The One He Claimed by Cooper novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Grief
Sophie
I come awake slowly, unsure of where I am or why I’m stiff and sore. I frown, where’s my mate. He always wakes me up in the morning, rubbing his hands on me, sliding inside me. Where is he? And I why am I sore.
My hands move to my stomach. Our baby is safe, but the motion has my stiff arms twitching.
‘The war,’ Hedda says in my head, the fatigue in her voice matching the fatigue I feel in my body.
The war! I shoot up in bed, looking around.
“Easy, baby. I was going to get in the bed with you, but I didn’t want to hurt your stitches,” Hunter says from beside me.
“I’ll take a little discomfort to wake up in your arms. I don’t like waking up without you,” I say, carefully scooting over and tapping the bed beside me.
He crawls onto the bed, kicking off his shoes and lays on his side facing me. I do the same, careful of the tubes and monitors connected to me. I lay facing him before I curl up against him, breathing in his pine scent. His strong arms wrap around me, and I feel safe again.
I open my mind to my mate, and I feel the turmoil in his.
“Talk to me, my love. How bad is it?” I ask him, kissing his chest
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and wrapping an arm around him.
Instead of answering, he leans down and kisses the top of my head.
“That bad, huh?” I ask, fear slowly working its way into my body. It’s not like Hunter to keep things from me. If he is, it’s because he’s afraid of how I’ll respond.
I begin to rub my hands over Hunter’s body, realizing that he, too, is still healing. That makes me realize that I haven’t been out too long, so whatever he’s feeling is still raw for him too.
“Kinsley?” I ask, starting with what I think could be the reason he’s so upset.
“She’s safe. She and her pup are alive and getting healthy. Dr. Caspian said that it will take her body a while to recover. We think that Sybil has gone silent, using all her strength to protect the pup when Kinsley was slashed in the stomach.”
“How is Lucas handing it?” I ask, still stroking my mate’s side and back. He keeps kissing me, holding me more tightly against him, as if he feels like I’m precious and fragile and that he’s lucky I’m alive. Maybe that’s what I’m feeling from him, the aftermath of the fear of losing me and our pup.
“Lucas is doing okay, but like me, he’s here tonight and I expect he’ll remain here until Kinsley wakes up.”
I think about who else might be causing these feelings inside
Hunter.
“What about Margot?” I ask, and he sighs.
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“Margot…well, let’s just say that’s going to become a problem, but not for us. She and Ezra will have to figure that out.”
“Figure what out?” I ask him.
He leans in and kisses the top of my head. I think I feel a soft chuckle from his body.
“You know how Margot insisted that she was going to die on the battlefield? How if me or someone else didn’t kill Joshua, that she would?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“And Ezra was having none of it. I understand that, because no matter what you said, there was no way I would have ever let you die on a battlefield if I could help it.”
“So, what happened?” I ask, pulling my head back to look at him.
“Margot killed Joshua and then, when their mate bond began to kill her, Ezra marked her.”
“That’s why Thorin was so crazy when we went out there?”
“Yep, Ezra had marked her and I don’t know if it’s because of the bond or because of his own willpower and stubbornness, but Margot is still alive. Like Kinsley though, she’s still unconscious.”
I curl up against my mate, feeling the heaviness of whatever is bothering him weighing on him again.
“How many did we lose?” I ask.
“Five on the battlefield. Two mates so far.”
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“Seven? That’s incredible, Hunter I mean, I don’t ever want to lose a pack member, but…”
“I know. We’re not out of the woods yet. We still have multiple warriors who are injured in the hospital, but it’s a testament to how strong our pack is and how well we work together.”
“It’s a testament to you as their Alpha,” I say to him. “You are their leader. You have made them stronger.”
“WE have done that, Soph. You and me together. The pack wasn’t this strong before I found you.”
I hold my mate for a few more minutes, feeling the sadness in him. I know whatever it is that he needs to tell me, it won’t be good.
“Just tell me,” I whisper.
His arms wrap around me more tightly, and on the monitor, I can hear my heart rate increasing as I brace myself.
“Alpha Alaric attacked your father’s pack while Alpha Aiden was attacking Dutton’s. He got to your father, Sophie. Dutton came and fought him off, but the injuries were too severe. He didn’t make it.”
My hands fist into Hunter’s shirt, holding him to me. I feel like I can’t breathe, my heart feels like it’s breaking. Hard, wracking sobs take my body as tears stream down my face. Hunter holds me tightly against him and it feels like the only thing holding me together at this moment is him.
I think about my father and my life, what a good man, a good mate, a good Alpha, and most of all to me, a good father he
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was.
“Why?” I cry. We weren’t friendly with Alaric or his father, but we’ d never attacked each other’s packs.
“Kayce and I think that it was an opportunistic move that Alaric made to try and increase the size of his pack. If Aiden hadn’t turned tail and run giving Dutton a chance to intervene, he might have succeeded.”
I’m afraid to ask, terrified to know, but I have to.
“My mother?”
Hunter doesn’t answer me immediately, so I know the answer before he does. I begin keening and sobbing even harder.
“She loved your father. She didn’t last two hours before she followed him to the Moon Goddess’ realm,” he says, and I hear his own voice choked up with tears.
He holds me while I cry, murmuring soft, soothing words into
my ear.
When I finally calm down enough to talk, I look up at him briefly before tucking my face against his chest again.
“What about the pack members?” I ask, my voice scratchy with my tears.
“Right now, Dutton has his Beta in your parents’ pack while your father’s Beta grieves to help guard it from another attack by Alaric. However, Dutton ripped Alaric up pretty good, but rather than chase after him, he tried to save your father. So, we’re not expecting Alaric to try and take over the pack again, at least not
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any time soon. I’m so sorry, Soph
I nod, glad that the pack is safe. “Amelia?”
“I called Calvin to make sure he knew what had happened. That was before we got the news of your mother. That’s when i came here to be with you. I’m not sure if Calvin told Amelia yet or how s she’s doing with the news. I told him we’d call after you woke up and recovered,”
We lay in silence for a long time, Hunter just holding me, stroking my back, arms, and hair, kissing me periodically or tightening his arms around me, just to let me know he’s here.
When I finally feel calm, I pull back and look up at my mate, His eyes are red-rimmed, and I know that he’s struggling with the loss of a good Alpha and Luna as much as I’m struggling with the loss of my parents,
“I want him dead, Hunter, Promise me that we will kill him for what he did to my parents,” I snarl, the raspiness of my voice only making my request sound more threatening,
“We?” he asks, looking at me thoughtfully.
“Yes, we, I want to be the one who strikes the killing blow,” I say, meaning every word,
“I promise you, Sophie. We will kill Alaric for what he did, and you will deliver the killing blow,”
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Hunter
Two days after Sophie woke up, we went to her parents’ pack. It took a lot of planning on my part, since I still have a lot of warriors out of commission and Kinsley, while awake, is still in the hospital. We were right that her wolf, Sybil, had gone silent. But we expect her back once Kinsley regains her strength. The most important thing is that both Kinsley and her pup are alive and well.
Once she was awake, I knew I could count on Lucas to manage the pack when Sophie and I left. Ezra is still here, waiting for Margot to wake. At first, I thought he’d remain in the pack and could assist Lucas if something happened, but he let me know that he wanted to pay his respects to an Alpha that he admired. I was a bit surprised when Kayce, Robin, and Dutton all said the
same.
So, today, Sophie and I are heading to her parents’ pack to lay them to rest. I know the pack is in mourning. I’ve been in contact with Dutton multiple times a day to make sure they are safe during this time. I feel a sense of responsibility for the pack since these pack members were Sophie’s family for most of her life.
I’ve also been in contact with Alpha Calvin and while he wanted to keep Amelia at home in their pack, she had insisted on being at her parents’ funeral. I’m not sure if Amelia is more delicate than Sophie, or if Calvin doesn’t recognize the strength of his
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Que me buteven with everything that has happened, it would
Per ve xxxred to me to try and keep Sophie from being there when they lay her parents to rest.
Tod have Dr. Caspian look over Sophie and our pup before she let the hospital. Hedda did a great job of protecting our pup, as and Sophie. My mate never ceases to amaze me. She’s 80
strong in so many ways. So often she gives me credit for things, such as our pack being stronger and able to fight together in the war, but really; it’s her. She’s the one that has brought everyone together like they are now. I’m just the lucky man who gets to bask in her love.
And hold her together when she’s at risk of falling apart, like now,’ Shaw says quietly in my mind. He hates seeing Sophie like this as much as I do. I know Hedda is also grieving and both Shaw and I feel that too. The last couple of nights, we’ve woken to Sophie crying softly in our arms. I’ve held her and calmed her, soothing her back to sleep, but the overwhelming grief that I feel though the bond is non-stop. That, more than anything, is what makes me determined to keep my promise to her. We will kill Alaric for what he did. I thought he was smart enough to know he shouldn’t attack Carter’s pack, but obviously, he’s not.
We drove today, since Sophie can’t shift and when we arrive at the gates of Carter’s pack, we can see, feel, and hear the grief of the pack. Around the pack lands, wolves are crying, howling their pain at the loss of their Alpha and Luna. The guards at the gate all have red-rimmed eyes and look like they haven’t slept in days. They probably haven’t.
Rather than letting me drive through, Sophie gets out of the car and walks to the guard who stopped us. Without a word, she wraps her arms around the big man, and he breaks down into
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tears, holding on to her as if she’s a lifeline.
I step out of the car with Ezra, who rode with us, and we put our hands on the shoulders of other guards who come over to hug Sophie, helping to ground them in their grief.
“We loved your parents, Luna. They were good people. They deserved better than this,” the first guard says, wiping his eyes.
Sophie has tears in her eyes, but she doesn’t let them fall. Instead, she lets her anger at Alaric burn them off as she responds.
“And Alpha Alaric will die for what he did. You have my word and the word of my mate. This act of aggression will not go unpunished,” she says fiercely.
They look from her to me. I nod, agreeing with what she said, and I see them settle.
“Thank you, Luna. But you’re pregnant. You should be careful,” the guard says to her. He’s old enough to be her father, and I’m guessing she’s grown up with him around the pack.
“My mate will do the fighting, and I will do the killing,” she says, her voice broaching no argument.
I wrap my arm around my mate’s waist and kiss the top of her head. “We should go, Soph. There are going to be others here who need to see you.”
“If you need anything at all, Luna, or you, Alpha, please let us know.”
“How is Beta Miles doing” I ask about Dutton’s Beta.
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“He’s been great,” the guard says, and the others nod in agreement.
“Good. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask either myself or my mate,” I say to them.
“Thank you, Alpha.”
We drive to the packhouse and as soon as we step out, Beta Miles and Beta Matthews, Carter’s Beta, step out to greet us.
Once again, Sophie walks right up to her father’s Beta and wraps her arms around him. I watch his body jerk as he tries to hold his grief in. Miles and I stand by, letting the two grieve together. A few moments later, Beta Caroline, Matthew’s mate walks out and almost as one, Sophie and Matthew pull her into their hug.
“We have a room for you, Alpha. We weren’t sure if they would want it or not, but Luna’s old room is available. We were planning the same for Luna Amelia and Alpha Calvin,” Beta Miles says to me quietly.
“I’m sure it will be fine,” I say.
“I’ll help you with your bags,” he says and by the time we’ve returned, the three have pulled away from each other, tears running down the Betas’ cheeks.
It continues this way from the moment we walk into the packhouse. Every few steps, Sophie stops to hold someone, listening to how much they loved her parents, and murmuring words of encouragement and of her plans for revenge.
When Calvin and Amelia arrive, she and Sophie hug for a very
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long time, then the two of them begin going around the pack and giving love and support to their parents’ pack members.
As Calvin, Ezra, and I help the pack prepare the pyres for their Alpha and Luna, I watch the sisters consoling the pack members and I realize that these two, for all their similarities, are very different. Amelia is gentle and caring, soothing the pack members with warm, kind words, whereas Sophie is strong and loving, soothing the pack members with words of revenge and retribution. I’m not sure Amelia would have ever asked to give the killing blow, it’s not her style. But my mate? Oh yeah, my mate is fierce. No one hurts those she loves and gets away with
it.
When the other Alphas arrive, Calvin, Ezra, and I greet them, letting the pack continue to prepare for this evening. I’m surprised when every one of their Lunas arrives with them, but I probably shouldn’t be. Sophie has made an impact on all of their lives and each one of them considers her their friend.
Dinner is a quiet, muted affair and even the pack’s pups seem to realize the impact of what is happening tonight. When it’s time, we walk outside as one. I take Sophie’s hand and together, Calvin and I walk the sisters up to the stage that has been set up between the two pyres. It’s Sophie who steps up to the podium, addressing the pack.
“My friends and family, today is a terrible day, maybe the worst day of my life and based on the conversations that Amelia and I have had with all of you today, one of the worst of yours as well. Our parents were good people, and I feel the love that you have for them in your words, in your tears, and in our shared grief. My father loved all of you as if you were his family, his pups. And my mother, who was always so strong, would not have wanted
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to live without him. They started their relationship in much the same way as every other ranked member from their generation and even the beginning of this one. However, over time, they found love, compassion, and respect for each other. I don’t know what I’m going to do…”
When Sophie’s voice breaks, I step up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pushing my strength into her, holding her while she regains herself.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now when I have a question for my mother about being a Luna or a question for my father about how to be a good Alpha to my pack. I don’t know how to tell my son how amazing his grandparents were because no words will ever be enough for him to understand what great people they were. I guess now, I will strive to use everything that they’ve taught me, to live in a way that would make them proud, and to become an even better person because they raised me to be the best that I could be. That is the legacy that they leave behind. Amelia and I will always strive to be the best that we can be for our packs, letting their legacy live through us,” she says, reaching out a hand to Amelia who steps up to hold on tightly. She nods but doesn’t say anything as tears streak down her face.
Sophie asks anyone who would like to say a few words to come up. Nearly every person in the pack, and all of the Alphas in attendance, come up to give their respects to Alpha Carter and Luna Amy.
It’s close to midnight when the last person says their final goodbye and Calvin and I light the torches handing them to Sophie and Amelia. They separate, each going to a separate pyre, Sophie to Alpha Carter’s and Amelia to Luna Amy’s. They
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turn and look at each other, before laying the torches on the pyres and lighting them up.
I stand with Sophie, my arms wrapped tightly around her as one by one, the pack members return to their rooms to grieve, as Calvin and Amelia leave the stage and walk inside, and then finally, as the other Alphas and Lunas make their way inside.
When it’s just the two of us, she turns in my arms, pressing her face against my chest. “I can’t believe they’re gone,” she
whispers tearfully.
Since there are no words, I hold my mate until the fire burns down to embers and when she says she’s ready, I pick her up in my arms and I carry her to her old room, laying her down in her old bed before curling up around her and holding her tightly while she cries.
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