3rd person’s POV
The Bloodmoon Pack’s territory was cloaked in the somber light of dawn, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and lingering tension from the recent battles. The trees stood tall, silent sentinels to the pain that hovered over the pack. In the heart of the pack’s clinic, a hush had fallen-a silence that spoke more than words ever could.
On getting to the pack, he head straight to the pack clinic, his heart pounding hard against his chest.
Louis sat by Diana’s bedside, his face a mask of anguish. His strong, calloused hands trembled as they held hers-so fragile, so cold. The room smelled of herbs, sterile and lifeless, a contrast to the warm, vibrant scent that once lingered on her skin. Now, she lay pale and still, her breath shallow, and her once bright eyes barely able to stay open.
“Diana… please, don’t leave me,” Louis whispered, his voice breaking. His head bowed, his forehead resting against her cold fingers. He blamed himself-blamed himself for letting her convince him. How could he have agreed? He knew the risks, and yet, he had let hope blind him. **Her sixth pregnancy…** He should’ve said no.
Diana, barely conscious, opened her eyes. Her voice, weak and raspy, was filled with an almost painful softness. “Louis,” she whispered, her fingers twitching in his grip. “Please… don’t… don’t do this to yourself.”
He looked up, his heart breaking at the sight of her. Her skin had turned a ghostly pale, her lips cracked from dehydration, but even now, she tried to be strong for him. He swallowed hard, the knot in his throat making it impossible to speak for a moment.
“I should have protected you,” he said finally, his voice hoarse, thick with unshed tears. “I should’ve stopped you from trying again. Why did I let you do this to yourself?”
Diana’s lips curled into the faintest of smiles, but it was one of sorrow. “I wanted it, Louis. I wanted this baby… I thought-after everything, after all the treatments… maybe this time… it would be different.”
Her words pierced through him like knives. He remembered how hopeful she had been after finding the treatment, how her eyes had sparkled with renewed life. She had believed this time would be different-believed it with her entire heart. And he, as always, had supported her, even when the fear gnawed at him.
“I was so selfish,” he rasped, his eyes closing as he fought against the wave of emotions threatening to drown him. “I let you believe it was possible… I should have told you no.”
“Louis,” Diana’s voice was barely a whisper, but it held a strength that demanded his attention. She squeezed his hand weakly. “You didn’t force me. I wanted this… I wanted a chance, one last chance… to give you… to give us… a child.”
His heart shattered as he felt her grip falter. She had always been so selfless, thinking only of him, of what he needed. He opened his mouth to protest, to tell her that none of this mattered if it cost him her, but she cut him off, her voice trembling with urgency.
“Listen to me, Louis…” she gasped, struggling to keep her eyes open. “You… you have to promise me… promise me, you’ll find happiness again.”
He froze, his entire body going rigid. “What are you saying?” he whispered, dread crawling through him like ice.
Diana’s breath hitched, and her eyes fluttered. “Promise me,” she rasped again. “After I’m gone… you won’t blame yourself forever. You’ll keep living… find someone, maybe… someone who can give you what I couldn’t.”
“No.” His voice was firm, his jaw clenched. “I can’t. I won’t do that, Diana.”
Her eyes flickered with pain, not from her failing body but from his words. “Louis… please. Don’t… don’t let my death be your prison. I’ve seen you carry the weight of every miscarriage, blaming yourself when it was never your fault. I can’t leave knowing you’ll carry that guilt forever.”
His chest ached, and tears brimmed in his eyes. He had always been the strong one, the warrior, the one others leaned on. But now, in this moment, he felt powerless. Diana was slipping away, and no amount of strength could change that.
“I don’t know if I can do that,” he admitted, his voice breaking as the tears finally fell. “I don’t know how to be happy without you.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she squeezed his hand as hard as her weakening body allowed. “You can. You will. Promise me… promise me, Louis.”
He wanted to say no, wanted to scream and rage at the universe for taking her away from him. But seeing the desperate plea in her eyes, he nodded, choking on his words. “I promise, Diana. I promise… I will try.”
Her face softened in relief, and she closed her eyes for a moment, the exhaustion evident in every line of her frail body. “Thank you… thank you, my love.”
For a moment, there was only the sound of their breathing, his heavy and labored, hers weak and fading. The room felt too small, the walls too close. His heart thundered in his chest as he watched her, praying to the Moon Goddess for some sort of miracle that he knew wouldn’t come.
Suddenly, Diana’s eyes fluttered open again, and her lips moved. “Louis… one more thing.”
“What is it?” He leaned in, desperate to catch every word.
“I was… I was going to tell you… about a… a ritual,” she whispered, her voice so soft he had to strain to hear her. “Something… dark. It… it could’ve worked. It could’ve… saved the baby. But… I couldn’t… I couldn’t let you do it.”
“What are you talking about?” Louis’s voice was edged with confusion and fear.
“A ritual… ancient… dangerous,” she gasped, struggling for breath. “I found it… I found it when I was looking for the treatment. But it… it would’ve cost you, Louis. It would’ve taken something… from you. I couldn’t… I couldn’t let you make that choice. I couldn’t lose you too.”
Louis’s blood ran cold. She had kept this from him? This secret that could have saved their child? A dark ritual that could’ve worked, but at the cost of something from him? His mind raced, trying to piece together the implications. Why hadn’t she told him? Why had she carried that burden alone?
Before he could ask more, Diana’s breath shuddered, and her hand slipped from his. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I… I just… wanted to protect you.”
“Diana, no, don’t-” His words were cut off as her chest rose once more, then fell for the last time. Her eyes closed, and she went still, her hand lifeless in his.
“No, no, no…” Louis whispered, gripping her hand tighter, as if he could hold onto her spirit, refusing to believe that she was truly gone. His heart shattered into a million pieces as he collapsed against her, his body shaking with sobs.
For a long time, he stayed there, his forehead resting against hers, their hands still entwined. The world outside the room was a blur-he couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. All that existed in that moment was the unbearable silence of loss.
Eventually, the door creaked open, and Dimitri stepped inside, his face grim. He had heard the news, he had just came back from the Werewolf council meeting. His eyes softened when he saw Louis, but he didn’t say anything. Words were useless in moments like these.
Louis didn’t look up. His voice, broken and raw, echoed in the quiet room. “She’s gone, Dimitri… she’s gone, and it’s my fault.”
Dimitri moved closer, placing a hand on Louis’s shoulder, the weight of his own pain for his friend heavy in the air. “It’s not your fault,” he said quietly.
Louis shook his head, his eyes wild with grief. “I let her hope. I let her believe… I let her die.”
The pack clinic was filled with sadness, Kate stood just by Diana’s bed, tears welled up in her eyes, Diana’s colleagues also stood there mourning their loss.
Dimitri, always the composed Alpha, clenched his jaw, his own emotions held tightly in check. “She made her choice, Louis. You gave her love and support. Don’t carry that burden.”
But Louis barely heard him. All he could think about was Diana’s last words, the secret she had taken to the grave-the dark ritual she had hidden from him, the knowledge that there might have been a way to save their child. But at what cost? And why had she kept it from him?
As he stood by her side, his heart hollow, he whispered, “I’ll keep my promise, Diana. But how… how do I live with this?”
Her absence was a wound that would never heal, and the truth she had left behind only deepened the agony.