Music Recommended : Lost Without You - Freya Ridings.
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Alaric was going to die.
Violet didn’t just see it on his face, no, she felt it tearing through the bond like a chasm opening in her chest. It was the same hollow feeling Alice had shown her in the vision, except now it wasn’t some nightmare. It was real, and it was happening.
"No!" Violet screamed, clutching him tighter as though her arms alone could hold him here. His grip was loosening, slipping like sand between her fingers. Panic strangled her voice as she shook him. "No, no, no, you stay with me!"
Her throat burned as she threw her head back, her cry ripping into the sky. "You will not take him!" Her voice cracked but she roared anyway, a fury only grief could birth. "Do you hear me? If you’re up there, if you can hear me, do something! You cannot give him to me only to rip him away. I refuse it! You will not take him!"
But the heavens stayed silent, and the only answer she got was Alaric’s shallow breath rattling against her wrist, weaker. His skin turned clammy, and his lashes fluttered once, then began to fall.
"Alaric!" Griffin cried out with fear. His brown eyes widened in horror, his whole body shaking.
"Brother, no!" Ace was desperate now. His hands pressed harder, pumping his brother’s chest with the brutal rhythm of resuscitation, his face carved into lines of anguish.
He said through gritted teeth, "Stay with me, damn you! Stay with me!" Blood smeared his palms and arms, slicking him in scarlet as he fought to hold on to his brother’s life.
Unlike Ace who refused to let go, Alpha Caspian had already bowed his head, his shoulders shaking as he buried his face in his hands. The sound that left him was a broken noise, soft and guttural, like a father who knew he was about to lose his son.
All of this was his fault. If only he had taken the role of an Alpha more seriously, then this wouldn’t have happened. His son wouldn’t be paying for his sins.
Violet was hysterical now, screaming, "Damn you! They call me the goddess daughter, and yet you would let me lose my mate like this? What use have I then for you?! Tell me!" Her fists pounded against the floor, her voice hoarse and broken. "What good is this cursed title if I can’t save him?!"
"Violet..." Griffin called out, concerned about her. But even him couldn’t reach her through her grief.
Violet collapsed over Alaric’s body, sobs wrecking her body until she shook from the force of them. Her tears soaked his chest as she clutched at him, refusing to let go. It dawned on her at that moment that cursing the goddess wouldn’t save him.
Her voice broke as if all the fight had bled from her. "Please..." she whispered, her words tumbling out in desperate prayer. "Please, help me... don’t take him from me... please, I beg of you." Her forehead pressed against Alaric’s, her golden eyes brimming with tears. "If I am your daughter, if I am anything you claim me to be... then prove it. Save him. Save my mate."
Even Ace had stilled his hands, his palms hovering uselessly over Alaric’s chest. The pressure wouldn’t matter anymore. His brother was clinging to his final moments, and Ace couldn’t take those away from Violet.
Griffin wiped at the hot tears burning his face, furious at himself for letting them fall. He had come to the North Pack to protect and save Alaric and he had failed. He was not Violet with the multiple bond, and yet, it still hurt. Alaric wasn’t just a friend. He was a brother. And now he was going to die, leaving him with nothing but the unbearable ache of loss.
Violet stayed hunched over his body.
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