Someone placed their hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off, not wanting to be touched. "We need her," a male said from behind me. "I am sorry, Alpha, but is time."
"You can't have her," I growled, tightening my grip on my mate. "You can not have my mate."
"Well, you do not have a choice," the male snapped, and I growled.
"Ingford," a female scolded. Her voice shook, and I could tell that she was upset as well.
"But h-"
"Let me handle it, then," the female said, interrupting him. She scoffed when he growled, and I had a feeling that she rolled her eyes. "Leave him."
"Bu-"
"I said, leave him."
Again, the male, Ingford, growled, but he backed away from me.
A soft, feminine hand grasped my shoulder, and unlike male's hand, I didn't shake it off. The female's hand brought me comfort, but it didn't numb my broken heart. "Look at me, Xavier," she said softly, and I did what I was told to do.
Her green eyes were filled with tears, but she still smiled down at me. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight bun, but baby strands of hair stuck out in all directions, and it reminded me so much like Cass, that it hurt.
She was... beautiful, powerful even, and everything about her reminded me of Cass from the way she dipped and then cocked her head to the way she looked at me with soft eyes.
"My name is Fia," she said, softly. She squeezed my shoulder and brought me some comfort that I needed. She cocked her head. "Do you know who I am?"
Fia... Fia the Kind, one of the Original Ten. She was supposedly one of Cass's ancestors.
Slowly, I nodded my head, but I didn't say a word.
Fia smile grew larger, and she nodded her head. "Yes," she said. "I am Fia the Kind, and I am one of the Original Ten." She gestured to the female in my arms. "And, one of her ancestors."
"So, it is true?" I asked, and she nodded.
"Well, half true," she replied. She sighed and rubbed her thumb across my shoulder. "She is descended from four of us. That is why we have to take her back with us. She is, well was, of old magic, magic that Werewolves used to have."
I gazed at my beautiful mate's lifeless body and stayed silent. I didn't say a word and didn't let her go.
"There are people out there that want to control the powers that she possesses, even though she is dead. There are those that will take control of her, and she will have no power to stop them."
I didn't reply.
"Our job is to protect the Werewolf kingdom and its inhabitants from those people. That is why we are still alive, even though we are older than most." She squeezed my shoulder and sighed, sadly. "Cass was to be our Champion. She was the only one that had been descended from us four and not be "turned" away from the kingdom or the king."
Still, I stayed silent, listening to every word that she had to say.
"But she had been turned in the last second. That explains the red eyes, Xavier. None of us have red eyes, even Shilan doesn't have them."
"Why?" I asked, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat and again looked at Fia. "Why does she have them now?"
Fia shrugged and grimaced, pain flashing through her eyes. "I wish I knew," she replied. "Tula doesn't even know why she has them, not yet at least." She nodded my mate, and I turned my gaze to look at her again. "Only she does, but there is no way to ask her. There is no way to know what lies beneath the surface."
Slowly, I nodded.
She cleared her throat. "Cass loved you, Xavier. She loved you until her last breath, praying that you would be strong for not only your pack but for the three children she had left behind."
I didn't want to. I couldn't, not without her.
"I know you don't want to, Xavier," she said. "But, she didn't give up her life for you to throw it away. She gave it up because she knew that you were strong, strong-willed with a will to survive anything that is thrown your way, including death."
Fia sighed, sadly. "We're going to need her, Xavier. If someone tries to take her from her resting place and uses her against the kingdom and the king, then all she has worked for would be for nothing. She'd have no recollection of anything or anyone and will do as her "Master" says without no moral compass, no nothing. That isn't what she'd want. Isn't it?"
I shook my head, no. I knew that she wouldn't want that. I knew that she wouldn't want to go against the king or anyone that she cared for.
"So, can we have her? Can we make sure that she isn't used for evil? There's no turning her good again, Xavier. I wish there was, but there isn't. Not in this form, at least."
I didn't reply but slowly nodded my head, knowing that it would be for the best if they took, no matter how much I wanted to keep her and bury her near my mother. Slowly, I leaned forward and placed a final kiss on her forehead, closing my eyes and imagining her smile when I did this. "I love you," I whispered when I pulled away and stroked her hair one last time. "I will always love you."
"Ingford," Fia said, and Ingford walked over us. She pulled me into a warm embrace while Ingford took my mate out of my lap, and they started to leave one by one until only Fia remained.
Goodbye, my Love. Goodbye.
***
I stared at the office door, listless and not focusing on anything or anyone. It had been two days since she had been taken away from me, and there was this deep ache in my chest that nothing could fill. I was numb, numb to the world and the people in it, not able to focus on the work before me.
After the war, the king had placed some Alpha Betas at my pack, and they were the ones that had ensured everything was in order while I stayed put and out of sight.
Not even Clara could get me out of the mood I was in, but she wasn't doing any better. None of them were while we mourned over the loss of a loved one.
I hadn't been able to eat, and I hadn't been able to drink anything. I couldn't keep anything down. I didn't want to eat or drink because I wasn't in the mood and thought that starving myself would be the quickest way to be with my love again.
"You know, there are quicker ways of killing yourself than starving yourself, correct?" someone asked from the couch behind me. "Or are you too chicken to do it?"
I turned to the couch and scowled when I saw a male with golden eyes staring at me. "What do you want?" I asked, coldly. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, especially to him.
Ingford raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, but he didn't say anything about my behavior towards him. "To get you out of the slump you found yourself in, Xavier," he replied and leaned back into his seat. He crossed his leg, and I scowled because I had a feeling that he would be here for a while.
"I don't want to talk to you," I growled and turned away from him. I stared at the door and set my jaw. I knew that he wouldn't leave, and I wished he would... I couldn't deal with any of them right now.
"Good, then you can listen," Ingford replied. He cleared his throat. "You have a job to do, Xavier," he said, and I scoffed. He paid no heed. "Your job is to not only to the pack but her children as well. You are the sole guardian of the three of them, and they need you now more than ever."
I set my jaw. I still did not know why she had given full custody of them to me, but she did. I didn't know if I would be a good father to them or not.
Ingford cleared his throat, and there was a squeak of leather, and I knew that he had shifted in his seat. "To be frank, I had not known why she had chosen you as their legal guardian when there were others more qualified to take on the job."
I cringed.
"But," he paused and cleared his throat, "now, I do."
I looked at him and stayed silent. My heart pounded in my chest, and I waited for him to answer, whatever answer it may be.
Ingford nodded his head, slowly. "Yes," he mused. "Now, I do." He cleared his throat. "I have watched you this past couple of weeks and saw what she saw in you."
I furrowed my brows in confusion. "You watched me?" I asked, confused.
Again, Ingford nodded his head and tossed me something. "With that," he replied. "I had been watching you with that. However, it is bigger than that and much cooler."
I looked at the object in my hands confused and saw that it was an eye from a stuffed animal. I frowned confused because I had no idea what he meant by it. "What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, looking at the older male. "What does this have to do anything?"
"Remember the bunnies that had appeared on your bed one day?" Ingford asked, raising an eyebrow. "With the necklace?"
I nodded.
"I use that to check on my descendants and those that people have asked me to keep an eye on, such as TJ, Clara, and now, you." He cleared his throat. "Cass had asked me to keep an eye on you because she knew that it was getting hard." He offered me a grim smile. "She wanted to be the one to check up on you, however, and she did. She checked up on you and her children."
I fiddled with the eye, not knowing what this had to do with Cass and I.
"You are a strong Alpha, Xavier," Ingford said. "You have a good heart and try your best to do what is right. There are times when evil almost wins, but you do not let it win for long. Yes, your pack had feared you, but they do not anymore. You are a strong Alpha, someone that knows how to control his anger, even though there are times you let it take over." He gave me a pointed look, and I knew that he was talking about that night.
I cringed but didn't reply.
"She had seen your heart, Xavier and knew that you were only acting out because she had hurt you. She knew that you wouldn't hurt the kids, no matter what happened between the two of you." He paused and studied me. "They love you as if you are their father, and I know that Cass wanted that from the start. She knew that you would protect them and treat them like your own.
"And that, Xavier, is the reason why she chose you as their legal guardian. She chose you because you knew what it was like to have heartache but also to have hope. She chose you because she knew that no matter what life threw at you, you would be able to stand up stronger than before.
"So, I have to ask you this, Xavier." He cleared his throat and stood taller. "Will you go on mourning for the loss of your mate, or will you rise above this? You have people looking up to you, and they will need your help, especially TJ. He will need your guidance on how to control his anger until he is old enough for us to be working with him." He shrugged. "It is what happens to the children of Shilan."
Slowly, I nodded my head and closed my hand over the eye.
"Well?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Say it."
"I will live and fight another day. I will guide the kids through whatever anger issues they have." I cleared my throat. "I will be the parent that they need and the Alpha of the pack. I will not forfeit my duties any longer." I cleared my throat again when my voice cracked.
Ingford nodded his head, satisfied. "Keep the eye," he said. "Use it to look after TJ, Clara, and Bryson. You will be able to see what they are doing if they are close to the bunny."
I nodded.
Ingford stood and bowed his head in respect. "You will make a fine choice," he said. He shook his head and smiled grimly when he caught my confused look. "I can't say, Alpha," he said. "You will know in time."
I furrowed my brows in confusion but didn't reply. I was curious about what he meant by "fine choice," but I knew better than to ask. I had a feeling he wouldn't answer.
He cleared his throat and stood. "If you will excuse me, I have other business to attend to." He started to walk towards the door but stopped and turned to look at me. "Oh, one more thing," he said, reaching into his pocket.
"What?"
"This is from Cass. I am sorry that I didn't give it to you sooner, but we had some business to take care of, and it took two days." He held out a CD, and I took it from him. "It should have everything staying on and not disappearing." He winked.
"Thanks," I said, taking the CD from him. I moved my hand on the CD's case, staring at Cass's neat handwriting.
My Love, Xavier.
"I would watch that as soon as possible," Ingford advised and then go take care of your needs.
I nodded and looked up to see him watching me with something in his eyes that left me confused. "Of course," I replied.
He nodded, turned towards the door and started to walk towards it before he vanished into thin air.