A Life or Death Struggle Ch. 04

"We face him together," Mage announced, sliding her hand into Beth's. Raven slid a hand into Beth's other hand.

"Together," Raven agreed.

"Always together," Beth murmured. Armed with dry rosemary and sage, the three young witches moved cautiously towards the living room, chanting. Cole tried to remember what Beth had said about the chant as many young and old men and women filled the house, chanting with his mate and her cousins. "That's right, the chant brings any witch of the light together," Cole thought to himself. He shifted again, determined to keep Beth and their children safe.

"Where is he?" Cole growled.

"Not here yet. The breaking glass was a wave of energy he sent," Beth answered grimly as she surveyed the damage to the living room.

"We wait," Raven sighed. Beth and Mage nodded as the three moved to the front porch.

"He dies today," Beth announced, the tone in her voice left no room for argument.

"My brothers are on their way," Cole told them quietly.

"We'll need all the help we can get," Mage said with a grateful smile to Cole. The girls straightened as the wizard approached them.

"Look at that, the welcoming party!" he cackled. He sent a ball of energy towards them and Mage easily deflected it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why do you hate us? What did we ever do to you?" Beth wanted to know.

"You exist! Isn't that enough?" the wizard shouted.

"You use magic freely, how does that make you any different than us?" Raven shouted, rage flowing through her. The girls winced as the wizard shouted his answers, about how they never should have been born, that magic was evil and that he had to destroy all the magic to protect humanity and to make the race pure.

"You sound like a fucking Nazi!" Beth shouted. This time, she wasn't quick enough to set up a shield around her and the blast hit her in the chest head on. Cole's heart lurched into his throat. He couldn't lose her now, not after finding her again and mating with her. He roared loudly and charged the wizard. The wizard, not expecting the attack gasped in surprise as Cole's powerful jaws clenched around his arm. The wizard would have shaken Cole off of him if he hadn't been attacked from behind by Xavier and Charles.

"We have him son, see to your mate," his father growled before launching himself at the wizard who dared hurt the mother of his grandchildren. Cole shifted back to human form quickly and took the offered robe from Mage. He hurried over to Beth and knelt beside her.

"Are you alright?" Cole asked, searching her face anxiously.

"I'm alright. Your children have their own shield for protection, they can't be harmed," Beth answered.

"I didn't ask if the babies were alright, I asked about you, their mother, my mate," Cole said.

"We're fine," Beth murmured.

"Then we have work to do," Mage said gently, pushing past Cole and helping Beth to her feet. Mage pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, set it in a cauldron and set it on fire. Beth, Raven and Mage, along with the witches that surrounded them said the chant, their voices loud, clear, precise. The wizard was bound. Raven walked over to the wizard and pulled back his cape.

"Joe! Why?" Beth gasped in horror.

"Because sister, our parents bound my power when I was diagnosed as bi-polar. My son will never have his birth right; you have it all, you greedy little bitch!" Joe snapped. Beth could see that the man in front of her was her brother, at least in the flesh, but mentally, he couldn't possibly be Joe.

"Joe, who did this to you? You turned you against your own family?" Beth asked.

"Years of hate and embarrassment has made me like this," Joe spat.

"But I love you, you're my brother! I'd never done anything to hurt you!" Beth whimpered. Behind her, Beth heard Mage and Raven say the spell that would reveal all of Joe's secrets. As the truth flooded out of him, Beth could see the twisted soul that her brother had become. "God Joey, what have you done?" Beth whispered as she saw the murders of witches that he had committed. Cole stepped up behind Beth and placed his hands on her shoulders as Logan and Parker walked into the yard, their clothes torn and their bodies covered in blood. Parker muttered a spell to remove any evil that had been forced upon Joe.

"It won't work Parker, but thank you for trying," Beth whispered. She walked up to her brother, she knew what she had to do, even if she didn't want to, she had to kill her brother. Beth kissed Joe's cheek and stepped back. "Good-bye big brother," Beth murmured as she waved her arm at him. Joe's eyes had a momentary look of sorrow as he looked at his sister carefully.

"Good bye Beth," Joe managed to say before his body combusted, reducing him to a pile of smoldering ashes.

"Beth," Cole murmured, taking a step towards her. He swore under his breath and caught her as Beth's knees buckled and she dropped to the ground, a cry of pain escaped her lips. "What's wrong love?" Cole asked.

Beth looked up into Cole's face, her eyes wide and her whole body shaking as a gush of fluid flooded down her legs. "The babies are coming," Beth whispered before the pain overtook her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Beth, can you hear me?" Beth's eyes fluttered open and doctor Lewis' face came into focus. "How do you feel?" doctor Lewis asked gently.

"Like I'm being ripped apart," Beth groaned.

"Can't you give her anything?" Cole growled. Beth watched as Dominic placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Easy Cole, I know this is not easy to watch, but you need to stay calm if you are going to help Beth through this," Dominic said gently. Cole turned to his father, ready to ask him what he knew about the subject until he saw the look on his father's face. "I went through this while your mother was in labor with you kids, and I remember the pain she was in. Beth will be fine," Dominic told his son.

"Cole!" Beth cried out. Cole was at her side in an instant, slipped his hand in hers and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"It's going to take hours Beth, try to rest and relax when you can," doctor Lewis warned. Beth moaned as doctor Lewis left the bedroom, pushing Dominic out of the room in front of her.

"Hi," Cole said softly.

"Don't hi me, Cole Marcus Black, it's your fault I'm in this mess," Beth snarled.

"My fault? You wanted it as much as I did!" Cole snapped, growing angry at her words.

"She's in pain Cole, she doesn't mean what she's saying," Marie said softly from behind. Cole opened his mouth to protest but a groan of pain from Beth had him looking at her in concern.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Cole gave her a gentle smile and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Deep breaths love," Cole reminded her. Marie walked to the other side of the bed and took Beth's hand in her own.

"Why does it have to hurt so much?" Beth wailed.

"I don't know Beth, but I can tell you that the pain is well worth it," Marie said with a soft smile. "I remember when Cole was born. He was in my first litter. He had four siblings, two brothers and two sisters," Marie murmured.

"What happened to them?" Beth asked.

"We were attacked when Cole was six months old and they were taken. Cole was spared because played dead like a possum," Marie said sadly.

"I'm sorry," Beth whispered.

Before Marie could say another word, Beth's whole body tensed with a long contraction. "I can't do this," Beth gasped.

"Yes you can," Marie said firmly.

"No, I can't, it hurts too much!" Beth wailed with a groan.

"You're doing great," Marie told Beth. She pulled some herbs out of her purse. "Cole, mix this into some tea and give it to Beth to drink," Marie instructed. Cole quickly did as his mother instructed and brought a cup of tea. "Drink as much of this as you can, the herbs will help with the pain," Marie told Beth. Beth could only manage a few sips before another contraction caught her in its grasp.

"What is it?" Cole asked, seeing the expression on Beth's face change.

"Get doctor Lewis," Beth gasped. Cole called for the doctor and hovered behind her. He felt useless and helpless, his mate was hurting and he couldn't take the pain away.

"What's wrong?" Cole asked anxiously. Doctor Lewis looked up with a smile.

"One of your children is right there," Doctor Lewis answered. Cole swallowed hard as he listened to the instructions the doctor was giving Beth. Beth pushed with a loud yell, hot tears fell down her face as the baby was pushed down the birth canal. "You're doing great Beth, just a few more pushes and the first one will be here," doctor Lewis coached.

Cole met his mother's eyes above Beth's head and he had to smile at the excitement he saw in them.

"Oh God, this fucking hurts!" Beth managed.

"Take a deep breath and let it out. It's almost there Beth," doctor Lewis told her patient. "Do that three more times and on the third time, instead of letting it out, hold it and push as hard as you can," she added. She smiled at Beth as she followed the instructions. "Here's the first baby," doctor Lewis announced as the tiny infant slid into her waiting arms, screaming loudly. Cole squeezed Beth's hand gently, a look of awe on his face. "It's a girl," she added. She clamped the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby into a warm blanket before handing the baby to Cole.

"She looks more human the wolf," Marie said softly.

"She'll be able to shift when she's older, it isn't uncommon when a were and a witch mate for the child to look human at birth," doctor Lewis said, pulling the ultrasound over. "Beth, it looks like you're going to get a break, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I need to get them out now!" Beth gasped.

"I know how you feel, but you've got a little while. Baby B is still pretty high up," doctor Lewis told her. Beth groaned and winced as a smaller contraction rippled through her. "Have her drink more tea," doctor Lewis suggested. Beth took a few more sips of tea as she watched Cole cradle their newborn daughter.

"Do you want to hold her?" Cole asked after a minute.

"She should wait until the rest are born, when the contractions stop," Marie advised. Doctor Lewis nodded in agreement so Cole sat down in the chair next to the bed and held the baby where Beth could see her.

"She's beautiful," Beth murmured. Cole nodded and smiled.

"Let me take the baby Cole to evaluate her," doctor Lewis said softly after a few minutes. Reluctantly, Cole released the baby into the doctor's care and turned back to his mate.

"Is the tea helping?" Cole asked.

"No!" Beth gasped as a larger contraction hit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The first baby is a girl!" doctor Lewis announced, walking into the living room. Mage and Logan looked up from their cleaning and smiled.

"Let me hold my grandchild," Dominic demanded. Doctor Lewis nodded and slid the baby into her grandfather's arms as Cole shouted for her from the bedroom.

"How are you doing Beth?" doctor Lewis asked.

"Help her!" Cole pleaded. Doctor Lewis sighed as she saw the blood flowing from her patient. "What's happening?" Cole asked.

"I need to do a C-section to get the rest of the babies out. Cole, grab my bag," doctor Lewis said.

"What's wrong?" Beth asked.

"You're hemorrhaging Beth. Your blood pressure is dropping and the babies heartbeats are dropping. I don't have time to give you an epidural, I'm sorry," doctor Lewis said gently. She quickly wiped Beth's abdomen with iodine as she shouted for Xavier and Charles to hurry into the room. "I hope nobody is squeamish," she added, slicing into Beth's abdomen. Beth screamed, tried to thrash around in the bed and Cole held her down while he murmured gently into her ear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened?" Mage asked as Cole walked slowly into the living room.

"Is Beth alright?" Logan wanted to know.

"Beth's fine, or at least she will be," Cole answered wearily as he dropped onto the couch.

"What happened?" Mage asked again.

"Beth started hemorrhaging and doctor Lewis had to perform a C-section. There are two boys and another girl."

"What aren't you telling us?" Parker asked.

"Doctor Lewis also had to perform a hysterectomy; she couldn't stop the bleeding," Cole said, rubbing his face with his hands. It was then that he noticed the flecks of blood on his hands and started shaking badly.

"Are the babies okay?" Raven asked softly. Cole looked at Raven and frowned at how pale she was.

"They're perfect. Are you alright Raven?" Cole murmured. Raven shook her head as big, silent tears streamed down her face.

"Jimmy didn't make it," Mage said softly. Cole stood up, crossed the room and gave his new cousin a tight hug. "Go lay down honey, we'll take care of the mess," Mage added. Raven nodded and fled to the room she and Jimmy used when they stayed with Mage.

"She's pregnant," Cole observed, his keen sense of smell detecting the change in Raven's body.

"Three months, she just found out yesterday," Mage confirmed. "I can't believe it was Joe all this time," she murmured.

"Neither can I," Logan grumbled.

"Poor Zach and Melly," Mage sniffled. Logan gave his wife a tight squeeze as doctor Lewis, Marie and Charles carried the infants into the living room.

"Thanks for sitting down Cole, you looked ready to pass out," Marie told her son. Cole nodded.

"I was," he admitted.

"Well, well, well, how touching!" an angry feminine voice said from the open doorway.

"Chloe," Cole growled.

"I see Joe dispatched with the little bitch, but not before she had your children," Chloe snapped.

"Wrong!" Mage shouted. She and Parker stood up and chanted together. Chloe was thrown into a large oak tree but she stood up, shifted and charged Cole. Cole had had enough as he shifted angrily. Chloe slammed her body into Cole's and he grabbed her and fought with her before snaking an arm around her neck and snapping it like a twig. It was over and Chloe was dead.

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Raven, how are you feeling?" Xavier asked gently, sitting down next to her on the bench. Raven turned to Xavier and shrugged. "Each day is a little better, but I still miss Jimmy," Raven murmured. "Today is a good day though, especially with Gambit reopening," she added. Xavier nodded and smiled.

"Hey guys," Beth said with a cheerful smile. She gave her brother in law a hug and then turned to her cousin. "Look at you Rave, you look great!" Beth exclaimed.

"Hey Beth," Raven said with a small smile. "Wow, look at them!" Beth turned to look at her children who were sleeping in their stroller, their father standing behind them, pushing the custom made vehicle.

"Three months today," Beth murmured. Raven pressed a hand to her own expanded abdomen and sighed. "He's watching from Heaven Rave, you know he is," Beth told her cousin.

"I know," Raven whispered. Cole glanced at Beth before pushing the stroller into Beth's office.

"Jimmy loved you Raven, and I'm sure he's up there, waiting for you. Just don't leave us any time soon. You have his baby to raise," Beth said. Raven nodded and looked around.

"I can't believe this place has been repaired," Raven said in awe.

"My family does good work, don't they?" Xavier asked with a grin.

"Beautiful work," Raven agreed. Beth led Raven and Xavier back to her office. "How's Melly and Zach handling things?" Raven asked. A wave of pain rushed through Beth as she remembered the day she had told her sister in law that she had helped kill Joe. Guilt followed, an emotion she had been struggling with. Despite his evilness, Joe was still her brother and Beth missed him.

"He would have killed you love," Cole murmured, sensing the feelings within his mate.

"I know, but it doesn't make the pain any less. Joe was my brother," Beth whispered.

"Well feed our Joey before he starts wailing," Cole said, plopping the baby into his mother's lap. Beth gave a half smile and reached for the proffered bottle. One by one, Joey's siblings began calling for food. "I'll take Marissa," Raven said with a smile as Cole placed the cherub looking baby into her arms. "Hello sweetie," Raven crooned to her second cousin as she eased the silicone nipple into the baby's mouth.

"Here Xavier, you can feed Gage and I'll feed Melissa," Cole told his brother. Xavier took his nephew carefully. The four of them sat their feeding the infants quietly until the babies were back asleep. They looked up as Parker knocked softly on the door before opening it.

"What is it Parker?" Beth asked.

"We're ready to open," Parker told her. Beth nodded and carefully slid Joey into the large, homemade crib that sat next to her desk.

"I'll be back soon if anyone needs me," Beth told Cole before following her bartender to the dining room of the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What do you want Xavier?" Raven asked as followed her out of Gambit.

"To make sure you got home okay," Xavier answered. He frowned when he saw her shaking. "Let me take you home," he added. Raven nodded and silently handed over her car keys. Since Jimmy's death, Xavier had taken to keeping an eye on Raven, helping her when she needed help or letting her cry on his shoulder when she needed to cry. He had gone to every doctor's appointment with her. Xavier held the door open for Raven and closed it gently once she was securely in the car. Once they were on their way, Xavier glanced at Raven, a troubled smile on his face. He was falling in love with Raven and regrettably, he knew it was too soon for her. Besides, his father would probably have a massive stroke if he knew another of his sons was in love with a human. Xavier sighed as he pulled into Raven's driveway and glanced at her; she was asleep. Quietly, Xavier turned off the car, walked around and pulled Raven into his arms and carried her inside.

He placed Raven gently in the middle of her bed and groaned when her blouse slipped down her shoulder, revealing the creamy skin beneath. Xavier stretched out beside Raven and began kissing her shoulder before working his way down her neck. He knew he should stop but he couldn't. Muttering a low curse, Xavier quickly unbuttoned Raven's blouse and let it fall open. Luckily for Xavier, the clasp of the maternity bra was in front and he gently popped it open. Drops of colostrum beaded on her nipples which stiffened as the cool air touched them. Xavier bent over Raven's body and licked the colostrum from her nipples. The action startled Raven awake and she gave a small scream. "Did I hurt you?" Xavier asked instantly. He knew he hadn't physically hurt her, he could smell her arousal and her hesitation. She was pining for Jimmy, the man she had been engaged to, the man she loved, but her body was craving him.

"I'm sorry, I was out of line, I never should have ..." Raven made a split second decision and kissed Xavier hard. Xavier's hands fumbled for the zipper of Raven's skirt and he pushed it down her legs. He raised his eyebrows and pulled away long enough to say, "What, no panties?"

"Xavier please," Raven whispered. Xavier quickly pulled his clothing off and let it drop to the floor before he gently slammed into her soaking core. She met him thrust for thrust, her nails raked across his back. Xavier groaned as Raven locked her legs around his waist. It had been so long for either of them that they came together within moments; Raven cried out Jimmy's name as she came and Xavier cursed silently to himself, he hadn't intended on making love to Raven, but he had been unable to control himself.

"I'm sorry," Xavier mumbled, pulling away from Raven quickly. He pulled his clothing on and tried to ignore the look of hurt on her face. "I never meant to ... are you okay?" Xavier asked.

"I'm fine. It's okay Xavier, I'm not mad," Raven murmured.

"I have to go," Xavier stammered. He hurried from the apartment and back towards town. Raven sighed as she walked to her dresser to pull on a pair of sweat pants and one of Jimmy's old tee-shirts.