Chapter 101

Chapter 101
Wyatt and I walked hand in hand back toward the pack house. Neither one of us said a word, just walked with our army behind us. I let all the emotions swarm around me as I let what just happened sink in. The pitch black of the night mirrored our feelings as a whole. Lives were lost tonight, and the mastermind behind everything was finally exposed and eliminated.

Turns out, there was an abandoned building about half of a mile into the woods. As we walked back, the forest was silent. The power radiating off of Wyatt and myself was suffocating to those in our path. We were hurt, broken-hearted, and tired. Grant took so much from both of us in different forms. Reed walked right behind us, carrying an unconscious Kelly like she was the most precious package. There were still so many things to address now, but the main feeling of doom had finally left me. Tonight, I was going to mourn my losses, but tomorrow, we would look ahead at a brighter future.

As the pack house came into view, I stopped dead in my tracks. Everyone else followed suit and waited for a command from their queen. Standing there for a minute, I then spoke. “Reed, take Kelly to the hospital, and tomorrow, we will meet in your office at 8:00 a.m.”

Reed nodded and took off for the hospital. Turning to everyone else, I said, “Please put the bodies in the morgue. I am sure the families will want to say their goodbyes. Everyone else may go home. Thank you all for coming to my rescue.” Wyatt and I stood there as everyone wandered off in their own directions. No one said a word but nodded and showed their respect as they passed. I didn’t blame them. They all saw some pretty intense stuff today.

Once everyone left, I focused on Wyatt. He was feeling hurt and anger. “Are you mad at me?” I asked, not sure if I wanted that answer. I felt like I should have done more to save Brooke. Maybe I could have jumped in sooner or recognized the signs earlier. I was at a loss.

Wyatt looked up at me from the ground that held his attention. His hands were in his pockets, and he was about fifteen feet from me. “I don’t know what I feel, honestly. You saved Kelly. You protected her at all costs. Brooke is dead. Why did Brooke want to kill you? I KNOW you don’t have feelings for Zach. Or didn’t have feelings for Zach. This is so fucked up!” Wyatt yelled the last part as he ran his hands through his hair.

“Raven told me to protect Kelly at all costs. Our children play a very important role in our futures.”

“We don’t even have children,” Wyatt said. His hands were on his hips, and he started pacing around, back and forth between two trees.

Opening and closing my mouth a few times, I finally got the courage to tell him. “I am pregnant.” The words left my lips in a soft whisper, but I knew he heard me. His whole body stopped, and he was frozen. “That is why I have a shield. It is the baby. The baby has powers. I found out this morning when we were getting ready. I wanted to tell you tonight, in private as a surprise. I wanted you to know first.” I pleaded with him to understand. I needed him to understand.

I couldn’t make out his emotions—happy, sad, confusion, anger, excitement. They were all over the place. Guessing his reactions was out of the question. “I am going to be a dad?” he finally asked slowly.

“Yes,” I said. I stood completely still, rooted in my spot. “I had to protect our future at all costs. Unfortunately, Brooke didn’t give me a chance and the baby wasn’t putting down his shield.”

“HIS?” Wyatt spoke loudly, taking three big steps and was standing directly in front of me. I was so surprised by this that I instinctively took a step back. My shocked and wide eyes must have registered to Wyatt as he placed his hands around my waist, pulling me close. “His?” he whispered as his eyes bored into mine.

I nodded slowly as I watched Wyatt process the information. He was going to be a dad. A son to pass on the family name.

“Are you mad at me?” I asked again. I saw the confusion ripple across his face before he realized what I was asking and why.

“No, my love, my queen. I understand you did what was needed but she was still my sister. I know she betrayed the pack, the crown, and her own blood,” Wyatt said as he lifted his hand and placed it around the side of my neck and used his thumb to rub my cheek.

I let a tear fall down my face and leaned into this hand. I needed this comfort. “You will never know how sorry I am that I couldn’t save her.”

Wyatt pulled me close, and I rested my head on his chest. I didn’t even fight the tears as they soaked his shirt. Wyatt supported my weight as I let out all the energy and emotions that ran through me. “I wanted to save them all, but I knew if I put Kelly down, she would have been killed.”

“I know, you did the right thing,” Wyatt said in reassurance.

“Will your mom still love me?” I asked, scared to know the truth. I felt Wyatt stiffen at that.

“She may need time to mourn her child, but she will love you. You saved her other daughter and her unborn grandchild,” he said, trying to soothe me, but I felt the uneasiness in his heart.

“I can’t lose the second chance I have at a mother,” I said quietly in a small voice. I heard the vulnerability in my own voice, and I knew he heard it, too.

“You will always have me.” Kissing my forehead, he left it at that.

“What now?” I asked, pulling away from him and drying my eyes.

“I’m not sure. They will need a proper funeral. The other councilmen will need their trials and then their deaths. They can be burned at the same time together. We need to establish new roles in the packs and give people their new titles. Theresa, Ed, and Harry are supposed to leave in the morning.

“And the baby?” I knew the answer, but I still needed to hear it.

Wyatt put his hand around my waist, pulling me so tight against him that I was melting into him. His other hand grabbed the back of my neck, fisting my hair. He didn’t even say a word as he planted the most passionate kiss on my lips. He had never kissed me this way, and I was here for it. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kept myself as close to him as physically possible. His tongue didn’t fight me for dominance but danced with me as my equal.

After a few minutes, he came up for air but kept his forehead against mine. Our breathing was erratic, but we matched each other perfectly. “You granted me my dream. I will forever be in your debt for giving me my own son. I vow to be the best dad I can be. I didn’t think I could love you more than I did already, but somehow, it’s like a physical piece of my heart is in you. I will never be able to show you how much this means to me. You are my soulmate, my better half, and my queen.”

The sincerity in his words hit me hard as I knew he meant each and every one of them. I kept my arms around his neck as I pulled him in for a deep hug. I needed to just feel close to him. He wrapped my legs around him and squeezed me back, holding me as close to him as possible. He held me like that until I was ready to be put down. I was not sure how long that was, but I let him hold me and comfort me. I internally knew it was stupid, but I needed this comfort from someone who had the power to break me completely.

“We will talk to your parents tonight,” I said as my feet hit the ground.

“Yeah, I suppose so. I kept the recording, so there is no dispute, and we can play it for everyone, so they know and understand.” I nodded sadly as this was not how I figured this was going to go.

“It was never Zach,” I said as we started walking again, hand in hand toward the pack house.

“No, he was being played by Brooke.” I could see the pain going through his face without even feeling his emotions. This really hurt him on a different level. It was one thing being betrayed, but being betrayed by a family member, it hit different. Harder even, deeper.

We continued in silence as a feeling of dread filled me. Not one of my feelings, but the feeling from needing to tell someone something that would upset them. Like a little kid that knew they got caught and there was no choice but to accept their punishment.

To make matters worse, Autumn and Paul were standing at the front of the pack house, waiting for us. As we approached, Paul nodded his head, signaling us to follow him. Wyatt looked at me and gave me a reassuring squeeze of his hand before we kept walking towards Reed’s office.

Paul and Autumn stood off to the side as we came into the office and shut the door. I didn’t know what to say. I knew I was the queen, but something about upsetting them really scared me, so I was kind of behind Wyatt. I was ashamed of not being able to help Brooke.

“I just want to hear it. Tell us what happened… please?” Paul said in a very strained voice.

“I have a video, but I am not sure mom needs to watch it,” Wyatt said, looking directly at his dad in the eye. They had a staring contest for a few moments, neither one of them wavering.

“This is absurd! I will watch the video if I want to! Put it in, young man!” Autumn said. She was fuming with anger. I didn’t want to dig deeper into it. I stayed in the far corner of the room, farthest from them. Again, I knew they couldn’t hurt me, but these were my ‘adopted’ parents, and the idea of losing them was too much for me to bear. I started shaking a little in anticipation of being rejected.

Wyatt put the recording on the computer screen and pressed play. I watched for the second time, living for a third time the past events of the night. Every time the gun went off, I jumped, turning my head. Autumn inhaled sharply as she watched her daughter shoot someone and then another person. One hand over her mouth, the other over her heart. Paul’s face darkened, and he looked murderous. They watched me hide Kelly under the dead bodies and then take down Grant.

Wyatt finally turned off the video and walked back over toward me. I was fully shaking in fear from their reactions. Wyatt stopped in front of me and shielded me from his parents. “We found out tonight that Nina is also pregnant. Raven said our children were a key factor in some future event and needed protection at all costs.”

The silence that followed was deafening to my ears. My hands were gripping his arm tightly as I peeked around him. Autumn was frozen in place as tears fell down her face. Paul was standing up and pacing around the room. I didn’t dare say anything as they were processing all the new information that was presented to them.

Finally, Autumn stood up and looked at me. As she started walking toward me, the shield grew and wrapped around me, causing Autumn to look at me with a shocked expression.

“The baby has powers, too. The shield is its way of protecting her from any harm,” Wyatt explained. Autumn’s expression softened as she looked at me.

“Do not fear me. I need you to know that I understand why you did what you did. Please understand that even though Brooke betrayed us, she was still my daughter. I am so sorry for the pain she caused you and I hope you will still let me be a mother to you?” Autumn said. She finished talking with her arms out, asking for a hug.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. I was still a little hesitant, so I opened the door to Autumn’s feelings. She was deeply hurt, sad, and sorrowful. She really did mean what she said, and I felt the truth behind them. I looked over at Paul to see his reaction. He was looking at Autumn with a weird expression on his face. I decided to read him: pain, embarrassment, and anger. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Paul walked out of the room and down the hall.

I could feel Wyatt’s anger rising and he took off after his dad. Autumn and I watched the boys leave. “Don’t think of it that way. Paul is embarrassed over what Brooke did. We both understand how you protected Kelly and our grandchild. You are also carrying our grandchild. I couldn’t be happier to have you as my daughter.”

Autumn barely got the words out before I started ugly crying as I fell into her arms. She held me close like my own mother would do when I was upset. I was not sure how there were still tears to let fall, but they came out like I hadn’t cried in months. I cried for Brooke, Johnnie, Zach, and Trevor. I cried for everyone hurt by their selfish actions and all the pain in my heart. All the guilt I felt and all the self-pity, I let it all out. Autumn probably held me for what felt like hours before exhaustion overcame me and I fell asleep.

I vaguely remember Wyatt coming back and carrying me to our room. He somehow managed to undress me, bathe me, and put me to bed as I was basically a zombie on my feet. What I do know was as soon as my head hit the pillow, all I saw was darkness.