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“I am. I know the chances that it’s him are low, but my heart feels it. I need to say goodbye so he can return to the Moon Goddess. I know it’s going to hurt, but I need to do it. I owe him that much. I can do this,” she said, gripping the Tupperware she held despite her assurances.
We talked about what she would do when she saw her father’s gamma, and I still didn’t like what she wanted to try. After a lot of conversations, I finally conceded and agreed that it was her right to try. I trusted Rhett to keep her secret, but I was more concerned over the risk to her mental health, as well as the physical toll it took on her body before. I walked over to her side of the car and helped her out.
“Markus! Luna Celeste! Welcome to Blue Moon Pack!” Rhett eagerly walked down the steps toward us. His smile widened when he noticed the Tupperware in Celeste’s hands. That man has a soft spot for sweets.
“Call me Celeste, please. I brought you some baked goods,” she said shyly, holding out the Tupperware.
“Only if you call me Rhett,” he insisted, then stopped. “I think we’ve had this conversation before.” He laughed, unable to stop himself from taking one of the brownies in the Tupperware and practically inhaling it. “Ohh… this is so good. How are you not three hundred pounds, Markus?” he asked and moaned when he took another bite, almost making me growl possessively. Celeste put her hand on my chest and giggled.
Rhett smirked at my reaction before frowning a little, contemplating his next words as he looked at Celeste. “Are you sure you want to see him? He’s been in bed for twelve years. That does something to a body. He will not look as you remember him.” Celeste’s eyes rimmed with unshed tears, but then she nodded at him, and he sighed. “Follow me.” He turned around and went up the steps and through the foyer. He stopped in the kitchen and then changed his mind and grabbed the attention of a small child instead. “Can you take these to my office? You can have one treat from it after you place it on my desk,” he said, and the little girl nodded excitedly. Rhett then led us to the first-floor bedrooms on the left wing of the house.
“We have him next to staff quarters in case there’s any kind of emergency. They look after him through the night. We have a nurse come out once a day to provide medical care, and the staff has been taught how to exercise his muscles and rotate his position to avoid bed sores. I’m not going to mince words, Celeste. We have done our best, but it’s been twelve years. There was nothing we could do to stop the eventual atrophy of his body.” He stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall. Celeste gripped my hand, and I nodded at Rhett. With a somber look, he opened the door, and the three of us walked inside. I put my arm around her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
We entered a room with a single hospital bed in the middle, a couple of monitors sat beside the bed beeping steadily and a dresser with medical supplies was against the wall. The man in the bed was something my mind would never forget. Despite being under a bedsheet, I could see the outline of every bone in his body. There was hardly any muscle left in his limbs. His cheeks were gaunt, and we could see the outline of his orbital bones. His hair was long and thin but clean and brushed back.
“Uncle Lucien,” Celeste whispered, gripping my hand harder. She wouldn’t let go of my hand. Instead, I let her walk us slowly toward the man in the bed together, tears flowing freely down her face, while I could hear Atlas howling at the pain we could feel coming from our mate.
She finally released my hands a few steps from the bed and continued on her own until she reached the man she called her uncle. She bent down and hugged the torso of the unresponsive man, a sob leaving her mouth. Looking closer, I could see how well taken care of he was. There was an IV secured to his arm, and his face was neatly shaved. His hair was clean and free of knots, and two electrodes were attached to the sides of his forehead. My heart was breaking for Celeste.
“I will let you have some time with him,” Rhett said uncomfortably from the other side of the room. He started to move towards the door when Celeste stood up, ran to Rhett, and hugged him tightly. I thought my or Atlas’ possessive instincts would surface, but they didn’t. Atlas and I both knew that this was not the time. There was too much grief hitting us from Celeste through the bond.
“Thank you for caring for him. It is a debt I will never be able to repay,” she said. Rhett looked at me, waiting for permission. I nodded at him, and he returned her hug with a brotherly pat.
“There is nothing owed. I wish we could have done more for him. My dad tried his best, but the doctors that looked at him said the swelling to his brain caused too much damage.” Celeste let him go after a few moments and returned to stand at the side of the bed. She started to caress his hair, talking to him so low that even my werewolf hearing couldn’t catch it. She brushed his hair with her hands, and I began to hear the rhythm in her voice. She was singing to him the same way she did to Maya. Rhett and I allowed her some privacy by walking toward the front of the room, but Atlas started pacing in the back of my head.
Something is happening. Kara said to be ready, he said anxiously. I took a step closer to Celeste when I noticed her beginning to glow.
“Markus?” Rhett asked, taking another step closer to the door, unsure if what was happening was a good or bad thing.
“It’s okay. I’ll explain after,” I said as I stood behind Celeste, already feeling the drain on her body.
Celeste lowered herself to kiss Lucien’s forehead. The glow from her kiss remained on his head before it expanded and covered his entire forehead, finally absorbing into his skin. Moments later, one of the monitors started beeping, and the comatose man opened his eyes.
“Uncle Lucien,” Celeste whispered, her eyes still glowing, her hand caressing his hair. The man looked around, disoriented until his eyes connected to hers. His face scrunched up in confusion, trying to recognize the woman in front of him.
“Celeste?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Celeste nodded and gave him some water to drink.
“Yes, Uncle Lucien. We don’t have much time. This is a small gift from our goddess. I can’t heal you. It was not meant to be. This is only a reprieve,” she explained as she kept running her hands through his hair.
“I don’t understand,” he said, his eyes roaming her face in awe.
“I survived, Uncle Lucien. I’m alive because of you. You saved my life. I escaped Alpha Geoff, and I found my mate. I am happy. All because of you.” A tear left his eyes at her words.
“I am glad, little one. I have spent so much time trying to find you in the darkness, but I couldn’t find a way out.”
“I know, but you don’t have to look anymore. You don’t have to go back to the darkness. You can go back to our mother, to live your next life. I love you, Uncle Lucien. I have never forgotten your sacrifice. It kept me going when I thought I had nothing to fight for.” A knot formed in my throat at her words, appreciation for the man who saved her, and sadness at the thought that I might not have met her without his sacrifice.
“In the house, Celeste. In my room, on the side of the mantle, is a secret compartment. It has a book and some documents for you. I saved them just for you,” Lucien whispered. He was beginning to look tired, his eyes fluttering open and closed as he struggled to remain conscious. Celeste nodded at his words, her tears falling silently down her face.
“I will find them. You can let go now, Uncle Lucien. Be at peace. Selene is waiting for you,” she said as she cried and bent down again, kissing his cheek. I saw a final breath leave his lungs as he closed his eyes, and the monitor started beeping in alarm before the sound of his heart rhythm flatlined. Celeste stopped glowing, and I moved to catch her as she fainted.
Rhett walked over to the monitor and turned it off, plunging the room into silence. I looked down at Celeste in my arms and heard her steady heart rate. I looked back up at Rhett to see him staring in awe at Lucien and Celeste.
“Can we go to your office? I think we need to have a conversation,” I said. He cocked an eyebrow at me before looking back at Celeste.
“I think that’s the understatement of the century, my friend,” he said, trying to lighten the moment before moving towards the door. He opened it for me, and as I passed, he asked, “Is she okay?”
“Yes, I think so. Can you ready him for transport?”
