Filed to story: Her True Alpha and True Love Novel Read Online
“I don’t think we’ll ever understand what happened,” Derek said.
“She saved our lives.” lan choked out. Derek and I both pulled away to look at him. He was standing over Ashlyn.
“She did everything in her power to get me and Alex to safety. And I let her down. She should just have left me here to die.” He cried. Alex walked over to him to console his Alpha.
“lan, you knew Ashlyn. You know that leaving you behind was never an option. She fought for you like you tried to do for her.” Alex told him.
It felt like everything was running in slow motion as warriors surrounded us. Gamma Ben and Delta Dylan were in the lead as they approached us.
“Buttercup?” Gamma Ben whispered before he fixed his composure. I knew he was just putting on a front. I could see the heartbreak in his eyes as he looked down at Ashlyn’s lifeless body. He had just got her back and now she was gone.
“Prince’s, we will go inspect what is left of the council building.” Delta Dylan informed us. Before he and some warriors took off towards the now-demolished council building.
We heard a phone ringing. My phone was somewhere now, as I was sitting naked beside my mate.
Gamma Ben threw me and Derek and a pair of shorts before I heard Liam answer his phone.
“My king, is everything okay?” I turned my attention to Liam. Liam passed me his phone and my heart sunk and my stomach was in knots. What else could go wrong?
“Dad, what’s wrong?” I rushed out, holding the phone up to my ear.
“Something is wrong,” my father answered.
“What happened?” I yelled into the phone. I could tell that Derek was tense beside me.
“James woke up screaming like he was in pain. Victor and I rushed him to the hospital, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. Have you found Ashlyn?”
He explained, and I sobbed again.
“Oh, son. I’m so sorry. Take as much time as you need and we’ll see you when you are ready.” My father said before ending the call.
“Mason, what’s wrong? Did something happen to James?” Derek rushed out, panicked.
“I think he felt his mother’s death.” I choked out.
“What? Is he okay?” Derek yelled.
“Our fathers took him to the hospital and they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him. My father said he woke up screaming like he was in pain.” I told him, and my heart twisted painfully in my chest.
“Mase, I know there’s nothing I can say that would make any of this easier for you, but I think you are Derek should head back. Your son needs you both and there’s nothing more you can do here.” Liam said, kneeling down beside me. I grabbed on to her body like it was my lifeline.
“I’m not leaving her.” I told him, cradling her lifeless body to my chest.
“We will take her with us.” Sage told me and before I knew what was happening, she had opened a portal to the pack hospital. Brandon must have been thinking of it, since I don’t think she’s even been.
“Come, Mason. We need to take her home and we need to see our son.” Derek whispered to me and I nodded.
I picked her up and stepped through the portal.
Derek, Sage, and Brandon followed before the portal closed.
I walked into the ER. My father and Victor came rushing over to us with tears in their eyes as they looked at their daughter-in-law. A doctor came out to speak to us.
“Prince’s, please follow me.” And we followed him into a room. James was sleeping in a little crib, and there was another full-sized bed beside the crib.
“Lay her down. And take as much time as you both need.” The doctor said before he left, closing the door behind him. Derek was the only one that followed me. He rushed over to see James while I laid Ashlyn down on the bed. I brushed the hair off of her face and k!ssed her forehead. She looked so peaceful, like she was in a deep sleep, but I knew she was never coming back to us.
I looked over to see Derek cradling our son in his arms. I could tell he was on the verge of another breakdown. Tears were running down his cheeks as he stared down at our boy. I walked over to him and Wrapped my arms around him, just enough that he could rest his head on my shoulder.
“I don’t understand any of this. She was stronger than that. Why didn’t she shift? She was one of the strongest witches Sage and Nathan had ever seen. How the hell could she die at the hands of a fvcken vampire?”
Derek sobbed. And I wish I had an answer for him and for myself. I should have been there. I should never have let her go there by herself. And I knew all these what ifs were going to eat me alive until the day I met her again.
All sense of time seemed to vanish as we both sat on the couch, consoling each other and holding our boy.
We talked little, and the tears and sobs would come and go as we thought about our beautiful mate and the sacrifice that she made. I wanted to hate lan for letting her die, but I know she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she just left him there to die. She did what she thought was right, even if I’d never be able to understand what truly happened.
James opened his eyes, yawning, as he stared up at us. Derek’s sea-green eyes staring back at me, as l stared at the boy that Ashlyn was so determined to give us. We will also have a part of her with us, as long as we have James. Hearing a gasp, I turned to look at Derek.
He was staring at our mate. I turned my attention to her when I noticed her chest was slightly rising. Derek was holding James, so I rushed over to her bed and pushed my ear into her chest. I waited with anticipation, my heart pounding in my chest as I felt her heart thump against my ear.
Mason
It’s been six weeks since Ashlyn almost left us, but she has been in a coma ever since her heart started beating again. In that hospital room. It was the happiest day of my life when her heart started beating again and her lungs filled up with air. But this waiting for her to wake up was taking a toll on Derek and me.
We moved into my old house behind the pack house.
Sage, Brandon, Liam all moved in with us to help us take care of James while we waited for Ashlyn to wake up.
Matt had to go help in the dragon kingdom since Derek was refusing to leave Ashlyn. Which I don’t blame him. I didn’t want to leave her either.
These days we barely saw each other between work and switching places, taking care of James and watching Ashlyn. We both barely slept and have been running on empty for weeks now. Thank the goddess for Sage. She has dropped everything to be here for her nephew and for us. She is basically taking care of all of us, and Brandon is taking on my responsibilities because I’m hardly functioning as it is.
We were so hopeful when she first took that breath, but now l fear she may never wake up. l can’t sense Tundra, and that scares me. Her wolf must have sacrificed her life to keep Ashlyn alive, but now, without her wolf, she would heal like a human. I wasn’t even sure if she still had her magic. She could have been str!pped of everything and truly just be human now. Not that l cared. I’d still mark her, even if she couldn’t mark me back.
I was worried about her waking up and finding that Tundra was no longer with her. She has been through so much and to lose one’s wolf has to be at the top of that list. I couldn’t imagine losing Thor. He’s a part of who I am.
Apart from all my regular duties, all the kingdoms had to deal with the aftermath of what King Theo did to our Queen. King Draco assured us that his father and his son were acting of their own volition and the vampire kingdom were unaware of their actions.
King Draco had to take over the throne again and the council and himself are looking for a replacement since Ashlyn killed his only child. He was also quite disappointed in his father and his son. I felt for King Draco and Derek had been helping him. Derek seemed to be close to the vampire kingdom.
And we all had to pitch in to get the council building cleaned up. Ashlyn had made almost the entire building collapse. It was a mess, but it was quite impressive.
Sage explained that the symbol that Ashlyn drew around lan and Alex was a protection knot. She could focus her magic like a shield around them. She wasn’t sure how she escaped the cell. Alex said that the glass just exploded. But Ashlyn shouldn’t have been able to use her magic in the cell. We had a lot of unanswered questions, and the only person who could answer them was lying in a hospital bed.
lan and Alex also reported what had happened at Blue Moon. Well, as much as they could remember. Gregory spelled the pack to sleep, and they forced lan to show them where the bunker was located. Both Alex and lan took a hell of a beating. They also confirmed that they were both taken for insurance. I knew that Ashlyn would have done anything to save them both, but deep down I wish she hadn’t. It may make me a horrible person, but I would trade almost every life for hers, including my own.
I was sitting beside Ashlyn in the hospital room. She was breathing on her own, but she had to have a feeding tube inserted and she still had an IV in. I was doing some work on my phone, waiting for Derek. It was my turn to be home with James while Derek stayed with Ashlyn. We barely spent an hour a day together. Our lives would be so much easier if Ashlyn would just open her eyes. I know James would be better with her as well. He wanted his mommy. Sage would bring him in to visit and he would just cry when they had to leave. He is only six weeks old, but he knows what he wants and he wants his mom. Even his daddies weren’t good enough for him.
I think he likes Sage because she wore Ashlyn’s clothes, so she would smell like her to him. It helped, but now everything smells like everyone else and not her.
Sighing, I looked at our sleeping Queen, wiling her to open her eyes. I put my phone away and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Baby, we really need you to wake up.” I mumbled into her forehead. I sat beside her, taking in her scent.
She no longer smelt like me or Derek. We still had no clue who could break our bond with her. No magic should have been strong enough to break a fully formed bond.
Derek came in about an hour later. I was still curled up with Ashlyn, just holding her close. He sat down on the other side of her and leaned in, pecking my lips.
“Long day?” He asked me, leaning in and k!ssing Ashlyn’s cheek.
“l just need her to wake up. Not knowing if she would ever wake up, was eating at me. And then we don’t spend time together. I miss you and her.” I confessed.
“I miss you too, Mason. And I understand how you are feeling, because I feel the same way. Even with both of us, raising James is exhausting, and I do not know how Sage can handle as much as she does. And she’s so happy to do everything. She’s the real superhero right now.” He said, and I agreed with him.
“She offered to come watch Ashlyn tonight, to give us some time together with James.” Derek told me.
“And what do you think about that?” l asked him and he shrugged.
“I want to be here with her, but then I also want to be with you and James. I feel torn and guilty.” He confessed.
“Maybe we should take Sage up on her offer,” I said, and he looked at me, stunned.
“Are you sure?” He asked me, slowly.
