“Is she going to die?” Kris had not even imagined that it was this bad. Of course, for Mick to cut her open had indicated that something was wrong, but…
“I don’t know. Her pulse is really weak. The best thing we can do is to get her back to the house. We need to keep her warm and hope that her body can recover. I have some herbs that I can mix up that might help, but I’m not really sure. Any suggestions, Renta?”
“I don’t know. If she is half-human, that changes things. Has she had a reaction to anything?”
“No. Of course, she doesn’t take human medication. She had been drinking a mixture of high-protein vegetables and grains.”
Renta nodded. “I would keep trying to get her to drink that. It might help.” She hesitated and then looked directly at Kris. “Have any of you tried to bite her?”
“No. She was turned by Carmen Amar before we met her.”
“I know that. I’ve heard. It might be the only way to save her life. If she has double genetics from two different alpha males, it might help to make her stronger.”
“It also might kill her.”
“True. It was just a suggestion.” Renta got to her feet. She bowed her head reverently to Kris. “I guess you proved your point. Congratulations, you will make an honorable alpha. If you don’t mind, I have things to finish up so I may come join the festivities properly.”
Kris nodded. The woman’s words gave him no pride or solace. If Ever died, there was little point in being Alpha. He wanted it mainly for her and for their children. Of course, now he was stuck with it. He turned to talk to their father, but the man was gone. Kris sighed. He had been right in trusting Ever. His love for her was not blind, yet he hadn’t even been able to tell her how much he loved her. She could not see the beautiful children that she had given birth to, or hold them in her arms. How would Kris be able to watch them grow up, knowing that they had caused the death of the only woman he had ever truly loved?
Kris knelt down and slid her into his arms. Mick quickly rolled up the mattress and tucked it under his arm. He held out his hand and Daisy gave him one of the boys. Liam took his daughter, and then Daisy and Snow held the other two boys as the crowd solemnly parted. It was a terrible ending to what was supposed to be a festive night. It was supposed to be his night, his time, and as they headed silently back toward the house, Kris would give it all up just to have Ever open her eyes and smile again.
Snow walked into the bedroom with a screaming child in her arms. “Kris, we have to do something. They are hungry and there is nothing we can do to calm them down. They refused the formula that Mick mixed up. Daisy made some calls, and there are two mothers who are willing to share their milk. The problem is that they have babies of their own and families that they refuse to leave. If they are to feed your children, we must bring them there.”
“Where is
there
?” asked Kris wearily.
“
There
is in the fern forest.”
“That’s over an hour away.”
“We know that, but there isn’t much else we can do. They have to eat and their mother can’t feed them.”
Kris was too tired to be making decisions. He wanted to curl up next to Ever’s silent body and sleep. “Isn’t there someone closer? There have to be other mothers with milk somewhere on the property.”
“Your father put a restriction on breeding. He said that we were getting too overpopulated and we needed to stop. Two of the women in the fern forest had already mated when the mandate came down. They both went over seven months and had small litters. One woman only gave birth to one living child. The other two were dead-born. She will take three of them. The other woman has two and will take the girl child.”
Kris knew this was a bad situation. The children would bond to other women, and with the distance, it would be hard for them to go see them. “I guess we don’t have much choice. Do you know these women?”
“I don’t, but Daisy does. She and I were planning on going, if that’s okay. That way, we can help out where we are needed and also make sure the babies are well taken care of.”
“I’ll go, too,” added Liam. “You and Mick need to stay here with Ever.”
Kris nodded. “Thank you. That is a good idea. We will get in touch with you as soon as she wakes up.”
“Okay.” He gave Snow a smile. “Just give me a few minutes to get some clothing together.”
“We will be out in the car with four screaming children. Are you going to name them first?”
“My daughter’s name is Avia.”
“That’s very pretty. Kris?”
He had so many names in mind, but he had wanted to discuss them with Ever. She had wanted to wait until the children were born because she insisted that she would know what names fit them. Now she had left it up to him and he had no idea. Kris closed his eyes and three names flashed in his head. “The alpha is Seren, the other two are Errant and Lash.”
“Okay,” replied Snow quietly. “Please call if anything happens.”
“I will.”
Liam dropped his duffle bag in the chair and leaned over, kissing Ever on the lips. “You need to wake up for us, all of us. You promised that you wouldn’t die on me. Don’t you dare break that promise. I will never trust myself to fall in love again.”
Without another word, Liam stood and walked from the room. Mick sighed loudly. “Interesting names. I know Lash was our great-grandfather, what about the other two?”
“Seren for Serenity. I have always loved the name of your spa. Serenity is peaceful and strong. That’s what my firstborn son needs to be. Errant is a state of traveling. It’s also going outside the norm, they were birthed of an errant mishap of nature and now they must travel to be kept alive.”
“It is also an unruly child.”
“Aren’t all were children unruly?”
“I suppose. Avia’s pretty. Isn’t it a shoe line?”
Kris chuckled. “Yeah, but that’s not where he got the name. When he was in France, the elderly woman that he took the picture of. Her name was Avia. I know he was in awe of the woman’s inner strength.”
“Wow. That’s a sweet sentiment. Don’t you want to see them before they leave?”
Kris looked down at Ever. Her face was ghostly pale, her breathing shallow. He slowly shook his head, tears welling into his eyes. “No.”
“But they are your children, Kris.”
“I know that. You don’t need to tell me. They were
our
children and Ever was supposed to be alive to raise them. Their birth may have taken her away from me. I would give it all up, you know. I didn’t want to be alpha, but it was the best life for Ever and our children. What will it be with her gone?”
He knew it was wrong to resent them. It certainly wasn’t their fault. He had wanted children so badly and now that they existed, everything was so wrong. How was he supposed to raise children or head the clan when all he wanted to do was to lie in bed with her? “I’m tired. If you don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep.”
Mick nodded and reached over, flicking off the bedside light. Kris lay down beside Ever, pulling the blankets over himself and sliding her closer to his chest. Her stomach had already gone down and was almost as flat as it had been before. The stitches would heal in a matter of days, if she didn’t die from the lack of blood. “Mick? Do you think that Renta was right about biting her?”
“I don’t know. I have never heard of it being done. Rumor says that it will kill a normal human, but Ever is not normal. I would rather wait and see what happens. She’s in bad shape, but not at death’s door yet. Her pulse has improved slightly and I think her body is working hard to rebuild the blood she has lost.”
“Okay.”
“Good night, Kris.”
“Night.”
* * * *
Mick lay in the darkness, listening to Ever’s breathing. It wasn’t as labored as it had been earlier, and he took her pulse again, finding that it had improved slightly. At the moment, he was more worried about Kris.
It was strange, but his brother had everything that Mick wanted. He had three beautiful sons, and he was alpha. Kris had proved their father wrong and had won the position without having to fight for it. How was it possible that Mick had grown up believing that he was the alpha child? Kris had all the notable traits, from his personality to his fur color. Somehow, Mick had never really seen it before. Now the true alpha lay beside a half-human woman and had turned away from his children because she might die. Mick loved her also, but not to the extent that Kris obviously did. Maybe not even to the extent that Liam did. He had no doubt that Liam would keep his word. If Ever died, he would never find another mate. Liam would remain alone until his final days. Did his brother honestly believe that he was cursed? It was possible. Liam had very bad luck with women.
Mick wondered if he loved Ever enough to throw away the rest of his life because of her. He wasn’t really sure. He knew that he would mourn her passing if it came to that. It would tear him apart inside, and he was very worried about her chances. It had really bothered him that he’d had to cut into her conscious body, but if he hadn’t, she would already be dead. She was lucky that he had taken courses on standard medicine before he had decided on a career as a homeopath. It was simply that many surgeries were performed unnecessarily, and he had found it more logical to address problems without putting his patients through such extensive, life-altering procedures. It didn’t mean that he was squeamish or incapable of handling a scalpel. It just wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life.
Of course, cutting her open on a wooden platform in the middle of the forest would be considered insanity. It probably would be, for a normal woman. Ever was not normal. She was part were, and it gave her the ability to heal more quickly and completely. He had never heard of a case of MRSA in the were community and didn’t think they were prone to the life-threatening infection. Unfortunately for her, if she did get one, it would kill her. Weres couldn’t take antibiotics and it was part of the reason they stayed away from meat that wasn’t raised organically and didn’t specifically state “antibiotic-free.”
There were many nuances to being a were, even if they looked human most of the time. The longer he was out in the world, the more he had discovered. His differences had not gone unnoticed while he was in school. It had been a difficult time in his life. He had been unable to change at will and had often eaten alone in his room. There was no need for his fellow students to know that his diet consisted mainly of meat. It was easier to purchase it and cook it in his room, which was against the rules, but he did it anyway. He hadn’t actually remained on campus long, preferring instead to get his own utility apartment and commute. He had worked hard to keep his grades far above the average. He had also taken a job to support himself, which had made things even harder.
Kris had taken the easy way out with his hiking tour business. He was no longer an active guide, and now that he had taken up the position as alpha, his business had been sold to his two partners. If what he said was true, he had given up everything for Ever. Mick was now expected to give up everything also. Kris had asked him to sell his spa and live full time in the wilds. It would be a noble position to be taking care of the clan, but he wasn’t sure if it was what he wanted.
The few days that Ever had been gone were miserable. Maybe he loved her more than he wanted to admit. She had become everything for him and his brothers. She was the center of their universe and the sun that they seemed to revolve around. It might destroy their family if she now died. Mick just wished that he had a better idea of how to keep her alive.
A blood transfusion would be the logical answer, but it would surely kill her.
Mick took her pulse again. He feared that Liam and Kris were going to react far more dramatically to her death, but hopefully he would never have to find out.
Carmen stalked up her body, reminding her of a large, dangerous komodo dragon. His elbows were turned out to the sides, his tongue flicking in and out in a completely enthralling manner. She giggled and he shook his head viciously and hissed at her. “You find me amusing?”
“A little.”
His entire façade wilted, his bottom lip hanging before he began to pout. “Only a little. I was trying for a lot.”
Sitting up, she shoved him back so he was kneeling on her calves. Her hands went to his face, stroking the skin and making note that he had recently shaved. Carmen was a hairy beast when he didn’t take the time to clean his cheeks. His chest was heavily haired also, but it was soft and slightly curled in a very nice way. “I find you very dangerous and very amusing. I love you, and everything you do is perfect.”
“Everything?”
How she loved his smile and the challenging look in his beautiful eyes. “Of course. You can do no wrong in my eyes. Well…you can, but you give me no reason to suspect that you do.”
“What could I do that would be wrong?”
“Cheat on me.”
“Never!”
“Hit me.”
He wilted again, his shoulders visibly sagging. “Why would you even think of that? I would never ever hit you.”
“You asked what you could do and I’m telling you.”