Alpha Killer Ch. 76 - Conclusion

Everyone got quiet. "Who?"

"My mate, Dusty Meechum," she said to gasps. "In last night's attack, my mate stood alone against the Vampires that attacked. The leader, Master Snow, bit him in an attempt to give up the location of our father and the other hybrids. Erica arrived before he died, she and the New Orleans Coven taking out the Master and his people."

"If you killed him, how is Dusty being changed," Nikolai asked.

"We didn't kill him, but he doesn't have arms and his teeth are gone," Erica said. "The only way to save Dusty from the venom was to change him. I used him to start the change in Dusty." The precise method wasn't common knowledge, and she wasn't going to let on what happened. "When he survives the change, I'll need a Master to change Kimberly so his mating bites won't kill her."

"Any other casualties, Alpha Kimberly?"

"Everyone else withdrew to the safe room and with the New Orleans Coven's help, no one else died." She paused as she looked offscreen. "I owe my mate's life to Erica and Eduardo and Anastasia. They are true friends to the Sulphur River Pack."

"Excellent." He waited to see if there were any other questions, then continued. "For an update on the attack on Vampire Council headquarters, Chief Enforcer Randall Meechum is on the call. Randall?"

"Thank you, Chairman Nikolai. The Vampire Council Headquarters were attacked last night by three Covens. I arrived in the middle of the attack, when the third sublevel had been taken over and they were cutting through the stairwell door. I was able to slip in behind, and the diversion allowed the remaining Vampires to counterattack. The attackers have been wiped out, even those who fled have been killed now."

"Casualties must have been high," Chairman Brent said.

"We lost a lot of good men in this war," he said. "Master Edith was killed in the fight, but Masters Jarrod and Lukaku survived. The fighting was intense."

"We will not allow their sacrifices to be in vain," Chairman Nikolai said. "Now that the crisis is over, I will be returning to New York to oversee the recovery while your Chief Enforcer can return here."

"Elections will take place later today for the positions on the Werewolf Council," Brent said. "Regions are to report the results to me by 2000 Eastern time. Installation will happen in two days at moonrise. I'd continue this until all questions have been answered, but I've been up for almost forty hours now and we need to rest."

"We have all had a long night," another Alpha said. "Our problems will still be there when we awake. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the update and thank you, Chairman Nikolai, for having the courage to achieve this peace."

With that, the conference ended. I closed the window on my laptop and turned to look at Bobby. "Your brother..."

"He's strong, he'll make it through the change," Bobby said. "We should talk to your sister, though."

"You're right." She picked up her phone and called Talia. "Sis, should I be worried about Dusty?"

"I'm not going to lie. He's going to go through hell in this change but there's nothing you can do to help him. Erica is there, his Pack as well. I've already talked to Randall and Jarrod, we're going to head down there in two days to help. When you first wake up from the change, it can go bad quickly. We can make sure he is all right."

"And Jarrod can change Kimberly."

"Yes. We'll stay until she is stable as well. Dad is going to stay here, and Mom is going home to help. Just be warned, if you go down there, you'll be swept up in wedding planning."

"I'm not even engaged yet!"

Talia laughed. "Me either, but he's not going to be here until tonight. At least I know I'll like the ring when he finally gets down on his knee."

"All right, we have to go. The Pack awaits." I closed the call and got off Bobby's lap. We had a Pack to release from the safe rooms and get back to normal.

Kimberly's POV

Sulphur River Pack House

I released everyone back to normal duties, and many went straight to bed. I asked the kitchen staff to prepare a light breakfast for those who would be staying up, but to focus on a big dinner tonight. We wouldn't celebrate the victory, at least not until it was over.

I called Master Nikolai to ask him what I should do with Master Snow. Without blood, he could not heal and regenerate his lost limbs. "Stake him out for the sunrise," the Council chair said. "I've got enough to deal with back in New York, and they were all warned." I called two warriors, who carried him outside, him promising death and retribution the whole way.

"Put him on the pile with the rest of the garbage to be burned," I said. After I made sure the Pack was taken care of, I went outside where the younger Baldwin boys, Matt and Lucas, had collected my Beta's remains had been collected in a box. Bull had fought valiantly, the dead vampires showed that, and they had torn him to pieces. "Prepare him for the pyre," I said as I touched his hair "He died bravely and with honor."

He'd been a constant in our lives, ever since I found my mate and came to this Pack. He was a good man and I will miss him. I went back inside and made the call to the Copper Mountain Pack. Terry Baldwin was going to be on the next flight down so he could be at the funeral.

"Alpha, I need you in Medical immediately," the Pack Doctor sent. My heart dropped, the only person there was my mate. I ran down there, and beyond the open door I could see Dusty seizing up. The Doctor was struggling to keep him from hurting himself as his body fought the restraints. "His fever is too high," she said. "It's going to damage his brain. Get an ice bath ready immediately," she said.

The attached bathroom had a shower, but one of the nearby guest rooms had a tub. I called the kitchen, telling them to bring ice, while I filled it with cold water. Eduardo and Erica carried his unconscious body in just before they arrived with bags of ice. He was out of it, but the seizure had stopped. "Pour it in and go get more," I told the Omegas as they dumped the ice over his body. He was burning up. "Is this normal?"

"A fever, yes, but not like this."

The Doctor looked at Erica. "Call your Master, I need to know what else to expect." She got him on the phone and put it on speaker; Doc gave the history of the symptoms so far.

"That doesn't sound right," he said. "None of the others had that high a fever."

"Is it possible we didn't use enough blood?" I was wondering if I had killed Snow too early.

"I don't know. Marceline and I will head your way immediately, I just have to arrange transport. I will call you with an arrival time, it will be during the day so we'll be traveling by coffin."

"We'll be ready." I stayed with my mate, using a washcloth to cool his face and head. His temperature turned, finally below 106 degF again, and she let go a sigh of relief. "He's good?"

"He's a long way from good, but at least he isn't getting worse. Keep the ice coming."

The morning stretched into afternoon; his fever would abate, then come back with a vengeance. Eduardo and Erica had to restrain him when he started to seize again, while I kept his head above water. His screams of agony echoed through the building.

The third time his temperature spiked, it didn't come back down. His seizures stopped, I felt him shudder and relax, then he slumped down. I felt his bond tear from me, the pain was unbearable. "GET HIM OUT AND ON THE FLOOR," she yelled. They did. "Start CPR, I'll be back with the crash cart."

I watched as Erica started chest compressions. All I could do was hold my hands to his cheeks and beg him to come back. I prayed, begging Luna to send him back. "Where is Jarrod?"

"On the helicopter, we're twenty minutes out," the escort said.

"We don't have twenty minutes."

They alternated doing CPR as Doc furiously tried to restart his heart. Shocking, adrenalin, nothing worked. "Stop CPR," she said. "I'm sorry, it's over."

I collapsed into the corner, unable to function without my mate. I could hear the helicopter landing, but my loss made it mean nothing.

Ch. 78

Eduardo's POV

Outside the Sulphur River Pack House

I had been in contact with Jarrod before they landed at the airport. There was no time to waste, the Pack had felt the Alpha bond break and were in grief. Randall had traveled with the Jarrod and Marceline and supervised the coffins as they were transferred to the helicopter.

Standing in the clearing past the training facility, I watched as the aircraft hovered then landed in the circle that had been hastily painted on the lawn. I had a dozen men with me and two trucks, to unload the coffins and their precious cargo. Randall didn't even say hi as he took off running for the house, a small cooler in his hand.

As soon as they touched down, two teams of six ran bent over to the doors. Pulling out the coffins, they carried them back to the pick-up trucks and loaded them up. By the time the helicopter was taking off again, we were already moving to the house.

We unloaded and carried them inside and down the stairs to the basement and into the clinic area. There weren't windows in this area near the safe room, so we were able to let them out of the transport coffins. "He's this way," I said.

We joined the small crowd in the exam room where Dusty's body lay on the table, devoid of life. Kimberly was sitting in the corner, daughters Opal and Sandy wrapped around her as she sobbed uncontrollably. Randall was working with Doc, hanging a bag of blood from the IV stand. A moment later, the needle was in Dusty's arm. Randall gently squeezed the blood through the tube and the large-bore needle, forcing his blood into the body.

"How long until we know," I asked him quietly.

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "It's not like there is an instruction manual for this."

The Doc cleared the room so we could talk to Kimberly alone. "I wish you had gotten here earlier," she said as she wiped the tears from her face. She saw the bag hooked up and Randall squeezing it. "What are you doing?"

"The fact that his heart has stopped may not mean he is completely gone," Jarrod said. "He was bitten first, then given the blood. The venom and the blood are fighting each other, one to kill him, one to change him. My hope is that my blood can tip the balance."

She had the girls get up and she moved over to Jarrod as the girls went to Uncle Randall. "It can't make him any more dead, I guess."

He nodded. "The other reason is the blood you used was from a younger vampire. Snow was a titular Master because he was head of his Coven, but he's half my age. With age comes power. We know that using blood from too young a vampire will not work, but we don't have enough information to say exactly where the break point is."

No one said anything as we waited; Randall joined his sister-in-law's hug as the blood bag emptied and the needle was removed. None of us knew if it would work, and there was nothing to do but wait.

Ten minutes turned to twenty, then thirty.

There was a gasp as Dusty suddenly took a breath, his body jerking as it suddenly restarted. Doc saw the heart monitor come back to life as Kimberly grabbed his hand. "Pulse is forty, blood pressure 70 over 40 and rising," she said. "He's back."

"Will he be all right?"

"I have no idea," Doc said. "Between the fever and the long time with no oxygen, if it wasn't for the vampire blood he would be brain dead long ago."

Kimberly leaned over, kissing him on the lips as her hand squeezed his. "Come back to me, baby."

His girls climbed up on the bed, begging him to open his eyes, and then he did. "DADDY," Sandy squealed when she saw him.

"My girls," he whispered. He winced in pain, closing his eyes again. "What happened?"

"You've been dead for almost an hour," Kimberly said as she hugged him tight. "Don't do that to me again!"

His lucidity was short lived as his body heated up and the pain returned. His unconsciousness relieved his pain. "He's going to be out of it for three days," Jarrod said.

She looked at her mate, her face showed a wide range of feelings. "The mate bond is still gone. I felt it break when he died, I can't feel it anymore. The Pack bond isn't there either. He's back, but he's not back with me."

"I don't know what to say, Kimberly. When he finishes the change, we can see what we need to do."

"Do you still feel the mating pull towards him," Randall asked.

"Yes, he's my mate, my wolf knows it but she's not getting anything back. She won't calm down, she can see him but still behaves like she lost him. It's like he lost his wolf."

"He might have, but remember what happened to Tania," Randall said. "Her wolf was gone, but a part lived in her mate and she got her back after they mated. Perhaps you just have to mate with him again to restore everything. He did die before he came back." It was all too much to think of.

Jarrod looked at the exhausted family members. "Why don't you and the girls get some sleep, I'll watch over him with my Coven."

She was exhausted, but she shook her head. "No, I have to be here, in case..."

"You need to take care of yourself and your family, Kimberly. If anything changes, Erica will come get you. He will be well cared for while you sleep."

She was Alpha, he wasn't Pack, but he was right. She thought about it for a moment. "The girls and I will get some food, then we're going to stay in the guest room across the hall," she said.

"Erica will help you," he said. She picked up Sandy and took Opal's hand, leading them out. Jarrod and I settled in, watching as Dusty's change continued. We monitored the symptoms as they returned to what we expected from our changes; his fever, the pain and the moving in and out of consciousness.

The rest of the family started arriving that afternoon. I had never had a family like this; my father had left while I was a baby. My Mom was a drunk, more interested in her fuck buddies and her booze to care about me. Computers had been my savior; I was gifted with them and I fell in with some other kids in school. I spent all my free time learning and hacking and used my knowledge to make my own money. It was only after I had been caught trying to burglarize Jarrod's mansion, and saw how his Coven worked, that I found out what a family was.

Everyone had dropped everything when the news of Dusty's death was received. The fact that he was revived an hour later didn't change anything, they were already on the way. Dallas, Vivian and Austin plus his sister Denise shared a flight with Matt and Lucas Baldwin from Denver. Jacque took a flight to Madison so he could take his new spot as the Beta of the Tomah Pack, allowing Bobby and Tania to return. Brent had to stay at the Council until the new Council members were sworn in, but Patty and Talia flew down from Pittsburgh. Kimberly's parents and her younger sister flew in from their Pack in Kalispell, Montana.

The Alpha and her daughters woke just before five, and immediately went to check on Dusty. He was still doing well, considering how traumatic the process was. Jarrod sent them upstairs after a short visit when Opal's stomach started to growl. They were shocked to see everyone waiting for them around the dinner table.

Randall's POV

The mood at dinner was somber; at moonrise we would send Beta Bull to the heavens. It was good to see everyone, but the circumstances sucked. Kimberly put on a brave face. She was Alpha and couldn't break down no matter how much she wanted to.

The entire Pack gathered in the ceremonial area after sundown. The pyre had been built, and his body had been wrapped and placed upon it. His sons had taken care to find even the smallest of his remains. His face was covered with the white cloth. Kimberly and her children led the procession, each person laying a flower, a photo or a trinket on the pyre before saying a prayer and moving on. His sons were last, each taking a moment to say their goodbyes. Rita, the eldest Pack member, blessed him and asked the Moon Goddess to accept his spirit.

The three boys put flaming torches into the dry kindling at the base of the pyre and then stepped back. The pyre caught quickly, the flames soon reaching twenty feet into the sky. I looked up, seeing a shooting star move under the moon. It was a good omen.

The boys would remain until the fire was gone so they could gather the ashes. I walked away, hand in hand with Talia as she talked with her sister and Erica. "Are you guys tired or do you want to go for a run?"

"I could really use a run," Erica said as she looked at Eduardo.

Phillip had fallen asleep on Tania's shoulder, and with a glance Patricia took her new grandson from her. "Oh my Goddess yes," Tania said. "My wolf is dying to get out after everything that has happened."

"It won't be too much? You haven't slept much," Bobby said.

"I wouldn't be able to sleep now anyway," Talia said. "Come on." We moved into the woods, taking off our clothes and placing them in some boxes placed there for that purpose. I shifted into my wolf, Talia next to me, and we nuzzled each other before moving out. Tania's wolf looked much healthier than the last time I saw her, and Bobby was as attentive as always. Eduardo didn't have a wolf, but he had vampire speed and would easily keep up. I set a fast pace as we ran to the west, making a wide turn as we closed on our destination.

Eduardo zipped forward, opening the gate for us at the end of the heavily wooded draw with rocky cliffs on each side. We reached the pool, the waterfall glowing in the shine of the three-quarter moon, and leaped off the rock into the spring-fed cool water.

I shifted and turned to Talia, who surfaced by me. "This place is amazing," she said. "Why didn't you show me this before?"

"Bobby and Talia needed it more than us," I said. I looked over, they had swum over to a rock and she was kissing him, their heads just visible in the shadows. Erica and Eduardo had moved under the waterfall, playfully splashing each other.

"It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful."

We swam for a while before Bobby decided we should all jump together from the top of the falls. "Really," Erica asked.

"It will be fun," he said. We pulled ourselves out of the water and we followed Bobby and Tania to the top. The boxes were where I had a friend stash them, and I handed them out while the girls were looking over the edge at the dark pool below. They were giggling and pointing until they realized something was going on.

Turning, they found the three of us kneeling, each with a ring in our fingers. "I love you, my mate. Will you marry me," we said in unison.

"YES!" The three girls squealed as we put the rings on their fingers that we had picked out after their return from the island. I put her tungsten ring with the cobalt blue inlay on her finger and whispered the spell. It would only come off if she intentionally removed it, and it would disappear in wolf form.

We sat together, and eventually Talia turned to me. "I know I wanted romance, and this was romantic and unexpected, but why now?"

The other girls were listening. "We all want to marry our mates, but getting our families together is becoming increasingly difficult as we take over Packs and the Council. We thought that if we went into town tomorrow and got our licenses, we could do the ceremony after Dusty wakes up and Dad is able to come here."

"Three weddings, one big party," Bobby said.

"And we don't want to wait around forever, we want you to be legally ours, not just with the mating bond," Eduardo said.

"What about our Pack," Tania said. "They should be involved."