3. Aftermath

“Where are they?” I frantically look around as a whimper escapes me, feeling the strongest urge to hold my pups and never let them go.

“Right here, I have them right here for you,” Dad’s voice comes from behind Embry, making my mates move apart.

“Thank the Goddess,” I sob, rushing to grab my pups from him, pulling Roan and Gunnar into my chest feeling like they can’t get close enough.

“They’re perfectly fine, Phoenix protected them well,” my father’s voice softens as he does his best to reassure me, watching my mates holding our pups and me.

“I’m so sorry this happened, I know it is because of Dagon’s fear of me. If Phoenix hadn’t been with our pups they’d be gone,” I cry into Jonathan’s shoulder as my body shudders in exhaustion. My mate pulls me deep into his arms, holding the three of us close using the bond to the help soothe my frayed nerves.

“Shhh, you have no reason to be sorry Rakas. None of this is your fault,” Jonathan speaks softly, rocking me in his comforting embrace. I feel Osric’s forehead rest against the back of mine, and Embry’s hand rubbing up and down my side.

“He tried to kill me! He nearly killed our pups!” Feeling overwhelmed and angry I nearly scream at my mates. I sob and whimper feeling their distress, yet still feel like they don’t understand this is being done because of me.

“Raven, look at me! This is not your fault, not one God damn bit of it is your fault, do you hear me?! You never asked to be an Alpha, a Luna, a Queen, or a Goddess. You were born with the power to lead your people and protect them, it is not your fault a power-hungry man is crazy enough to hurt or come after you through your family in an attempt to steal your power, a power he’ll never be able to take, let alone control,” Osric growls, while firmly grabbing my face between his fingers, making me look up into his angry eyes.

“You didn’t do this, you are mine. My Luna, and I failed to protect you from someone who betrayed all of us, if you must blame someone, blame me,” Osric’s voice comes out harsh when he presses his forehead to mine and takes deep breaths.

“How can you say that, this is in no way your fault, Sieluni.” Osric shakes his head cutting of my words as I feel his anger through the bond.

“No, Dagon should be dead. I thought I killed him, but he survived, I am the one who failed to put him down,” Osric argues, when I feel his head pull away making me look up to I see Jonathan pulling Osric’s head up with a fist full of hair.

“Stop! Enough blaming yourselves, Dagon was dead, his witches preserved his life by blocking his soul from moving on. They brought him back and he is the one chasing a power he cannot obtain; Jacoby and Valery were traitors to their kind, and betrayed all of us. Grab your pups and your mate, let’s get to the Blood Moon pack house where we will be safe and can rest for the night, then we will make a plan tomorrow,” Mummo heatedly snaps at us with a clear tone of frustration making everyone move away from her.

We kneel, listening to her words carefully, feeling her calming aura slip over all of us helping us relax, despite feeling her frustration as well.

“Thank you, Addy,” Jonathan thanks Mummo; Vaari walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her.

“Just take care of my cub, she needs you three,” Mummo warns my mate with a firm nod when Embry takes Gunnar, and Osric takes Roan from my sides.

I attempt to protest when Jonathan picks me up, I rest my head on his shoulder and wrap my arms around his neck, when one of his arms hooks under my legs while the other supports my back.

“We’ve got you, let us get you and our pups to our room at the pack house,” Embry softly speaks in a concerned tone before kissing my temple and moving to kiss Jonathan who nods. It is clear my mates are worried about me, but I can also feel their tumultuous feelings through the bond, clear as day. They were terrified of the explosion and what it nearly cost us.

“We can get the twins taken care of, then shower,” Jonathan suggests, following Osric who reaches out and places his hand on Jonathan’s back trying to soothe his nerves. I give him a sad smile then nod, hating how upset my mates are.

“That sounds like a good plan, I might need help cleaning up my hands,” I admit, letting go of Jonathan’s neck to inspect the splinters still stuck in my hands.

“We’ll take care of you, there should be some good tweezers in the bathroom to remove the ones that don’t push out. I can’t believe you walked straight into that fire; you scared the hell out of us,” Osric sighs while glancing over at me, I whimper when I look up into his worried gaze hating feeling his worry, and guilt.

“I know you’ll always take care of me. I’m sorry I scared you so much, I had to find them. I knew being a goddess I wouldn’t burn, or at least I hoped I wouldn’t. I wasn’t really thinking of anything other than getting to Roan and Gunnar,” I confess then take a deep breath of Jonathan’s scent, letting the tingles dance across my skin, and his scent relax me.

“Addy told us to trust you, she knew your instincts were pushing you, and we couldn’t stop you. It took everything in me to keep myself from running into that fire after our pups,” Osric confesses as he tries looking away avoiding eye contact. I cautiously reach out, pulling his gaze to mine giving him a sad smile, knowing he would do whatever it took to protect us.

“Ruby knew Phoenix couldn’t hold the fire back forever, I still can’t believe she saved them,” I stare out into the forest, feeling a bit dazed as I try to process the turn of this evening’s events.

Jonathan carries me as the three of us talk on our way to Blood Moon’s pack house, that is already prepared for our arrival.

Liliana and her mates, Benjamin and his family, Kitty and Nikki, and the rest of our family fill all the guest rooms.

I take the twins straight to our bed and protectively curl up around them, tending to their needs, changing and nursing them.

Once the twins are asleep in the middle of the bed, Embry sits me on the bathroom counter and begins to remove all the splinters stuck in my hands.

“Raven… Raven did you hear me?” Osric questions while pulling my chin up, pulling me out of the trance I was in from staring vacantly at the black tile floor.

“Huh?” I look up at him feeling confused, since I got lost in my head. He looks down at me with his eyebrow raised, and concern  in his eyes before brushing his thumb across my jaw soothing both of us.

“I’m going to undress you so we can rinse off before meeting with everyone in my office. Eya is going to keep an eye on Phoenix, Gunnar, and Roan while they sleep in here,” Osric explains, I notice his hands shake when he grabs me by my hips and pulls me to my feet before unlacing my tailcoat.

“Hey I’m ok, our pups are ok. I know it’s hard,” I turn looking into his sad gaze and he nods. “I know, I just can’t stand the thought of losing you or our pups, it would kill me.” He presses his forehead to mine and takes a deep breath, steadying himself before beginning to undress me again.

“It’s a good idea to keep Phoenix close to Gunnar right now, I’m sure she’s probably overwhelmed by what happened. I remember being so afraid after what I did to Benji, and worried everyone would be terrified of me, and not wanting me around,” I admit then hold my arms out, letting Osric slowly peel the layers off me. With each layer he removes, I feel like I can breathe, and I can relax with each bit of contact Osric makes, sending calming tingles and warmth through me.

“It’s good to keep them close, she needs to feel the comfort of having him nearby. We’ll make sure she knows no one is afraid of her, and that we love her,” Osric’s voice is hoarse as he agrees while looking over to see Jonathan starting the shower, as Embry begins to undress.