Chapter Ten

The bond between Alpha and Omega had finally been mended, only to face the biggest challenge they had ever encountered. As the time passed, the Omega grew weaker, the blood quickly rushing out of his multiple wounds despite the pressure the Alpha applied. 

Christos worried more and more as he noticed the rosiness in Asa's cheeks starting to fade. The Omega was panting loudly, trying so hard to stay awake. His eyes fluttered shut every few seconds then popped open as if he didn't remember closing them. 

"Chris..." Asa whispered. 

The Alpha cradled the Omega's head in his lap carefully, still applying pressure to the wound on his side. 

"Do not talk. Save your strength."

"Chris...the pups...are..."

"Asa please, save your strength. The pups will be fine. Sherry is on his way. You will be fine. Everything will be okay." When the Alpha spoke, he sounded calm, but inside, he was feeling anything but.

Christos stroked Asa's hair, trying to comfort him, keeping note of each change in breath, every shift of color his skin took, and any change that signified the Omega's declining state of health. 

He was tempted to call Sherry again, but it wouldn't help. He had to be patient and try to keep Asa awake. Sherry told him that he was on his way to perform a C-section since the trauma to Asa's body would prevent him from being able to shift. His concern for his pups were also skyrocketing. It was too early for Asa to give birth. They still had a couple more weeks.

Would the pups be able to survive? 

Too often pups didn't survive their litter. Even fully formed they were weak and incredibly vulnerable. It was tearing Christos apart inside. 

Christos held Asa's hand. 

He was finally able to have a family. Something he was told he would never get and now it was in jeopardy. The irony was stifling.  

Asa began to groan a little. That tingling sensation he felt earlier was morphing into an intense burn. Sharp pains stabbed at his abdomen. It was too much. 

"Chris," he whispered, unable to utter the Alpha's full name. His whispers grew more ragged with each painful breath he took. Sweat poured down his pale face, making the deep red locks of his hair blacken with the wetness and stick to his skin.

"Do not speak Asa, save your energy," the Alpha pleaded with him once again.

A weak cough broke from the Omega's lips as he desperately tried to speak.

"It...hurts."

"I know it does, but it will all be over soon, I promise," Christos tried to console Asa but the Omega was clearly skeptical. Asa tried with all of his might to shift into his natural form, the form that allowed him to give birth to his pups, but he lacked the strength. It was as if there was some invisible wall preventing him from it. The frustration and helplessness made him panic.

"Chris...tos...I can't...shift," he wheezed. 

"It is okay. Sherry and Talon are on their way. They are going to help you deliver our pups. You will be fine, just be strong and preserve your energy."

Asa's face scrunched up in pain again as he squeezed Christos's hand with all of his might. Christos noted sadly that the grip was weaker than it had been previously. Asa was starting to lose his strength at a dangerous rate. 

"Come on Asa, you have to stay strong, keep fighting," Christos urged. The desperation was leaking into his normally stoic features. 

Asa was fighting desperately to remain conscious but it was so hard for him. The temptation to give in to the seductive heat of unconsciousness was strong. Stronger than him. But he couldn't. He had to fight. For Christos and for his pups. 

Suddenly a pain ripped through Asa so sharply he screamed. His back arched off of the ground and tears leaked from his eyes. 

"Asa! What is wrong?" Christos begged, wanting to prevent his Omega from experiencing so much pain. He wanted to help but he was useless.

"It hurts! It hurts!" Asa gasped. 

Christos called Sherry again and put the speaker phone on.

"Christos?" Sherry answered immediately.

"Are you close?" 

"We haven't left yet, we're trying to get a team together but humans are proving too much of a problem. We will get there, just hold on."

"There is not enough time. We are losing them. I need to act now. Tell me what to do."

Christos was anxious. He couldn't lose his family, not when he just got one. He was the Alpha and he needed to protect them. That was his duty, that's what he was born to do. It was his natural instincts despite being a human hybrid.

"You want to perform the C-section yourself?" Sherry asked incredulously. "Christos, that's insane! You have to be trained!"

"If I do not do something now, I will lose my family. I am an Alpha, it is my duty to protect my family and I will do anything it takes to make sure they are safe."

He heard Sherry murmur a few words to someone away from the phone, but then returned with a reluctant "Okay."

"There should be some supplies in a chest there somewhere, right? I need you to get the metal tray and disinfect all of the scalpels and needle before you place it on the tray. Wear gloves." 

Christos worked quickly, first undressing Asa who was panting heavily with closed eyes, then searched for the chest and followed Sherry's explicit instructions. He listened carefully to each detail that Sherry made and reported the same amount of detail to Sherry when he was making the incisions. What alarmed Christos the most was that Asa was in so much pain already, he didn't even feel the incisions. 

Christos obeyed his instructions carefully while pulling the first pup out. It was a light brown little bundle. While admiring the pup, the Alpha cleaned the little bundle and placed the pup onto Asa's chest. She was so small. Too small. 

And so were her sisters. Each bundle he pulled out was so incredibly tiny. And they were all a precious light brown color, pale but still so beautiful. Christos was elated to see his little Omega pups, but they were too quiet. They wiggled but they weren't whining like they should be.

"It's okay Christos. It's normal for premature pups, as long as they are moving they are fine. Focus on keeping them warm, they have to stay warm," Sherry told him.

Christos draped his shirt over the four Omega pups before reaching for the Alpha pup. When Christos pulled him out, he was a little shocked to see a reflection of his own golden brown coat and white underbelly. The realization that Christos was a Papa was finally starting to hit him. 

He placed the pup next to his sisters under the shirt on top of Asa's chest before he went to work on stitching the incisions shut as well as Asa's other wounds, as per direction of Sherry. Asa already lost so much blood, he was going to need a blood transfusion immediately.

"Asa, open your eyes, they are here," Christos told the Omega gently, love and excitement oozing in his voice.

Asa didn't respond. 

"Asa?" 

Christos brushed the Omega's hair back and tapped his cheek. The loud panting had stopped and Asa wasn't moving.

"Asa!" Panic started to settle in and Christos didn't want to believe the possibility...

No.

"Asa come on. Open your eyes! Asaiya!"

Tears were starting to gather in the Alpha's eyes as he tried to shake the love of his life awake. He couldn't lose him. Not when he just got him. 

"Asa please! Please!" Christos screamed, losing all control. He sobbed uncontrollably, shaking his limp mate. 

A small whine started to echo in the den. 

Christos pulled the shirt back from the pups and noticed their little Alpha was the one wiggling and making a fuss, probably hungry and wanting milk. But as Christos looked over to his other pups, he noticed they weren't moving anymore. 

"No. No, no, no," Christos whispered brokenly as he picked up his little pups. His precious daughters weren't moving. There was no rise and fall to their little chests, no drum of their fast heartbeats. 

Nothing.

They weren't...

No, they couldn't be...

Christos gathered his family in his arms wailing uncontrollably. And that is how they found him. 

Sherry and Talon were first to climb into the Den, followed by Drew and Kai. Christos didn't even acknowledge them, just continued to sob.

The four Wolves stood around the Alpha hybrid and knew almost immediately what happened. 

They were too late. 

Asa was dead.

And so were four out of five of his pups. 

Drew collapsed, tears pouring down his cheeks. His face was shocked and he didn't make a sound. He just watched. He couldn't believe his best friend was dead. 

Kai pulled his mate to his chest and comforted him as he cried, holding back his own sadness. Kai had grown fond of Asa and felt indebted to him. The Omega protected his mate in his stead and there were no words to describe how grateful he was. 

But Christos...

He was completely shattered. 

Sherry and Talon managed to ease him away from the bodies, allowing him to cradle his only living pup to his chest. 

Talon examined the bodies before confirming with a small nod that they were indeed dead. 

Drew felt awful. 

Pulling away from his mate, he crawled over to Christos and pulled the large Alpha into his arms, cradling his with his fingers tangling in his braids as they cried together.

Christos had dealt with more than enough pain and grief, but losing him was the hardest of them all.