Halle’s POV.
“I’m sorry Miss Halle, but it seems Omega Reed got involved in an accident. I just received news that he’s dead.”
That was Patrick’s response when I asked him what happened to Reed after he barged into the mansion, panting.
I have been crying and shuddering and wheezing throughout our ride to the hospital. Guilt is like a tennis ball, slamming against my chest and bouncing off over and over again until my entire body is numb.
I can’t feel anything.
This is all my fault.
Reed’s death is entirely my fault. If I didn’t pick up a fight with him. If I did not upset him. If I had just stopped him from going out, he would not have met that accident. He would still be alive right now.
It’s my fault that he’s dead.
I killed him.
My life will never be the same again.
Moon goddess.
“Miss, We’ve arrived at the hospital.”
The hospital.
I instantly open the car and jump out of the car, heading straight to the hospital lobby. My eyes are blurry with tears. My head is spinning like a roller coaster. My entire body is shaking like I’ve been connected to a live wire. I can’t breathe. Patrick overtakes me and leads the way through a hallway and I start sobbing when I see Luna Alora and Alpha Jayce seated on a chair in the outpatient ward.
“Halle.” Luna Alora calls the moment she sees me and rises from her seat. As she walks over to me and the more she comes closer, the more breathless I become. She engulfs me in a comforting hug. On a normal day, I wouldn’t let her do this to me, but right now, I need all the hugs I can get in this life.
“He’s… he’s dead because of me. I… I killed him.” I cry in her arms. She backs away from me and wipes my tears away with her hands, smiling.
Why is she smiling?
Reed is dead. That’s not something to smile about!
“Come.” She urges. I reluctantly follow her to a chair where she puts me to sit and does the same by my side. I am confused. I look around and Alpha Jayce is saying something to Patrick in a hushed voice at a far corner of the room. We are just the four of us here and it breaks my heart even more.
Does he really have no family?
What about the brother he once spoke about? Why isn’t he here?
It’s completely unfair that no one is –
“Halle.” Luna Alora’s soothing voice interrupts my thoughts. I look at her and angst crawls up to my tongue when I see how cheerful she looks. She doesn’t look the least bothered that Reed is dead.
“Why are you smiling? Why do you look so unbothered? Reed is dead. I thought you liked him? Why aren’t you mourning?”
“Because there’s no need to mourn.” She flashes me an even wider smile.
“Excuse me!” I withdraw myself from her hold and back away, gazing up at her in total disbelief. “What do you mean there’s nothing to mourn about?”
“Because Reed is alive.” The sound of her words reverberates through my body. My eyes dilate with shock. She nods.
“Yes. He’s alive.”
“But… but Patrick told me he got involved in a ghastly accident and died. How…how…”
“That’s what happened, Halle. Even more. The accident was staged. The murderer even slit his throat.” A soft gasp scrapes past my throat. She nods. “He was murdered.”
“What do you mean ‘he’s alive?” I squint at her. She takes my hand in hers.
“I don’t know the full details yet. Alpha Jayce is too shocked to say anything to me, but I know Reed is alive. I saw the doctors wheeling him on a stretcher into a normal patient ward and he even made one of his typical sarcastic comments.” Tears glitter in her eyes as she smiles. “This isn’t a joke Halle. Reed conquered even death. He’s back to us.” The look in her eyes tells me she’s serious. Without warning, I throw my hands around her and engulf her in a bone crushing hug.
Reed is alive.
I killed him, but he conquered death and came back to us.
I could almost die of relief.
“He’s alive.” I back away from her and smile amidst tears. She calmly nods her head.
“Yes, he’s alive.”
“Alpha Jayce.” We all whirl our heads in the direction of the sound and rise to our feet when we see a doctor standing at the door and as Alpha Jayce walks closer to him, he bows his head.
“Please talk.” He urges. The doctor lifts his head up with great manners. “The Omega is stable and is ready to have you.”
“Please take me to him.” The doctor nods and leads the way out. Alpha Jayce follows. I turn back to look at Luna Alora.
“They are close.”
“Tell me about it.” We both take our seats, but my eyes won’t leave the door. I can’t wait to go in here and see him.
________________________________
Jayce’S POV.
I meet Reed standing by the transparent glass window, an IV connected to his right hand and hanging on an IV pole that’s standing by his side. He’s in a hospital dress, staring outside at what I do not know.
Maybe he’s looking down at the street, at the tall buildings, the sky, wondering how he’s still alive.
“You can come over where you’re done ogling.”
Yes.
He will never change.
I sigh and near him. He whirls and looks at me, smiling.
“You’ve been smiling a lot lately.” I point out.
“I’m well aware of that. It’s embarrassing.” I simply shake my head.
“Reed I… I really want to know what is going on. Did you mean it back there when you said we were – we are – brothers?” He nods his head. My breath hitches.
He’s serious.
“You know I’m not the type to crack jokes. Not to talk of an issue like this.” He has a point.
“But… How is this possible? How come I never knew?”
“I’m sure it’s a long forgotten fact.”
“How could anyone forget something like this? How were we separated in the first place?”
“Our parents had just been crowned as the Supreme Alpha Luna. Those were tough times. They had so many enemies who tried to end our lives from the moment we were conceived till the day we were born. That’s when our father made a very drastic decision. His most trusted official was his Omega at that time. He gave me to him to raise as his own and planned with the doctor in charge of our delivery to announce to everyone, including our mother that one of the twins had died. The Omega secretly took care of me in a different household for one year before taking me to my mum – his younger sister – who lost her mate and denied having a second chance mate. She then raised me as hers.”
“Why did father do a thing like that?”
“To protect us. To protect the future of the pack. If they had succeeded in killing you, he planned on taking me back from the Omega.”
“Holy Moon goddess! For how long have you known this?”
“Just two years. Uncle told me on his dying bed and made me swear I won’t reveal anything to you until it was really necessary. That’s why I haven’t been able to tell you. I’m sorry.”
“No… no. There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. I believe I would have done the same if I were in your shoes. What they did made sense but it’s unfair to us. We’ve lost twenty-four years, Reed. Twenty-four good years. Did our father ever talk to you? Did he make you feel…”
“No.” He shakes his head. My heart sinks into my stomach. He never felt our father’s love. “I only knew our father as the Alpha of this pack. Nothing else.”
“That… that’s…”
“It’s okay. It’s normal. I don’t hold anything against anyone. I would do the same thing if I have to, in order to keep both my children alive. The enemies would not have stopped striking and who knows what would have happened if we had stayed together. The separation was necessary. Yes, we’ve lost time, but technically we’ve been together all our lives. We’ve served and protected each other like brothers do.”
“Reed.” My eyes water with tears. “Reed.” My heart is shattering into a thousand pieces. I engulf him in a brotherly hug and he doesn’t protest. My heart skips when he wraps his free hand around me and sniffles.
He feels this moment as much as I do.
I have a brother. A twin brother.
And it’s Reed.
Can my life get any better?