Broken Together

Chapter Twenty-Two: Unconditionally

~Xavier~

"Sorry? Are you fucking kidding me? Sorry! No, no she will be fine, you have no fucking clue what you are talking about Gresham!" Everything in me hurts. Every part of me is taken back to Tom's words. The happiness I once felt for us, for Aurora, for our child, our future, is all gone. He said I would kill her. He said I would-FUCK!

I growl and slam my fist into the wall next to Gresham. "There must be a way, there must be!" I yell, turning from Gresham to my mate as her back remains facing me.

She slowly turns to face me, but instead of looking at me, she looks at her father.

"There is a-a way isn't there Dad." It wasn't a question. She knew something. She-

Gresham takes in a deep breath. 

This is what I felt when we first met. This is what he was hiding. He was just too uncertain to say anything then. Fuck Fuck Fuck!

I feel my fists clench and my body tighten as I try to keep my wolf calm before my mate.

"What way?" I ask. Aurora stays silent and looks at me and then back at her dad again. "What fucking way!" I watch her flinch as the words leave my mouth. Instant guilt creeps inside me like a snake.

"It's only a small chance-she is already so far along. It can only happen in labor..." Gresham rubs his face with his hands.  "When her water breaks...when she... it's her, or the child."

I turn to my mate and take her face in my hands. I need her to look at me. I need her to say something, anything!

"Dad, leave us please." She says it so quietly.

Our eyes remain on one another as I hear Gresham make his way to the door.

"I'll be back soon," He says as he turns the door handle and leaves. Leaving us alone. Alone in this nightmare.

My eyes never leave hers. The same eyes I have loved since that day in the rain. I can feel her heartbeat. It terrifies me because her heartbeat...it's steady. She has already made her choice.

"No Aurora, no! We can have other children, we can adopt, we can-" She brings her lips to mine as a tear rolls down her cheek.

"You will love this baby. M-my own father left me. My m-mother died. My step dad...no. O-our baby deserves more. I can give her-you can give her the world. I am so sorry X-xavier, but if it was the world,  if it was us, or our child, I would choose our child. I will choose our c-child, our baby girl."

I growl out, pushing away from Aurora and slamming into the counter and into the pantry, trying my hardest not to shift out of anger. 

She can't do this, I can't live without her. I won't breathe, I won't eat, I won't survive. I run my fingers through my hair unsure of what to do, what to say. She is all of who I am, she is my whole existence! What have I done? What the fuck have I done? I should have known, they counsel....the counsel should have warned us. This was their punishment for my part in this world. I'll fucking kill them all. I'll-

"Xavier" the words instantly bring me peace. My mate, the love of my life, my solace. I stop in my tracks to see the damage I have caused to our home. Broken counter, shattered plates. A broken home.

I feel Aurroa come up behind me and hug me, kissing my back.

There are no words. There is no fixing this. We stand for what feels like hours. Her holding me, comforting me.

Even with my mate here, even with her arms around me, my mind can only focus on one thing. My mouth twitches as the need for blood and revenge invades my mind. They will pay. They will all fucking pay.

~Counselmen~

"He will come for us now."

The entire room falls silent.

I take a deep breath before speaking.

"Yes, he will. He will come for us all."

~Aurora~

I felt it all along. A part of me knew. 

I want to tell my mate that I will choose him. That I will live. That it will be okay.

 But I cannot. 

This choice, it is mine and mine alone.

 If I am to do anything in this world, it is to choose to give my daughter the life I wish I had. That she deserves. 

As I hold my mate, I feel his fear. I feel his dark thoughts and despair. Guilt. I feel his worry and pain.

He will be okay.  I need it to be true. Leaving him, and our child, will be the hardest thing I will ever have to do. But I know, in my gut that this is the right thing to do. For my baby girl, and for my mate. Even if every fiber of my being is screaming to live, to stay for him. I cannot.

When I was little, my mom and I would go to the park for picnics. We would dress up and wear big hats while drinking imaginary tea and eating pretend crumpets. The sun would cover our faces and the trees would carry our endless laughs.

When I leave this world, I will think about those moments with my mom and know that one day, Xavier will create them with our child. He will love her without fail. He will be the father he never had, that I never got the chance to know. My daughter will be safe and loved. Unconditionally.