Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1218 - 129 : A Final Act of Love

Chapter 1218: Chapter 129 : A Final Act of Love

*Rion*

I gritted my teeth as I knelt by Eva’s bedside.

I stood up straight but kept my hand on Eva’s while I glared daggers at the men in the doorway. They cowered slightly but then stood up straighter.

“We are under orders, Stormfall,” one spat. “It’s nothing personal. Please be cooperative.”

I scoffed at that, feeling my whole countenance darkening. I glanced down at the boys, who were staring up at me with wide, trusting eyes. Without letting go of their mother’s hand, I stepped over to them and pulled them toward me with my free hand, tucking them protectively against my side. I felt them relax slightly as they settled against me.

I turned back toward the doorway, keeping my voice low and dangerous. “As you can see, my sister is in no condition for us to discuss such matters. Kindly leave us. Now.” I allowed some malice to seep into my voice as I practically growled out the words.

The guards were clearly intimidated now, but they glanced at each other and seemed to be wordlessly encouraging one another. They hardened their faces and their stances.

One of them put a hand on the hilt of the dagger on his waist. “We were ordered to use force, if necessary, Alpha Rion, but of course, we would hate to have to do that.”

I didn’t doubt their words, but they should have realized by now from my voice that I wasn’t planning to make it easy for them. With great difficulty, I dropped Eva’s hand and squared my shoulders.

“Stay with your mother,” I ordered the boys through my teeth.

Aster’s eyes widened, but he nodded seriously and grabbed his younger brother’s hand.

I felt a touch of pride at the small gesture. Aster reminded me of myself. I could recall glimpses of my childhood and wanting to protect Eva when I was his age.

I tousled his hair and then his brother’s before I stepped away from the bed and narrowed my eyes, waiting to see what these bastards would do.

There were only two of them, so I doubted that I would need to shift, but if they were planning on playing dirty, I would be more than willing to do so as well. I curled my fingers into fists, preparing to lunge at the two men.

I stepped back in shock when a clear, shimmering wall suddenly appeared in front of me. It was a beautiful sheet of magic energy.

I whirled to see that Eva was glowing slightly, her eyes still shut but her face creased with immense concentration. She must have woken up hearing that her sons were in danger.

“Eva, stop!” I shouted, understanding immediately what she was trying to do.

Fear gripped me. My sister was using the very last of her strength to make a forcefield to protect her children.

If she heard me, she wasn’t going to show it. I watched in awe and dismay as the glimmering wall grew larger, stretching until a sleek dome was encasing the entirety of the small infirmary.

The guards were forcibly pushed out of the building. They pulled their weapons out and started to try to penetrate the shield, but their attempts just caused them to be thrown violently back.

They glowered at me for a moment before hurrying away, undoubtedly to tell Alpha Oliver what had just occurred.

I glared after them until they disappeared.

“Mama! What’s wrong?”

I whirled around and hurried back to Eva’s side. I cursed under my breath. She was even more pale now, almost ghostly so, and her breathing was even more labored than before, her chest rising and falling with difficulty. Her eyes were shut, her lips slightly parted as she panted with exertion.

I gripped her hand tightly. “Eva!”

She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused as she turned her head toward the sound of my voice. “Don’t tell me I shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered in a weak voice.

I chuckled slightly. “That’s exactly what I’m going to say,” I told her. Then, a flash of anger ran through me. “Dammit, Eva! Why did you do it? Your body can’t handle it right now!” I’d asked the question, but I didn’t have to.

I knew why she did it, even before she’d turned and her eyes had focused briefly on Aster and Tarik. She smiled tenderly at them, her hand rising as she gestured for them to come to her, which they did immediately, tears streaming down their chubby cheeks as they buried their faces into her chest.

Eva’s hand dropped and her eyelids fluttered shut again.

The healers were checking her over. “She’s fading fast!” one of them shouted. They began to rush around, digging through bottles and other supplies.

Even with the chaos surrounding us, I could tell that Eva was feeling completely peaceful now that she knew her boys were safe. I was reminded of her immense strength at that moment. She was lying still, obviously weak, and yet, her shield held strong. It was a beautiful symbol of the love she had for her boys. She would die before she allowed them to be taken into custody.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I realized how weak she was.

“Don’t you dare leave me,” I growled at her through my teeth, panicking when she didn’t answer. The forcefield over our heads flickered slightly. “Eva! I just got you back. The boys just got you back!”

I heard a clack and looked up to see that Aster and Tarik had removed their dampening charms, letting them fall to the wood floor. They reached out their hands and gripped their mother’s shoulder, shutting their huge gray eyes and going very still.

I held my breath as Eva’s breathing evened out ever-so-slightly and the shield above us brightened a little bit as well. The boys were transferring some of their energy to her, but it just wasn’t enough. They were too young and too small for it to be effective, but it was enough for Eva to open her eyes briefly and give them another warm smile.

“My sweet boys,” she murmured, raising her hand slowly to affectionately caress the sides of their faces. “My boys are both so strong and sweet. I’m feeling a lot better now thanks to you.”

I gritted my teeth, tears beginning to prick at the backs of my eyes as I realized that she was clearly just saying that for their benefit. She could barely keep her eyes open, and her voice was extremely weak and barely audible.

Aster reached up and put a hand in the middle of my back. I sucked in a sharp breath as energy flowed through me. I could feel the magic making its way through my arm and into Eva’s body. I glanced down at the boys in wonder, amazed that they somehow knew that that would enhance the amount of energy going into their mother.

“Eva,” I murmured as the boys and I continued to transfer energy to her. “Please. You need to put down the forcefield. The boys and I are safe, and I’m not going to let anything happen to them. I promise.”

No answer—Eva had gone completely still, but I could see that she was still breathing slowly, although it was still extremely labored.

The boys and I stayed silent for a few moments, concentrating slowly on feeding Eva more energy, but it didn’t seem to be doing much. Although it appeared to be what was keeping her alive, she didn’t seem to be improving. It felt like if the boys were to stop giving her energy, she wouldn’t have lasted this long.

I gritted my teeth together. I couldn’t think like that. Eva was going to make it. She had to.

“Rion?”

It took me a second to realize that Daphne’s voice was coming through my mind-link.

“What’s going on, love?” I asked in a panic. “Is everything okay?”

“We came to check on Eva,” Jasper said. “How is she doing? Why did she make a shield around the healers?”

I glanced down at the boys, who were concentrating solely on using their magic on Eva. I was grateful that they wouldn’t be able to hear this conversation. “Not great,” I said with difficulty through the link. “Listen. I need you both to go find Alpha Oliver and convince him not to take the boys into custody.”

Daphne and Jasper started to talk at once, their voices booming in outrage. I cut them off. “Please, you two. I need to stay here and try to convince Eva to take down the forcefield, but she’s terrified of the boys being taken.”

“How is she able to keep the shield up in her condition?” Daphne asked in awe.

“It’s not without consequence,” I answered her patiently. “She’s growing weaker by the second. The boys and I were barely able to keep her stable because of the shield.”

“Let me in!” Jasper demanded. “I need to be with her!”

“No,” I barked at him, using my Alpha voice, which I rarely used with him. I softened just slightly since I understood his side. I knew would be going crazy if I couldn’t be with Daphne if she was in a similar condition. “I’ll take care of Eva, Jasper. I need you to go help Daphne. We need to make sure the boys are safe.”

I could feel reluctance from them both, but I could sense that they would obey.

Daphne’s soft voice came through the link. “We’ll do whatever it takes,” she promised me. “Do you remember when the girls were born early?”

I blinked with confusion, trying to figure out where she was going with this. “Yes,” I said slowly.

“It was your blood that saved them,” Daphne reminded me gently. She lowered her voice to a hopeful one. “Perhaps it can save Eva now too.”

My eyes rounded and I nodded. “I’ll do everything I can to save her,” I promised them both.

“Good luck,” Jasper said in a tone that told me failure wasn’t an option.

“I love you,” Daphne murmured.

“I love you too,” I said gently before severing the link.

I turned to the boys, who were looking up at me curiously now as I straightened slightly. “You’re doing great boys,” I told them as I briefly let go of Eva’s hand. “Keep it up. You’re helping your mama a lot.”

I reached for the small blade that I kept attached to my belt. I took a breath before making a clean slice through the palm of my opposite hand.

“Uncle Rion,” Aster gasped, his large eyes widening even further.

“Focus on transferring energy to your mother, Aster,” I said in a firm voice.

Then I lifted Eva slightly from the bed, cradling her in one arm. I tilted her head back so that her jaw would go slack, and her lips parted. I pressed my hand carefully to her mouth, watching anxiously as my blood dripped into it.