Alphas War

Chapter 50

Ellas POV:

The sun set outside, plunging our room into darkness. I hadn't got the energy to get up and switch the light on, I simply allowed the darkness to envelope us. It was soothing, when nighttime fell, like the rest of the world stopped alongside me for several hours before starting up again in the morning.

"Wake up," I whispered, gazing up at Zach. His skin was paler now than before and he was cold to touch, but other than that and the fact his heart wasn't beating, he could've been mistaken for asleep.

That's how I liked to think of him. He was simply sleeping, resting from all the events that seemed like distant memories now. He had been drunk at the party, poisoned and then shot. He deserved to sleep for a few days.

But he would wake up soon.

He promised he wouldn't leave me.

"Wake up," I pleaded again, placing a hand on his cheek. It didn't feel right to be met with such coldness, he was always so warm, radiating enough heat for the both of us. "Please."

A tear slid down my cheek. I'd been crying for days, barely able to stop for five minutes before starting again. I was amazed I had any fluid left to cry, but still the tears kept coming.

"You promised," I growled under my breath, pressing my lips against his dry, chapped ones. In the movies, a true loves kiss could save anyone. "You promised you wouldn't leave me!"

Maybe he would wake if he thought I was mad at him. He would realise how desperately I needed him, how angry I was to have lost him, and he would give it up. This wasn't the first time he had faked his death, he'd scared me with that trick before. This was just another one of his cruel jokes.

"Wake up!" I yelled, my throat completely raw from crying and screaming for days on end.

I knew everyone was sick of it. I'd barely seen my friends since the incident. They had done their best to be supportive but kept their distance. Except Ryder, who came by every morning to try and get me to eat but even the thought of forcing food into me had me feeling nauseated. He sometimes stayed downstairs for the day and would sleep somewhere in the house through the night before going home, changing, and then coming straight back.

But even he had nothing to say to me. Nothing that he could do. There was only one person that could take away even an ounce of the pain I was feeling and he was the one causing it.

Chris and Liam visited a lot. I knew they were hurting too but I couldn't bring myself to care. I couldn't say anything to them, couldn't reassure them that it would be okay, because it wouldn't. Zach was gone. And that meant I was no longer their sister, I was just their Alpha. And right now I didn't even want to be that.

"You have to wake up," I begged, trying one last time to convince him to come back to me. I never imagined he could leave me. He had promised to stay with me for the rest of my life, to love me forever, to keep me safe and make me happy. He vowed on our wedding day that he would make me happy.

But I wasn't happy right now. In fact. I'd never felt so broken. Losing my mother as a child was difficult. Knowing she was out there somewhere, being kept away from me, had resulted in many sleepless nights. And then watching the recording of her death tormented me for weeks and weeks.

And losing my father too had been incredibly painful. He was my rock throughout my entire life, he was my father, my best friend and my Alpha and I knew with him around I would always be safe. When he was killed, I felt constant fear and I longed for him to come back to me and guide me as I became Alpha.

But this loss. Losing the man that had kept me afloat throughout everything. Who was by my side when I lost my father. Who was by my side when I found my biological father. Who was by my side when I became Alpha of the pack. Who had always been by my side.

The man who brought a smile to my face just by being near me. Who's kisses brought me pure happiness and who's arms always felt safe. He was my home. My peace. My entire world. And losing him...

It was unbearable. Indescribable.

"Please come back to me," I whispered in his ear, the tears flowing once again, blurring my vision. My face was damp, along with the pillow I was laying on and Zach's shoulder. "Please, just come back to me."

I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to stop the wet droplets of salt from escaping. I listened intently, pressing my ear against his large chest as I waited for the sound of his heartbeat.

"Please." I sobbed. I held my breath as I waited, desperate for the soft thud to fill the room.

I clung to him desperately, freezing at the sound of a gentle beat. "Zach?" I gasped, hearing it again. The rhythm was slow, but it was definitely a beat.

"Zach!" I let out a messy cry, relief flooding through me. "Zach?" He remained still, despite the clear heartbeat I could hear in the room. "Please?"

Why wasn't he waking. I could hear his heart beating. I could hear it. He was alive, and yet, his chest remained still, his eyes stayed closed and his skin was still devoid of life. "Please!"

If it wasn't his heartbeat I could hear, who's was it? I turned to the bedroom door, expecting to see Ryder or one of the brothers standing in the doorway, sympathy flooding their expression. But there was nobody there. We were alone.

I could hear two heartbeats. Mine. And another.

My tears flowed faster as my breath caught in my throat, leaving me gasping for breath. "No," I wailed, shaking my head. "No, no, no, no, no!"

I dropped back onto the bed, burying my face in my hands as the reality washed over me. I was pregnant. I was expecting a baby. Zach's baby. And he wasn't here.

"No!" I screamed into the pillow beneath my head, muffling the yells.

This was it for me. I couldn't have a baby, not without Zach. I couldn't be a mother and an Alpha and a widow. I couldn't do it. And I didn't want to.

"We'll be together," I assured Zach before moving to the fireplace against the far wall. I snatched the box of matches, pausing to gaze upon the photograph of me as a child, wrapped up in my parents arms. "We'll all be together."

I moved back to the bed, sliding under the covers and pressing my body as close to Zach's as I possibly could. I closed my eyes tightly and struck the matchstick along the rough edge of the box, creating a flame.

I peeked open one eye to make sure it had lit and saw the small orange flame dancing on the end of the stick. It was truly beautiful. "Strong werewolves burn," I reminded myself. This was to be my fate eventually. To be engulfed in the flames. It was the most beautiful way to die.

I pressed my eyes closed once again and took Zach's hand with my free one. "I love you," I told him, almost hearing the sound of his voice in my head, saying the words back to me. I smiled for the first time in what felt like a lifetime and dropped the match.