Blind Love

Chapter 19

I woke to Aiden's arms holding me tightly against his chest. The only sound in the quiet room was that of his breathing while he slept. The sun was just beginning to creep through the window and hit his face. His hair sparkled and I brushed it away from his eyes.

A small smile appeared on his face as he slowly opened his eyes. "Trying to wake me up?" He asked.

"No. Just admiring your pretty face." I said, placing tiny kisses from his cheeks to his mouth.

"Look at you.." He grinned, placing a hand on the side of my head. "This crazy red hair and those pretty eyes. I can't believe this is what I've been missing out on."

I laughed, kissing him again before getting out of bed.

"Come back to bed Alice, its barely dawn." He sighed.

"The sun is up, I"m up. Plus, I want to go see the baby." I grinned.

"The baby's sleeping, Al. Come back to bed."

"No, Celia will be awake, I'll go check on her." I replied, throwing on some sweats and a matching sweatshirt.

"Ugh." He sighed, rolling over.

"I'll be right back." I promised with a kiss, before walking out the door and down the hall to Celia's room. I knocked softly, in case she was asleep, though I had always known Celia to be up early.

"Come in" A voice replied from the other side.

I opened the door, seeing Celia sitting up feeding the baby.

"I see Scarlett takes after her momma when it comes to being up early." I smiled.

"Well if she took after her father I may have got a few more hours of sleep. She was up before me." She sighed, sounding tired.

"You ok?" I asked, concerned.

"I need to talk to you about something.." She said sadly.

"What is it, Ce?"

"Me and Luca stayed up late last night talking... This has been the hardest decision we've ever made, and I know were asking so much of you, but.." She stopped.

"But what?"

"But we want you to take Scarlett.." She said, a tear escaping her eye.

"Take Scarlett? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Take her back to your pack. Raise her as your own. Don't tell anyone who she truly is, or let them know of her marks. After Luca died and I saved him, people have joked that our children would be marked. They're going to suspect it, and they're going to come looking. If the Hunter pack thinks she's dead, we have a chance to keep her safe. " She explained.

"I.. I don't know how to raise a baby. I don't have anything ready for it.. Celia, I can't take your baby hundreds of miles away from you." I said, tearing up.

"I'd rather her be hundreds of miles away than in the hands of the Hunters."

"If this is what you want, and what you and Luca think is best.. We'll do it. I'll talk to Aiden, but he shouldn't have a problem with it. I just need to know you're sure."

"I'm sure."

I returned to my room, my mind racing.

"Whats wrong?" Aiden asked as I leaned against the door.

I sighed.

"They want us to take Scarlett home with us. Raise her as our own to keep her safe from the Hunter pack. They think they may already be suspicious."

"Oh." He replied, looking down.

"Oh?" I asked. "Thats all you have to say is oh?"

"I told them we'd do whatever we can to help them. If this is what they need, I intend on keeping my promise." He said seriously.

"This is going to change our whole life. Were going to be parents. Were going to be responsible for a life." I explained.

"We already are, Alice. Were responsible for hundreds of lives. You're a luna now, the mother of the pack. Instinct will take over, you'll great. I promise, everything will be ok." He said, getting out of bed and hugging me.

"I hate this for them." I cried. "They shouldn't have to be separated from their baby."

"I know babygirl, but this is going to keep their baby alive. Maybe one day they can be together again.."

"I hope so."

"Come on. We need to go talk to them both, find out what the plan is. I hate to just rush out, but if they're already suspicious it wont take long for them to come looking. We need to get her out of here." He explained. I nodded in agreement.

We spent the afternoon with Luca and Celia going over the plan, and all the details.

Doctor Bailey would come in tonight, and pronounce Scarlett dead. We would leave with her, and by the time the sun rose, the news would have spread through the pack, and we would be on our way home with her. We would tell our pack she was an orphan another pack had no one to care for.

On Scarlett's 18th birthday we would sit her down and explain everything to her. Luca and Celia would visit, but she would know them as her aunt and uncle until she was 18. Until then we would raise her as our own, and teach her to cover the mark, and tell no one about it.

We left Luca and Celia alone for the rest of the day, giving them time as a family before everything changed. My heart was broken for them, but I knew this was better than the alternative.

The day went by slowly. The pack was giving the new parents space with the baby, unknowing of the events unfolding before them.

Eventually the sun set, and my stomach was beginning to feel uneasy as the time to take Scarlett home crept closer and closer.

When the last bit of light left the sky, we packed our things and quietly left our room. After loading our luggage into Luca's car, we went to meet them in Celia's room.

Their eyes were filled with sadness as we went over the plan one more time.

"You'll have to buy her some new clothes and things.. I can give you money for them, but it would be suspicious if we got rid of all her things right after her supposedly dying." Luca explained sadly.

"Thats fine. We'll go shopping when we get back, we can get by for a night." Aiden replied.

"Alright.." Luca said looking to the floor. "So we'll leave in just a minute, I'll drive you to a hotel about an hour away. Do you have someone you can trust to come get you?"

"Yes." Aiden nodded. "My Beta is like a brother to me. We can trust him to help us. No one in my pack knew of where we were going but him. I assume they think were just visiting Alice's family."

"Good, good." Luca said. "We've told Bailey. She knows whats happening and will rush to the room once I get back. We'll tell the pack Celia woke up and the baby wasn't breathing. We called Bailey but it was too late, she'd died in her sleep."

Celia hadn't spoken the entire time. She laid quietly in the bed, cradling her baby as tears streaked her face.

"Its time Cece." Luca told her softly, wiping the tears from her face.

"I..Know.." She cried, kissing Scarlett's forehead and handing her to Luca gently.

Luca's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at the tiny baby.

"This is for the best, babygirl. I hope someday you will understand.." He said, kissing her as Celia did.

He handed her over to me, and I held her softly against my chest. We grabbed the bag Celia had packed with necessities like bottles, diapers, and baby formula.

"Thank you both." Celia said before we left. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done, but you're helping keep my baby alive, so thank you."

"We'll keep her safe, Ce. I promise."

"I know you will."

And with that, we left the pack house.