking at me. I drop my hand.

“I'm sorry, but please don't touch me right now,” she whispers.

I know if I do, she’ll break. I get it, but the urge is still there, the bond calling me to my mate. Her eyes soften as she stares at me and I nod, letting her get herself together. She loved, lost, and mourned, and I am awed by how quickly she slips back into business mode, shuts down everything, and forces her anguish back. Her determination returns, knowing that she has work to do. She broke, if only briefly, before picking herself up and dusting herself off, ready for battle again.

I hate that she instinctively switched and shut down, a coping mechanism from years of taking on everything and everyone else's problems and emotions while ignoring her own. She has me, but Everly has been forced to be independent, endure, and never rely on anyone. She will deal, conquer, and then break when safely alone. But for now, she has to put on a front to do what needs to be done. It makes me realize what sort of leader she is and what sort of Luna she will be—unbreakable to the rest of the world. She’s the rogue community’s anchor despite the pressure of drowning herself, taking on the persona and getting things done.

The amount of impact she’s had on the rogues and how much they look up to her doesn’t hit me until I step out the doors after her. I hear Everly gasp before she moves down the corridor. Rogues line the walls, heads down, each one bowing as she passes.

Her village.

That word suddenly takes on a new meaning—what it represents. Everly, Zoe, and Macey were never rogue. The three of them brought hope to the rogues, and they rally for their leaders, and for Emily and Ben. A family built on love and respect. Everly grips my hand as I step beside her and I give it a squeeze.

“You don't have to be strong, you know,” I whisper.

“Yeah, I do, for them,” she whispers back.

Macey and Zoe wait by the exit doors and Everly lets me go. She walks toward them and they wrap their arms around her waist. The rogues look up to those three. And both girls—Macey, despite being older, and Zoe younger—look to Everly. She is the chief of the village they built. She is their armor, and she wears it proudly. Ava stands outside the doors, looking lost as her sister steps out with Zoe and Macey.

The three girls have a bond, a sisterhood built on their blood, sweat, and tears, and with undying, unconditional love. Ava, for so long, had a strained relationship with her sister and knows she isn't Everly's only sister now. I can see the pain in her eyes as she watches them. But like true queens, they stop, and Macey offers her hand to Ava, who takes it, letting out a shaky breath. Macey tosses an arm over her shoulder, tugging her into their circle, accepting her as one of them.

I look at the overcast sky; storm clouds roll across the horizon. The day is as gloomy as it is depressing. Yet, as the rogues file out after their chiefs, their honorary Lunas, I chuckle and smile as Marcus stops beside me. He leans his shoulder against mine, nodding his head toward them. My mother's words about Everly are so true, and I now understand what she meant.

“Watch her.”

I do as she leads her people down to the parking lot. They stand in a circle, hands clasped, the four girls in the middle. Every rogue had come to say goodbye, no matter their state—some still in their work uniforms—having stopped whatever they were doing and running when their family needed them, running to see them off. She calls it her family, her village, but it isn't a village; they are a pack. And as Everly turns her face up to the sky and howls, everyone follows in unison, saying their final goodbyes.

They were never rogue. This is what a pack is. And at the center stands their Alpha. Not by birth, but because she earned the right; she earned their respect and fought for them when no one else would. A true leader. Everly's determination is admirable, and the woman truly is remarkable. A chorus of howls fills the silence, and I offer my own howls as they say goodbye. Mom would be so proud. I am proud.

Everyone thinks she is just a lucky rogue, who an Alpha claimed. Yet, looking at her now, I realize I’m the lucky one. I never claimed her. I thought I did, but a woman as strong as she can’t be claimed. She was the one that did the claiming. She didn't need me; she had herself and the village she built. Furthermore, she knows who she is, and she isn't afraid to be it. She will fight, and I know she will win, and I will love watching every second of it as she reclaims the city and changes it.

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