Her Pact

Part 37

Chapter 37

Zeke closed his eyes as the casket was lowered into the ground.  He hated that sight; it made everything final, made Blake’s death final.  Charlie’s grip around him tightened, making him smile a little.  The woman was relentless.  No matter how many times he was short with her in the past couple of days, she had stuck with him.  She would frown at him until he would apologize, but not once did she turn her back on him.

He knew that they all had questions.  Why was in Blake that had to die?  What was it that Adam needed to do that made his life more important that Blake’s?  Why had Blake pushed Adam out of the way, when the man was ready to die?  Zeke had asked himself these questions, even tried asking Ally them, but he did not get any answers. 

Deep down, Zeke blamed himself a little.  He knew it was stupid, and the feeling would not make anything better, but he could not help it.  If he had interpreted his dream better, had realized that they would never let Ally be shot, maybe he could have stopped this.  Maybe, he could have saved Blake.

One had to die.  That one sentence would not leave his mind.  One of them had to die.  He understood that.  It was unnatural for three people to be bound to one person, but why Adam?  The man had cheated death once when Ally saved him.  Now, Adam stood by Ally’s side, saved from death once more.

Zeke couldn’t ignore the signs.  If Fate wanted him dead, he would have died long ago.  When they fought together as mercenaries, Adam had always taken the biggest risks.  He wasn’t the most powerful, the most feared, or the strongest, but he was the loose cannon.  The fact that no one could predict his moves made him lethal, but Adam lived.  Zeke had always thought the man had a death wish, but now, he realized that Adam had been cheating death from the beginning.  He had been skirting the edges, obviously waiting on the moment that Fate would allow him to carry out his task in this world.  What was that task, though?

“You’re thinking too hard,” Charlie mumbled in his ear. 

Opening his eyes, he turned towards her before brushing a kiss across her lips.  “I feel bad for her,” he whispered.

Charlie looked towards Amaya, and Zeke sighed.  Even though the woman could not see out of her eyes, they had always been vibrant.  Now, they looked dead with the white as cold as snow during the winter.  Zeke had not seen her let a single tear escape from those eyes, and he was beginning to worry.  Was it worse on her because she and Blake had never mated?  Or was it easier?

“Worse,” Charlie whispered.  “I think it’s worse.  If something ever happened to you,” her voice broke, “I would want to be mated.  It’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.”

“She did love him.”

Charlie glanced up at him while shaking her head.  “She loved him, yes, but it’s not like with Ally and Sebastian, like with Jones and his mate.  It’s different for them.  You can be in love with a person, yes, but once you’re mated…”  She trailed off with a shrug.  “It’s just different.”

He tightened his grip on her.  “We are not Blake and Amaya.”

She smiled at him.  “I know.  If you honestly think I would let you wait that long, you’re mistaken.”

He chuckled, trying to keep the sound quiet.  With the silence surrounding him, even the words Charlie and him spoke sounded like yells.  “I already spoke to Ally.  She told me to take as long as I needed.”  His smile dropped.  “I think she needs a break too.  She’s not only feeling her own emotions, but Sebastian and Adam’s too.  I think if she doesn’t find a way to block Adam soon, she’s going to snap.”

“He needs a mate,” Charlie mumbled, “but how is he supposed to find one when he has to stay near Ally?”

“He’ll find a way,” Zeke promised, while glancing back towards Amaya.  “I just hope that she will be able to move on.  I’ve lost people before, but loosing someone you think you are going to spend the rest of your life with must be tough.  I don’t know if I would be able to move on.”

She smacked him in the stomach, making him let out a huff.  “You would,” she whispered.  “I’d want you too.”

“It’s not going to happen,” he snapped.  “So quit talking about it.”

“Zeke,” she sighed.  “With Blake’s death, we were all slapped in the face with the possibility.  We have to talk about this.”

Looking away from Amaya and towards Ally, he shook his head.  “Later, please?”

“Later,” she agreed before slipping out of his grip.  “Go say your goodbyes,” she whispered.  “Our plane leaves in an hour.”

“This time,” he joked, “I’ll be awake.”

Her laugh followed him as he walked towards Ally.  Her spotted hair was pulled back, making the coloring stick out more.  Her eyes were clouded with tears, but none fell down her cheeks.  Sebastian had his arms wrapped around her from behind while Korbin was wrapped around her legs.  Next to her, Adam stood, looking as if he were in pain.

Stopping in front of her, he watched as Sebastian dropped his arms, and Korbin moved from her legs.  Bracing himself, he grunted when she slammed into him, pulling him into a tight hug.  “Be careful,” she whispered, her voice cracking.  Something wet hit his neck, and he knew that she was crying.

“Ally, I’ll be fine.  I’m going to Charlie’s.  The people there don’t believe in violence, remember?  Plus, I’ll only be gone for a week or two.”

She sniffed before pulling away from him.  Holding him at arm’s length, she sighed.  “I know.  I just can’t help it.  I don’t want anything to happen to any of you.  I knew this day would come; I knew it from the start.  I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”

“Ally—”

“No,” she interrupted with a smile.  “No questions.  When you’re on your vacation, I don’t want you to worry about a thing, okay?  As far as you know, everything is perfect.”

Someone pushed between Zeke and Ally, making her drop her hands.  She glanced down at Korbin, a sad smile on her face. 

“What about Korbin?”

“He’ll stay with me,” she answered without hesitation.  Glancing up at him, she shrugged.  “I think Amaya will need time.  She may be used to having Korbin around, but until she can care for him, he’s staying with me.  Plus, he’s a real hit with one of the triplets.  She’s wrapped around his finger.”

Zeke narrowed his eyes at the little boy and was taken back to when he had done the same to his older brother when he found out his interest in Ally.  Was history going to repeat itself?  He hoped not.  Sighing, he shook the thoughts to the back of his mind.  Ally was right.  He needed to stop worrying about things he could not change. 

Clearing his throat, he took a step back.  “Speaking of the triplets—

“Andrew has them.  He’s not good with funerals, and I trust him with them.  We need to head back soon though.  I wish we could have taken them with us, but until I know everything is completely safe, I’m not taking any chances.”

“I could—"

“Leave,” she interrupted.  The smile on her face kept the words from being harsh. “Hurry up and go before something else happens.  Plus, someone is waiting on you.”

Taking a step forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning his back on her.  Jogging towards where he knew Charlie was waiting for him, he let a smile cross his face.  Even with the sadness clogging the air around him, he was happy.  He was finally happy.