Chapter 73
Daisy
“You’re not going to die on me,” I glare down at Xavier, whose head is resting in my lap.
With his dark hair and perfect face, Xavier is as beautiful as ever But there is a tiredness there that wasn’t there before. His skin is ashen, pinched lines framing his mouth and pulling at the corners of his eyes.
He gives me a pained smile. “My father…Lucian…he burnt my skin……”..
To show me what he means, he uses his last bit of strength to open the front of his shirt to reveal his chest and abs. But I don’t have time to blush-not when I notice the dark rash on his skin. It looks like he is rotting from within.
“We can heal him, Sera tells me. “But not here where Lucian can find us. You have to take him back to the mansion.”
“R-right… I look up at my sisters, who are studying Xavier with concerned faces.
Isabella is the first one to speak up. “If you shape-shift, I can place Xavier on your back, but I’m warning you: Yato and Caleb. probably won’t be happy about you taking the enemy home. In their eyes, this person is no longer Xavier, not after he summoned the eternal night.”
“I know, but I will protect Xavier with my life.”
Xavier laughs in my lap. “Why would you risk everything to save someone who is your enemy?”
Even though I know exactly what I want to say, the words won’t come out.
Luckily, Isabella speaks for me. “Because she is pregnant with your child, you idiot.”
That’s the worst thing to say, apparently. Xavier’s skin turns reddish, his mouth working as if he’s lost his voice. His red eyes meet mine. “You’re…pregnant?”
His broken voice is what gives me courage. “That’s right. So if you die on me, Xavier, I will never forgive you.”
I don’t know what he sees in my eyes, but his eyebrows knit together before determination lights up his features. Before I know what’s going on, he places his hand in the grass.
“Then allow me to make sure my father won’t catch you.”
My eyes widen when I see his dark magic forming a circle around us. “No, Xavier, don’t! You’re already exhausted-”
“Too late,” he cuts me off.
After he has spoken, we are swallowed by a portal made of shadows and darkness. It literally takes Xavier’s magic three seconds to teleport us back to the mansion.
Lina looks around, gasping in shock. “Wow… that’s one handy magic trick.”
“This isn’t the time to be impressed!” Isabella snaps. “We need to take Xavier upstairs so Daisy can heal him,” her eyes find mine. “Do you need help placing him on your back?”
Relief washes over me. “Yes, please.”
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III
10:58 Fri, May
Chapter 73
I shift into my wolf form, and Isabella places Xavier on my back Lina holds open the door, and I march inside, growling when I see Yato, Caleb, Lola, Sabrina, and Xavier’s father, Christian Reeves himself, blocking my path.
They are all staring at me, and I tilt my head before attempting to mink-link with Christian. I’m not sure if he is part of the pack, but it turns out he is.
“Why are you standing in my way?” I ask him. “Don’t you want me to save your son?”
He sucks in a deep breath. “This will be hard to accept, Daisy, but you must give up on saving Xavier. In the future that has a happy ending, you let him die.”
“Wh-what?!” I snarl at him. ‘And why the f*ck would I let the father of my unborn child die? Are you out of your mind?!”
“Daisy.” He takes a step closer with his hand reaching for me, but I back away from him.
“Don’t come any closer!” I warn him. “If you do, I will bite your head off!”
Surprise flits over Christian face before he slumps his shoulders in defeat. “Oh, Daisy… I know giving up on your own mate is a hard decision to make, but healing him will make you weaker. He was burnt and crushed by Lucian’s hand-those marks on his skin mean that he has been cursed to die a slow, painful death…”
Panic claws at my chest. ‘But we can try to heal him, right? Sera said…”
“No, Daisy.” His voice breaks. “Your healing abilities will be able to heal him, but..you will have to give up some of your own magic for his life. It isn’t worth it. We need you at your full strength to defeat Lucian.”
Xavier coughs on my back, and I feel a lump of blood land on my white fur. “Daisy…please… he’s telling the truth,” he whispers in a hoarse voice, each word a painful effort. His cold fingers dig into my fur, stroking me as if wanting to tell me he has accepted death already. “Lucian is awful. You need all of your strength to defeat him.”
I let out a raw growl, and my teeth bared in a show of fierce protectiveness. My next sentence is aimed at Xavier but spoken. through the mind-link so everyone can hear me. “What kind of mother or mate would I be if I didn’t do everything in my power to save you?”
Christian’s face softens with sorrow. “A surviving one.”
“And a responsible one,” Sabrina mumbles. “If you save Xavier’s life, we will all eventually die because you will lack the strength to put up a fight against him.”
Lola gulps and squeezes Caleb’s face before voicing her opinion in a low voice. “I know it’s terrible, but in this case…you have to think about the future. About the pack.”
“No!” I growl at all of them, my legs shaking at what they are telling me but what I’mr reusing to accept. I’m loyal to my mate, and I don’t want him to die!”
To my utter shock, Lina and Isabella walk to stand between me and my friends.
“No matter what, we will support Daisy’s decision,” Isabella says.
Lina hums in agreement.” And if I were Daisy, I would save my mate…
Christian grits his teeth. “That’s because you’re all selfish and not thinking for the greater good of the pack!”
“Or maybe you just don’t understand what it means to be young and in love, old man!” I snap, causing Christian to reel back
in surprise.
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10:58 Fri, May 17
Chapter 73
Xavier chuckles on my back.”That fire is exactly why I’m drawn to you…”
My heart clenches. I want to tell Xavier to shut up and not waste his strength on making jokes.
But I don’t.
Instead. I focus on how his body is already growing heavier as his consciousness slips away, an ominous sign. My mind races, trying to keep pace with this devastating turn of events. I need to make a choice-a terrible choice.
But then Sera’s voice whispers within me, “There might be another way, a third option even Christian Reeves hasn’t seen in one of his visions.
“Is that even possible? I thought Christian’s power let him see every possible outcome of every decision.
“Yes, but the idea I’m about to propose is so crazy that I’m hesitating to even voice it to you, Sera admits. I don’t want to get your hopes up and then…”
‘Just tell me!’ I demand, desperate.
“Alright, alright, she placates. ‘You are a healer, Daisy. But have you ever considered… what if, instead of giving up your own magic to save Xavier, you could take it from someone else? Or something else?”
I blink, stunned. Take it from something else? Like what?”
“Like Lucian,’ she states simply, and I can almost hear the grin in her voice. ‘Xavier was a half-demon in his first life, and the reason why he isn’t anymore is that he doesn’t possess any demonic blood, but…what if we fed it to him? Couldn’t th -potentially awaken the dormant demon within him? Couldn’t that potentially replace the magic you’d otherwise need
sacrifice?”
My breath catches in my throat. Could such a thing truly be possible? Saving Xavier without sacrificing my own magic – it sounds almost too good to be true.
“But how do I get Lucian’s demonic blood?’ I ask, already knowing that it won’t be so simple.
Suddenly, Xavier’s voice invades my mind. “You can’t,’ he says through telepathy. “It’s…too dangerous- he makes this sound. It’s a dry, hacking cough that rips through him, bringing with it another splatter of blood onto my fur. His voice resumes, weaker this time: ‘You can’t just give up everything to save.me.
Xavier is about to slip away again and that’s when I decide I’ve had enough of this stupid conversation. To hell with it all; 1 will heal him using my magic or die trying!
Before anyone can protest, I focus on my inner light, on the magic coursing through my blood.
“No!” Christian shouts. “Stop her before it’s too late!”
The others move, but I raise a shield made of light around me to prevent them from interfering.
“Daisy, don’t!” Sabrina cries from the other side of the shield.
Igniting my magic, I close my eyes and concentrate. I feel Xavier’s weak pulse against my back, and I channel my powers. into him, feeling the light in me ebbing away, slowly trickling into him. He groans beneath me, but I ignore it, focusing on keeping our bond alive.
‘Sera, I whisper internally, help me.”
I’m trying… she responds, sounding scared but resolved.
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10:58 Fri, May 17
Chapter 73
Christian is shouting again, bis pleas muffled behind my shield. But his voice sounds distant and unimportant compared to the fragile thread of life that’s slipping away beneath me.
Suddenly, Xavier jerks violently underneath me, causing me to lose my concentration momentarily. “Daisy!” he chokes out as if it is the most painful thing he has ever done.
‘Hold on, Xavier! Just hold on!’ I urge him through our mind lint.
Inside me. Sera is screaming. This….this isn’t working!”
I feel a cold dread spread through me at her words as I pour more magic into Xavier. My vision starts to blur, and for a moment, panic overtakes me.
Then something unexpected happens. Xavier is coughing, but it’s different now. He sounds…stronger.
Sera gasps. ‘I..I don’t understand how, but his werewolf blood is helping out even though he hasn’t accepted his werewolf self. It’s helping him heal.
And thank the moon goddess for that because I’m exhausted.
I release a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. With a final push, I pour the last of my dwindling magic into Xavier’s seemingly revived form before collapsing, spent, and drained. The shield I had so stubbornly constructed disappears as quickly as it had appeared, revealing the worried faces of our entourage.
“No,” Christian shouts, rushing towards us. “What have you done?”
Saved the man I love.”
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