Chapter 59: Chapter 59
Axel POV
“No,” I whimper, gently wiping a blond curl off Alice’s forehead. “Please, no.”
“It’s a boy,” the midwife announces, but my heart is too broken to pay attention.
“Alice, please,” I rest my head against hers, my tears dripping onto her cheeks.
How can she be just gone like this? The woman Kane and I have loved for so long. The woman we were supposed to be mated to for life.
“Axel,” Kane gently pulls me away. “Come on, man.”
“What the fuck’s wrong with you?” I shout, breaking free from his hold. “Our mate is dead, and you don’t care.”
“I do care,” Kane bellows. “But this isn’t helping. We have two tiny pups who need us right now.”
“Kane’s right,” Mother gently touches my shoulder. “This is a shock to all of us, and we will mourn her. But for now, your children come first.”
Your children, pfft, right. Those babies are Father’s bastards; I am certain of it.
I take a step back and look at the room. The doctor and midwife are cleaning Alice’s body and the two tiny babies lying in a crib, crying, and my heart shatters. They are innocent in all of this. I cannot punish them because my father is an asshole.
“Mother, what do we do?” My voice chokes with pain. What the hell do Kane and I know about babies?
“They will dress Alice for ...” Mother clears her throat and points towards the midwife and doctor. “For the mourning ritual.”
“You boys come with me,” Mother picks up the girl, hands her over to me and hands the boy to Kane.
I look at the baby, and suddenly, it does not matter who the father is.
“What should we name them?” I ask, mesmerised by the perfection in my arms.
“You don’t need to think about that now,” Mother replies sadly, and I nod.
“Come, boys,” she exhales deeply. “Your babies need to be fed.”
Kane POV
It has only been a couple of hours since the babies were born, but it feels like an eternity. Mother has given us a crash course in feeding, burping, bathing and dressing babies. Honestly, under different circumstances, it would have been funny. Axel and I are like gorillas with ten thumbs, and Mother had to jump in and help more than once.
Exhausted, Axel, Mother and I sit in the living room, waiting for Father to return.
“I thought they’d never stop crying,” I sigh.
“Can you blame them?” Axel snorts. “Their mother is dead, and their biological father was missing in action.”
“Stop it, Axel!” Mother snaps. “You have no proof, and that is a wild accusation.”
“Where the fuck is he?” I ask. “He’s the only one with answers to any of this shit.”
“Don’t raise your voice, Kane,” Mother warns. “If those pups wake up again, none of us is ever getting any rest.”
“Dad,” Axel suddenly says, and Mother and I look around.
Dad is standing in the doorway with an unbothered expression.
“So nice of you to finally fucking join us,” I grunt, glaring at him.
“Why? What happened?” He raises his eyebrows as he strides into the room. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Anger rises like bile in my throat, and I rush towards him, planting my hands on his chest before he can react. I shove hard, and he stumbles backwards.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Kane?” Dad growls, his wolf flashing in his eyes as he recovers.
“Alice died tonight,” I snarl, my chest heaving with suppressed anger. Hunter is viciously pawing inside me, dying to be released, dying to attack the man who caused all this.
“Impossible,” Dad mutters, his face draining of all colour, and his body seems to slump.
“She was asking for you the whole time she was in labour,” Axel walks towards us, his voice shaking with anger.
“The boys are telling the truth, Orion.” Mother’s voice is cold, and she cannot even meet Father’s eyes.
“What are you trying to say?” Dad’s face twists with anger. “That it was my fault? Just because she was calling out for me?”
“You fucked our mate,” I shout, completely losing control and my fist connect hard with his jaw.
“Kane, don’t,” Axel jumps in between me and Father, pushing me back. “Dead men can’t talk.”
“Are you fucking mad?” Father growls, rubbing his jaw. “I never touched Alice.”
“Bullshit!” I shake my head. Is he seriously going to argue with me right now? That self-righteous asshole. “We know you two sneaked out. No more lies, Father!”
“I swear to the Goddess, I never slept with Alice,” Father replies.
I push past Axel and look Father dead in the eyes. He stares back at me fearlessly, and I know that – for once – he is telling the truth.
“Dad,” Axel comes to stand beside me. “Alice didn’t want us in the room with her; she wanted someone named Mason. Who is he?”
Father’s eyes turn a shade darker, and he swallows hard.
“Are you going to tell us who the fuck that is?” I demand.
“Kane, Axel,” his voice is distant and robotic. “Mason is your brother.”
