Once Upon Many Times

After The Tragedy

The kingdom is in turmoil after surviving the traumatic event. The perpetrator still has not been found, the Queen is in a forced bedrest, the young princess is under guard in her room, still in a coma, her health declining steadily. She has a constant visitor, her mate, Alpha heir Adam, who has refused to leave her side since the attack. His father had allowed him to stay behind, to allow him a chance to say goodbye, as it had been deemed the young woman would not recover. With a heavy heart, Alpha Blake took a last look at his son, sitting in a plushy chair beside the bed, clasping hands with his love.

“Come back to me son, when you are ready.”

When he doesn’t receive a response, Alpha Blake leaves the room, closing the door quietly, sighing heavily, turning towards the staircase, leaving his son behind. He understands his son’s despair, having gone through it himself many years ago, the heartbreak upon the death of his Luna, and now his son is going through it. Not knowing what else he can do to help his son, he walks to the dining room, breakfast readied for those who are in the palace. He grabs a cup of freshly made coffee, adding a bit of cream and one spoon of sugar before he takes a sip. He knows this is the time when the King, himself, will come down for his own cup of coffee, so he waits for him, questions flowing into his mind about what to do; he is unsure of what to do for his son. He needs to find answers and solutions to help his son.

“Alpha Blake,” the king says, solemnly.

“King Ambrose,” he acknowledges. “How is the Queen?”

Taking a cup, the King pours the hot, steaming coffee into it, preferring it black. He brings the cup to his nose, inhaling the scent, savoring it, before he turns the Alpha, answering quietly, “She is still staring out into the distance. She has fought hard to have our daughter. The whole ordeal of being pregnant took a toll on her, but she held on throughout it all. Everything she did to bring her to life, she did it happily, finally having the daughter we’ve always wanted, and now, this. I don’t know how to help her with this, this pain, the impending, unstoppable future loss that is hurdling towards us. I am literally at a loss here. I never saw this coming, thought everyone was happy, yet this happened. What do I do here? Who do I trust now?”

Feeling his King’s frustration, but having no answers of his own, Alpha Blake could only offer a dejected look and shake his head. He feels as if he is battling the same problem, only it is his son. Feeling like a failure, he stood up, heading to the King, his now empty cup in his hand. “My King, I truly wish I could offer some kind of sage advice to help you in this trying time for the kingdom, yet I cannot. When my Luna passed years ago, I had to rely heavily on my Beta, who had brought in our pack to help ease all of our pain. Maybe that can be useful? Try to rely on your second-in-command while you comfort your family and spend time with your daughter. That is what I am trying to do for my son, Adam, during this time. It’s the only thing I can think of, my King.”

Thoughtfully listening to Alpha Blake, the King ponders his advice, trusting in his words, understanding this is how he was able to successfully recover from his loss and stay strong to continue leading his pack. He begins to plan for his Beta, Roberto, to take over for a bit as he and his family heal from this ordeal, mind-linking with him as he nods to the Alpha while walking out of the dining room. He heads to his office waiting for his Beta to show up as they’ll hash out a plan for an undetermined time. He aches for his family, for the potential loss, and wants to help them move forward. He knows that the family wouldn’t want to leave Brielle as she is in a declining condition, so he wants to try planning something to help normalize their lives as much as he can.

While his father was downstairs talking to the King, Adam was thinking about the time, though short, he had with Brielle, and his hope of their future together. He already knew that he had forgiven her over the tiny mishap, understanding why she did what she did, he couldn’t give up on the idea of having a future with her. He holds her hand, rubbing small circles as he whispers softly to her. He wants to give her whatever strength he has to give so that she can fight this darkness that is swallowing her whole. He stares at her, his eyes stray to the black mark that mars her shoulder down to her heart and neck, it’s inky blackness spreading, the tendrils slowly overtaking her smooth skin. Fear runs amok within him, his fight to hold on to a life not yet lived, slipping away, day by day, second by aching broken second.

“Brielle, I don’t know if you can hear me. I’m hopeful that you can. I am going to stay here, beside you, til you come back to me. Come back, please, I need you to wake up and get better, become my Luna, rule my pack with me. I can’t lose you, Brielle. I don’t think I can continue if you’re not here with me. I’m losing my mind, as every day you stay like this, this dark mark eating away at you. It’s moved towards your heart now, going further. Soon, it’ll take over your body completely. What do I do when that happens? How do I move forward if you’re not by my side?” he asked, moving a strand of hair away from her face.

Standing, he moves to the window and sees people as they walk around the palace grounds. He noticed some who were paired, and others were with their families. Sorrowful eyes filled with unshed tears watched as they moved along. Though sad, they still had each other, something he feels is slipping out of his hands. He fights the urge to give up. It’s not something that he wants to do, he doesn’t want to let her go, but it has been three days since the attack and the situation has not gotten better. His Princess is slipping further away from him, all trace of her disappearing. There is no laughter to be heard, her light-green eyes won’t shine while looking at him, no smile that makes his heart race. No more anything. His body shakes as he silently cries, knowing this is his truth: he has forever lost his one true love and it breaks him.