Chapter 246 The choice and the blood

Chapter 246 The choice and the blood
Chapter 249: The Choice and The Blood

Damon's POV

I carried Milo's body home cradled against my chest like the most precious thing in the world. Because he was. Even motionless, even silent, even with our bond severed and empty, he was still my everything.

The soldiers had wrapped him carefully in clean cloth before we lifted him from the crater. His purple fur was still perfect beneath the fabric… no burns, no wounds, no sign of the explosion that should have destroyed him. It was as if his body had been preserved by some force beyond understanding.

a faint shimmer of energy clinged to him, it was barely visible, but it was there. Purple. Like his aura hadn't completely faded.

Like some part of him was still fighting.

"That's his remnant energy," Daphne explained when I asked, her voice heavy with sorrow. "His purple energy. It's preserving the body, keeping it from... from decomposing. But Damon, you need to understand…it's fading. If it's…"

She didn't need to say it. I could see it…the way his fur seemed a little less vibrant each hour.

He will still be here," I interrupted fiercely. "He is still here now. I can feel it."

But I couldn't. That was the lie I told myself. The bond was silent. Like an empty void.

The pack was chaos when we arrived. News of our victory had reached them, but so had word of the cost. Wolves lined the streets as we passed, heads bowed in respect and grief for the omega who had saved them all.

Marcus met us at the pack house, or what remained of the pack. and the relief on his face when he saw me almost made something crack in my chest. His face was haggard, marked by exhaustion. He had survived Millen's trap. And now he was trying to hold the kingdom together while I fell apart.

Part of me wanted to feel something about that…relief. But I couldn't spare the emotion. All of it was focused on the still body in my arms.

"Thank the gods. We had heard reports, but…" His eyes fell on Milo's motionless form and his expression crumbled. "Oh, Damon. I am so sorry."

"Don't," I warned. "Don't say it like he's gone. He's not. He's just... resting. Healing. He will wake up."

Marcus didn't argue, but I saw the pity in his eyes. The same pity I had seen in everyone's eyes since we had pulled Milo from the rubble.

It was obvious that they had all given up on him.

But I had not. I couldn't.

"The alphas are arriving," he said quietly, walking beside me as I carried Milo through the ruined streets. "Seventeen territories have sent representatives. Want to swear fealty to the new kingdom."

"Tell them I'm not available."

"Damon…"

"Tell them," I repeated, my voice dead. "I don't care about alphas or territories or kingdoms. Not right now."

Marcus looked at Milo's still form, and his expression crumpled. "I understand. I will handle it. Take whatever time you need."

Time. As if time meant anything anymore. As if any amount of time could fill the void in my heart.

I took Milo to our chambers… the rooms that had been prepared for us in the capital's least damaged wing. Laid him carefully on the bed, adjusting the cloth so his face was visible. So I could see him.

His wolf form looked so small against the sheets. So fragile. This was the same wolf who had blazed like a star, who had moved faster than light, who'd torn through Millen like she was nothing.

Now he looked like a sleeping puppy.

Our son started crying from the next room. Selene appeared in the doorway, the baby in her arms, her face streaked with tears. "He has been fussy since we arrived. I think... I think he can sense…"

Could he? Was there some bond between parent and child that I couldn't sense?

“Take him away from here.” I said quietly.

A day passed. I barely left Milo's side, even to see our son. Marcus took over pack duties without complaint, managing the aftermath of the war while I kept vigil over my mate.

The purple shimmer around Milo's body grew fainter each hour, just as Daphne had warned. By the second day, it was barely visible.

"Damon." Daphne's soft voice came on the second day. "I need to... I need to examine him. Officially."

I knew what she meant. Knew what she was going to say.

"No."

"Damon, please…"

"I said no!" The words came out harsh. Desperate. "He is not dead. He'

Is not. There's still that energy, still that shimmer…"

"It's fading," she said gently. "And when it's gone... Damon, you need to prepare yourself. You need to…"

"Get out."

She flinched. "Damon…"

"I said get out!" I roared. "All of you! Just... just leave us alone."

They left. All of them. Even Selene, though she looked back with such profound sadness it made me want to scream.

I turned back to Milo, my hands shaking as I touched his fur. Still soft. Still warm from the fading energy. But definitely fading.

"Please," I whispered. "Please don't leave me. Don't leave our son. We need you. I need you."

The bond remained silent.

Another day passed. The shimmer faded even more.

Daphne returned that evening, her face grave. She examined Milo thoroughly, checking for any signs of life, any indication that something beyond that fading energy was keeping him preserved.

There was nothing.

"I'm sorry," she said finally, tears streaming down her face. "Damon, I am so sorry, but... he is gone. The energy is all that's left. When it fades completely, he will... his body will..."

"No." The word came out broken. "No, there has to be something. There has to be…"

An idea struck me. Desperate, Probably futile. But I couldn't just sit here and watch him fade.

I grabbed the dagger from my belt and slashed across my wrist before she could stop me. Blood welled up, rich and red and potent with alpha power.

"Damon, what are you…"

I pressed my bleeding wrist to Milo's muzzle, forcing my blood between his lips. "Drink," I commanded, pouring every ounce of alpha will I possessed into the word. "Drink, damn it! Come back to me! Come back to our son!"

My blood flowed into his mouth. I willed it to work, to somehow spark life back into him the way it had helped him heal before.

Nothing happened.

Milo's body remained still. Cold. The bond stayed silent.

"Please," I begged, pressing my wrist harder against his muzzle, blood flowing freely now. "Please, Milo. Please don't leave me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. For not seeing you, for not protecting you, for making you sacrifice yourself to save me. Just come back. Please just come back and I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Still nothing.

Daphne's hand touched my shoulder gently. "Damon... it's not working. You need to stop before you hurt yourself."

"No!" I yanked away from her, clutching Milo closer. "No, there has to be something! There has to be…"

But even as I said it, I could see the truth in everyone's eyes. The pity. The grief. The acceptance I refused to feel.

Daphne was crying openly now. So was Selene. Even Marcus had tears streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry," Daphne whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. We did everything we could. But he's... Damon, he's gone."

"No," I said again, but the word had no strength behind it. "No, he's... he can't be..."

But the shimmer was almost completely gone now. In another day, maybe two, there would be nothing left to preserve him. Nothing left but a body that used to hold the wolf I loved.

I looked down at Milo's peaceful face, at our son sleeping nearby, at the empty space in my chest where our bond used to live.

And something inside me shattered.

"No!" The roar tore from my throat, primal and anguished. I couldn't accept this. I wouldn't accept this.

Before anyone could stop me, I scooped up Milo's body and ran.

"Damon, wait!" Selene's voice chased after me.

But I didn't answer. Couldn't answer. I just ran, clutching my mate's still form to my chest, running from the pity in their eyes and the truth I refused to accept.

Running from a future without him