Hex

* E P I L O G U E *

© Amber Kalkes 2015

Song-----}

"Behind Blue Eyes" By The Who

E P I L O G U E *

"Ruby."

My head jerks up and I come back from the edge of unconsciousness at the sound of Brandon's voice. I rub my eyes and balance myself with the help of the staircase railing before looking up at him. He's dressed now but he still hasn't showered. I haven't either actually. I'm just trying to stay conscious enough to get word on Ben and Raze before I can officially pass out.

"What?" I ask around a yawn.

"Ruby," He says while sitting next to me on the step, "That's what they're naming her."

"The baby?"

He smiles a little, "Yes, the baby. Who else?"

I shrug and lay my head against his shoulder, "I don't know. I'm tired. Don't make me think too much."

"Ben's going to okay, you know. I've been in communication with my guys on the field and Nadine already has him conscious."

"I know."

"Wren and the baby their fine. Hell, Jack is practically glowing with pride. Mary is making out with a healing Kyle. Raze is helping Nadine with Ben. Even that asshole Jake is okay."

I give him a disapproving look, "Jake is not an asshole. Saved my ass more than once out there."

"Which I'll thank him for later but right now I'm still pissed about the sparring thing."

"Seriously? Get over it, you Petty Patty."

"Petty Patty?"

"He saved my life," I say, ignoring the amusement on his face, "It totally negates the totally necessary training accident."

Brandon throws an arm around my shoulder and kisses the side of my head, "Okay, fine. You have a point. I'll get over it."

"Thank you."

"I am still mad at you though."

"For what?"

"Putting yourself in danger like an idiot. I had it covered."

I snort, "You had nothing covered. I saved your ass just like I always do."

He smirks at me and his gold eyes soften with affection as he looks at me, "Always?"

"Apparently so."

A silence falls over us and my eyes drift to the lumpy blanket on the floor. As I realize what it is, I feel my whole body go cold. Claire is under there, covered sometime during the last time I was in here.

I wonder if Brandon knows that she's dead. I wonder who put the blanket over her. I wonder if she had family other than that worthless Jamie and her dead father. I wonder about all these things but there's not point in it. It's too late to do it now. I could have, maybe been able to bring her back. Maybe but I can't now. Too much time has passed and I'm not a trained necromancer. Dealing with the dead is tricky and with all the shit I've done today...I just don't have the power for it.

"What's wrong?"

I continue to stare at bottom of a sneaker that is poking out from under the blanket blankly, "Do you know about..."

Brandon is silent for a little while before answering, "Yeah, I know whom it is."

"Does that bother you? Knowing she's dead?"

He sighs heavily before speaking, "Yes but not for the same reason as you."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't get along with Claire but I knew her better than she thought I did. I knew how pushed aside she felt when I came in the picture. I knew how much she wanted to be loved and looked up to like she thought I was. I knew all of that about her but we never got along and if she was behind the information leak in the pack then she deserves what she got. She betrayed the pack."

"She wasn't in her right mind."

He arches a brow, "Meaning?"

I pull back the blanket and move her hair off her neck, "He marked her, Jamie I mean. He wasn't her mate but he marked her. That can make not only the body go haywire but also the mind. Maybe she was a brat most of her life but this last bit of insanity...I don't think we can really put it all on her."

"Okay, that may be true but what's the point of talking about this now? She's dead Ruth. It's done and it's sad but it's true. She's dead and whatever misunderstanding it may have been is just a thing of the past now."

"Not really."

"What do you mean, not really?"

"Death, no matter who it is, sticks with us. Nothing washes away that black mark. Not even time."

We're silent for a few minutes before he reaches over to entwine our fingers together. I feel the hum of our bond move up my arm and settle over my heart with a lovely warmth that I didn't realize I'd been missing. Lifting my head a little, I manage to smile at him and he smiles back before leaning down to kiss me. It's a gentle kiss and one that it is very much needed right now.

Fate throws you things you would have never expected. It throws you hate, love, trials and triumphs. You can think you've been hexed with bad luck or a fate worse than death. In the end we may be able to control the path we choose but we always end up where we need to be. I was meant to be here with Brandon and though the road was winding and sometimes infuriating it was the one I needed to be on.

Now, we get to choose our own path together and I can't wait to see where it takes us. 

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THE END....kind of. lol. Still have a bound chapter for you Brandon lovers out there coming up :}

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