Finding Her True Alpha
Chapter 111: Bloody Aftermath

Mason

As soon as Theo came into view, Derek shifted and took to the sky. I didn’t have to bear his mark to know the fury he was feeling. I had no reason not to trust the Vampire King, even if he wanted my mate. Well, I thought he wanted her to mark him, but it turns out that he wanted her for something more sinister.

When the bastard punched her, Thor let out a murderous growl as I pounded my fists against this stupid magical wall. Why weren’t Sage and Nathan working on breaking the magic? I wish I could hear what they were saying. It was like watching a movie with no sound, but it was real. When Theo moved using his vampire speed, I knew she must have said something that really pissed him off. Why wasn’t she using her powers? Ashlyn was so much stronger than that. I know she is.

I watched from the sidelines as my mate was struggling to live has to be one of the worst experiences of my life. He dug his claws deep into her neck as she struggled to get out of his grip. I was losing my mind as I watched Tundra jump out of Ashlyn’s chest, ripping into the vampire’s neck. I watched in horror as my mate fell to the ground, clenching her neck. There was too much b***d. She was going to bleed out if we couldn’t get to her.

Tundra tossed Theo’s lifeless body before returning to her human. She nudged Ashlyn’s cheek before letting out a soul-crushing howl. It felt like my heart had exploded. She can’t be gone. Tears were running down my face as I pounded my fists against this fvcken magical wall.

I could see that lan had shifted, still in his own magical bubble that Ashlyn had placed him and Alex in. Tundra stepped back into Ashlyn right before the magic she placed vanished, freeing lan’s wolf and Alex.

lan’s big, black wolf rushed over to Ashlyn’s lifeless body, nudging her aggressively, trying to wake her up. But I knew from her magic vanishing that she was also gone.

My knees gave out, and I dropped to the ground as my world came crashing down. My life would no longer be worth living if Ashlyn wasn’t with me. lan’s wolf let out a heartbreaking howl, confirming that she was indeed gone.

We weren’t able to save her and I’ll have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. l leaned back on my feet and looked up at the night sky, praying that the mood goddess would save her.

“Mason,” Liam exclaimed. I looked over at him. He was pointing at the scene I was just watching. I could tell that he had also been crying.

I looked back at the scene just in time to see lan’s wolf rip into Gregory. He ripped his head from his body, tossing his body away like the trash he was. As soon as the magic surrounding the area vanished with the death of Gregory, Thor shifted and took off at full speed. l could see Magnus was coming in hot from the sky. Thor picked up his speed, trying to catch up with his mates.

Before hitting the ground at inhuman speeds, Derek shifted. He hit the ground, running to where our mate lies. Thor caught up to him just as he lifted Ashlyn’s head and cradled her in his arms.

I fell to my knees in front of him, resting my forehead on his shoulder, looking down at her lifeless body. Alex must have wrapped his shirt around her neck to stop the bleeding, but it was already too late.

B***d soaked the shirt and her clothes. There was nothing that could have been done to stop her from bleeding out.

“Why didn’t she use her powers?” Derek cried in frustration, his tears landing on her cheek.

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

“She couldn’t,” lan said. Derek and I both turned our heads to look at him. He was kneeling down near us and Ashlyn.

“What?” l asked him.

“Ashlyn told the vampire king before he killed her, she didn’t even have her powers anymore.” Alex answered. I looked at Alex and then back at lan. I could see the guilt he was feeling. It was written all over his face.

“How the f**k could she not have them?” Derek growled out.

“It’s because of me,” Brad said from behind me and I turned to look at him.

“What are you saying?” I asked him. Liam was standing beside him, and I could see the others running up behind them.

“The moon goddess said that Ashlyn made a sacrifice so that I could live. I didn’t know what she meant, but now, she must have given up her powers that the moon goddess gave her.” He choked out the last part as he sobbed. Liam consoled him.

“Why the f**k would the moon goddess let her die?” I growled out, looking back at Derek. No one said anything. Sage ran over to us, dropping to her knees and pulling Ashlyn’s body away from Derek. She was inconsolable as she sobbed into Ashlyn’s chest.

Brandon knelt down beside her and tried to console her, but he just pushed him away.

“Stop touching me.” She sobbed out.

“Baby, it’s not your fault,” Brandon whispered to her, and she just kept shaking her head.

“She’s my sister. I was supposed to protect her and now she’s dead because I wasn’t strong enough to break that fvcken spell! I failed her and my nephew.” She sobbed.

“We all failed her.” I leaned down and whispered to Sage. She turned to look at me and wrapped an arm around my neck.

“I’m so sorry, Mason.” She cried on my shoulder and with that, my emotions erupted like a volcano and I sobbed on Sage’s shoulder.

The realization that she was never coming back hit me like a ton of brinks. I felt completely empty without her. I don’t understand what got us to this point, but for some reason, it didn’t matter. She was gone and nothing could be said to change that.

Brandon pulled Sage away from Ashlyn’s body and Derek took her place, wrapping his arms around me.

“I know this is hard, and right now, I just want to burn this whole place to the ground, but I know Ashlyn wouldn’t want that. She’d want us to raise our son.” Derek whispered to me through his own tears.

“l just don’t understand why the moon goddess would let her die. She did everything that was asked of her and more.” I breathed out.

“I don’t think we’ll ever understand what happened,” Derek said.

“She saved our lives.” lan choked out. Derek and I both pulled away to look at him. He was standing over Ashlyn.

“She did everything in her power to get me and Alex to safety. And I let her down. She should just have left me here to die.” He cried. Alex walked over to him to console his Alpha.

“lan, you knew Ashlyn. You know that leaving you behind was never an option. She fought for you like you tried to do for her.” Alex told him.

It felt like everything was running in slow motion as warriors surrounded us. Gamma Ben and Delta Dylan were in the lead as they approached us.

“Buttercup?” Gamma Ben whispered before he fixed his composure. I knew he was just putting on a front. I could see the heartbreak in his eyes as he looked down at Ashlyn’s lifeless body. He had just got her back and now she was gone.

“Prince’s, we will go inspect what is left of the council building.” Delta Dylan informed us. Before he and some warriors took off towards the now-demolished council building.

We heard a phone ringing. My phone was somewhere now, as I was sitting naked beside my mate.

Gamma Ben threw me and Derek and a pair of shorts before I heard Liam answer his phone.

“My king, is everything okay?” I turned my attention to Liam. Liam passed me his phone and my heart sunk and my stomach was in knots. What else could go wrong?

“Dad, what’s wrong?” I rushed out, holding the phone up to my ear.

“Something is wrong,” my father answered.

“What happened?” I yelled into the phone. I could tell that Derek was tense beside me.

“James woke up screaming like he was in pain. Victor and I rushed him to the hospital, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. Have you found Ashlyn?”

He explained, and I sobbed again.

“Oh, son. I’m so sorry. Take as much time as you need and we’ll see you when you are ready.” My father said before ending the call.

“Mason, what’s wrong? Did something happen to James?” Derek rushed out, panicked.

“I think he felt his mother’s death.” I choked out.

“What? Is he okay?” Derek yelled.

“Our fathers took him to the hospital and they couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him. My father said he woke up screaming like he was in pain.” I told him, and my heart twisted painfully in my chest.

“Mase, I know there’s nothing I can say that would make any of this easier for you, but I think you are Derek should head back. Your son needs you both and there’s nothing more you can do here.” Liam said, kneeling down beside me. I grabbed on to her body like it was my lifeline.

“I’m not leaving her.” I told him, cradling her lifeless body to my chest.

“We will take her with us.” Sage told me and before I knew what was happening, she had opened a portal to the pack hospital. Brandon must have been thinking of it, since I don’t think she’s even been.

“Come, Mason. We need to take her home and we need to see our son.” Derek whispered to me and I nodded.

I picked her up and stepped through the portal.

Derek, Sage, and Brandon followed before the portal closed.

I walked into the ER. My father and Victor came rushing over to us with tears in their eyes as they looked at their daughter-in-law. A doctor came out to speak to us.

“Prince’s, please follow me.” And we followed him into a room. James was sleeping in a little crib, and there was another full-sized bed beside the crib.

“Lay her down. And take as much time as you both need.” The doctor said before he left, closing the door behind him. Derek was the only one that followed me. He rushed over to see James while I laid Ashlyn down on the bed. I brushed the hair off of her face and k!ssed her forehead. She looked so peaceful, like she was in a deep sleep, but I knew she was never coming back to us.

I looked over to see Derek cradling our son in his arms. I could tell he was on the verge of another breakdown. Tears were running down his cheeks as he stared down at our boy. I walked over to him and Wrapped my arms around him, just enough that he could rest his head on my shoulder.

“I don’t understand any of this. She was stronger than that. Why didn’t she shift? She was one of the strongest witches Sage and Nathan had ever seen. How the hell could she die at the hands of a fvcken vampire?”

Derek sobbed. And I wish I had an answer for him and for myself. I should have been there. I should never have let her go there by herself. And I knew all these what ifs were going to eat me alive until the day I met her again.

All sense of time seemed to vanish as we both sat on the couch, consoling each other and holding our boy.

We talked little, and the tears and sobs would come and go as we thought about our beautiful mate and the sacrifice that she made. I wanted to hate lan for letting her die, but I know she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she just left him there to die. She did what she thought was right, even if I’d never be able to understand what truly happened.

James opened his eyes, yawning, as he stared up at us. Derek’s sea-green eyes staring back at me, as l stared at the boy that Ashlyn was so determined to give us. We will also have a part of her with us, as long as we have James. Hearing a gasp, I turned to look at Derek.

He was staring at our mate. I turned my attention to her when I noticed her chest was slightly rising. Derek was holding James, so I rushed over to her bed and pushed my ear into her chest. I waited with anticipation, my heart pounding in my chest as I felt her heart thump against my ear.