Chapter 93

Valen

POV

My heart broke for Everly, Zoe, and Macey as they told Emily it was okay to go, that she didn’t have to hold on any longer. Moments passed, and hushed whispers were all that could be heard as they tried to soothe their friend when she gasped one last time. I held my breath, waiting to see if it was a false alarm yet, and praying it wasn’t. She shouldn’t suffer anymore, no one deserves to suffer this fate. When Everly dropped her head on Ben’s shoulder and sobbed, I felt Emily’s pack link sever. My heart panged with pain, if only briefly, yet the pain, anguish, and despair that flooded Everly through the bond as she mourned her family broke my heart further. Marcus hugged Zoe close as she fell apart. Macey just stared vacantly ahead, sitting back down in her chair.

The doctor checked her and nodded, calling time of death before saying he would leave to let them say their goodbyes. The girls tuck them in like they were saying goodnight and not goodbye, and the doctor comes back and tells Everly what would happen next. “Come on,” Marcus whispers to Zoe, pulling her from the room, and Macey quickly follows, closing the door behind them.

Everly kisses them both once again and stands upright. I watch as she swallows down the emotion that threatened to consume her, she tugs her shirt off, pulls it back on the right way, and cleans her face with some water from the sink basin. She washes away the tears that stained her face. I move toward her, wanting to comfort her, but she pulls away, looking at me.

I drop my hand. “I’m sorry, but please don’t touch me right now,” she whispers, her eyes softening as she stares at me. Yet I knew if I did, she would break. I got it, but the urge was still there, the bond calling me to my mate. I nod, letting her get herself together. She loved, lost, and mourned, and I was in awe of how she slipped back into business mode, shut down everything and forced her anguish back. Her determination returned, and she felt she had work to do. She broke if only briefly before picking herself up and dusting herself off, ready for battle again.

I hated that she instinctively switched and shut down, a coping mechanism from years of taking on everything and everyone else’s problems and emotions while ignoring her own. She had me, but Everly forced to be independent, endure, and never rely on anyone instinctively recoiled inside herself. She would deal, conquer then when alone break. But for now, she had to put on a front to do what needed to be done. It made me realize what sort of leader she is and what sort of Luna she would be.