Dawn Redeemed

"Carter please...," tears burned Shayla's cheeks as she pled with him to stay. Gently he cupped her chin in his palms and lifted her face. His thumbs captured the tears and wiped them a way in a soft gesture of love. "You're right. I deserve to be happy. You hold my happiness in your hand. I love you and I know you love me. Stay, if only for that reason alone."

"That's why I have to go. I love you too much to bring trouble on your doorstep. O'Sullivan will not stop. The threat of the Sons isn't enough to keep him away for long. He will be back."

"Isn't that all the more reason to stay?"

"No. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure he never sets foot in these woods."

"Why you alone?"

"Because, without you, I have nothing to lose. A man with nothing to lose is twice the enemy because only through death does he have anything to gain." Carter wrapped his arms around Shayla and guided her against his chest. "The ghosts of my past have come back to haunt me. I thought they were in their graves. They were merely toying with me. Teasing me with a brief, quiet respite. I have to lay them to rest, for once and for all."

Shayla withdrew from Carter's arms. "You think O'Sullivan will take you down with him," she said as grim realization set in.

"Of that, I am certain." Carter stared down at the fingers clutching his jacket. "My only regret, is that he didn't do it sooner, before I ever laid an eye on you. It would have been better if you never knew me than to see you shed one tear of sorrow for me now."

"Carter, I won't let you do this on your own." Shayla held his sleeve in her trembling fingers. Her heart was shattering into bits. She thought she'd finally found happiness after the long cold winter that had held her heart in its icy fingers. "I can help."

"If you want to help me. Promise me this, that you'll raise R.J. to be a fine man, both brave and strong. Look after Evan and love him like a son. Find a life, and a love, one that is worthy of you. Cry no more tears for me my sweet Shayla. Let not one single tear burn your cheek. I'm not worth it."

Shayla took a deep breath and searched Carter's eyes. That she could drown in those icy blue depths and never resurface. "If you leave, I won't let you back in. I'll close my heart to you forever. Carter, I can't take this pain. To endure it once is bad enough, I can't do it twice."

"If it keeps you safe, then its worth the price. I will always love you. Don't look upon me as a failure. I'm not weak. Nor am I a coward. I'm a man willing to sacrifice his very soul for the one he loves so dearly. I can't risk you. I love you too much for that." Carter pressed a soft kiss to Shayla's lips. He turned and gave R.J. a final glance. The pain in his heart was unbearable as he turned, closed the door behind him, and walked away.

Carter paused for a brief moment at Evan's bedroom door. The door was open and Evan sat in the middle of the bed, looking at him with curiosity in his eyes. "You going off to fight the bad guys?"

"Yes." Evan gripped him tightly around the waist and gave him a hug. Carter lifted him so that they could see eye to eye, man to man. "Take care of your aunt and your little cousin for me."

"I will," Evan answered.

Carter slipped out of the house. The quiet of dawn settled over him like a blanket. In his whole life, he had but one rule. Never look back. But, he did. Before he set his feet on the path that would take him through the woods and into the city. He glanced over his shoulder one last time. Little Evan stared down at him from his bedroom window on the second floor. His mouth was settled into a grim slash. Shayla cradled R.J. in her arms and watched him from her window. Even from his distant vantage point he could see the tears glittering in her eyes.

He willed his feet to carry him far from their gazes so that they'd never have to look at him again and he'd never have to see the hurt he'd caused reflected in their eyes. He was alone, which was exactly what he deserved. With himself as his only companion, he could never inflict harm or cause one second's worth of pain. He hardened his heart to them and focused on the task at hand. Ridding the world of at least one fiend was a worthy way to die and a worthy sacrifice for the one he loved.

Chapter 135

Doctor Thomas Sterling examined Erica with quick efficiency. Other than being scared half to death, she was fine. The bite wounds were healing and her labs showed only a trace of anemia. She needed a shower and some well deserved rest. He thought the days of seeing victims in his ER were over. Obviously, he hoped too soon. "See that she gets plenty of rest and fluids. By the time she gets home and wakes up from a nap, she'll be right as rain," he instructed the worried man hovering over her. "Erica, you're a very lucky lady."

Erica rubbed her neck and swallowed hard. "I don't feel so lucky."

Thomas chuckled and patted her hand. "Well, believe me, you are. If the Sons hadn't gotten to you when they did, we wouldn't be talking right now."

"I'd be in the morgue."

Thomas couldn't argue that. He forced a smile and shuffled through the chart in his hand. His official diagnosis wouldn't be recorded in any computer. Her labs wouldn't show up in any database. Not one insurance claim would be filed. Her visit never happened. He glanced up from the lab results before closing her chart. "Oh, congratulations, by the way. You're pregnant."

Erica's jaw dropped in shock. "Pregnant?"

"I've had a vasectomy. She can't be pregnant," Torr stammered. He was delighted by the news, but he kept his excitement to himself. Even the best physicians made mistakes from time to time. Thomas was mistaken now. Erica was paler than before wide eyed and obviously shocked by the news.

"I assure you that she is." Thomas set down the chart and rolled the stool he was perched on closer to his patient. "I'm going to be blunt. I don't know how it happened. My best guess is that when you took the Great Father's blood it somehow reversed the vasectomy. If you'd like I can run a sample." He dropped an empty specimen cup into Torr's hand.

"No, that won't be necessary," Torr said as he dropped the cup on the counter. He had sperm. Super sperm. The male part of him couldn't help it. He was proud. And his wolf was howling in his head.

Thomas fished a card out of his pocket and handed it to Erica. "Call and make an appointment next week. We don't have a lot of time before this baby comes."

"If I am pregnant, I'm just a little pregnant."

"No, you're probably about three months along in human terms." Thomas said, gauging the slight puffiness of her stomach.

"I thought I was getting fat. I haven't even missed a period yet."

"My god, you've got an entire fleet of angels looking after you, don't you." Thomas shook his head. "You weren't near any of the pack when you had Fallon, were you?"

"No. I went back to D.C. and found out afterwards that I was pregnant."

Thomas dragged his hand through his thinning hair. "Look, I can't explain it so I won't even try. There's a magic in the pack that defies any logic I could place with it. The pregnancy won't be easy. The rate of development is so fast. Being with the pack, something about physical proximity must trigger accelerated fetal growth. This baby will be here in about nine weeks."

"Nine weeks," Erica repeated in amazement. "I'm going to have a baby."

"Surprise." Thomas glared down at the annoying beep of his pager and studied the number. "I've got to answer that. I'll leave you two to talk things over. I'll see you in my office next week sometime?"

"Of course," Erica nodded. She threw her legs up over the edge of the gurney. Her ruined clothes were wadded up in a bag at the edge of the exam table. She was anxious to get out of her borrowed clothes and into a hot bath. She wanted to put this night behind her and forget. "Torr, what happened to the vampire who did this to me?"

"The Sons did their job. She won't hurt anybody ever again."

"Good. Alex saved my life. She was so pushy when she suggested sharing blood. I thought she just wanted a taste of me. It was like somehow she knew something was going to happen. I don't want to even think about what might have happened, if we hadn't shared blood. I would have died."

"Don't worry about that now. Let it all go and focus on happier things." Torr helped Erica to her feet. "Are you mad at me?"

"For what?"

"I knocked you up...again."

"This time neither one of us is running," she replied.

"Never."

Erica ran her fingers through Torr's hair as he lifted her t-shirt and bent to place a reverent kiss on the gentle swelling of her belly. "Torr, take me home."

"Gladly."

Epilogue

Hanning stood before the council. Ruby sat in a chair behind him, not daring to meet his eyes. The mood was sullen and bleak. Today, he'd have to render his decision. Speak his intention aloud. He knew what his answer would be.

"Regarding the petition of Revocation of marriage vows," Drew met Hanning's eyes, "have you reached your decision?"

"I have."

Ruby clutched the edge of her seat in dread. It was one thing to know this day was coming. Yet another thing to hear it said out loud. Her marriage was over. Hanning was throwing her out like yesterday's used garbage. She had done her best to try to win him back and she had failed.

"And?" Drew prompted.

"I wish to with draw my former petition for revocation of my vows. That is, if my wife will have me. In as many ways as she failed me, I've also failed her. I was never there for her. I took her for granted. She carried a heavy burden, one she shouldn't have had to carry alone. The fact that she loved another man more than me was in part my fault. She saw in him the qualities that lacked in me. I never gave her a reason to look to me instead of to him. I realized almost too late that I still love my wife."

Ruby's jaw dropped and the world spun. She'd come prepared to take Hanning's rejection with some measure of dignity. She'd prepared herself not to cry. Tears rolled down her cheeks at his words. He still loved her. He still wanted her. She thought she couldn't possibly love him more than she already did, but she was wrong. Her heart was bursting at the seams.

"Will you still be my wife, Ruby?," Hanning extended a hand to her.

"Yes," Ruby answered, placing her fingers in his palm. "I will."

It was a sunny day, not a cloud in the clear blue sky, a perfect day for a wedding. The weeks were rolling past in a fury of anticipation. Erica was starting a new life, one as a wife and an expectant mother. In just three weeks, her belly was rounded and full. The spare bedroom that had once housed an office was transformed into a nursery and stuffed with every baby item imaginable. Today, she was marrying the man she loved. The man, she'd shared a magical night with, once upon a time, and never imagined she'd see again. He stood at the end of a long aisle of guests, his hands crossed over his wrists, nervously fidgeting in his stiff tux, as he waited for her.

Escorted by Daniel Fallon walked on ahead of her mother, scattering rose petals from the basket she clutched in her hands. She was excited for her mom and well, a little nervous too. Daniel looked handsome in his tux. He'd been drafted in to best man detail by Torr and wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of it. In protest he'd worn a battered pair of Doc Martins instead of the shiny shoes that went with the tuxedo. Daniel held her arm loosely, keeping as much distance between them as he could. Treating her basically as if she had the plague. And considering he was seven years older than she, of course he would still see her as a little girl and therefore as a pox rather than a human being. The wind fluttered the hem of her satin dress and tugged at the ribbons in her hair. He was her first case of puppy love. She'd get over it. Today wasn't about her anyway. She beamed with happy smiles as she walked down the aisle.

Torr gave his little girl a wink and smiled as she took her place at the altar. He craned his neck over the rows of attendees for a better look at his bride. He was eager to end one bitter chronicle of his life and begin a new one. One filled with happy pages.

Ten years was a small price to pay to finally find his true love. He would have searched for a thousand, as long as she was waiting for him at the end. A smile stretched across his lips as Erica began her journey down the aisle, locked arm in arm with her uncle as an escort. The dress she chose hid the baby bump, but he knew it was there. A son or a daughter, soon to be born. He couldn't wait for her long walk to end and deliver her to his side. A strong hand patted the back of his arm, "Patience my brother, your bride comes," Nash said with a grin.

Alexander slid his arm from Erica's and took her hand. He placed her delicate fingers in Torr's palm and planted a kiss on the tip of Erica's nose. He hadn't failed his sister in her wish to protect her daughter from the supernatural world. He'd protected Erica by introducing her to its wonders and its dangers. She had made the choice for herself. He took his place in between his daughter and Leigh and squeezed their hands. His task was complete, Erica had been delivered to her husband, safe and sound.

The ceremony didn't last long. A few exchanged, heartfelt vows and a shy, chaste kiss. The party would last all night and maybe into the next day. The bouquet tossed and the garter flung into the eagerly awaiting hands of single, hoping to hitch a ride on the bride and groom's trail of good fortune. Torr whisked away his bride and sequestered her into a love nest, whose location was unknown. And in the end it didn't matter. They were finally together. They were happy. And very much in love. Anyone with that in their favor was on a perpetual honeymoon three hundred and sixty-five days a year. The place was unimportant. The people and the love were all that mattered.

Drew looked out over the party goers. Damn, he loved a happy ending. The wolves ate and drank with unparalleled zeal and enthusiasm. The vampires for all their cool aloofness, did their fair share of partying down. Showing off their dance moves with fluid grace. The humans, all knowledgeable of the supernatural nature of the other guests, ate and drank and danced, along with the rest. Maybe not with the same ability, but with equal unfettered joy.

Everyone here was family, perhaps not by blood. But, they shared a common thread that bound them. The ties of brotherhood, love and unity, brought them as close as any other family could ever be. This was a day of celebration and of new beginnings and of one chapter coming to an end and another one just beginning. Drew wondered what would be within the unwritten pages of the book and thought the better of trying to plan too far ahead. Whatever was in store for them. He had no doubt it'd be a wild, crazy, and sometimes scary ride.