His Redemption (Complete His Series)

AXEL

Alpha had a grim look on his face as he called everyone to attention. “I know it has been a long and scary night for us all, so I will keep this brief. Warwick is dead. His vampires and the ones he allied himself with have all been eliminated. Our pack is once again safe,” he announced. Sighs and murmurs of relief rolled through the crowd.

“Now, we must put our lives back together. Warriors have begun searching the pack land for our missing pack members and recovering those we have lost. Now that the fight is over, it is time for us to come together and prove our strength.”

Soon, we were all doing just that. Warriors were divided into patrols to help in various parts of the pack. We collected bodies, helped clear damaged buildings, and even reunited a few pups with their parents. Repairs to damaged homes and buildings began immediately. Rumors floated around that Azalea was the cause of the pink moon and the reason why everyone’s physical injuries were healed. Sadly, there were injuries that couldn’t be healed.

A few pack members were taken to the clinic with Doctor Ronald to do what he could for their vampire bites. I caught Missy and Maddox headed that way; I heard through the grapevine that one of their friends was bitten. By the time the pink moon descended into the horizon, and the sun began to rise, we collected a total of twenty lost wolves. Despite the victory, it laid the tone for a somber day in B***d Eclipse.

My team and I worked diligently until lunch, helping where ever we were needed. The one place we avoided was the former Alpha and Luna’s house. Beta told everyone to leave it, and he would handle it personally. When I realized it was getting later in the afternoon, we all headed to the packhouse to grab some lunch. I intended to stay as long as my pack needed help, but my mind kept wandering to Lemon. I was going to have to reschedule our date, which was disappointing.

Luna and Miss Marci had the kitchen running all day so pack members could come and go as they pleased and not worry about cooking in their possibly damaged homes. My team filed in, heading straight for the tables of food set up and well-stocked. Everyone was quickly grabbing plates and stacking them, as many of us had not taken a break since everything began.

I was grabbing a sandwich when Luna Azalea came over. “Hey, Axel,” she greeted me.

“Good afternoon, Luna,” I said.

“I didn’t expect you to be here still,” she said, furrowing her eyebrows.

“The town was spared any vampire interference. We stayed to help take care of the pack,” I told her. She gave me a warm smile.

“I got a call a little while ago. It seems my inn manager has been very worried about her new boyfriend,” Luna said, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Oh,” I said quickly. “I’m sorry; I had no idea she would call you! My phone died, and we were so busy….”

Luna laughed. “It’s okay, Axel. I think it’s great. Lemon is wonderful, and I think you two will be very happy. Maybe after lunch, your team can head home. You guys need a break too.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Luna,” I said. “Just one thing?”

“Anything,” she said, tilting her head.

“Can you tell my team?”

–

I raced through the trees, my paws pounding the earth as I pushed my tired body forward. There was still a chance I could make it in time to shower and get to Lemon for our date. I was getting close to my house when I linked one of the warriors I tasked with keeping an eye on her and the inn.

“She’s at your house,” he told me.

“What? You mean she is at home, like her home?” I clarified.

“No, she went to your house last night. Maybe don’t hide your key in a flower pot with a dead plant in it,” he replied.

Why was Lemon at my house? I charged ahead, even more eager to get back to her. I came out of the trees behind my house and shifted. I grabbed a pair of shorts from the basket by the back door and went straight in. “Lemon!” I called, coming through the kitchen.

“Axel?” I heard her voice call from the living room. I breezed right into the living room; Lemon was standing from the couch. The blanket from my bed was discarded on the floor in front of her. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but they were a little disheveled.

“Lemon, what are you doing here?” I asked.

She looked at me with doe eyes. “I thought I would wait here for you so I would know when you were back and safe….” she said softly.

I strode across the room to pull her into my arms. I kissed the top of her head as her arms came around my waist. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, her shoulders relaxing against me.

“Of course I am okay,” I told her. She pulled back to look at me. “I couldn’t let you fall without someone to catch you. Plus, we have a date tonight.”

Her eyes searched mine for something. Then she reached up and grabbed my face, pulling me down to her. She kissed me hard, and I smiled before kissing her right back. I threaded my fingers into her messy black hair and kissed her like my life depended on it.

She pulled away from me all too soon, panting slightly. “Axel,” she said.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Two things. First, you smell bad. Usually you smell good, but it’s like you rolled around in something rotten,” she said, making a cute grossed-out face. I laughed as she continued. “Why don’t you shower, and we can stay in tonight?” I nodded my head. I liked the sound of that.

“Only if we reschedule for tomorrow. And the second thing?” I asked.

She looked around my house and frowned. “Maybe you should move in with me,” she said quieter now.

My mouth fell open in astonishment. “What?” I asked her.

“Your house is so bare and lonely. We spend so much of our time together anyway, and we eat almost every meal together. Plus, when you had to leave to do wolf stuff, you would be coming back to me so I would know you were safe-”

“Yes,” I said, cutting off her well-thought-out explanation. “Yes, yes, yes.” Her smile creased her eyes as I pulled her in for another k**s.

AZALEA

The kids were all dressed and waiting downstairs with Lily and Damien. It was a hard day all around, but I knew it weighed heavily on my mate. Over the last two days, he had been the picture of a perfect Alpha by day, helping to orchestrate the rebuilding of his pack. As soon as we were alone, he was withdrawn and quiet.

I went up to his office and knocked on the door softly before stepping inside. He sat at his desk with a glass of amber liquid in one hand and his mother’s note in the other. His eyes stared at the writing on the page, but I knew he wasn’t reading it. He didn’t need to read it again.

Jacob went to Lyssa’s home to get her after we returned to the packhouse. He assumed she would be all healed after everyone in the pack experienced my magnified ability. He knew of the safe room in Robert’s office, having helped Liam arrange the house for his parents years ago. But when he got inside, Lyssa wasn’t moving.

Jacob had her body brought to the clinic directly and took the note from her hand to Liam. Liam was given the letter right before addressing everyone in our pack.

I finally read the letter yesterday when Liam accidentally left it on our bed. In it, she apologized for her weakness. She told Liam she wanted to hang on for him and our children, but living without Robert was too painful. The fight hurt her enough that she knew she could close her eyes and move on. She just wanted to be by her mate’s side again. She also apologized to Missy for breaking her promise and hoped Missy would never have to know the depth of pain she lived with. I was most surprised at the gift she left for Maddox.

Liam swirled his drink and took a slow swig. “Liam,” I said softly. His eyes moved slowly to me. They were bloodshot, and dark circles were rimming his eyes. “Liam, it’s time to go.”

He nodded, silently throwing back the rest of his drink. He stood, folding the letter and placing it into the inside pocket of his all-black suit. He buttoned the front and came around the desk to offer me his hand. “She’s with your father, now,” I said softly. “Let’s go give them a proper goodbye.” He nodded again, and we headed out without any more words.

–

Liam conducted a beautiful memorial service for the pack members killed in the attack, as well as his parents. I couldn’t decide what the worst part was, though. Missy held onto her mate through the entire ceremony with silent tears running down her cheeks. Not only had her grandmother died but also one of her friends. Leo cried inconsolably in my arms for about half of it while Junior stood next to me, holding my hand but with a stony expression. All I could feel from Liam was numbness. He barely processed his father’s death and grieved him before losing his mother as well. Lyssa and I may not have had a great start, but we grew fond of each other.

Lily and I arranged for a small reception afterward on the packhouse lawn. People came, ate some food, and talked amongst themselves before heading back to their homes to be with their families. Our pack needed time to heal emotionally.

After the funeral, Quinn and Michael departed, taking the witch they saved with them. Although it was not helpful to us after Warwick’s death, she did shed some light on what he was trying to accomplish. Warwick had been experimenting on vampires by controlling what type of b***d they were fed. The wolves he kidnapped in the first conflict were an attempt to see if he could create a hybrid by feeding only werewolf b***d to one of his kin. When that didn’t work, and we rescued our pack members, he switched to witch b***d. Sadly, the witch that was saved wasn’t the first that Warwick had used.

After the funeral, Liam went to his office once more. I knew he needed space, so I tried to give it to him. Once the reception was over, Lily took the kids so I could take care of one more thing. Azeron and I headed out to town to make one more visit.

We stopped at the florist before Azeron pulled into the very small cemetery on the edge of town and parked the car. When Liam told me when the attack on Warwick was planned to take place, I started making arrangements for Theodore. I didn’t want him to be alone when it happened, but he insisted it wasn’t necessary for him to have company. He was grateful to me for calling to inform him.

We stopped in front of a very simple, pale grey headstone. I smiled sadly as I set the flowers down on the freshly turned earth. Azeron kept a distance, giving me some privacy.

“Thank you, friend,” I whispered. “I might not have my mate or children without all your help. I wish we could have found a way to save you. I will always be grateful for your help.” I rubbed the top of the stone as I took a shuddering breath.

After a few more minutes, I turned to Azeron, nodding to tell him we could go. We sat in comfortable silence on the way back. I hoped this was the last person I would have to say goodbye to for a long while.

–

Liam never came to bed that night. In the morning, I woke up to Azly’s soft cries over the monitor. Once she was in a clean diaper and sucking contentedly on a bottle, we went to Liam’s office. His suit jacket and tie from the previous day were slung over the back of the couch. His shirt was wrinkly, and the first couple of buttons were undone.

“Liam?” I said, coming inside.

“Oh, Azalea, baby, I’m sorry. What time is it?” he asked, looking around.

“Have you been in here all night?” I asked. Looking at his desk, there were endless reports scattered everywhere. The warriors must have started submitting everything from the battle for there to be this much.

“Yea,” he sighed. I adjusted Azly in my arms and came around his desk. He looked up at me; his face was sad and tired.

“Are you reading the reports?” I asked him. He just nodded slowly. “Liam, you couldn’t have saved her. You couldn’t have saved Austin or any of the other wolves that died. But what you did do is stop any more from dying.”

He nodded, his gaze absent. I knew he heard but just couldn’t accept what I was saying. His eyes fell on Azly in my arms. He reached out, and I gently placed her in his waiting hands. His face softened a little as he looked down at her.

“Why don’t you take her back to our room and relax?” I offered. “I will clean these up and organize them.”

“Okay,” he agreed. He stood, and I guided him to the door. Liam slowly made his way down the hall with his daughter in his arms. I sighed as I turned around. Sitting at his desk, I got to work.

A couple of hours later, I looked up to see Damien leaning against the door frame. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Where might the Alpha be?” he asked. I looked at the clock, completely unaware that so much time had passed.

“Hopefully asleep,” I said. I closed the folder I was reading and set it on its appropriate pile. Almost everything was read and filed; all the things requiring Liam’s attention were set aside for him.

“Has he picked someone yet?” Damien asked. I shook my head. “He should appoint Felix,” Damien offered. “I guess that is if he can relent on your 24/7 surveillance.”

I laughed lightly. “I may be taking slight advantage of his current distraction,” I told him. Damien nodded.

“Felix will make a good Delta. I am sure Azeron can handle being your only guard for a while,” he said.

“I’ll talk to him,” I told Damien. “I think the pack might heal better if we get someone appointed.”

“Lily is making sundaes downstairs with the kids. They all want to sleep over together again tonight,” Damien told me.

“Alright,” I said. “I’m sure they feel safest in their little group.” Damien nodded. “Have we checked on Abigail?”

“Jacob went over. She seems alright,” he said.

“I’ll go see her tomorrow,” I told him. Damien stood up straight. “I should go check on him.” Damien nodded before taking his leave. I went upstairs to our room, hoping Liam was there.

When I opened the door, my heart warmed. Liam lay on the bed, fast asleep. Azly laid a foot away from him but completely sprawled out and sleeping as well. I grabbed one of her blankets and came over to the bed to cover her up. Her shiny ginger curls were messy on her head. Her little fists opened and closed in her sleep.

Liam looked older. This war had taken its toll on our pack and its Alpha. I wanted to wake him so I could hold him tightly and tell him how much I loved him, but I thought better of it. He needed to sleep, and I would be here when he woke. He was my Alpha, and it was my job to take care of him so he could continue taking care of our pack.