are the reason your mate, and in turn you and your child, are still alive.”
Bethany didn’t even try to stop the tears as she hurried around the bed and first hugged Diedre and then Lanora. “Thank you, thank you,” she said over and over again. “There’s no way I can ever show you my gratitude for what you’ve done.”
Diedre reached out and took one of Bethany’s hands in hers and squeezed. “It is what we are here for, and we are so thankful that we were able to help you both. Your mate is strong and stubborn. Both of those things actually help us do our job.”
A smile stretched across Bethany’s face. She was well aware of how stubborn her mate was.
“I am very thankful that we could save him,” Lanora said, her voice soft with a musical quality.
Diedre turned to Drake and narrowed her eyes on him. “You are not to get out of this bed without assistance and only for necessity until we tell you otherwise.”
Drake, surprisingly, didn’t argue. He simply bowed his head. “Thank you. Truly, I am in your debt.”
“The debt has been paid,” Diedre said, her voice full of sorrow.
Bethany felt pain through the mate bond, but it wasn’t physical pain. It was emotional. The loss of their alpha pair. She wondered if that was the payment of which Diedre spoke.
One by one, the others stepped away until Bethany and Drake were alone.
“Come here, please.” Drake held out a hand to her.
She walked over and let him pull her next to him on the bed. She sat, trying not to move too much for fear of causing him pain. “I’m so sorry about Vasile and Alina,” she whispered.
Drake let out a deep breath. “Losing them is a huge blow to our pack,” Drake admitted. “There are people in this world who are selfless and willing to do anything for others. That’s the kind of people Vasile and Alina were. They took me into their pack knowing the type of pack I came from. But they never treated me any differently.”
She held his hand tighter and sat quietly, letting her love flow through the bond, hoping she could offer him some comfort. She felt the pain of the alpha pairs' loss, and it was so much worse through her mate’s emotions because he had a deeper attachment to them than she.
After a few minutes, Drake released her hand and then pressed it to her stomach. She loved the warmth that seeped through her clothes and set her hand on top of his, pressing it more firmly into her.
“Our child is alright?” Drake asked, worry filling his voice.
Bethany nodded. “I have it on very good authority that our little one is just fine and will do great things in his or her life.”
Drake’s brow rose. “The Great Luna?”
Bethany nodded. “She paid me a visit while we were both unconscious. She took me to the battlefield.”
Drake frowned. “You shouldn’t have seen that.”
“I’ve seen blood and death, Drake.” She hated reminding him that she’d spent a long time in the hands of the vampires. “The only reason it was hard to be there was because I knew you’d been there and somewhere on that field was your lifeblood.”
He tried to pull her down beside him, but she shook her head. “You’re not going to hurt me,” he told her.
“Diedre said—”
“Diedre doesn’t understand that the touch of a true mate helps a wolf heal. I need you close.”
“Alright.” She gave in, mostly because she needed to be close to him, too. She stretched out beside him and settled her head on his chest. He smelled like magic, but underneath that, she could also pick out his scent. She breathed in deeply and let it remind her that he was safe.
“I love you, Drake,” she said as she pressed her face into his bare skin.
“I love you, my sweet Bethany.”
“What happens now?” She worried about the fact that they were leaderless and the enemy was no doubt doing a victory dance over the huge blow they’d dealt.
“We regroup.” He sounded so sure, for which she was thankful. “We get ready for the next fight.”
“Who will be alpha?” Bethany had felt the emptiness, the loss of the bond to the alpha pair. But then she’d felt a new connection, though she wasn’t sure where that connection started.
“Fane, Vasile’s son, has taken the pack bonds, and Jacque is the alpha female,” Drake answered.
Bethany’s breath shuddered out of her. “He must be in so