~Kade~
A screeching cry was the first thing I heard when all other noise disappeared. I didn’t hear anyone’s breathing or sniffles. Just that cry. My heart began to pull, just like it did whenever I saw Layla or thought about her. My heart would answer because it knew whom it belonged to.
The same thing happened now. It began pulling me up, but I refused to let go of her body.
“I’m sorry she won’t stop.” I heard Danielle’s voice, and the crying became louder and more painful.
The mattress moved; Anna must’ve gotten up. I lifted my head. The crying didn’t stop.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Danielle said in a hushed tone.
“Come here, baby,” Anna said.
However, even then, the crying didn’t stop. I lifted my head.
My eyes scanned Layla’s face, and I slid my thumb over her cheek.
“That’s…” my wolf said. “Kade, turn to her.”
My heart continued being pulled. I turned my head and looked at Anna holding a crying baby girl.
She was tiny, almost disappearing in the onesie she was wearing.
“Kade,” Anna said.
Danielle’s eyes were glowing blue as she looked down at Layla and then at the baby.
“What were you doing with a baby?” I asked Danielle and stood from the bed. My fingers were wrapped around Layla’s arm. I couldn’t let go.
“Protecting her,” Danielle said.
My mother stepped up to Anna; her eyes fell on the baby’s head, and then she looked at me warily. Her eyes were brimming with uncertainty.
“Who is that?” I asked.
My mother raised her head. She had a defensive stance. “You already know,” she said.
I walked closer, but she held out her hand. Danielle took a step in front of Anna.
“Before you do, I need to know that you won’t hurt her,” my mother said.
My heart responded for a reason. Just like it knew it belonged to Layla, it knew now that it belonged to that baby girl.
“She’s mine?” I asked and felt my jaw click.
“She is,” Danielle said. Her eyes were still glowing.
“Why would I hurt her?” I asked.
She was still crying, and everyone was watching her.
“She is the result of the love you have… had with your mate, and she is gone. This baby is suffering for your loss,” my mother said.
“Hand her to him,” Analise said as she stepped into the room. Everyone’s heads were to her, her voice filled with authority.
My mother smiled, and Anna walked up to me. She gently placed the baby in my arms, and I pulled her close. The second her body was against my chest, her crying stopped. Her little eyelids fluttered open, and she gazed into my eyes.
I turned to Layla. Even this small, I could still see the resemblance.
Analise’s friend walked in. She raised her wrist, looked at the time, and then smiled.
“It’s almost time,” she said.
Analise bowed her head and smiled brightly. Her eyes lit up in joy. How could she be happy? Or perhaps the question was, why wasn’t I? Still, no, how could I be? The mother of my child was dead, the love of my life.
“If I could please everyone to leave. Everyone except for Kade.” Her eyes glanced down at the life I held in my arms.
Danielle walked up to me and reached up with her arms. She was the strongest wolf here; I knew my daughter would be safe with her. I turned to Tracey. She smiled and cried as she looked at my daughter’s face. I gently handed her the baby.
“Keep her safe,” I said.
She bowed her head and gently stroked her hair.
I turned to Danielle, who was hurt but not surprised.
“Protect her,” I said.
“With my life,” Danielle answered and walked after Tracey.
Everyone else, one by one, left the room. They placed a kiss on Layla’s head, and when the door closed, it felt like a different life. It felt as though the walls closed in on me.
“Why did you ask me to stay?” I honestly didn’t care about why. Even if she asked me to go, I wouldn’t have. There was no place I’d rather be.
“Before Layla and you came into my life, things seemed bleak at best,” Analise said and sat on the bed next to Layla. She held her hand and stroked her hair. “I wasn’t sure when this girl I kept seeing in my visions would be born. Being a Seer is often seen as a gift given by the gods to help guide and shine a light on paths that might be hard to see. For me, it has brought no light, no guidance, no fulfilled destiny in which I can take pride. It has brought me nothing but darkness and nightmares. And then finally,” she said and laughed softly. “Finally, she was born. The girl who would come to change the course of history. It’s a mighty thing, you see, changing your path. Hers was decided long ago.”
“So it was decided she would die by suicide?” I asked, feeling the anger rise within me.
Analise shook her head and left me confused. “Not suicide. Sacrifice,” she said. “You see, Layla could’ve chosen to ignore it. To take another path, one that led to power and fame, bad power and fame, of course, but she would’ve been strong. A queen. Talked about for centuries to come. She knew this. She also knew this path would leave her miserable, lonely, and without happiness. More so, she knew this road would be walked without you.” Analise looked up at me, but I was looking at Layla.
“And now I have to walk without her,” I whispered.
“That would be a horrible thing, would it not? To walk a lifetime without the one you love. There are no real rules when it comes to love, so that’s why we make our own.” She giggled.
Analise walked over and sat in the chair that Tarisa pulled out from the corner. She rested her arms and leaned back her head.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“It is rare to find something to live for but nearly impossible to find something to die for,” she said. The color was slowly draining from her face. Her eyes were getting heavy. “Thank you, Alpha Kade Arch, for giving me something to die for,” she said with a great, genuine smile—one where her teeth were on display. The kind of smile that made your eyes sparkle.
Her eyelids fell, and her eyes closed. Her body relaxed into the chair, and her head nodded off.
“What the hell is happening?” I asked Tarisa.
She stood behind Analise. Her hands were on either side of her head, and she drew a deep breath before looking at me.
“It’s done,” she said and looked around the room.
The candle on the table flickered its flame, and then it went out.
“What is done?” I growled. My wolf and I were both reacting to the energies in the room. It felt like a threat; something was off, and I could no longer hear Analise’s heartbeat.
“She wanted this, don’t forget that. This was the best gift she could have ever gotten from anybody,” Tarisa said. Her accent was thick, and her voice was smooth and calm. “Just a few moments now.”
I listened in. Analise’s heart stopped beating, so why was I hearing a third heartbeat?
One finger moved.
“What the hell is this?” I gasped and looked down at the bed. “Layla?” I fell next to her.
Another finger twitched.
“Holy shit, Layla!” I cupped her face in my hands. “Is she…”
I didn’t dare to dream of it. I looked up at Tarisa; I needed confirmation—something that could validate this hope I was feeling in my heart. Her chin went down, and that slight nod was all I needed.
“Baby, I’m right here,” I said and watched her like a magic show as her eyelids fluttered.
Her lashes moved, her eyes began to open, and there they were—those eyes I saw every time I closed mine.
“Fuck, Layla. I’m so sorry.” I pulled her to my body and sat on the bed.
Her arms came around me and weakly held against my back.
