The Sacrifice

*Ainslee*

I remember riding this way not so long ago to see my family and demolish the Blacks. It would have been a happy time, except for the fact I’d been engaged to Axel Brodcraz.

Now I’m unhappy again, because I am leaving the man I love forever and possibly my son as well. No, unhappy doesn’t cover it. I’m crushed. Shattered.

And angry.

I don’t see the landscape. I don’t touch my dinner at the inn where we stay overnight. I don’t sleep, either. I am just numb as we travel all the way to the middle of Longclaw territory.

The carriage stops before a new structure that is clearly still being built. Its bones look something like Alpha King Karl’s house in Warfang, but it’s smaller, and there are no intricate carvings.

My father comes out of the building when the carriage stops, well-dressed and smiling. “Ainslee! My baby girl! I haven’t seen you since you were a tiny child in your mother’s arms.”

I get down out of the carriage, hesitating only a moment before taking the hand he offers me to help me down. “It has been a long time.”

His smile falters. I must look as wrecked as I feel. “It will get better, Ainslee. I promise. The longer you’re away from him, the healthier you’ll be.”

“I don’t think so, Father, but we’ll see, I suppose,” I reply, my voice flat and lifeless.

“Ah, my poor girl. What power he must have had over you?” He hugs me.

I’m angry with him, but this is also my father I haven’t seen since I was a young girl, so I hug him back, stifling a sob. “I’ve missed you,” I say. “I thought you were dead.”

“I’ve missed you, too. I took quite a hit to the head, but it didn’t kill me. I couldn’t remember anything until Karl’s doctor got the bone fragments out of my brain,” he explains, tapping the long scar on his forehead. “This used to be all dented in, but they fixed it.”

“You didn’t remember us at all?” I ask, incredulous.

“I didn’t. I was squatting in a cave, eating rats and scraps. So, I know what it’s like, is all I’m trying to say. To not be yourself,” he says.

He doesn’t understand. He can never understand how the Moon Goddess chose Rafe for me, that we have an actual mate bond.

I won’t stop trying to convince him, but now is not the time. I force a smile, and my father tucks my hand into his arm and starts toward the house.

“You will have to show me everything,” I tell him, trying to sound as cheerful as possible and failing miserably.

He kisses my temple. “I appreciate how hard you’re trying. I will show you around, eventually, but I think after your long journey, you might just want to see where your room is.”

I sag with relief. “Yes. Thank you, Father. That would be very nice.

He takes me through a large gathering area and into a separate part of the house. Here I can see living quarters. Everything smells of freshly-cut wood.

“Here,” he says, pushing a door open for me. “Your mother came and decorated it when she heard you were coming. They’d like to come to dinner, when you’re feeling up to it.”

“I’m sorry Mom had a new mate by the time you got your memory back,” I reply, unable to fathom how painful that must have been.

He winces then shrugs. “She was told I was dead. And she had you to think about. I’m glad she found another man to take care of her. And your half-siblings are adorable.”

“You’re very gracious.” I look around at the cream-colored duvet on a sturdy, four-poster bed adorned with flowy cream-colored cloth. There’s a baby blue rug in the middle of the wood floor and a small desk and a window. It has its own bathroom. Everything is new, but not lavish. “It’s a very nice room. Thank you, Father.”

He smiles proudly. “I know it’s not much, but I wanted you to be comfortable here. So far, it’s just you and me in the house. Oh, and my Beta, Marcus Lightfoot. You’ll meet him later.”

“I’ll be delighted,” I say, though it just sounds like a tiring ordeal in a long series of tiring ordeals that will comprise the rest of my life.

He winks at me, and I have the sneaking suspicion he’d like me to be delighted with Marcus Lightfoot. More than delighted. I suddenly wonder what my father’s thoughts on my marrying again one day are.

The idea makes me sick, and that and the pregnancy has me excusing myself quickly to go in the bathroom and throw up.

“There is a nursery here as well. For your little boy. And the new little one,” he says softly when I return.

“Drake is the prince of Shadowglade. He needs to live at Shadowmanor,” I respond with tears in my eyes. Thinking of being away from my son makes my heart hurt even more.

My father sets his jaw and gives me another hug, despite the fact that I was just sick. “You leave that to me. I’ll get him to you. He may be a half-breed, but he’s still your son. I wouldn’t have you separated from your children for the wide world.”

I don’t know what to say. Rafe will want the children as well and is just as deserving of them as I am. I can’t give up the thought that I can change my father’s mind.

He pulls back from the hug and pats me on the back. “You lie down and rest. I’ll have someone bring you up some tea to calm your stomach.”

“Thank you,” I utter the words again. I’m trying so hard not to let my anger show and just be thankful to have my father back.

“You’re welcome.” He stands in the doorway until I am lying comfortably on the bed then closes the door, leaving it just slightly ajar.

I stare up at the gauzy canopy, remembering my bed at home, the one I share with Rafe. Or shared, rather. If my father has his way, I’ll never going to be in that bed with my husband again. I can’t let that happen, but for now, I need to be here to save my people.

I’m just starting to fall asleep when there is a soft knock at my door. I look up and my jaw drops. “Lucia Horn!”

“Ainslee Bleiz,” Lucia smiles. “I’m glad to see you again.”

“It’s been an age!” I start to get up.

“Oh, don’t get up! I came with tea.” She sets a tray with tea and crackers on the bed. She sits at the edge, grinning at me. “So, I live in Beoutown now. I found my mate here! Are you staying for good?”

I bow my head. “So it seems.”

Her smile fades. “I just knew there had to be something fishy about all this. Did you and the king have a fight?”

“The king is in Rallegrad trying to rescue our son,” I whisper. “Father told me I had to come here if we were to get any Longclaw troops to fight in the war. Rallegrad and Tormentia are attacking Shadowglade at the same time. It was either going to be a war we lost or a war we won but at great cost. For me, there wasn’t really a choice.”

“Why would your father take you away from your mate?” she asks.

I laugh bitterly. “He thinks Rafe has used some kind of vampire power on me to get me to love him. I’ve argued myself blue in the face, but it’s no use.”

“I’m sorry. You know, there were a lot of people in Longclaw who wanted to go to war for Shadowglade when war broke out,” she says. “A lot of people. My dad included.”

“That’s heartening. At least they won’t feel like they’re being forced to fight someone else’s war,” I reply.

“No. King Rafe did a lot for us after the vampires found out how poorly things were being run in the Longclaw lands. A lot of people feel like they owe him,” she says.

My smile is almost genuine. “It’s good to know he inspires such loyalty.”

“He does. But so does your father. He’s a good Alpha King,” she says. “I know it’s asking a lot, but give him a chance. I think, after a while, he’ll come around. He’ll see that you’re really love-sick.”

“I hope so.” I sip the tea even though I feel as though I never want to eat or drink anything ever again. It feels dull going down my throat, tasteless. Maybe I’ve lost my sense of taste as well.

“I put honey in it,” she tells me. “It should help.”

“Thank you,” I say. I set the tea aside. “Tell me more about you. Who is this mate you spoke of?”

She blushes. “Beta Marcus and I are mates,” she reveals. “We met when he came to introduce himself to my father. I came back here to serve the king in any way I can. Right now, it’s mostly odds and ends around the castle.”

I don’t know if I’m more relieved or happy for her. “That’s great that the Beta is your mate.”

“I don’t know if he’ll be allowed to marry me, though,” she says with a pained expression.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because King Howard wants him to marry you,” she replies sadly.