Chapter 131
Third POV
The morning sun filtered through the window of his bedroom, but the lights did nothing to warm the frost between Bram and Maris. It had been two months of their marriage, and yet Bram couldn’t think of anyone other than Auren.
+60)
On their wedding night, Maris had insisted that he marked her in front of every pack member to show that this marriage was solid. He marked her, but ever since, he just couldn’t bring himself to claim her.
Maris was happy in her own bubble. At least she was marked and now she was the Luna of the Crimson Howl pack. Her father was off her back, and her reputation was better in her pack. It took her several days to settle into the role of being a Luna. She loved ordering omegas, punishing them when needed and also asserting her superior position on everyone. Bram was least bothered about it because he was busy with pack business. With Auren’s wedding to Lucien, their treaty was in place. So the pack was protected. Life couldn’t be better. All she needed was an heir. And to keep her
secret, a secret.
She sat on the edge of the bed, brushing her glossy red hair that she had dyed recently. She hummed softly to herself as she brushed them, while Bram stood by the window with his arms crossed across his chest, and his jaw clenched.
She lifted her gaze to him and said, “You should smile more. Your Alpha position is secure, and you have everything you wanted.”
He didn’t respond. His gaze remained fixed on the treetops that swayed beyond his house. He wanted to tell her that everything he wanted had slipped through his fingers the day Auren accepted his rejection and then marked Lucien. He wanted to tell her that she smelled like a dead rat and that every time he was near her, he wanted to vomit. But how could he say all that? Considering his situation, he was in a fix.
He was still the Alpha of his pack, because he was married to her. Because she was the daughter of the Alpha of the Iron Pine pack. And because she could give him powerful heirs. The problem was that he was not ready to claim her. Every time he thought of sex, all he could think of was Auren. Her beautiful gray eyes and those lustrous golden hair.
Maris rose from the bed and walked to him, the silky hem of her robe brushing the floor. She went and stood behind him. She trailed her red painted nail along his bare arm. “You haven’t claimed me since you’ve marked me, Bram. People talk. They wonder if our bond is real.”
His muscles tensed beneath her touch. “I don’t care what people wonder,” he replied, anger lacing his voice. Though inside he knew that his pack members were looking for his heir.
“But I do,” she snapped, dropping her sweet voice. “I didn’t fight to become Luna just to be ignored by you.”
“You didn’t fight,” he snapped. “You schemed. Because of you 1 rejected my true mate.”
Maris’s eyes darkened. “So what? Sable schemed too. And look where she is now–killed.”
That earned her a hard glare from him. “Don’t compare yourself with Sable. She was better than you in many ways.”
Jealousy stabbed in her heart but she ignored it. She smiled slyly, stepping in front of him. “I’m smarter than Sable. I know when to push, and how much to push. I know how to use that opportunity for the best. And what about you?”
“What about me?” he asked, his brows furrowed.
She kissed him, siowly on his jaw, then on his cheek. Bram didn’t kiss her back because of her horrible smell. “You used to love me. We used to have sex every day when Auren was here. And then some after she left. But now–after the wedding, you aren’t interested. What has gone wrong, baby?”
He closed his eyes and tipped his head up. All he could think was Auren. He had sneaked in the territory of the Shadowfang pack two months ago during the Harvest Moon festival. He had taken great precaution to keep his scent away. Even though he did it at the risk of being killed if Lucien or Tarian saw him, he still went there. All he wanted to do was see Auren. And she looked beautiful. The way her hair shone, the way her skin gleamed –she looked so beautiful that his breath hitched. But then Lucien placed his hand on her baby bump. Jealousy like nothing reared its head inside him. He wanted to kill Lucien, wanted to pluck that pup away from them, and take his Auren back. That should have been his pup in her.
“Give me an heir, Bram,” she lowered herself on her knees, and opened his zipper. “Make me proud.” She kissed his shaft and then started sucking it. Bram imagined that to be Auren. With his eyes closed, he wrapped her hair around his hand, fisted it and shoved his hard cock inside her mouth. She whimpered, gagged, but she sucked him hard.
“Fuck!” he rasped. “I knew you would be so good!”
Maris removed her mouth and got up. She held his hand and made him lie on the bed. Then she opened her robe and removed his pants. Once he was naked, she slid on top of him. “Fuck me, Bram,” she said in a hoarse voice as she moved up and down on him. She increased her pace and he came inside her with the name of Auren on his lips.
Maris clenched her jaw and felt like slapping him, but she knew that if she did that, he would never come back to her. He missed Auren, but that wasn’t her concern at all. All she wanted was his heir. Things would become normal again.
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Chapter 131
As they lay together in silence after that, Bram stared at the ceiling with Maris curled into him. There was no fire, no spark, just emptiness.
He went for his training duties as Maris handled his house. Later that day when they were having dinner, a warrior came in. He bowed and said, “Alpha, a message has come from Shadowfang pack.”
Bram’s heartbeat increased. Was Auren coming to visit them? “What is it?” he asked.
The warrior hesitated before speaking as he glanced at Maris. “Luna Auren has gone into labor.”
C
Maris stiffened as Bram clutched the edge of his table, his vision turning red. She was having his pup. Before he could control himself, he got and with one hand threw everything on the table on the floor.
Maris screamed as she ran to the side. Bram strode to the warrior and grabbed him by his throat. “You fucking bastard!”
The warrior started sputtering. “Alpha, I—”
THEIR
Bram was so furious that he hurled him away from him. He stabbed his fingers in his hair. Auren was giving birth to Lucien’s pup. The ache in his chest twisted deeper. He started pacing the room as the storm inside him raged.
As for Maris, she ran away from there to her bedroom. And began to plan.
AD
Chapter 132
Lucien POV
I hadn’t slept in days. The tick of time felt louder than usual. Each second was like another drop of dread in the pit of my stomach. Auren’s scent surrounded me. It was calming and maddening all at once. I looked at her, sitting at the edge of the bed. She was glowing. She was so radiant, round, and impossibly beautiful that every time I saw her, my heart went out for her. She was just a few days away from delivering our pup.
But me—I was a wreck. I had asked Remus to contain my emotions so that our mate wasn’t affected, and my wolf did a fantastic job at it. How could I tell Auren the full extent of my fear? I just couldn’t. Not when she smiled at me with so much trust, not when she didn’t once think of the curse looming over us as she hummed while folding baby clothes that we had bought together or when she pressed my hand to her belly to feel our pup kick. How could I dim the glow in her eyes?
Sometimes, I would just spoon her from behind as she slept and watched her for the whole night, praying to the goddess that please don’t let these be my last days with her. I wanted to spend my entire life with her, get old with her, and tell stories to our children and grandchildren. Please goddess, please. I’ve never begged you, but I’m begging now. Tears would swell in my eyes and I cried many nights. Every night, I would put my hand on her belly when she was fast asleep, whispering into her skin. “It’ll be fine. You;ll be safe. I’ll keep you safe. Please, Moon, don’t take her from
me.”
Inside me, the curse coiled like a serpent. I’d broken so many pieces of it, but was it enough? It had broken so many pieces of me, and it didn’t seem enough. The curse had stolen every she–wolf who carried the heir of the Shadowfang pack. Would it take her too?
– —
Thad seen tattoos on my father’s body when I was a pup. He had those exactly like mine. The one on our chest of that of a wolf was what we were born with. But the thorny vine tattoos appeared slowly on our body as we grew older. By the time we were eighteen, they fully covered our body. When my father died, he still had those tattoos, and I knew that when I would die, I would have them on my body. But after they disappeared partially, hope built in my chest. Sometimes, I would try to scratch away or wash away the remaining ones, hoping against hope that they were just useless ink. But they fucking remained.
Food lost all meaning. I didn’t feel like eating at all. Tarian had commented that I looked like a ghost. I didn’t care. I couldn’t leave her side. I wouldn’t. When she forced me to cat, I would eat, just to appease her.
I sat at the edge of our bed, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor like it held answers I couldn’t find in the stars, while she hummed.
Suddenly, she gasped. Her body stiffened. I snapped my gaze at her, heart slamming against my ribs.
“Lucien…” she said. “It’s happening.”
Panic surged like wildfire. I tried my best to stay calm, but my voice cracked when I called for help. I opened my mind link. “Get the car ready! Auren is in labor!” My hands trembled as I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her. “I’ve got you,” I said, holding her close. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
Her fingers clutched the front of my shirt as I carried her out of the manor, down to the porch where the car was. Tarian met us halfway, wide–eyed and pale. Vivi was rushing beside us with a basket that she always kept ready
“Get the car. NOW!” I barked. As soon as the car was there, I laid Auren down as gently as I could in the back seat and crawled beside her.
*Lucien!” she cried, her breath coming in short bursts.
Remus howled inside me, frantic as hell. The big bad wolf who would kill so many at the drop of a hat, was whimpering inside me like a pained kitty. I held her hand, not letting it go for a second. “Everything’s going to be okay, love,” I said, over and over. I didn’t know if I was telling her or to myself.
Tarian drove the car, not allowing any other driver to drive it. The ride to the hospital felt like forever. The moment we arrived the doctors came rushing. They tried to separate me from her for delivery, but I growled at them, “I’m not leaving her,” I barked in a razor–sharp voice, making other
wince.
“She’ll be okay, Alpha Lucien,” Tarian said, trying his best to steady me.
But he didn’t know. No one knew. Not the way I knew. The curse hadn’t whispered anything in months. And now at this time, I feared it the most. Please, Moon Goddess. Let me keep her. I’ll do anything for you.
As I carried her to the labor room, I saw that Elias was already waiting over there for us. I made her lie on the bed. Her contractions were coming faster now. It seemed like our pup really wanted to come out fast.
Elias examined her belly and said, “It should take at least an hour for the head to form.”
“Okay…” I murmured as I looked at him helplessly.
“Would you like to have coffee?” he asked.
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Chapter 132
I scowled at him. How could he think of having coffee when my Luna was in so much pain? He winced and backed off. Tarian came to me. “Alpha Lucien, please come out with me.”
I knew why he was asking me to come out. I would have torn the place down because I couldn’t bear seeing Auren in pain.
But when we were out of the room, I placed my hands on his shoulder and said, “I trust you with life, Tarian. When we both are dead, take care of my pup.”
Tarian’s eyes widened in shock.
Chapter 133
Lucien POV
Tarian looked at me in shock. “What are you saying, Alpha Lucien?” he said, clearly getting angry by the minute.
I swallowed. “This curse-“I couldn’t speak through my choked throat. So I swallowed again. “This curse–if it claims Auren, I don’t think I’ll be able to live without her.”
0
“Shut up!” he growled, his fists tightening. “You can’t say words like these. No one is going anywhere. Your curse has mostly gone, and I believe that everything will be fine.”
1 shook my head. “It is still looming on us, Tarian. So listen to me carefully because I won’t repeat it. If the curse takes Auren away from me, I swear to the goddess, I’ll follow her. I won’t let her pass the Fade alone. I know I sound selfish, but we are mates. I can’t—” Tears welled in my eyes. “I can’t leave her alone. She is my everything.”
“Alpha Lucien….” Tarian placed his hands on my arms.
“Tarian, I know you are a powerful Beta. You can protect my pup and see to it they get their rightful place. I have too many enemies lurking in the shadows. All of them want to usurp my position. You have to protect my pup. Promise me, you will.”
JAlpha Lucien…”
“Promise me!” I clasped his shoulders tightly.
After a while of hesitation, he nodded. “I promise,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Only then did I release my breath. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be right back,” Tarian said and quickly left. I noticed how he wiped a tear from his cheek. Sorry, my friend. But my mate needed me more than this world.
While Auren was in tremendous pain, I paced the hallway like a caged beast. My jaw was clenched so tightly that I thought my fangs would crack. Auren’s cries from the labor room twisted through my chest like a hot blade. My wolf howled beneath my skin. He wanted to tear down the doors, wanted to take away her pain in some way, to do something. But I could do nothing.
An hour went by. Vivi and other omegas were standing at the side, waiting silently. Tarian said through mind link that many of my pack members had started pouring in the hospital premises.
I took a deep breath in as my palms went cold. My heart raced so hard that it was a wonder it hadn’t leapt out. Every second felt like a countdown. Not just to the birth of my pup, but to the moment when the curse would finally strike.
Would it take her away from me now? Or would it wait for a few more days? Rlease, Moon Goddess, at least let her nurse my pup. After everything she had gone through, after surviving betrayal, and blades and broken bonds, please don’t take her. I clasped my hands in front of me and whispered. “I’ll come to meet you, shadow wolves. But let her survive.”
Finally, when I couldn’t bear more, I went to stand in front of her door. Elias was sitting in front of her. Her legs were wide open. “The head is about to form!” he shouted at the nurses. “Get me scissors!”
“Lucien!” Auren cried loudly. “Where are you?”
I just couldn’t hold myself, and bolted in. She was sweaty, pale. Her lips were trembling as she clutched the sheets as another contraction rolled through her. As soon as her gaze landed on me, her lips parted in a shaky smile. “You’re here,” she breathed.
I clutched her hand, and said, “I never left, love. I’ll never leave. Gods, Auren…” How could she not think of the curse? She was so boldly facing it just to give birth to my pup. Why the fuck did I put her through so much trouble. I hated myself, hated the Elders, and most of all I hated my bloodline.
She reached up to me with shaky fingers. “Why are you crying? Aren’t you happy that we will become parents?”
I didn’t realize that I was crying. I brought her hand to my face. “I’m scared, Auren,” I confessed. “I’m scared I’ll lose you.”
Through her pain, she gave a soft, tired laugh “Lucien, we’ve walked through hell. Please don’t let fear steal this moment from us,”
I kissed her hand. “I don’t know how to be without you, love.*
“And you never will be the whispered. “Our pup-” A scream ripped from her throat. “Ahhhhh!”
“It’s time?” Dr. Elias rasped as he focused on her.
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I stood beside her, gripping her hand, letting her crush my fingers. I whispered everything I could to encourage her, to sail through this pain. “You’re so strong, how brave, I love you so much.”
Until-
0
A tiny cry filled the room. I froze as Auren gasped.
Elias lifted a red–faced, squirming little bundle into the air. “It’s a boy.”
For a long moment, as I watched my heir, my pup, I couldn’t move. My throat was choked with so many emotions that nothing came to my mind. I heard Auren sobbing, laughing and exhausted. However, just as she thought it was over, another scream tore through her throat. “Ahhhh!”
Elias handed the pup to the nurse and focused on her again. “Gods above! There’s one more pup inside.”
I gasped as I watched Auren screaming. All at once, two minutes later, I heard another tiny cry.
Elias held the pup and lifted into the air. “It’s a girl!”
Oh. My. Goddess.
“Many congratulations, Alpha Lucien,” Elias said with a grin.
had twins. With my eyes wide, I stared at my daughter whose cry had turned fierce now. “Fuck me!” I rasped.
Auren let out a raspy laughter. With my heart racing, I leaned over my wife and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You did it, my love. You brought our pups into the world.”
“We did it,” she whispered.
By this time, the nurse had brought my son to me. I stared at him, watching his tiny feet and hands in wonder. Remus was wagging his tail. ‘Our pups!‘
After a few minutes, the nurse handed me my baby girl. As I cradled her in my left arm, I noticed how small, perfect, pink–cheeks were my beautiful pups. “Both had stormy gray eyes. While my daughter had Auren’s hair, my son had my hair. Perfect blend of their parents. I looked at Auren, feeling ecstatic, and forgot everything about the curse.
