Song: Acoustic Sad Songs by 19xx Music
Beta Ryan was brokenhearted watching Reign and John glare at each other from across the way. The sun was slipping dangerously low and the time for battle was almost upon us. With Alpha Draco and Luna Cora busy, it was Beta Ryan's responsibility to oversee the challenge.
If Reign were to die now, Beta Ryan could do nothing but stand by and watch.
The sun slipped below the horizon, leaving a trail of pinks and rich purples behind. The canvas of day gave way to the impending night. Already, a few stars blinked flashing lights above our sacred challenge.
I tightened my hold on Leo's hand as Reign stepped into the makeshift ring. A circle no bigger than ten feet was drawn into the cold ground. Only meters away where Sky lay dying with Flora and Pride, her brother and father prepared to kill each other.
"It's time." Beta Ryan's stoic face pained me. A man that I knew was mostly bubbly, carefree, and silly had been reduced to something like this. His dull eyes went to John and asked, "As the person challenged you get to choose first how you'll fight. Full shift or half?"
Full shift.
John would be a damn fool to fight a battle like lupus proelium in anything but his wolf form. This was a no holds barred match meaning that every bit of strength mattered.
"Full shift."
Called it.
Beta Ryan nodded and turned to his Mate. "What about you, Beta Reign? Full shift or half?"
Reign regarded his father with a cool expression. No traces of emotion lined his apathetic face. "Half shift."
"The fuck is he doing?" Leo muttered. I felt his confused stare on my skin but couldn't bring myself to look away. "Half shift against a full shifted wolf? That's suicide. Is he trying to die?"
Reign took his place before us, watching as his father walked to stand across from him. On his way there John shifted into his large black wolf. His coldblooded grey eyes glared with so much hatred that it made me feel sick to my stomach. How could anyone ever look at their own pup in such a way?
I didn't understand how someone could be so cruel.
Reign's hands shifted into his large paws, brown fur emerging where skin once was. Long black claws extended from his blunt nails. The tell tale snapping of his jaws alerted us to the appearance of his sharp canine teeth. As the last of the yellow rays vanished from the sky. Reign's golden back glowed softly underneath the sun's last breath.
Only then did I realize that the lines on his back couldn't be whippings. No, they were too linear for that. Too close together.
"He's going to fight his father the same way he was abused," I mumbled. Reign's wolf ears twitched in acknowledgement of my words and I knew then I was right. "Claws."
After reminding everyone the rule of lupus proelium, Beta Ryan gave a stiff nod and the fight began. John bolted forward, gnashing his teeth venomously. Within seconds he was upon Reign. John's intimidating wolf soared through the air, claws out and canines ready to kill.
I held my breath as Reign stood unmoving. My heart beat wildly within my throat and Reign still didn't move. Leo tightened his hold on my hand, our shared anxiety rising. When John was no more than a rabbit's hop above Reign, the lithe Beta finally struck his opponent.
His fierce growl pierced the air and he lurched forward. Reign raised his right paw and slid beneath his fathers flying body. All five of his razor-sharp claws penetrated John's body. From neck to stomach Reign ripped John clean open. He fell to the earth in a crumpled heap, heaving as his blood and organs spilled out.
Reign watched, emotionless, as John fought to breathe. Within no less than a minute John was dead and Reign...
Reign wasn't feral.
He wasn't wild or bloodthirsty or murderous. He was uncharacteristically calm. Poised, even.
"I have something worth fighting for now," Reign mumbled. His dark gaze met mine, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I know you thought I would succumb to the star. But, Venus, what brought you back from the brink of insanity?"
My Mate.
Realization and pride flooded my entire being as I caught onto his meaning. "You used Beta Ryan as a reason to resist the sixth star's claim."
Reign nodded, shifting back to his normal state. A soft smile overcame his serene face. His eyes glazed over for a brief moment. After sharing a peculiar look with Beta Ryan, he glanced at Leo and I and asked, "How well can you guys braid?"
In a Healer's home hidden within the trees, an assembly of Werewolves stood firm in the face of heartbreak. The salt of unshed tears clung to our dirty clothes, forcing us to smile through the rising pain. It was a poor atmosphere for a wedding. But, the couple in question had no choice.
It was the only thing Reign knew would ease Sky's pain in her dying moments.
She's always wanted to see a wedding. She loves the vows. I know she does. I heard her tell me once when we were pups. Back when she used to work so hard for my affection.
"I choose you as my partner," Beta Ryan began. His soft voice lifted our eyes to where he stood at the end of Sky's bed. Sky's pale face cracked into a small smile as she watched him take her brothers trembling hands in his.
"Forevermore will our lives be entwined," Reign replied. His smaller hands grasped his Mate tightly. They were in love. And yet, heartbroken.
To be reciting the Oath of Marriage under such circumstances were the wants of no couple.
"In this lifetime and the next, I claim you as mine." Beta Ryan's promise brought an even bigger smile to Sky's muted lips. She glanced towards Flora excitedly. Not even paying attention to the slab of shrapnel protruding from her chest. Flora wiped her face clean of all agony, returning the smile with a soft one of her own.
Without the safety of red lipstick hiding her true emotions, Flora was defenseless. I saw it in the way the corner of her lips dipped up and down. She was struggling to maintain her smile for Sky.
"Watch them," she murmured. Flora stroked Sky's sweaty hair gently. When she complied and turned to look back at the couple, Flora, hid her face in Pride's chest. She cried with no sound. Pride could do nothing but wrap his arms around her and watch.
"I will honor you and you alone." Reign's glassy stare wavered between happiness and misery. He wore a look of finally being complete. But also being torn in half at the same time.
The room was eerily quiet as Beta Ryan smiled. Pressing a soft kiss to the back of Reign's hand, he whispered, "My lips will drink only from your honeycomb well."
Sky chuckled at that, causing the shrapnel to twitch. A flash of pain darted over her face but the urge to laugh never left. We all joined in on her laughter at the raunchy line. Doing our best to disguise her gasps of pain with our hollow sounds of mirth.
I didn't think it was working but Sky seemed to be enjoying every bit of this.
"For loyalty is what I give you when you take my heart for yours."
"I pledge to be the hand that never lets you go." Leo and I passed Sky the golden bracelets of thick twine woven thrice. She beamed at the items of marriage, admiring their beauty.
Three strings of twine woven three times. Each string symbolized a heart in its own way. One string represented Reign and another Beta Ryan. The third string represented the union of both hearts uniting to sing only one tune.
Beta Ryan and Reign separated so that they could each receive Sky's offering. The two men flanked her deathbed, each holding a golden bracelet in hand.
Reign was the first one to act. Leaning over Sky's unmoving legs, he tied the band around his Mate's wide wrist. Sparks of light fell from the tied knot. Beta Ryan quickly tied his own bracelet around Reign's slender wrist. The golden bands shimmered, sealing the eternal bond to be worn forevermore.
"I pledge to be the heart that beats only for you," Reign continued.
Pride lifted the double edged iron, still burning red with his blue fire. Flora unraveled herself from his arms and stood behind Sky to hide her tear streaked face. On each end was the symbol of a howling wolf. Burning like hot embers, ready to be branded into their mortal flesh.
Reign lifted the edge of Beta Ryan's white shirt. He helped his Mate undress, revealing his upper torso for us all to see. Regardless of the situation, a soft smirk still enveloped Reign's lips as he poked at his Mate's defined abs.
Pride helped steady Sky's hold on the iron bar, clenching his teeth as the iron poison burned his skin. He paid it no mind, simply urging the dying she-wolf on with a wide grin. Sky used the last scraps of her strength to raise the bar higher. Both men stepped forward, searing the symbol of a wolf into their chests.
Right over their hearts.
Neither of them acknowledged the pain. They merely kept their heated eyes on each other and no one else.
"I pledge to be the eyes that never waver from your sight," Beta Ryan said.
"I pledge to be the lips that dare not cry a name that's not yours." This time it wasn't so difficult to fake our laughter as Reign of all people recited a line as dirty as that one. Nonetheless, my laugh died out when I physically saw the shrapnel sink a little deeper into Sky's chest. Her face showed no signs of discomfort and I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
Most likely the latter.
"I pledge to be the love that you deserve every night." Sky and Pride removed the cold iron, allowing the burned skin to finally breathe. The silver glow of moonlight crept into the room, illuminating Sky's sickly figure as one of a ghost. Her weak body slumped further into the pillows supporting her. She was spent from exerting so much effort.
"I ask you to be mine as you are yours." Reign broke his stare with Beta Ryan to quickly glance at Sky. Relieved to see her still breathing, he took Beta Ryan's hands in his once more and nodded in earnest.
"This is my promise to you and you alone," Beta Ryan swore. Sky's labored breathing filled the air. I felt more than heard the slowing of her heartbeat. Every drop of my power evacuated my body and flooded hers. I drew from both Leo and I in strength, giving her all that we both had.
Sky's dull gray eyes found mine. A grateful expression filled her dying face and she hooked the tip of her pinky around my thumb. I smiled at her silent words of thanks, holding Leo's hand tighter to keep my brewing tears at bay.
"A marriage of equals and eternal devotion is what I offer to you," Reign vowed.
The two men looked down on Sky with hope in their misty eyes. Sky latched onto Leo and I's strength and set out on officiating their wedding.
"I don't know your middle name," she said weakly.
Beta Ryan dropped a hand to Sky's leg. He rubbed soothing circles over her bandaged skin and replied, "Malcolm."
"I'm taking his last name too," Reign added in a rush. His cheeks flushed pink and I couldn't have been happier for him. He was severing the last tie he had to his abuser.
His last name.
"Reign Christian Silverweaver, do you accept Ryan Malcolm Clementine, and the oath he has promised you?" Sky asked. For the first time today, Sky's eyes brightened with warmth as she watched Reign nod. A gentle smile graced his emotionally torn face.
"I do."
Sky turned towards Beta Ryan and repeated the question. "Ryan Malcolm Clementine, do you accept Reign Christian Silverweaver, and the oath he has promised you?"
Without hesitation he replied, "I do."
"I, Sky Aileen Richards, pronounce you two as One." Sky's slipping smile lingered for a few moments longer before falling completely. Her labored breathing dipped in and out, the hold she had on my pinky lessened significantly. "You may now kiss your Love."
Beta Ryan and Reign kissed as a light mist of rain began to fall outside. Thunder boomed in the distance. Whether it be the weather or Pride himself, I felt that crack so loudly that I almost couldn't breathe. In a Healer's home hidden within the trees, an assembly of Werewolves stood firm in the face of heartbreak.
"It's my honor to present to you all, Beta Ryan and Reign Clementine!"
We all smiled bitterly, murmuring words of congratulations. The married men separated and Reign knelt beside Sky's bed. "So, how was that for your first wedding?"
"Perfect," she sighed. Her eyes drooped a little and I knew that moment had finally arrived. Reign's hand covered Sky's and her eyes flew open in surprise.
"Good." Reign bit his bottom lip harshly, leaving indents within the broken skin. "I was thinking, how about tomorrow, me and you hang out? We can make smoothies and sweet things."
Sky hummed, gasping slightly from the weight in her chest. "I'd like that."
Sky's eyes fluttered shut. Her slowing heartbeat and haggard breaths were the only thing that could be heard as we all watched. We were all helpless to the events unfolding before us.
Helpless.
Reign buried his face into Sky's stomach, hiding his falling tears from us all. Only when Leo swiped his thumb over my cheeks did I realize I was crying too. I took a deep breath to steady myself and leaned into his arms.
The song our linked hearts sang was far too heartbreaking to put into words.
"We can go to the park too," Reign mumbled. "You used to like that when we were pups, yeah? Yeah, we'll go there too."
Sky hummed and I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to look at the slow rise of her chest.
"We'll talk to Alpha Draco tomorrow too. I'm staying here, y'know, after this is all over. Wouldn't it be cool if you stayed here too?" Reign sniffed. "You can stay, Sky. If you want, then we can do it all tomorrow. Things will be better tomorrow. You'll see."
"Tomorrow," Sky's hoarse whisper croaked, "sounds like a good word. I can't wait. Let's get strawberry smoothies tomorrow too."
"Sounds good." Leo's wet lashes brushed over my shoulder. For once, the subtle touch he placed upon my Mark didn't make me pulse with need. Instead, it only served to further my fall into grief. The moment arrived and we all noticed it but Reign. He just kept on talking like there really would be a tomorrow. "Let's do a lot of fun things tomorrow, ok? Let's forget about the prophecy for a day and just hang out. Doesn't that sound fun?"
It was quiet.
It was too quiet.
A choked sob broke the tension filled air. Death was fresh and I kept my wet eyes clamped tightly shut. Tomorrow was a day that would never come. Not for these two siblings that were on the cusp of becoming something more to each other.
"Sky?"
In a Healer's home hidden within the trees, an assembly of Werewolves watched helplessly as tomorrow died.
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QOTD: What are your thoughts on their wedding and Reign being able to pull himself back after killing his father? How will they unite the Two Lovers now that they're down to five members?