CHAPTER 201: HER... AND ONLY HER...

[ Old world - Blackmoon colony ( legally annexed Blackmoon territory) ]

Kieran sat hunched over his desk.

There was a stack of worn, weather stained files spread before him. The ink bled faintly at the edges from old dampness, and his eyes skimmed over them without really seeing.They were files from Skarthheim and other smaller Old world packs!

His other hand toyed absent mindedly with a dull, palm sized crimson stone...its surface was smooth on one side, jagged on the other...his eyes were strained but unfocused, his thoughts grazing on darker plains.

The steady scrape of stone against his palm aiding his brooding ceremony was broken by a sudden, unceremonious slam of the door.

Dax barged in without knocking.

His breathing was uneven, the urgency on his face was sharp enough to cut through the thick stillness in the room.

"Alpha... Alpha Kieran..." His voice cracked with the weight of the news that he carried. "The Luna is going into premature labour. You must hurry. The healers..." He struggled for breath. "...they aren’t very well prepared on these lands. You must come now...her body can not keep up..."

Kieran didn’t look up immediately.

The stone turned again in his hand,but slower...his jaw set, his face unreadable.

"I didn’t ask her to follow me here," he said flatly, as if reciting a fact that held no weight to him. "She should have stayed in the New Land, back at the pack! I spared the life of her evil,scheming, scoundrel father on her request. That’s more than what she can ever expect from me. She will have to bear the consequences of all her other actions. These lands are not...welcoming to everyone...there is nothing I can do about that! "

Dax blinked at him, disbelief flaring briefly in his eyes. "Alpha... you didn’t go back home for months. Neither did you speak to her or send any letters. You cannot completely blame her for..."

"Shut up, Dax!" Kieran’s voice cracked like a whip, cutting him off. "Focus on what you have been tasked with. Did you find any trace of Autumn? They took her away right in front of my eyes..." His hand slammed down hard onto the desk. The sharp crack of splintering wood rang out. And the entire surface gave way, collapsing into two jagged halves. " I saw them taking her away...and yet...and yet I couldn’t help her!"

The broken edges of the desk still trembled from that blow.

Dax, however, stood rooted, unflinching. He had grown accustomed to the Alpha’s storms.

"I also have words from your father," Dax continued after a moment, voice steady despite the tension. "Alpha Malrick says he has finalised that energy deal on your behalf with the Bloodfangs. But... he wishes to speak to you directly." Dax’s gaze narrowed slightly. "Why would you refuse seeing him after sacrificing so much to bring him back from the dead?"

Kieran’s breath hitched, but he didn’t answer. He shoved past Dax, that stone still clutched in his palm, his shoulders rigid with each step.

Dax reached out and caught his wrist before he could leave. " Alpha..."

His Alpha turned around slowly, his glare burning hot enough to make the air feel thinner. "I cannot bring myself to talk to that old man after seeing what he made me do. I thought I was helping my little brother when he forced me to put him down." His voice had dropped, but the bitterness in it was deep enough to stain every word. "But now... now that I have seen the monster I created with my own eyes, I can’t stand him anymore. I can’t stand myself for it. I will not face him in this lifetime."

He yanked his hand free, the motion sharp, final. "Now leave me the hell alone."

Kieran stormed out, the heavy door swinging on its hinges, nearly colliding with someone coming in.

Vera froze in the doorway, narrowly avoiding the wooden slab. Her eyes followed Kieran’s retreating back for a long moment before flicking towards Dax.

Dax stood in the ruins of the broken desk, shoulders heavy, releasing a long, tired sigh.

Vera stepped fully into the room, her gaze still fixed on the doorway where Kieran had vanished, the echo of his heavy steps lingering in the hall.

She closed the door softly, the sound muted against the oppressive silence between her and Dax.

"Does he even know," she asked at last, her voice low but laced with incredulity, "that his wife is in active labour? That the healers say the signs aren’t too good?"

Dax’s eyes dropped for a moment before he gave a slow, almost reluctant nod. "I gave him the news," he murmured. "Seems like he isn’t bothered."

Vera’s lips parted, but no words came at first. Instead, she drew in a deep breath, her shoulders lifting before falling with the weight of it. "Goddess..." she whispered, shaking her head.

Dax finally let out the question that had been gnawing at him for weeks. "How long is he going to be like this? How long before he pulls himself out of this pit?"

Vera didn’t answer right away. She stepped closer.

Her presence was warm against him as she reached out, fingers brushing lightly over the tense line of his shoulder. "He is aching for his mate, Dax," she said softly, her touch slow but sincere. "You can’t blame him for lashing out. You know best of all people what he has lost."

Her hand slid down, tracing the edge of his jaw before cupping his cheek.

Dax exhaled...leaning ever so slightly into the warmth of her palm.

"You," she whispered, her thumb brushing over the roughness of his skin, "have been carrying more than your share. All this time."

He said nothing. His eyes closed as she leaned in, her lips brushing his in a kiss that was gentle but deep with unspoken things.

When she pulled back just enough to speak, her breath was still mingled with his. "Gosh... I know how much I made you suffer," she said, her voice cracking just faintly at the edges. "And you still waited for me."

Her gaze searched his, lingering there. "That’s your Alpha," she murmured. "He is going to do better,don’t you think?"

Then her mouth was on his again...harder this time, her fingers curling into the fabric of his collar, holding him in place as if making sure he didn’t move.

"I am so sorry, Dax," she breathed between kisses. "I am so sorry for making you suffer like that. I promise you..." another kiss, deeper than the last, "...I am going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Dax’s hand came up at last, resting at her waist as though testing her promise.

Vera’s answer was to kiss him harder, her hands locked in his collar, pulling him down to her with all the fire she had been holding back for far too long.