Beneath the Surface

Incoming tide

That night, none of us could focus on anything. We tried distracting ourselves by playing boardgames - of which Gertrude had plenty - but that failed to keep the ever present worries at bay. Ashley, strangely enough, seemed the most calm out of us, and while GiGi and Gertrude were in the kitchen, she finally told me the truth. "I let Harry go the day you pledged your cub to him through me," she said, gripping my hands tightly as we sat on the couch. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but we aren't actually bonded mates. I mean, we share a lot of the benefits of mates, but we've never formally sworn to one another."

I frowned. "Why?" I asked, although I suspected I was about to find out the answer.

Ashley sighed. "Because Harry isn't actually my second-chance mate," she admitted. "I thought he was, the night we met - and it felt a hell of a lot like it when we connected - but as it turns out, he's your second-chance mate."

My eyes all but fell out of my head, but even though I was stunned near-witless by this revelation, dozens of small things suddenly made a hell of a lot of sense, including his overwhelming protectiveness the day of Brody's visit, and the fact that Ashley herself had been so damn calm over her mate's seemingly inappropriate closeness to another female. Polyamory alone wouldn't excuse such, not without discussion beforehand, which meant that Ashley had known for some time Harry was actually my second-chance mate, and not hers. "When did you know?" I demanded. 

"The day we met you, back in Blackpool," Ashley said. "Afterwards, Harry said, and I quote, 'I've gone and done the stupidest thing in my life.' I asked him what the hell he meant, and he told me he'd realised just how much of a miscalculation he'd made the night he and I had met. As it turned out, mate bondings can sometimes go awry, and that was the case with us. But in the aftermath of the whole 'Brody incident', I knew it would be the last thing on your mind, so that's why we didn't say anything."

"I wish you had," I said dryly, but truth be told, I wasn't that angry. More surprised - and a bit dismayed - that such had happened. "Never mind that, though. I'm more worried about this battle."

"Me too," Ashley admitted. "And I still care for Harry immensely - it's certainly going to sting if the worst should happen, which I hope it doesn't. And I'm sure my second-chance mate is out there somewhere. I'll find him eventually, but at least I had a chance to experience what real love felt like, even if it did end up being misplaced."

I had to smile at that. "Let's just hope he comes home and gets it right this time," I said, half-joking.

Just then, the sky went dark outside, and a sudden, horrible crushing sensation seized me. I screamed, writhing as pain wracked me from head to toe. 

And to put the cherry on the cake, my water chose that moment to break. 

By the time I could see again, I felt as if I'd been clubbed inside out. Ashley was holding me, crying into my hair, and though I could barely move, I managed to reach up and put my arms around her. The smell of blood and death told the story clearly enough, and I groaned as new pain wracked my already abused body. Ashley sounded as if she too had just been through the same agony as I, and when I caught a glimpse of the two blanket-wrapped bundles by the fire, I felt ready to throw up. Outside, the sky was filled with stars again, but this brought no joy to me. "They've won," I said, my voice sounded thin in my ears."

"No," GiGi rasped, her face pale as she held a sobbing Gertrude. "Look."

I frowned, but then realisation hit me; the sky was filled with its normal compliment of stars, but hundreds of thousands of glittering multicoloured lights added to the dazzling nighttime display, arching in a great crescent across the night sky. I stared in shock. "How?"

"Brody and Brandon decided to take your cubs with them," GiGi said, her voice flat. "Mercifully, Harry and Caleb intervened before you girls joined them; it was a near thing, though. The two of them decided that if they were going to die, you two were better off joining them in hell. Harry and Caleb were already exhausted from their efforts, and it took their last remaining strength to ensure you two survived. But they'll both need months of recovery. Fortunately, almost all their enemies have been exterminated. There's a handful of survivors, but they're under close guard, and Billy's assured me they won't have a spare moment to cause mischief."

I sighed in relief. But there was still an immense amount of sorrow mixed in, and I knew it would be some time before I could feel myself again.

Rather than worrying about it, however, I tightened my arms around Ashley, holding her tighter, and she cried even harder, gripping me as if I were her only lifeline. Losing Harry's cub - and almost losing Harry - had brought her to the brink, and as I held her, feeling her tears soak my hair, I prayed she'd find someone to give her the strength she needed to keep going. For despite her words earlier in the night, I knew she loved Harry more than she was willing to admit, and I had the feeling she was bitterly regretting giving him up. I prayed she wouldn't blame me, but having suffered such a loss as she had tonight, I knew it would be hard for her to keep from misdirecting her emotions. 

Gertrude would, I hope, steer her away from any such thoughts. 

But we were all rubbed raw, physically and emotionally. Someone was going to say something they'd regret.