Deaths and Desires

PROLOGUE Just as the Alpha King jerked his head back to look at the makeshift tent where the screams came from, an ax came down hard on his own raised sword. His stance faltered, and he staggered back as the warrior continued to press his ax down on his. The Alpha struck back, and the ax flung out of his grasp. As the warrior tried to reach for the ax, the Alpha King didn't hesitate to bring the sword down on his head, dividing him in two. More of the screams reached his ears and, with all his might, he resisted looking the way they came. His sole priority was to keep everyone away from the tent. And that was what he’d focus on. He swiftly marched forward, expertly taking on the ones foolish enough to charge towards him. “Melyandra, please!” He ignored the cry that came from the tent and kept fighting, ensuring that none of them neared the tent. He stabbed a werewolf that lunged at him in his wolf form in the heart. Then the fallen wolf knocked the warrior behind it, causing him to fall. He was quick to attack the second man; he slit his throat and blood gushed out of the tiny tear. He spat on both of them on the floor. Fools! He strengthened his stance and his hold on his sword as more warriors, about a dozen, lunged at him. The Alpha king was an excellent swordsman, but they were too much for him to take on at once. But he took them on nevertheless. Come death or plague, he had sworn to protect her. “I got you, your highness!” A blonde-haired man called from behind him. After eliminating one of their opponents, the Alpha king turned and saw the blonde, his beta, grinning as he took a stance behind him. The Alpha king refused to grin back at the blonde-haired man. He was always in an annoyingly jolly mood. He didn’t understand why someone would be grinning during a war where more of their men were dropping dead by the second. More men came, more were stabbed, and more blood was splattered, artfully plastering the brown earth with streaks of red. They had several of their men still standing and fighting with them. But they were losing. Their opponents, the Leed pack, had requested more men – a liberty they lost after the first war. His beta turned to him and nodded at the tent while sparring with two warriors. “Get them out of here!” He turned back to the battlefield, “I’ll keep these away.” The Alpha king nodded, instantly agreeing. He had been wanting to see how she was managing. He yearned to hold her hands and assure her that everything was going to be fine. He sent the sword of his current sparring partner in the air and plunged his sword into his opponent’s open mouth. He turned and approached the tent. As he got closer, the screams coming from the tent intensified and his heart squeezed. He wished she didn't have to go through this. He wished he could take her place right now. In a blur, a wolf zipped past him toward the tent. He didn’t hesitate to swing his sword at him. The sword stabbed the wolf at the back of his head and came out of his eyes. He fought half a dozen men, both in their wolf form and human form, stepping over dead bodies before he successfully got into the tent. Before stepping in, he stationed two of his men at the entrance of the tent. “Fight only those who attack you or try to get in,” he instructed sternly. “No one must get in!” He added, threateningly pointing his sword at them. “Yes, Your Highness!” “She’s having a hard time pushing,” as soon as he got in, the midwife cried, her squeezed forehead and brows heavily coated with sweat. He fell to his knees, dropping his sword by his side. With bloodied hands, he took hold of the clenched hands of the woman in labor. Her claws had protruded, and they grazed the inside of his palm. “My love,” he called softly. The woman looked up at him and shook her head, unclenching her hands and squeezing his. “Make it stop,” her voice trembled and her eyes watered. “I can’t,” he whispered helplessly. One of his hands slid down to her belly. “I wish I could…” “I loved it,” she started, her voice quivering, “I loved it so much, I did everything to make sure it was fairing well… I took those bitter herbs…” “Aye, love. Aye…” he stroked her rich white hair – what he loved most about her features. He felt her wolf’s ears as he ran his fingers through her hair. “So why did it have to cause me so much pain?” She cried, her head falling on the floor. “Why?!” A war cry reached the room, grabbing his attention. One of his men suddenly occupied the tent’s entrance. “Your Highness! There are more than we can hold!” The midwife turned toward the voice. The shadows of the fallen men on the curtain were terrifying. Who knew if those were their men or not? “Get more men!” He ordered, then whistled – a call for more men. “You have to try, love. We’re running out of time.” “And blood.” The man looked up and the midwife’s troubled expression met his scared one. “She’s losing too much blood.” “My moon, please…’ The woman shook her head, her lips trembling, “I can’t…” “You’re strong. You’re the strongest woman I know. You can do it! I know you can.” She shook her head again, more tears pouring out of her eyes. “I’d rather be on the battlefield.” “Your Highness…” the midwife warned. “She has to push. Just one last push dear, just one last time.” The midwife was scared. She knew the tent would crumble to the floor the instant more warriors came close. But she couldn’t leave her. Her eyes fell to the corner, neither could she leave him. “You’ve been saying the same damn thing since the first push!” The woman in labor bit back exasperatedly. “Please, my love. I’ll be by your side. Try harder. I beg you.” “It hurts,” her lips trembled. “It hurts so f*****g much.” “Please…” he sat down and placed her head on his thigh. Then he put a cloth in between her teeth. “Now, okay?” With exerting effort, she grunted and pushed as instructed. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her bite on the cloth between her teeth was merciless. The midwife nodded approvingly. “Heavens!” she cried, “the baby’s head is out. Keep it up!” Determinedly, she pushed some more and her fangs started to protrude. “Almost there! Just one more push, I swear it!” The midwife encouraged. She shook her head, her face contorted in so much pain. The man caressed her head and squeezed her shoulders. “Yes, my love, you can do-“ His words froze on his tongue as the glint of a sword caught his eyes a nanosecond before it came down in front of him. The midwife screamed, eyes wide in horror as she fell back on her arse. Everything suddenly went deadpan silent for a second before the Alpha king blindly grabbed his sword and plunged it into the heart of the man who stood in front of them. The woman in labor had stopped screaming and moving. Her clenched hands loosened, and her hands fell limply by her side. The midwife quickly regained herself and continued to drag the baby out. The Alpha stared at the sword plunged into the woman’s heart. Dazed. He should’ve listened, he thought. If he had listened to him, then his mate would not have a sword lodged in her heart right now. Perhaps he was imagining things. There was no way he’d be here and this would happen. There was the clang of metal, then the sound of a blade slicing through flesh followed before the tent’s flap was thrown open. “We have to lea-“ The blonde-haired man stopped dead in his tracks, his sword falling from his grip. “We have to move,” he let out absentmindedly, his eyes still glued to the dead woman on the floor. “We’re greatly outnumbered.” Slowly, the Alpha King looked up at him. “What use is leaving and living? She’s dead.” “You still have the child to live for.” His beta had gotten a grip on himself and picked up his sword, his eyes still on the dead woman. The midwife was still trying to pull the baby’s legs out from between the dead woman’s legs. “Is it even still alive?” The Alpha’s voice trembled as he gazed at the tiny head the midwife’s gentle grip was on. “There’s a high chance that the child will live.” Another cry came through the entrance of the tent and his beta silenced it instantly. “We need to leave, find a way to get them out. In no time, we would be surrounded. You don’t want that.” “I don’t mind,” the Alpha shrugged, clutching the dead woman’s head to his chest. “The man I know…” the blonde trailed off when he saw a tear rolling down the Alpha’s eyes. He exchanged looks with the midwife. It was almost unbelievable that their Alpha was in tears. “I should’ve been more alert…” his voice trembled, his hold on her shoulders tightening. “Or you should’ve listened to me,” the beta murmured, but the Alpha didn’t seem to have heard him. The midwife threw him a stern glare before speaking. She turned back to the Alpha, “You were, your Highness. She needed you, and you were there for her,” the midwife said softly. “She’s dead!” He screamed. “I sat right here and let her die.” He looked down at her. The woman’s eyes were still wide open, her clear blue eyes stared back at him, unseeing. “You should live to avenge her death, your highness,” the beta seethed, his eyes falling on the woman’s body again, “the Leed pack should go down for this.” He nodded, still cradling the woman’s head. “Yes, I should.” He nodded to himself again, affirming his Beta’s words. He looked at the midwife who was still pulling the tiny body out of his dead mate. And right there and then, he made a promise to her. He would live to avenge her death. If he couldn’t… his thoughts trailed off as he gazed at the tiny pink flesh in between his mate’s legs. If he couldn’t, his child would.