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“Call an ambulance!” I scream out. Valarie starts choking, her hand clutching tighter on my arm as I turn her head so she doesn’t choke on her own blood while she gasps for breath.
“Hang on, Val, help is coming,” I tell her as Zoe races in, grabbing Valarian as he follows Macey and nearly walks over the broken glass. Zoe holds both babies, clutching them as she looks on in horror as Valarie lies gasping for air. Macey is talking frantically on the phone to emergency services while I look down at Valarie in my arms.
“It’s okay, you’ll be okay,” I say as she gasps. Tears stream down my face as I hold her hands—the hands of the woman who has the biggest heart in the world. I admire her strength, a woman bigger than life and who gave me a home. My heart breaks when she squeezes my hands back, trying to comfort me even though she's the one that needs comforting.
“They'll be here in twenty minutes. They're flat out,” Macey says, pacing.
Twenty minutes? That's ridiculous! I knew it would be bad because she is rogue—no one cares for rogues, not even the health system—but twenty minutes? Valarie turns her face to look up at me and smiles sadly.
“Where is Valarian?” she gasps, barely audible, and I look over at Zoe.
“He’s here,” I tell her. Macey grabs him, bringing him over so she can see him, and kneels beside us.
“He looks so much like his father,” Valarie tells me. I nod, wiping the tears that are dripping off my chin. Valarian pats her arm, not understanding, and Valarie smiles; I move her hand for her so she can touch his little foot beside her. She closes her eyes, and I see a tear slip down her cheek.
“I am so proud of you girls,” Valarie croaks out, and we all nod, all of us crying and blubbering messes as we watch one of the most inspirational women we know suffer.
“Don’t speak like that; you will be fine. Help is on the way,” I tell her. Valarie coughs as more blood spills from her lips, which now have a sick tinge of blue. Zoe hands me some paper towels and I wipe her mouth with shaky hands.
“Not this time, Evie,” she replies. My lips quiver, and my heart breaks at her words because deep down, I know it. I just don’t want her to go. I should have pushed harder for her to see the doctor. I bite down on my lip to try to stop it from trembling.
“Listen to me, Evie, I need you to promise,” she says, and I shake my head.
“I will listen when you’re better. Then you can tell me, then I will promise you anything,” I tell her.
“Look after my grandson for me, you promise me that; you promise not to let my son break you like his father did me,” she gasps.
“What?” I choke out, trying to hold it together and failing terribly.
“The eyes; he has my son’s eyes. You look after him for me. You fight for him, promise you will fight for both,” she says before coughing and sputtering. She grabs my hand harder as her body starts heaving violently. My stomach drops. Is she saying what I think she's saying?
“Shh, shh, hold on, Val,” I tell her, hugging her and holding her until she suddenly stops, her body expelling what little air was left in her lungs, blood splattering across my shirt and arms.
“I promise,” I whisper into her hair, and I kiss her head just as I hear the sirens racing up the street toward us. Zoe races out to get them but I feel Valarie's hand fall limp on my arm, and I know she is gone. Her head rolls in my arms, falling back. Pulling away, I look down at her; her face is slack and the color is gone as she lies limp in my arms.
Paramedics rush in with Zoe, who stops in the doorway, and I look at her and shake my head. The paramedics race to work on her and I get out of their way, taking Valarian from Macey as we watch helplessly while they try to revive her. They work on her for ten minutes. After a while, I hand Valarian back to Macey; she follows Zoe out and to our room to comfort her.
A few minutes later, a man wearing a tailored suit rushes. I know instantly it's her mate. He stops in the doorway and I immediately see the resemblance between him and Valen, his son. That's also when I notice his amber eyes are the same as Valarian’s. He stands there, staring down at Valarie as they keep trying to revive her. Eventually, they stop—there is no bringing her back.
He falls to his knees, clutching his dark hair and falling apart. He did this; this is his fault. I know I don’t have to tell him because he knows it too. I watch as he breaks, but I feel nothing but numb. Valarie gave me so much and had been my rock for so long. Now she is gone because of the man falling apart in front of me—all because he refused to mark and love her.
Wiping my tears, I look around; the paramedics are on the phone with someone when they bring the stretcher in. I watch as they wheel her out, thinking of what she told me and promising myself I will not let Valen kill me like his father did her. He will not take my son like her mate did to her. I will live for Valarian.
I won’t let history repeat itself.
ChapterSeventeen
One Week Later
Alpha Kalen, Valarie’s mate, stands across from me as we watch her get lowered into the ground at the rogue cemetery. Zoe and Macey hover beside me; Macey’s mother offered to watch our kids at the hotel for us. There aren’t many mourners in attendance; just four people and the tow truck driver. Plus her lawyer. I do everything I can to avoid locking eyes with the man responsible for her death.
We all speak, sharing our stories about Valarie—her mate says nothing and remains silent. I wonder what must be going through his head. Does he hate himself as much as I hate him? The fact that he could torture such a wonderful woman, over decades and decades, makes my blood boil. The coroner said she died from organ failure caused by the mate bond; there were no other health issues or explanations.
It pisses me off that he is healthy and alive because he's an Alpha and male, while Valarie is dead because she remained unmarked and female. It feels wrong that women die from neglect of the mate bond. It scares me because my health is already suffering, and if I'm not careful, this could be me. When we got the coroner's report, Macey and Zoe also voiced their concerns, saying I should just mark and mate someone so I don’t end the same way. The meeting about her death had been difficult
The coroner was shocked, explaining that he had only seen two cases before because most people keep their mates. He also questioned whether we knew who her mate was to inform them. Kalen, Valarie’s mate and Valen’s father, said he had no idea as we sat in the office, giving me a pointed look, warning me to not say anything. That meant he saw me when I would catch him coming and going from the hotel, sneaking in like a thief in the night. I couldn’t understand why he bothered coming that day if he wasn’t even going to acknowledge she was his mate. How did he explain his reason for being there?
I could tell not even the coroner believed whatever bullshit Kalen fed him. I was listed as her next of kin which I was shocked about, but glad to get some answers either way.
