Chapter 5 ~ Another Meeting, A Memory & Abuse
Zarina
I enter the office and stand in front of the desk. My father is busy doing paperwork, I smile.
"Father, why did you call me to your office?" I ask.
He sighs deeply and looks up into my eyes with a serious look on his face.
"I am informing you that the day after tomorrow, we will send a formal announcement to the entire pack."
"What announcement is that father?" I asked.
I knew what the announcement would be, but I dreaded this day ever since I turned sixteen. My father told me I would one day marry Curtis.
He and I were friends as children. He was a sweet child, but as we got older, he started to get more sexually aggressive towards me. No one ever believed that he behaved this way when we were alone well except Rose and Ivory.
As the Beta's son and a male in the pack, he always used his station in the pack, and it was my word against his.
However, he would never actually touch me yet just stare at me and the lewd comments.
"Your formal engagement will be announced on the eve after your 18th birthday, and we will host an engagement party at the packhouse."
"But father, I want to wait for my one true mate. The one the Goddess Selene made for me!"
"I know you do, daughter. But unfortunately, that is not an option, and it is what your mother would have wanted." He sighed again.
"Father, I know you and mother had a great life before me. All I want is the chance to have that."
"You will, but with Curtis, your stepmother and I get along fine, and we are not mates that were made for each other by the goddess."
"But Father..."
"No excuses, my word is final, as I am your father and the Alpha of the Ashen Claw pack." He used his Alpha power on me.
"Yes, Alpha."
I turn to leave the office and I swear as the door is shutting, I hear him mumble something about me. But I am wrong, my father never thinks about me that much, I am sure.
~
Meanwhile, in the Alpha's Office
"Oh, my Yvonne. She is looking like you more and more every day."
~
Flashback
Alpha's point of view
"Alpha, come quick! come quick! it's the Luna!"
"What's wrong?"
"The Luna has gone into labor and there is blood! She wants to see you!"
I use the pack link and call for the doctor and I race to my love's side.
When I get there, I can smell mostly blood with a hint of lilacs. But I am concerned about the amount of blood. It is also too soon for our pups.
"Eve, sweetheart! What is wrong? What has happened?"
"I don't know... One second I was napping, the next, there was a shooting pain, and then blood started coming out..." I could tell my Eve was worried.
"I am sure it is nothing to worry about, Eve, but I called for the doctor sweetheart." I am worried but I try not to show my mate.
"Luca, I want you to promise me something," she asked.
"Anything sweetheart," I asked.
"I need you to promise if it is between me and our babies, I want you to save our babies!"
"But, Eve, I can't live without you, and we can have more children if need be."
"No, I have already picked out names for both of the pups." she smiled.
I loved her smile. I hope our children have her smile.
"They will be Zain and Zarina. And you must do everything you can to save our babies. And if goddess forbids something happens to me, please don't resent them. It is not their fault. Please protect them with your life."
I looked at my beautiful mate and saw the determined look on her face and knew if I did not, she would hate me, so I promised.
"Yes, I promise, my love, but I am sure everything will be fine."
My mate's blue eyes changed to the pale grey color of Aurora's, and I knew her wolf was taking over.
"Oh, and Asher, you make sure that he keeps his promise, and I love you, Asher." Aurora's voice. She is Eve's wolf. The voice came through my mate's mouth.
I let Asher take over to speak to Aurora.
"Yes, my love, I will, but please be strong and don't die on me... I love you."
Eve's eye color went back to normal.
"I am sorry, Asher, Aurora went to conserve energy for the birth," Eve spoke.
Asher went to the back of my mind and curled in a ball and whimpered, this worried me.
"I love you, Luca." We kissed. As I pulled away my mate's eyes closed, and she passed out.
The doctor walked in and informed us.
"Nurse, we need to hurry. Alpha, you need to step outside so I can work."
I did not want to, but I agreed.
"Yes, Doctor."
The nurse came out and asked me.
"Alpha, there is an emergency, and the doctor would like to know if we are only able to save your children or the Luna, what would you like to do?" She looked at me with sympathy knowing the choice I had to make.
"The Luna said to save our pups, so... please save the babies."
When the nurse left, I felt a loose tear roll down my cheek.
After what seemed like forever, I felt an excruciating pain in my chest like my heart was being crushed. And I knew that my beautiful mate was gone.
I cried silently to myself and that is when I heard the sound of one baby crying and I knew even before the doors opened and the nurse walked out I lost both my mate and one of my children.
When the nurse came out carrying a pick bundle, I knew at that moment that I lost my son Zain, and I dried my tears and looked up.
"Alpha, may I present to you your baby girl." The nurse handed me the bundle in the pink blanket. With a sad look in her eyes.
When I moved the blanket aside to see her, she had mine and Eve's eye color and her mother's hair color. I looked at her with a sad smile and spoke.
"Hello Zarina, your mother gave you that name. I am sorry that you will not get to meet her, but I made her a promise that I would always protect you." I spoke softly.
She grabbed onto my finger with her tiny hands as I spoke to her and smiled at me with her toothless grin, and I knew at that moment I would never let her feel this pain.
I handed the baby back to the nurse and went into the room to say goodbye to my now dead mate and son.
End of Flashback
~
"I swear, Asher. If it is the last thing I do, I will not Let Zarina go through what we went through when we lost our true mates." I said to him.
"I know the pain we felt was excruciating, Lucan, but when Yvonne and Aurora died with our son Zain on that day, we at least had Zarina to help us cope with the loss," Asher advised.
"I know what I am doing, Asher, because if she never meets her true mate, she won't feel that pain."
Asher did not respond.
I know he did not agree with me, but I could not allow Zarina to experience that pain and I told our mate that I would protect our children. I could not protect Zain live like what Eve wanted, but I can still protect Zarina, even if she does not want me to.
~
Back to Zarina
After I left my father's office, I headed back up to my room to see if they were done with moving all our items over to the packhouse.
As I made it to the fourth floor, someone covered my mouth, and I was then dragged to a closet under the stairs.
The one turned me around and then he held my hands together with one of his. I could not see who the man was, but he had strong cologne.
I was so scared.
He used his free hand to grab my breast, and pinched my nipple hard, and at the same time, he slammed his lips onto mine.
He was trying to insert his tongue into my mouth, but I denied his entry. He removed his hand from my breast.
I was relieved, thinking he would stop until the same hand made its way into my pants, and ripped my thong to get better access by parting my folds at my entrance and shoving his fingers into my core...
This caught me off guard enough to open my mouth, and he stuck his tongue into my mouth.
Tears start to fall from my eyes...