Chapter 256 - His Mate or His Girlfriend
Melanie stood in the over-gown and plastic shoes given to her by the neonatal ICU staff after taking a quick hot shower and practically dousing herself with sanitizer. The peadiatrician wouldn’t allow her to hold her son, but he did tell her that she could pat his arm lightly and sing to him. So that’s what Melanie did as she watched him hooked up to the ventialator, the machine forcing air into his tiny lungs. It looked scary; the big tubes attached to one tiny body. Melanie wondered if he was in pain, goddess she hoped not.
The minute her finger grazed his toothpick sized arm, Melanie felt a calmness overtake her. It was better than nothing. Every fibre of her being yearned to grab him, but she'd take what she could get. And maybe she was just imagining it, but her son seemed to relax. She softly hummed the lullaby her mother,Carey, had sang to her so many times as a baby. Jason fussed, almost as if he was trying to move his head towards where the sound was coming from.
“I’m here,” Melanie whispered reassuringly, though he probably couldn’t hear her or understand her. “And I’m never leaving you,” Melanie vowed with determination.
The tiny infant peeped an eye open only for a millisecond. Melanie thought that if he wasn’t hooked up to all those ugly tubes, he might have yelped in agreement. She gave a half-smile, patting his tiny stomach through the hole in the incubator.
This is where she should be right now and she was grateful to Brad for supporting her. Her son needed her the most while he was fighting for his life. She mind-linked him, just to make sure everything was running smoothly during the ceremony.
“Your war is over. Sleep peacefully and awake in the halls of the moon goddess where you will all be rewarded for sacrificing your lives in the name of goodness and righteousness,” a Melanie look-alike intoned.
Brad stood next to her, on her right side, as was the rightful place of his as the mate of the coven head. Melanie lifted her hands, making a movement as if she was cupping air in her two palms. She blew lightly on her fingers and fluttered her fingers lightly back and forth. The torches around them caught fire as did the bodies in barges piled high with drywood and straw.
The coven witches had been buried in their own cemetery. Their power consecrated into the land itself. But those witches or wolves from other lands who had died fighting were being sent off in boats, their bodies burning brightly in the dark of night as their spirits were released to roam and find their final resting place. Luckily, they hadn’t had many losses.Melanie had even decided to give Cassidy a proper send off despite her teaming up with Sybl. But Jenny…Jenny was another story altogether. Melanie could not find it in her to allow Jenny to be buried within the very Coven she’d schemed to betray with Sybl. So Jenny had also been sent off in a boat, her body burning and her spirit released to find it’s final resting place in the realm of Lucifer.
“But our war is not yet over,” Melanie, who was actually Maria in disguise, intoned as the boats disappeared, their light’s extinguishing one by one as they burned and disintegrated into the water. “Asmodeus is on his way. We must prepare for the final battle. Mourn for your loved ones, but don’t let their deaths be in vain. We will rise above this tragedy, relish in the fact that we won the battle and defeat this new threat.”
Everyone watched as Melanie slipped her hand into Brad’s and leaned into him, their bodies touching each other.
“We are stronger together, and thanks to my mate, I’ve become stronger than before. We will prevail!”
“We will prevail!” Everyone repeated, raising their hands in unison, forming a fist in tribute to Melanie and the alphas standing in a line behind her.
No one noticed that the Latin American Coven ally leader was not present. But they definitely would have noticed Melanie’s missing presence. She was the one that had brought them all here, that had formed new alliances and was the strongest witch in northern America.
Brad was taken offgaurd when an uncharacteristic smirk took over Melanie’s lips and she leaned in to peck him on the lips. It was so quick, it was over before Brad could even blink so he doubted the real Melanie even felt anything.
“Sorry but we have to make it look convincing,” Maria whispered under her breath to Brad, her head resting against his shoulder.
“Melanie would never do that infront of so many people,” Brad muttered, making sure to keep a tight smile plastered on his face as his own arm went around her shoulders.
Maria shrugged nonchalantly, as if to say ‘oh well’.
“And I brought blankets and bottles,” Selene said, unpacking the big box.
She’d shown up at the clinic with a load of gifts for her new nephew. Melanie sat with her in the small hospital room she was allowed to go lay down in or use the bathroom if the need arose.
“It’s not like he can use a bottle yet,” Melanie said with a grimace recalling that he was being fed through tubes.
Selene tilted her head to the side looking at her little sister’s despondent face.
“He’ll be all right. He’s strong, just like his mom,” Selene said assuredly. “I came as soon as Dad told me what happened. I would have come sooner but....“ Selene shrugged her shoulders helplessly. The truth was Selene had no idea what had been going on and she'd been purposefully kept in the dark.
“I’d told everyone to keep everything a secret from you,” Melanie said swiftly. “I knew if you found out, you’d come running. I didn’t want to endanger you and your new family.” Melanie swallowed. “Enough of us are in danger as it is,” Melanie added.
“But Sybl’s dead now,” Selene burst out encouragingly. “Hopefully we’ll find a way to stop Asmodeus and everything will be allright.”
Melanie shook her head. A life for a life. And she just knew in her heart of hearts that that life would be her son’s.
As if sensing what Melanie was thinking, Selene looked at her pointedly.
“You said that the voices in your dreams said that the premonitions were only part of your gift? Well what’s your gift? Do you even know? Maria can take the form of different people she touches, and Sybl could communicate with…blue birds right?”
Melanie nodded quietly. Truthfully, she hadn’t had time to ponder over what her gift was. She’d had other things going on.
“Try asking Maria. Maybe she can help you discover what it really is,” Selene said encouragingly.
Selene did have a point, now that Melanie really thought about it. There had to be more than just premonitions to her gift. But how was she supposed to know? Uptil now, Melanie had been trained by other witches. Wiitches who had no idea how Earth witches really operated. Carey had had the right idea all long, enlisting the help of an Earth Witch to help hone Melanie’s powers. Melanie couldn’t help but send a silent thank you to her beta-mother. Even in death, she’d looked out for Melanie, making sure Maria would be there to help.
“What is that?” Melanie asked in surprise as she watched Selene getting an odd square machine out of small box.
“It’s to pump milk,” Selene said enthusiastically, pushing it towards Melanie.
Melanie grimaced, leaning away from the contraption as shame wracked her body.
“I’m not producing anything,” Melanie admitted hanging her head in defeat.
Another failture of her as a mother. Another thing she couldn't do for her child.
“Are you sure?” Selene queried. “It takes time for milk to come in.”
“A lactation consultant already tried…I think the stress of everything….” Melanie shrugged, not wanting to go too much into detail of the fact that she was completely inept at being a mother. “Not a single drop,” Melanie admitted. “Otherwise they wanted me to pump milk and store it for Jason. But…I’m such a failure as a mother,” Melanie sniffed quietly, emotion overcoming her. “I was so caught up in being a leader….I ignored my health and put my son at risk. I guess I can’t do both….can’t have the best of both worlds as they say,” Melanie said, voicing her inner turmoil.
She couldn’t keep her son safe in her womb, and now she couldn’t even produce milk for him. She was no better than Sybl who'd been unable to take care of Melanie as every mother should.
“Hey…hey…” Selene whispered assuringly. She bent her blonde head, attempting to catch Melanie's sad green eyes. It was important for Melanie to understand that Selene meant every word of what she was about to say next. “You’re definitely not a failure. Your son is lucky to have you for his mother. You are what he needs. Fed is best O.K.? Some mom’s don’t make enough milk and that’s all right. It doesn’t define who you are as a mother. You love your son and that’s all he really truly needs from you.”
Melanie looked at Selene, her heart in her eyes. Hope flickered to life in them. Hope that she wasn't completely awful at being a mom.
“You don’t think I’m a bad mother?”
Selene shook her head furiously.
“You’re sitting here, singing lullabies to your son. You love him, you want to be here for him. There’s a war going on but you still found time to be here for him. If that’s not a mother’s love, I don’t know what is, “ Selene ended crossing her arms decidedly. “And really, all a child really needs is a mother who loves them. Like mom loved you.”
Melanie allowed Selene to hug her as she exhaled, letting out all her pent up emotions in that one breath. The worry, the guilt, the all consuming feeling of failure and the risk that she might end up as bad a mother as Sybl had been slowly left her. And it was replaced by something else, by a determination to do right by her son and by her coven. She would be the best mom ever and the best leader ever. She’d do both. She’d keep a balance, and it was thanks to Selene’s pep talk that she realized she had to try.
"Sorry to interrupt," spoke up a tender voice that made Melanie feel lighter than before.
She turned to look at Brad, happy her mate was nearby. Brad looked back at her lovingly, happy to see that Melanie seemed to be in a better headspace than before.
"I just came to see how you were doing and visit Jason," Brad explained, holding his arms out for a hug of his own.
Melanie walked over to him, throwing his arms around him. But she leaned back almost immediately, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
"Why do you smell like Maria?" Melanie asked with a scowl.
Melanie wouldn't be too happy to hear about the show they'd put on for the crowd when anouncing that they were mates.
Brad gulped, looking at Melanie lovingly.
"You know I love you," he began appeasingly.
Melanie raised an eyebrow.
"And you would know if something happened, you would have felt it!" Brad blurted out.
Melanie crossed her arms.
"I'm not asking if you cheated," Melanie said, her voice deathly calm despite the fact that her wolf itched to burn down this room in a fit of jealous rage. "I'm asking why someone atleast 15 years older than you was rubbing against you enough that you're coated in her smell."
Brad realized he'd rather walk into battle right now than have to explain everything to Melanie.
"It wasn't my idea!" he finally yelped out helplessly.
Selene snorted a laugh from behind Melanie. Who would have thought she'd see the day Brad squirming under Melanie's gaze? He was so whipped, it was hilarious.
A/N: NExt update is Wednesday :)