The Minx

That following Monday, Ben took me to school as Aspen dealt with pack matters. Something was making him anxious but I had no idea what it was yet. Something was going on with him, but he wouldn't tell me. Not yet anyway. Ben and I went to our fist class. Almost halfway into the class, Marco barged in.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" our teacher asked him.

"Camilla, Ben, you're coming with me," Marco said instead.

"Excuse me?" the teacher asked appalled.

"Family emergency," Marco growled. The teacher looked at Marco shocked before nodding quickly. I looked to Marco confused as they practically drug me out to the car.

"What's going on?" I asked. They threw me into the backseat with Ben.

"We have a situation. I'll let Alpha Aspen tell you when we get back," he said, all business. I sat back quietly and waited. As soon as we pulled up to the house, I jumped out and ran to find Aspen. He pulled me into him and sighed in relief.

"Thank God," he muttered. "You're not leaving my side," he ordered. I looked at him confused.

"What's going on?" I asked. Ben's jaw locked as his eyes went glassy.

"There was an attack last night. Eric is dead," Aspen explained. I gasped and put a hand over my mouth briefly.

"Oh my God... Yelang," I said before I sprinted off to find her. She was balling her eyes out in one of the guest rooms. I hugged her tightly and sighed. "I'm so sorry," I whispered. She only sobbed harder. I knew what it felt like to lose a mate and I wouldn't wish that pain on anybody. I let her cry in my shoulder until she passed out. I laid her down on the bed before I went to find Aspen. He was in his office mulling over a mountain of paperwork. The office was a mess. Chairs were thrown around the rook and glass was shattered on the floor. I stepped over the glass and went to where Aspen was leaning against the desk.

"Aspen?" I asked quietly. Looking up, I could see that his wolf was starting to take control. I put a hand on his shoulder and he growled at me. "Aspen, it's me," I said softly. I suddenly grew scared as he grabbed my arm.

"No one in my pack has ever been attacked. Let alone killed... until now. Did you do this?" he said, glaring at me. I felt my eyes water as I shook my head.

"No, of course not. After everything, how could you believe that?" I asked bewildered. "You're hurting me," I whispered. He blinked before he let go like I burned him.

"Cami," he said in realization. I held my arm gently and looked away from him.

"I should start cleaning this up," I whispered, moving away from him. He held my hand gently.

"No Cami, I'm so sorry, it was my wolf," he said. I nodded and pulled my hand away from his.

"I know," I said softly before I started picking up the glass as a tear fell. He stopped me and made me look at him. I set the glass down before he scooped me up and sat on the only upright couch with me in his lap. I couldn't help it. I cried into his chest. He rocked me gently and kissed my head.

"I'm so sorry, kitten," he said softly into my hair. I looked at him and sniffled. He brushed my tears away and kissed my nose. "Please don't cry. I hate watching you cry," he said softly.

"You hurt me," I whispered. A look of pain and regret crossed his face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered back. He brushed away the stray tears before he hugged me close to him.

"I'm tired. I want to go to sleep," I said timidly. He kissed my head again before he stood, cradling me. He carried me up to our room and laid me down on the bed. He pulled off my shoes before he did the same to my pants. He pulled the covers over my body and tucked me in before he got undressed himself. Turning off the lights, he got in and pulled my back flush against his chest. He kissed my shoulder and neck.

"I love you, little one... and I'm so sorry," he said quietly. I didn't say anything, I just shut my eyes tightly and tried to go to sleep.

~

The next morning, Aspen was still holding on to me tightly when I woke up. I tried to sit up and couldn't. He had an iron grip. I sighed and stayed put. I knew he felt bad about yesterday, but the face still remained that he hurt me... or at least his wolf did. I didn't know what to do about that just yet.

"Cami," he muttered huskily. "Please stop being mad with me," he said, as he moved to hover over me. I smiled lightly for his benefit and ran my thumb over his cheek as I held his face.

"I'll let it go," I whispered. He kissed me gently before his hips rolled into mine. Our kiss got more heated by the second.

"I don't know what I would do with myself if I lost you," he muttered into my neck. He kissed my mark, making me moan and shiver in delight. He continued on to show me how sorry he was for what happened.

Afterwards, I laid tucked under Aspen as he played with my hair. He kissed my head gently.

"How are you not pregnant yet?" Aspen asked. I was caught off guard but it was a valid question. Alphas could normally make a pup on the first try alone. We've probably tried more than ten times and still, nothing. I looked at him curiously.

"I don't know. We could go see Jeanie tomorrow?" I suggested.

"How about now. I have a meeting tomorrow but I took today off to spend with you," he explained. I sighed before I got up and went to go shower. After getting ready, I waited for Aspen at the door as he set up a security detail on the house and us. Finally we walked over to the clinic. Jeanie saw us immediately and began running the necessary tests. We waited for about an hour before she came back with the results.

"It looks like you have a lot of scar tissue in your uterus. It's more than normal, like... I don't know, but it does mean that you can't get pregnant at all," she said.

"Is there anything we can do?" Aspen asked. She hesitated before she shook her head.

"You could, get a surrogate, but Camilla herself, can't get pregnant," she said. I felt like my heart dropped. One thing every Alpha needed was an heir and I couldn't give that to Aspen. I was basically a useless Luna. I wouldn't be surprised if Aspen rejected me and made me a rogue. I stayed quiet as we left the clinic and went back home. I went straight up to the room and buried myself under the blankets.

"Little minx, I know your upset," Aspen said, sitting on the edge near me. I sat up and looked at him in disbelief.

"Upset? Aspen, I can't get pregnant. I can't give you an heir. I'm a worthless Luna," I said as tears filled my eyes and spilled over. Aspen touched my cheek gently. I pulled away and looked at my lap. He growled and pulled my chin up to look at him.

"You're not worthless. You are my mate as far as I'm concerned. You still mean everything to me... whether or not you can carry my pups," he said sternly. I sobbed as my final inch of control slipped. Aspen sighed and pulled me into his lap as he let me cry into his chest.

"Why does everything bad always happen to me?" I cried. He held my head to his chest and rocked us slightly.

"I know," he said quietly. I cried myself into exhaustion before Aspen laid me down on the bed. He kissed my head as he rubbed me back.

"Why aren't you upset? Why are you being so calm about all of this right now?" I asked him hoarsely. He only began stroking my hair.

"Because you need me to be," he answered simply. I turned and buried my head in his chest.

"I'm so sorry," I said softly. He wrapped his arms around me tightly.

"Stop apologizing, little one. It's not your fault," he growled. "Just go to sleep. We'll talk when you wake up, love. Go to sleep," he said with a sigh. With one last tear, I finally fell asleep.

~