Chapter two

“What’s going on?” She asked the bartender who was hurriedly packing up his stuff. The bar was also empty, a strange sight any time of the day.

“Go! Hide away girl! The barbarians have taken over!”

It took her panicked brain a second to understand the man’s babble. Her body grew cold and she lurched forward and grabbed his arm, shaking him violently.

“What are you saying?! Make some sense old man. How did the barbarians take over?”

He shoved her off him and continued his hurried getaway.

“Go get yourself killed if you don’t want to hide. The barbarians are everywhere, and they will soon be here for you.”

No. He must be wrong. The age-old feud dragged on before she was born and would continue to drag on even after her death. It did not end the barbarians’ invasion. Father would not let it.

She practically flew as she burst out of the motel and ran home, praying desperately to the goddess that the bartender was wrong. Even as she saw the streets in chaos as werewolves of her pack fought and ran, even as she saw the huge tattooed werewolves and the gigantic wolves leaping through the streets, she held onto hope. She just needed to make it home. Father would berate her and punish her for running away from the wedding but he would have a logical explanation for all of this.

She held onto that hope until she burst into the compound of the Alpha of Diamond pack, until her feet skidded to a horrified stop at the door to their mansion, and the hope finally crashed to the ground and shattered into a thousand irreparable pieces.

Everywhere was chaos. Her house looked like it had been turned upside down and shaken violently. In the middle of the floor was her father and deep red blood pumped from his jugular and soaked the carpet. Her father stared at her sightlessly, dead and standing over his body was a horrifyingly familiar figure.

She gasped loudly and staggered back and he turned to her with a scowl, the handsome profile painfully familiar. Her fingers traced that face last night, all night long. His nostrils flared and he looked just as surprised to find her. The barbarian king. The man she fucked, the same one that blew her mind away was the one and only king of the barbarians, her father’s killer!

Bile crawled up her throat and made her retch and her entire frame rattled.

“What have I done?” She whispered, tears cascading down her face silently. “What have I done?”

Killian McGarth, the barbarian king took a step towards her and she staggered back hurriedly, nearly falling on her ass in haste. She looked between her dead feather and the invader, her ears bleeding from her remembered moans as this bastard fucked her last night while whispering the dirtiest things in her ear. With a cry she spun around, the wind at her heels as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her.

She didn’t stop until she reached the border that separated their realm from the humans’. She had no place here no longer. Without hesitation, she crashed through the barrier.

...

Three weeks later

“Congratulations ma’am, the test results came out positive. You are pregnant!”

The doctor squealed with excitement and Sapphire gripped her belly, squeezing tight like she could push the barbarian baby out with the force of her will.

“Take it out.” She said in a hollow voice.

“Pardon?” The Doctor froze, confused.

“Take the baby out, Doctor. I don’t want it. Take it out!”

She felt sick to her stomach, a feeling had become so painfully familiar these past two weeks. She was sick every single day since she escaped, her suffering never ended even for once and now she was harbouring barbarian blood in her belly. Her fingers dug into her skin and she moaned in misery. This was too much. She needed it out!

“I... I’m sorry my dear, but you could die if we attempt to terminate this pregnancy.”

“What?!” Her nostrils flared with anger. “What nonsense are you saying? How would removing this... thing threaten my life in any way?”

“That’s because you are pregnant with not one or even two kids. There are three of them inside you.”

“Three?!”

She rocked back and forth helplessly as the little hope she had held onto also shattered. Three of that barbarian wolf’s kids inside her! She was being punished by the goddess for her lack of inhibitions. She knew it.

“Yes.” The Doctor said, handing her an ultrasound picture. “It’s too early to make them out but you can see their outlines vaguely.”

She was hollow as a shell as she stared at the indistinguishable outlines, sliding deeper into depression. Her life was doomed now. She was doomed to spend the rest of her life looking after the barbarian babies. There could be no hell greater than that.

...

Seven months later

Sapphire stared into her babies’ cots and for the first time since she ran away from home, she felt warmth settle in her chest. It was love at first sight. All three of them were so perfect! And they were hers. She would raise her children to be nothing like their father.

“Let’s never go back.” She whispered to them.

The babies cooed in agreement and she smiled through her tears as she nodded.

“Yes. Don’t worry Mummy will take care of you. I’ll protect you from your barbarian father I promise.”

Her triplets quickly became her world and she promised herself that they would never want for anything. They didn’t need their father, she could be both of their parents.

...

Three years later

Sapphire parked her car and hurried home, eager to see her kids. She threw the door in dramatically and yelled.

“Mummy’s back!!”

“Mummy!!!” Her three beautiful babies yelled and ran at her. She took off and ran, letting them squeal and give chase before she pretended to trip and fall and they crawled over her with eager grabby hands.

“Caught you!!”

“Mummy!”

Their chorus was music to her ears and she took their faces and kissed their foreheads in turn. Her three babies, Daniella, Kennedy and Timothy were always the highlight of her day.

“How did my little angels do?” She cooed. “Hope you didn’t cause any trouble.”

“Timothy broke the-“ Daniella piped up immediately.

Tim quickly plastered a hand on Daniella’s mouth.

“I’m sorry mummy! I didn’t mean to.”

She grimaced, wondering how many times she had already gotten everything in the house fixed because of her kids’ inquisitiveness but she beamed when she realised her son admitted to his fault rather than denying it. She tried so hard to teach her kids good manners but most of the time she didn’t know what the heck she was doing and it always lifted her heart to see at least one thing go right .

“What did you break sweetheart? I’m sure it wasn’t so bad.”

She asked as the nanny Mrs. Persimmon came in.

“He broke a window at the back.” She said. “I’m so sorry, I looked away from them for one second and that happened. It’s my fault.”

“That’s enough of passing blame around.” She said. “Who else is hungry?”

“Me!”

“I am!”

“I’m setting the table ma’am. I’ve also brought in the mail.”

“Thank you Mrs. Persimmon.” She said. “Come on, why don’t you help Mrs. Persimmon set the table?” She asked and they laughed as they raced each other to get there.

She pulled the mail closer and rifled through them, a particular one embossed in gold catching her eye.

“To Sapphire Legolith,

You have been summoned to come back to Diamond pack immediately.

Your king, Killian McGarth.”

Her hands shook as she stared at the message that did not change. He found her!

She ran to the window and glanced around in a panic, wondering if he had eyes on her.

Nothing. How did he find her?

She read the cursed message again and ran to the fireplace, throwing it in. Goosebumps rose on her flesh as she watched it crackle, fearing that this was an ominous omen.

“Mummy, table has been set!” Kennedy ran in with the message and she startled.

“I’m coming dear!” She called out and turned away from the ashes, painstakingly regaining her composure.

Her kids, she would protect them as long as she drew breath. She would pretend she never received that cursed message.

~~~

“That was the fifth letter! She ignored the royal summons again.” Alpha Killian said, suppressing his anger as he paced.

“If you were her would you come running too?” Damian his beta asked lightly but he looked just as troubled as he.

Killian stopped pacing as he came to his decision.

“That’s it. I’m going to find her.”

“You are?!” Asked Damian, alarmed. “I don’t support this. I cannot come with you and the human realm is unpredictable at best.”

“Don’t waste your time worrying about me, I shall leave the affairs of the pack in your hands. I must retrieve my runaway mate.”

“It won’t be easy though, she obviously does not want to come.”

Killian smirked. “Leave the convincing to me. I’ll have her back within a week. Give me all the information you can find on her before then.”

“I don’t like this.” Damian said, still looking troubled.

“It has come to this. The curse gets worse by he day.” Killian said. “She has no choice but to come home.”