PART II-CHAPTER FORTY THREE

Bastion's POV

"It hurts so fucking bad. Go. Now."

I clutched and clawed at my chest. I felt it all: the sorrow and the physical pain. Her head was ringing and her chest was caving in.

I extended my claws, tempted to drive them into my chest to stop the pain, but I couldn't.

I had to go to my mate.

It wasn't too late to save her.

Rory had a head start, which was fine. He could actually help her with his blood.

I transformed back into my large black wolf, knowing I would get there far quicker that way. Aria, baby. Please, don't leave me. My lungs were burning, but I had to keep running.

My paws gave out suddenly, and I skidded to the ground, brushing up dust and adding clumps of clay into my fur. Get the fuck up. She needs me.

The pain was starting to fade, but I got a terrible feeling in my gut that it wasn't because she was healing.

As I approached the oasis, I could smell it. Her blood overwhelmed the entire area, but that wasn't all. I could smell my dad's blood as well. I pushed the thought aside, needing to focus on my girl.

My heavy paw clipped a tree root on my way in, throwing me to the ground for the second time. I couldn't bother climbing back up, and instead shifted in the moss.

Rory. He was sobbing. Not quiet, masculine sobs, but ugly, desperate, tortured sobs.

"No," I managed to choke out as I crawled into view of the sight that would forever haunt my dreams.

Rory, clutching onto Aria as if she would vanish any second, was covered in thick crimson blood. His face, his arms, his thighs. His usually pristine white dress shirt was dyed red, stained and soaked, sticking to him in a sickening and unorderly way. He was a broken man.

She couldn't be dead. I would've felt that.

His tear-lined eyes met mine, his apology leaking out before he ever said the words.

I glanced back down at Aria. She was completely limp, her hair tangled and matted in blood with wounds on her wrist and shoulder. I could barely see the slightest rise and fall of her chest. I knew she was dying.

But, she promised me. She fucking promised me!

Rage started to build in the pit of my stomach, flowing freely, blending with my fears and sorrow and causing me to explode. "No! You promised me, Aria. You fucking promised me that you would be okay. You promised you wouldn't leave me!" Rory looked on with shame and pity at my outburst.

If I had known that loving someone would hurt this bad... Fuck. I wouldn't have changed it.

Tears were rapidly flowing down my cheeks, burning my naked flesh where they'd land. Rory's garbled and sob-filled voice broke my anger.

"They're gone."

"They. They. Oh Goddess, please no. My babies. Our babies." My heart had nowhere else to break. It was already shattered. I couldn't accept it.

Rory buried his face in his blood-soaked hands, his perfect posture fallen and dejected. He was giving up. How could he give up?

The twinkle of the moon and stars dancing across the pond caught my eye. Just yesterday, Aria and I swam together. We kissed and played and held one another. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I knew it was crazy, but I had no other options.

I crawled over to where she lay nearly lifeless on Rory's lap, gripping her ankle and dragging her body into the translucent waves. I didn't have the strength to carry her, but the ground was soft.

As soon as she hit the water, the blood that was previously clinging to her body began to bleed into the fresh spring, staining it red. Our spark was fading.

I pulled her into my arms, rocking her against my chest as I tried desperately to cover her body with my splashes. She always said it could heal. That's what she needed right now. That's what they needed.

"Come on, baby. Wake up. Please. We need you. I need you. Please," I begged with the last bit of energy in my gravelly voice.

But she didn't wake up.

I felt a sharp snap of something in my chest, something I could only describe as the literal breaking of my heart. Then, a million volts shot through my body at once. She was dead.

Dorian cried out, howling into the blackened sky at the sudden loss of our bond. It was hell, far worse than any pain I had ever endured. I fought to keep standing, gripping her corpse closer to me so she wouldn't float away. If I let her go, I would be admitting defeat. If I fell, I would be accepting this reality.

I couldn't do that. I would rather die than do that.

My claws extended. I decided to follow through with my thoughts from earlier. If I died, I wouldn't have to hurt. I wouldn't have to live in a world without her. I would be free.

"Aria."

I looked up to see Rory crawling into the water, red plumes surrounding him and cleaning him of the blood. He was zeroed in on our girl, hope and wonder in his eyes.

But why? She was dead.

"Alive," Dorian whispered in my head.

"What?"

"Alive. Alive. Alive. Alive. Alive."

"Bastion!" Aria's urgent shout woke me from my nightmare with a start.

I was panting, my body drenched in sweat as she held me against her chest. Her swollen belly brushed against my arm, and I sighed, allowing myself to collapse back onto my damp pillow.

I crossed my arm over my forehead, taking deep and soothing breaths just as Dr. Drake had suggested. It was the only way to keep myself sane. Aria stroked my wild hair gently, waiting for me to be okay again.

This was a common occurrence for us. At least it was early on, following the incident. Sometimes I would dream about her death, and sometimes I would dream about my dad's. Dr. Drake thought it was some form of PTSD, but it didn't really matter what it was called.

All that mattered was that I had my mate. My mate and my babies.

Not long after Rory confirmed her still beating heart, he announced the start of the twins' pulse in disbelief. It was impossible. They had been dead for ten minutes at least. But they came back to us.

I finally opened my eyes, removing my arm so I could get a good look at my girl. Pregnancy really suited her. It was said that they glow, and I couldn't have agreed more.

Her eyes looked like they were dancing in the soft glow of the moonlight through the curtains. Her skin was flawless, her cute button nose giving off a little sheen like it always did after she slept. Then, her lips. They were parted ever so slightly, giving me a glimpse of her pristine teeth. She was so beautiful.

She cocked her head, letting her slightly tangled waves hit my chest. "What?"

I gave her a smitten smile. "I was just admiring you, baby." My voice was husky and thick with sleep. She shook her head, smirking.

"Why don't you admire me in the morning? It's three a.m."

I leaned forward, glancing first at the clock to confirm her words, then at Rory, who was looking over at us drowsily. He never did sleep through my nightmares. I felt bad that he had to endure that, but he never complained about it either.

"I'm sorry I woke you up, baby." I plopped back down again, this time pulling her with me and into my arms. She snuggled up to me, despite the thin layer of sweat still covering me.

"You didn't. I couldn't sleep," she whispered back, probably hoping Rory could fall back asleep even if we were talking. I traced circles onto her back with my pointer finger.

"Nervous for the appointment?"

"Yes."

I chuckled. "Baby, it's still three days away. Besides, there's nothing to be nervous about."

She sighed against my peck, tickling me. I felt her hand land against my waist, on her belly.

"It's the twenty-week ultrasound. We finally get to know the gender of the twins. Also, they'll be able to tell us if they have any mutations or something."

"You mean like turning into wolves or growing fangs?" I teased, making her poke me in the ribs. "I'm teasing, baby. They're going to be fine. Now go back to sleep."

I gave her one final kiss on the forehead, before encasing her in my embrace fully. It was hot, but I didn't care. I needed to feel her. I didn't show it, but that nightmare had shaken me.

Maybe in the morning I would head out to my father's memorial. He was cremated, but Aria had erected a marble stone for his memory in the palace gardens. She liked to go out there to sit and remember, but I avoided it. It was the dead of winter, which meant all of the flowers were shriveled, making it just seem creepy and haunted.

Maybe she would go with me, though. I could pack us a picnic. She really loved the brisket sandwiches I made. Add some lemonade and she would be in heaven.

She had been craving lemonade her entire pregnancy so far, which led to her keeping her distance from Jesse for awhile.

Apparently his blood tasted like the best damn lemonade in this world, and she felt bad feeding on him. Every now and then she wouldn't be able to fight the urge, though, and the poor guy had to endure the after effects of her venom by himself.

Dylan kept offering random girls from the kingdom who would be willing to help him out, but he of course declined. He wasn't nearly as desperate for a booty call as Dylan was.

The guy was insatiable.

I guess Rory was used to it, though. He never seemed bothered by his friends constant hook ups, but maybe that was because he couldn't smell the sex on him all the time.

How Rory stayed a virgin up until Aria was a miracle considering the company he kept.

Ugh. I hated thinking about that. I always felt like shit remembering that they were each others firsts when I had fucked twelve before her. Granted, none of those other she-wolves could've even compared to her.

I still wished I hadn't have shared myself with anyone else. I wanted her to have all of me. She did. She had all of me. From now until forever.

I glanced down at my sleeping beauty. Her soft purrs were gently coaxing me to sleep, and I allowed them.

I love you, Aria. You are my one and only.