Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 60

Aaron POV

I had promised Alexi that I would be there for him for his ritual, and I had let him down. A last-minute pack matter had placed me well behind schedule. I tore out of the house and shifted into my wolf. I knew I had no chance of making it on time by car, so only Flint could get us there before it was too late. The scenery passed by in a blur, and I saw the moon go dark when I was still miles from the Blue Moon territory. I pushed Flint to run faster. We had to make it. I couldn't break my last promise to my best friend. Flint, I don't care what you have to do, but get us there now. I don't know how much time we have left

Just a few more minutes, Aaron. We're almost there.

He dug deep and shot us across the Blue Moon border. Because of our strong alliance, the border patrols let me cross with no interference, and I ran right to the packhouse and into the backyard, where I knew the ritual was being held. What I found for a moment stopped my heart: the area was lit with large torches, and Maximus was chained with blood pouring from his front legs. He was still alive, and he was still fighting, and that was all that mattered.

I shifted into my human form and pulled on some basketball shorts Xander had out for me.

"I'm here, Alexi. I know you can do this, man. I cannot lose my best friend tonight, so you've got to fight," I told him, walking straight up to Max.

He sat back on his haunches and looked me in the eye before he lost the power to stand and laid down on the ground.

I knew there was no way Alaia would ever be the same if he didn't come through this. So, I prayed to the Moon Goddess above that she would grant us a little grace. We really needed it. I walked over to Alaia and took her hand in mine. "You good, sis?" I asked her, still looking at Max.

"Not at all, but I hope I will be. I hope we all will be."

***

Alexi POV

Once Matt and Kade had the chains on me, I knew it was go time. I hadn't heard from Max in so long, and I wasn't looking forward to having him in my head again, but this needed to be done. When Alaia removed the block, it felt like my brain was on fire as I tried to acclimate to having to share the space with my wolf again. Max came charging back, full of fury and loathing seeking revenge for what he felt was done to him.

Max, I don't have time for your bullshit right now. We're going to shift, and there isn't anything to can do to stop it.

Alexi, that's where you're wrong. I don't know what you have planned, but I'm King of the Rogues and can do as I please. Don't think I've forgotten just because you had me locked away. I will get what's mine.

You've missed quite a lot, Max.

Just then, Xander commanded us to shift, and Max quickly obeyed.

How can this wolf command me? I'm King-

You're not the king of anything, Max. Xander is our Alpha now, and it's time for you to go. For good.

A short time later, I had taken the back seat and watched as Max struggled to break free and attack Xander. I was impressed by his ability to challenge our Alpha, but all of his bravadoes would only lead to him bleeding out quicker.

Max, I'm sorry that it's come to this, but you're going to die here tonight. I know you feel our blood draining from your body. It's only a matter of time.

I'll just heal like I always have. Whatever this is, it won't stop me.

You won't heal, Max. You can't. Not during a full lunar eclipse.

What is this? I always knew you were f*****g soft. And now you're going to kill the both of us? For what?

For my mate. What you were so determined to take through force, I achieved through love. And I love her so much that I'm willing to risk my life to keep her safe from you.

Max looked out at the small crowd, and in the end, his eyes found Alaia. Then moon when totally dark, and there was nothing left to see. Xander walked around and lit torches that had been set up surrounding the area. When the final flame flicked to life, I saw Max still had not taken his eyes off my angel.

She is magnificent. I just wanted her to be ours. I needed her to be ours.

That doesn't forgive all that was done to try to get her. Mistakes were made, and now we both have to face the consequences.

I was surprised to see Aaron run over to the circle. I had honestly thought he had forgotten, but seeing him here made me proud that our friendship was still so strong. He spoke to me, but I could barely understand his words. It was like hearing underwater; everything was muffled. Then he walked over to Alaia and took her hand. A sense of relief overcame me. He was just one more person who would support her if this went wrong; I knew that he would make sure she was alright.

Max began to sway a bit before he laid down, placed his head on the ground between his front paws, and closed his eyes. I could feel him getting weaker and weaker. The blood flow had slowed down tremendously, as did the strength of Max's heartbeat. He was bleeding out. There was no turning back now.

I, too, was beginning to feel sleepy and knew that I was slipping away as well.

"Alexi. You stay with us, damn it. You promised me!"

I forced Max to open his eyes again and look at her. She needed to know I was still here, and that I was doing all that I could not to let her down. The minutes ticked by slowly, and it became tougher and tougher to keep Max's eyes open. I could feel our organs begin to shut down from the blood loss, and soon the rest of us would follow. By this time, Max was on his side, lying in a thick pool of crimson blood. It was all he could do to keep breathing; he no longer had the strength to hold up his massive head or open his eyes. "Alexi? Can you hear me? You keep fighting. It's almost over, but you have to push through," came my angel's voice.

And I was trying, so hard.

My consciousness began to slip and fade, and my mind started to replay scenes from my life. I saw myself playing with Aaron and Alaia when we were children: Me pushing her off the slide in elementary school, making her scrape her knee. Her stuffing her gorgeous face with blueberry muffins on one of our last days at school. Then I saw the rejection, and how she looked when I broke her heart, how I felt when she, in turn, broke mine. These scenes flickered across my mind like an old movie, and I knew then what it meant to watch your life flash before you.

I pushed, and I fought, but it felt like this was a battle that I was going to lose.

***

Alaia POV

When Max fell down to lay on his side, I knew it was almost over. It had been fifteen minutes since everything had started, so it wouldn't be too much longer. The pool of blood beneath him was huge, and there was no way he had much more to give. His gums were pale white, and his eyes had lowered to small slits. If it weren't for the slow rise and fall of his furry chest, I would have thought he was already gone. I watched as small twitches sprung over his body, and it wrecked me.

My Alexi was in there, and he was suffering through this, fight ing to survive so we could have a future. "Alexi? Can you hear me? You keep fighting. It's almost over, but you have to push through!" I called out to him, but there was no response.

All the previous times I had spoken to him, I at least got a flick of his tail, or lifting of his head, but this time it was nothing.

"I'm losing him, Aaron. I just know I am," I whispered in a broken voice.

"Trust in this, Alaia. If he's meant to survive, he will. All this is happening for a reason. Trust in it."

I couldn't bring myself to trust in anything that could possibly destroy my world right when it was finally all going so right.

No, I had to fight, too. I couldn't leave this up to fate. I wouldn't. I let go of Aaron's hand and walked toward Max.

Xander and the rest of the guys made a move to block me, but I stopped them. I had to do this. "It's alright, guys. I need to do this. I won't sit back and do nothing and watch him die. And I can't accept the idea that I was given these powers but can't somehow use them to save my mate. So, please, move out of my way and let me try."

"Alaia, it's too dangerous. Think about the babies," Xander reasoned.

I placed a hand on my swollen belly for a moment before I heard Amethyst speak.

Our babies are protected. I will keep them safe, I promise you.

I smiled up at Xander. "They've got powerful protection of their own. Nothing will happen to them or me." I felt my body began to warm all over, and when I looked down at my hand, I was casting a soft purple glow.

Seeing this, the guys stepped aside and allowed me to move up to Max.

At this point, his chest barely moved. He probably had less than a minute of life left in him.

I sat on the ground and placed his massive head on my lap. His muzzle was right next to my belly, but I knew my babies were safe. I stroked his head and watched his ribcage make one final rise and fall before it stopped for good.

"Alexi, baby. I know you can hear me. Follow the sound of my voice, okay? Don't leave me yet."

I closed my eyes and began to hum. But it wasn't the usual melody. I hummed the song that Alexi and I danced to the night he proposed. I knew my powers alone couldn't save him, but I hoped that combining the love we had for each other would be just what we needed to make it through. I leaned down and laid my head on his as I continued to stroke his fur and hum him back to life and back to me.

Aaron came up and sat beside us. There were tears in his eyes as he placed a hand my shoulder, then started to stroke Max with his other.

I couldn't say how long this went on for, but soon the light from the moon began to shine down on us again. A strong gust of air swept over, blowing out the torches. The only light left to illuminate the scene was that of the moon.

Max's body began to shake and seize before it started slowly, fading away and shifting back into Alexi's human form. Max was gone forever, but what about Alexi?

I ran my fingers through his dirty blonde hair and kissed his face.

He looked like he was sleeping in my lap, so peaceful and serene.

Take Aaron's hand, Alaia. Do it now. We can't heal him alone, but a full Amethyst pair can. He's more powerful than some may think.

My eyes snapped open, and I grabbed hold of both Aaron's hands.

Amethyst purred our familiar melody, and I began to hum again. Aaron's eyes instantly changed to purple, and I knew our powers flowed between the two of us. The warm, purple glow spread from my body to his, then flowed down to cover Alexi's resting form. Then I saw it-the first sign of life.

Alexi's foot twitched. Then his fingers. He was slowly coming back to us. It was working. After what seemed like an eternity, I saw his chest expand as he took in a deep breath. He opened his eyes, and I was met with those incredible gray orbs. Through teary eyes, I smiled down and stroked his face. "Hey, Alexi."

He just stared back at me for a moment before his featured became laced with confusion. "Alaia, what are you doing here? And what's going on?"

He sat up and looked around, disoriented, and my heart sunk. This couldn't be happening. He looked back over to me, then down to my swollen belly. "Whoa, and you're pregnant? Is it mine? Aaron, what in the hell is going on, man?" Aaron passed him another pair of shorts, which Alexi snatched when he finally realized he was naked.

Alexi then shot up to his feet, pulled them on, and looked around. When he laid eyes on Xander, his face scrunched up in anger.

"Alexi, calm down for a minute, alright? You've just been through a lot, and you just need a minute to get yourself together," Xander said.

"I don't know what you all are talking about. I don't need a minute to do s**t. You already got my mate, what else do you want from me?"

I slowly stood to my feet and took his hand. "Alexi, look at me."

He was still wary of the situation around him, but soon his eyes met mine.

"You are mine, and I am yours. And you promised you'd come back to me." "You're mine?"

"Yes, I am yours."

"But I don't understand. I don't know what is happening."

I pulled his head down to my level, then moved to interlace our fingers together.

I pressed my forehead against his as all the memories of the last few months played in my mind. When the last one faded, he leaned up and looked around at the concerned faces circling him. We all just wanted him back-all of him. We needed the Alexi we had grown to know and love.

He then looked down at me and smiled. "What do you think of an April wedding, angel? You would be the most beautiful spring bride."

Relief washed over me, and I jumped into his arms, wrapping my arms as tight as I could around him.

"Careful now, Xander would kill me if these rock-hard abs of mine hurt one of his pups," he teased before setting me back down on my feet.

"Damn right, I would. It's good to have you back, Lex. I thought I was going to have to kick your a*s again for a minute there," Xander said, pulling him into a hug.

"Luckily, that's not the case. I'm not a wolf anymore, so I'd rather not go up against an Alpha."

"How do you feel?" I asked him. He'd just lost a significant part of who he was, so there had to be some feelings involved.

"I feel the same, but much lighter. I had gotten used to not having Max around, and now the only difference is that I don't have to worry about him ever coming back. I loved being a wolf, but I love being yours even more. It will take some time to adjust fully, but I will be alright. I promise."

"I thought I had lost you, Alexi. That was a pain far worst than rejection," I whispered.

He held my face and lifted it up. "I made a promise to you, didn't I? You're stuck with me forever."

Forever could never be long enough.