I should be your Beta, not your Mate

Epilogue 3.0 Alternative ending

Kyran

»And you?«

»Weak but still... good,« I answered heavily and knew I was telling him a lie and he knew it too.

»Good doesn't look like this,« he said and I sighed.

»Be at his side when my time comes.«

»Kyran...«

»You know that I will die and I'm not far away from it anymore. And you and I know that Cas won't be able to endure it.«

»Kyran, don't say something like that, please. Not when we just got you back.«

»Caleb.« My little brother flinched. Deeply I breathed in.

»Caleb, he can't follow me. Do you hear me? Make him understand that he isn't allowed to follow me! He needs to prepare Michael for his future rank. He needs to care for Lucifer if he gets bullied because of his name or not accepted. He needs to raise Raphael to a good boy. He needs to be there for Gabriel when he has his first heat. He needs to be there for Azrael when her girl problems start. He must be a father for our children! He must shower them with love and show them that I love them and that I will always carry them in my heart and soul even when I'm dead.«

Desperate Caleb twisted his expression.

»Kyran, I-«

»Watch over him! Promise me!«

Tormented Cal nodded, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.

»But in return,« he began broken, »you must promise to fight. Enzo and Emily will find a solution.«

Strained, I nodded even though I already was aware of the truth.

»They won't be able to find a solution. The curse is ancient demon magic. Only a high-ranking demon can take it from me, this much I could get out of Argon and Vanadis. And I don't want to risk anyone else so summon such a demon or however you can call one of them.«

His expression despaired more.

»Take care of him and please don't ever forget that I love you, little brother.«

Strained I squinted my eyes shut because my sight got blurry.

»Your nose!« Caleb shouted shocked and at once I tasted a metallic taste on my tongue.

Quickly Cal ran into the bathroom and came back with a roll of toilet paper. He wiped away the blood and held the paper under my nose.

»What's wrong?« Cassian asked alarmed who had flicked open his eyes and had jumped up when he felt in his sleep that something was wrong.

»He suddenly got a nosebleed,« Cal stammered, desperate and overwhelmed, and switched the bloody paper to a new one. But new blood didn't come.

»Shit, sweetheart. You can't do that to me,« Cas gasped and laid his forehead against mine. »Don't frighten me like that.« Exhausted, I nodded.

Actually, I wanted to look him in the face but he was so blurry that he was only a mix of blurry colors. I saw how he opened his mouth but I just couldn't hear his voice because of a hissing inside my ears.

And then what I had been waiting for happened.

I couldn't breathe.

Something rang and beeped in my ears and my body cramped. It felt like someone was closing their hand around my heart and squeezed and didn't let loose.

Shouts and screams reached my brain. There were too many and they were so loud they drowned the ringing and hissing in my ears, still I couldn't figure out the exact voices.