Prologue
This story will be returning sometime mid June.
The wolves gathered in a ragged circle, leaving space for the distressed couple at the center. The scent of blood lay thickly in the air, and several members of the pack paced around the group, agitated whines escaping them.
A lithe black figure shoved between the herd of quivering beasts until she stood face to face with the couple. Their eyes made contact briefly, and the male gave a small dip of his head, arms clutched tight around his partner as blood pooled beneath her. The black wolf glowed for a moment, leaving the beast replaced by an old woman, scarred by age. Her bare feet sank into the bloodstained earth as she explored her patient with experienced hands, and when she finally spoke, her voice was heavy with defeat. “I can save only one of them.”
“Then save her,” the male snarled, clinging desperately to his weakened mate.
“No!” his mate cried. “Save my baby. Please, Alistair.” She reached over and grasped her husband’s hand. She held on to him with all her strength even as her body pulsed with pain.
He stared at her with horror. “There will be other children. I will not lose you over this!” Alistair turned to the old woman, pleading with desperation. “Do whatever it takes to keep my mate alive.”
The pack churned uneasily, despairing at their inability to assist their broken leaders, but they knew they would only be in the way. The old woman was the only among them with any medical knowledge. She placed a wrinkled hand on the woman’s bulging stomach. “He will die if we don’t cut him out now.” She spoke to the mother, ignoring the father’s savage cries.
“Do it,” she whispered.
“You can’t!” Alistair pleaded. “Don’t leave me.”
“I will never leave you, my love,” she murmured weakly, “you’ll always have a part of me with you, in this child.”
“It’s not the same-” His protests were lost in the mother’s strangled scream as the doctor sliced into her flesh. She worked quickly, years of experience leading her hands until she produced a tiny wolf pup. The doctor frowned as she held it; spider silk black threads seemed to consume it, then she blinked and it was just a pup. It was small enough that it fit in a single one of her hands, and she gently placed the tiny bundle on the mother’s chest. “My mistake,” she said. “You have a daughter.”
The baby wolf mewled and snuggled against its mother’s breast. “She’s beautiful.” The mother purred with contentment as she took her final breaths.
Alistair let out an anguished cry and released his grip on his mate, sending the pup tumbling down as he moved to place his hands over the incision. The pup slid to the ground and let out a pitiful mewl as the warmth was ripped from its fragile body. A member of the pack stepped forward to retrieve the crying pup, but halted as the alpha lunged at the doctor, ducking down low.
“I swear to all the gods, Elise, I will kill you if you don’t save her!” Alistair raged, grabbing the doctor’s shirt in his hands.
“There’s nothing I can do; she is already lost.” Elise spoke calmly as she addressed his grief. She met his gaze and continued gently, “She wanted it this way.”
Several of the wolves raised their muzzles and howled in shared grief with their leader. Alistair stared at the assembled wolves for a moment, tears dripping from his eyes, before slowly releasing Elise and turning away. He picked up the lifeless body of his mate, cradling her against his chest. The wolves parted for him except one, in human form, who blocked his path.
“What about your daughter?” the woman said, gesturing behind him. One wolf had carefully picked up his child by the scruff and waited for him to take her. Alistair bared his teeth and shoved the woman out of his way.
“Keep that thing away from me.” His voice was ice cold, and the pack exchanged alarmed glances as he stormed away, leaving his newborn, and only, child behind.
“He’s just grieving,” Elise assured them. “Miranda.” The wolf holding the pup perked her ears and turned to face Elise. “Take her to Sara; her son is only a few weeks old. And quickly,” she added, “it’s too cold out.”
Uncertain muttering passed around the wolves as Miranda dashed away. “You’re giving Alistair’s pup to Sara to raise?”
Elise cocked an eyebrow at the speaker. “Is there a problem?”
“She’s an omega. She can’t raise an alpha.”
Elise snorted. “I wasn’t aware one’s rank in the pack affected their ability to care for a starving, freezing pup.”
“You know what I mean, Elise,” he snapped.
She stepped forward and cupped his face in her hands. “Shaun, if you have a better argument than her rank, then let me hear it. Otherwise, I have work to do.” When silence met her words, she continued, “Sara will take care of that pup as if she were her own blood, and that is all that matters right now.” Shaun muttered a reluctant agreement, bowing his head. Elise patted him lightly on the shoulder before following Miranda’s trail back through the woods.
“What is this?” Sara asked as Miranda placed the wriggling pup at her feet. It wailed pitifully, weak from starvation. Her own child was snuggled against her belly, sleeping soundly.
“Abigail’s daughter.”
Sara prodded the pup with her nose and purred. “Abby must be pleased; she wanted a daughter.”
Miranda shook her head slowly, earning a questioning glance from the mother. “Abigail didn’t make it. They had to choose, and Elise saved the pup, much to Alistair’s despair.” She nodded at the bundle of fur. “He asked that someone take care of her while he grieves,” she explained, leaving out Alistair’s denial of his kin. He’d come around.
“Oh, you poor thing.” Sara curled her forelegs around the pup and began to briskly lick her pelt, cleaning off the quickly drying blood. Once clean, Sara drew the fragile creature to her belly. Miranda watched the pup settle against Sara’s cinnamon pelt and nodded, satisfied that the child would be well cared for until her father regained his senses.
