Mating the Female Alpha
Chapter 82 – Cora’s severed head.

Landry's POV

Cora was dead.

Whoever killed her, placed her head in a box and sent it to him.

For what reason would they do this?

He quickly closed the box and mindlinked his beta. His beta arrived shortly after, poking his head into his office worriedly. Telling from Landry's tone, it wasn't going to be good. "Who was in here?" Landry demanded to know.

His Beta looked confused as he stared around the room.

"Nobody that I know of, sir," his Beta said, his frown deepening. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Somebody left me a gift," Landry said darkly.

The Beta eyed the box carefully before approaching it. He gasped loudly when he saw what was inside, stumbling backward in shock and horror.

"Is that "

"Now I'm going to ask you again," Landry asked, his voice deepening. "Who the hell was in my office?"

His Beta thought about it more carefully.

"There was a maid that came in here earlier. She said she was looking for you. I saw her on the way out. I told her you were at the hospital with the Omega...." "Which maid?"

"I didn't catch her name. But she was petite and had short brown hair..." his Beta described. "I didn't see her for the rest of the day. Then again, I wasn't looking for her.

"I want you to find out everything you can about this maid. If you see her, don't let her out of your sight. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," The Beta nodded before leaving the study.

Landry quickly taped the box back up. He made some room in the back of his closet before shoving the box inside, burying it deep and out of sight.

Nobody, especially Bernice, was to see what was inside that box.

...

Bernice's POV

I was able to return home the next morning from the hospital. We still haven't made a decision about what we wanted to do about this pup. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to make a decision. I still couldn't wrap my mind around being pregnant.

Even if I wasn't dying, I never thought of myself to be a mother. I never even thought of myself to be a luna or a wife in general. But now I sit here with a pup being brought to life inside of me and it was going to be taken away. I only had my family to blame.

Or maybe I had myself to blame.

"What are you thinking about?" Landry asked, lying beside me.

"Our little pup is going to die because of the decision I made to be an Alpha..."

"I'm not letting anybody die," Landry assured me.

He didn't sound as worried as he did at the hospital. I could tell he had some time to reflect and already made up his mind.

He didn't want to get rid of this baby.

"It's pointless to even bother..." I say, sounding defeated. "There is no saving me. I'm going to die, and this pup is going to die with me." "Bernice "

"It'll probably be better if we just-❞

"Don't say it," he said quickly, stopping my words. "I don't want to think about that..."

The pamphlet was on my nightstand; we haven't bothered to look at it, knowing what the contents were. Neither of us wanted to face the harsh reality.

"We have to talk about it at some point..." I tell him, my voice sounding distant. "If we wait too long-"

"Bernice, I need you to trust me. For once in your life, I need you to trust me."

His words struck a chord in me; maybe it was because I could hear the pain in his voice, or maybe it was desperation. But either way, I fell silent as my heart continued to ache. When I said nothing more, he sighed and spoke again in a softer tone.

"I've known you for a long time. You don't give up when things get tough. Regardless of the situation, you fight. You fight until you can't fight anymore. This situation isn't different..."

"I've been fighting since I was 12, Landry," I whispered, peering up at him. "I'm tired of fighting..."

"Then don't fight anymore," he told me, meeting my eyes. "Let me fight for you. But don't ask me to give up. If it were someone you care about, would you give up? If it was your brother, would you give up?"

He had a point; I would never stop looking for a cure if it was my brother. The thought pained me to think about it.

It wasn't fair that I was asking Landry to stop fighting.

"Regardless of how hard you protest, I'm not going to give up, Bernice. You need to get that through your head. So, stop asking me to give up, because it's not happening. I'm also not going to give up on our pup. For right now, it's healthy, just as the doctor had said. Until it's not healthy, we don't need to worry. I'll do whatever I can to keep you and our pup safe. Understood?"

I didn't respond; I knew it would be pointless. I felt grateful that he was willing to bend over backward to keep me and our pup safe. But I couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of my stomach.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him.

"He smells so nice..." I heard a familiar voice in my head. "Julia..." I nearly cried in relief. "You've returned!"

"I'm so weak," she said. "But yes, I'm here. And I see we aren't alone." She was referring to the baby; she could feel we are carrying.

"I don't know what to do..." I admitted. "I want this baby more than anything. But I fear I won't be alive to carry it to full-term. Tell me what to do..."

"I'm afraid I can't..." she whispered sadly. "But I think we should trust Landry when he says he's going to protect us. He loves us very much and I know you love him too..."

I didn't respond to that, but I did say, "Do you really think there's a chance for us to have a happy life? Even when there doesn't seem to be any hope?"

"The only thing getting me through is hope," she admitted. "That's all we can do..."

I remained in Landry's arms for what felt like an eternity. Neither of us wanted to move; I was nearly half asleep when his body tensed and I could feel his brain working in overdrive. I peered up at him to see his stern, and yet, perplexed features.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Alaric..." he whispered. I narrowed my eyes at him, waiting for him to continue. "What do you know about him? You were with him for a while, right? Do you remember anything he's said or did?"

"I remember almost everything that he said and did," I admitted, not wanting to relive my moments as his captor. "He had his men torture me. He was cruel and his power was..." my voice trailed off as the memory invaded my mind. "Strong?" Landry finished for me.

"Very," I admitted.

"You don't remember where you were?"

"Some kind of layer," I tell him. "I'm not sure where we were located though. I'm not sure if it was below ground or above... there were no windows."

"And he let you go because he wants you alive," Landry said, staring around my face. "He wants you alive to give birth to that pup."

"Right," I said, my frown deepening. "What are you on about?"

"Bernice... if Alaric is as powerful as he seems, and he wants you alive. He might be able to help you," Landry breathed. "He might be able to cure your illness."