Savior, Alpha Ch. 06

Eddy put his arm around his wife. Her hair was blond, like her mother's was, and she had her father's blue eyes. "We're good, Mom."

Jeane patted her grandmother's face. Anne took her little hand and kissed it. "Mmm, you smell so good, I could eat you up."

Jeane squealed and hid her face against her mother's breast. Anne smiled and yawned.

"Looks like we should let you get some more sleep."

"Can I", another yawn, "go downstairs to sleep?"

"Not yet. One more night here. Tomorrow you can move into a room."

Yawning. "OK." Ethan put her back on the bed and she curled up. Eddy, Gwen, and Jeane left. "Kiss me goodnight and get something to eat."

He kissed her, ran his hand down the side of her face, looked into her eyes. "I'll be back soon."

He left the room and headed for the common room. Partway there, relief washed over him again like a wave and he leaned his forehead against the wall.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie. "Ethan? Are you alright?"

He cleared his throat. "Uh hm. Yes."

"I'll go watch her while you get something to eat." He sniffed, and nodded. "Take your time." Ethan turned to leave. "And, bring something back for her. She should probably eat again when she wakes."

He nodded, inhaled. "Thank you."

He found an empty chair at the adults' table and ate with the McKenna clan. He answered questions put to him and asked a few himself but remained rather quiet. Emma helped him prepare a plate for her mother for later. She gave him the plate and cup and shoved him in the direction of the Med Lab. "Just keep feeding her for now. I want her and my baby sister around for a while."

He climbed the stairs, thinking. He set the food down then shoved the cot against the bed and climbed on beside her. She was curled up on her right side, breathing heavily in sleep. He snuggled up behind her and, carefully, put his arms around her.

The feel of her skin, soft and warm against his. The richness of her scent. The wondrous feeling of their little girl moving within her. The full force of the experience hit him and he shuddered. What would he have done if she had died? Gone to his brother's pack and tried to kill every one of them. Gotten himself killed. Left Rose and Evan alone. Destroyed Anne's pack, Anne's pack from within as well as without. Let the others down.

He wished now that the two of them, okay, the four of them, could go off somewhere alone and leave this all behind. Just his family, together, and away from this.

He listened to her heartbeat and breathing and, finally, finally, fell asleep.

Resolution

Anne came to meals the next day and was allowed to walk around, with a shadow. Joy hugged her and said goodbye, returning to her mate and family.

The next day Beth, Nick, Grant, Emily, and Lorna returned to the Winters compound, convinced of Anne's recovery.

The gash on her side was reduced to an angry red line and her forearm was mostly healed. While there was some stiffness and soreness, the fingers, wrist, and arm all worked. A final check on her and the baby was positive. A shift to wolf had her limping on that foreleg; the trip home would be in human form.

At lunch she thanked everyone and told them that she, Ethan, Evan, and Rose would be leaving shortly afterward.

There was much hugging, kissing, and promises of visits as the Alpha pair of the Winters pack, and their pups, took their leave of the McKenna pack.

The trip home was slower than it would have been if she could move as wolf, but they moved along well enough as much of her strength had returned.

They were welcomed back by the others, who had been working on cleaning the inside of the cabin and collecting more stores.

Anne stopped to stare at the area where she had killed three males. She mumbled, under her breath, "Three of them." Ethan put his arms around her and turned her toward the cabin.

"Inside, sweetheart." He got her into the cabin and she sat at the table.

"Something to eat?" She shook her head. "Drink?" She nodded.

Beth handed her a glass of cider and she drank. "Now, love, when you're done with that I think you probably should rest a bit more."

Unsettled, irritation showed in her voice, "You don't," she closed her eyes, took a couple of breaths, and looked at him, "...have to tell me twice." He rubbed her shoulder and smiled as she continued to drink.

He took the books to their bedroom and replaced them in the bookcase. She followed shortly after. There were daisies in a small container on the nightstand and the bedcovers had been scraped and brushed. She got onto the bed and sat back against the headboard. Taking note of her introspective mood, he sat beside her and laid a hand on her thigh. "How do you feel about being back?"

She didn't look at him, staring straight ahead. "Not quite... comfortable. Whoa!" She placed a hand to the side of her belly and took a couple of breaths. "Unh." An exhale. Ethan put his hand over hers. "It's like this isn't ours anymore."

He pushed her hair out of her face and gave her a brief kiss. "That's understandable. This wasn't a typical challenge. They meant to destroy our pack, our family. And, even though you know you did well, and did what you had to, it's still unsettling to return to the battlefield. Unfortunately, that's our yard. I'm not surprised you feel uneasy."

"I don't know if I'll ever feel safe here again."

Ethan sighed. "We could give it up as a failed experiment and see if McKenna will take us back."

She turned to look at him, incredulous. "You can't be serious!" He smirked at her. She chuckled and shook her head.

He kissed her. "That's my girl. Day by day, love. For now we'll just take it day by day."

She sighed and nodded slightly. "Are you tired at all?"

"No, not really." He fetched her journal.

"Here. Don't get too involved."

"Thank you."

Ethan left their room and walked out the front door. The others watched him go outdoors, then glanced back towards their room.

Ethan looked at the yard, where his brother tried to destroy his family. He turned, looking around, and feelings of rage, fear, and loss welled up in him. Shaking, he clenched his fists, raised his head to the sky and screamed.

Everyone stopped what they were doing at the sound. Evan headed outside. Anne heard it, put her hand over her mouth, and leaked a few tears, which she wiped away sadly.

Evan stood beside his father and grasped his hand. Ethan shuddered. "It's gonna be OK, Daddy."

"It should never have happened at all, Evan. Did anyone tell you who it was that came for your mother?"

"They kept really quiet around us. Who was it?"

Ethan sighed, crouching to look his son in the eye. "It was my brother."

"Why?"

"You've grown up with your mother leading the pack. That has never happened in the history of the council. Pack Alphas have always been male. Many males don't like it. They see no reason to change."

Ethan sighed. "My brother grew up believing that females had no ability, no reason to lead. That only males could be Alpha."

"And he was disappointed in me. Because I left the Matlin pack. Because I let your mother lead. Because he wanted to teach me a lesson. And he felt the best way to do that was to kill her."

"But she won."

"Yes, she did. She was very brave. It hurts her that she had to kill my brother. She feels sad because she had to do it and it hurts me that she feels so badly about it."

"Huh?"

"Let's just say it's good that it ended the way that it did but it should never have happened at all. Your mother doesn't like killing other wolves but she has to, or they will kill her."

"I know. She's good, isn't she?"

"She's fast, and she's smart, and you should be proud of her."

"I am Daddy."

"And, I know I've told you before. But, I'm proud of you. Between you and Emily, the pack was saved, your mother's alive, and you're going to have a little sister." Ethan's voice dropped. "Maybe later we can work on getting you a little brother."

"I'm gonna take a run around. Wanna come with me?"

Evan brightened. "Yeah." They shifted to wolf and took off.

*****

Dinner was prepared as the full Winters pack tried to return to normal after the attack. Beth peeked into the room and saw Anne was asleep on the bed. She came back out to the common room cautioning the others to be a little quieter so she could rest.

Ethan and Evan returned and came back inside. Lorna put a finger to her lips and looked toward the bedroom. Ethan nodded.

The others began to come inside for the meal. "Should we wake her?"

"The sooner she gets back into a regular routine, the better I think she'll feel. Does anyone want to tell Mom that dinner's ready?"

Rose said. "I'll go."

"Thank you, sweetie."

Rose went into the bedroom and climbed up onto the bed and up to her mother's face. "Mama?" Anne's eyelids twitched as Rose got closer. "Mama, it's dinnertime." Anne's eyes opened to her daughter's face. Nose to nose, Anne rubbed her nose against her daughter's.

"Mm, thank you, Rose. I'll be out in a minute."

"OK." With that, Rose jumped off the bed and went back into the common room to sit on her chair.

Anne emerged, looking a little sleepy, and came to the table with the others. They waited for a couple of seconds, looking to her, then started passing food. The conversation was a little forced, as she remained quiet. The others kept track of what she was eating.

She gusted a sigh as the meal ended. "OK." Everyone looked at her. "We have a bit of time. Wow!" A hand to her belly. "Umm, until the middle of summer but I'd like us to concentrate on moving the dirt out. We'll need to get Callum and Colin over here to take a look at what we're running into. Other than that, at least for now, I think we could use some more fish. Do you agree, Lorna?"

Lorna nodded. "Anything else?"

Beth spoke up. "If Ethan is able to go into town there are some things we could use for Medical."

"OK, set up the list. We'll have to see how things develop." She looked around the table. "Thank you, Lorna." Anne pushed back from the table and walked out into the warm evening air.

After the door closed they all sagged a bit in relief. Nick started picking up plates and the children ran outside to play. Ethan looked at Beth and she looked back at him.

Ethan walked outside, looking for his wife. She'd gone up the ridge, and was standing, arms hugging herself, looking out over the range.

As he got closer he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Should I leave?" She shook her head and he came closer still. She reached for him and he put his arms around her. She buried her face against his shoulder. Her voice came through her tears, breaking. "I'm sorry."

"Anne.."

"No. Let me get this out, please." He stroked her hair, her back. "I'm sorry I killed him. I know I had to but it still bothers me. I'm sorry that I've been so stubborn, that I thought it would be OK because I said so. That I thought they'd accept it if I kept pushing. I'm sorry that I put all of us at risk. And, I'm sorry that I can't give it up. I don't feel I can now. Which means it could happen again." She looked up at him. "Mostly, I'm sorry I've hurt you, made you worry about me. I know you want to protect me and I won't let you."

Ethan did not speak. He simply held her, allowing her to work through her emotions related to the attack and her return home. Time passed and darkness approached. The children went back inside. Her tears stopped and she felt the warmth of her husband's body, his arms around her.

Diana began kicking in earnest. "My goodness, why is she kicking like that?"

Anne shook her head. "I don't know. She's so active. I'm not sure she sleeps."

"Shall we go inside?"

She looked up at him, eyes red, and nodded. He walked back down with her, his arm around her. She stopped him before they enter. She said, without looking at him, "I love you, Ethan."

He hugged her briefly and opened the door.

*****

Emily was telling the children another story. Everyone looked up briefly as they entered. Anne listened, smiling a little. She turned to Ethan. "She could sell those stories. Beth could illustrate." He put a finger to her lips.

"Not here, love."

She listened further, and her eyes started to close. "Nnh. OK, I'm tired so I'm off to bed. Don't stay up too late."

"OK. We won't." "'Night."

Ethan released her and she went to their bedroom. In the bedroom, she dropped her skirt and crawled onto the bed. She smelled her children, her husband, her own scent. The room was familiar and should be comfortable but she felt uneasy. It also didn't help that the baby kept kicking like she was a Rockette. "Oh, sweetie, can you let mama get some rest?" She curled up on the bed, covers pulled over her hip, Ethan's pillow held within the curve of her body.

Ethan came into their bedroom. Evan and Rose were curled up together on the pallet on the floor and Anne was curled up on the bed. She looked small, fragile, and his heart thudded. He wanted nothing more than to keep her from hurt for the rest of her life.

Then his heart swelled. They had survived. She had beaten them. Three of them. The baby was OK and her injuries would heal. He hoped that her spirit would recover as well. He wanted his confident, passionate wife back.

Their first night back home. He sat on the edge of the bed and listened to her breathing, her heartbeat. He inhaled her scent. She whimpered slightly and rolled to her back. He watched her eyes open, and she looked at him briefly, smiling sadly before closing her eyes again. He laid down beside her and gently put his arm across her chest, losing himself in her scent, and falling asleep.