66: Price to pay

**Lucien**

“I’ll drive, you take the back seat with Tristan,” Oliver said as we reached his car. At some point her legs gave out and so I opted to carry her the rest of the way. I carefully set her down on the back seat before getting in and then placing her head on my lap. She was shivering violently, despite her hot skin, and soft whimpers left her lips. I’d never seen her look so ill before and the more her condition worsened, the more I worried.

“What’s going on with her Oliver?” I asked as I gently ran my fingers through her hair. She leaned into my touch, almost as though she craved it and then she cleared her throat.

“Don’t tell him, I’ll do it.” She said softly. I assumed it was something important if she didn’t even want Oliver to tell me.

“The legend of the Blue-Eyed Alpha,” she began, “was based off of my family, the Kaydens. Some of our family members were blessed with blue eyes and fur a silverish white colour. We called them Blue-Eyed Alphas and apart from difference in appearance, they were also much stronger, faster and had the ability to heal others. Soon the gene spread, and other families began to birth their own Blue-Eyed Alphas. But as time went by the gene became watered down through the generations and eventually, the legend of the Blue-Eyed Alpha turned into just that, a legend. I was one of the lucky few to be born with the gene, but my powers only started to manifest after my parents died and so Ambrose, being one of the few who knew about the legend, began to help me to develop them after taking me in. And then, he died. That’s when I truly embraced my powers. You see, if a Blue-Eyed Alpha is strong enough, they are able to resurrect the dead. And so, on that day, when I was brought to the coffin of the man I considered my father, I found my strength.”

“Y-you resurrected a dead man?” I asked in astonishment. What she said was just about unbelievable. But at the same time, it explained why she was strong enough to almost kill my father and it explained why the devil was still roaming the earth, hiding in the shadows like some wounded demon.

She hummed in response before continuing to explain, “But I used up too much of my power at a time when my body was just getting accustomed to my new powers. And so, I paid a steep price, one which I continue to pay today. If I use too much of my power, or use it for too long, then I fall ill like this. The more power I use, the sicker I get and although it only lasts a few days or so, my symptoms are severe. It’s sort of a ‘power withdrawal’. Once I recover, I’ll be strong again, but right now, I’m weaker than a human and not near strong enough to even protect myself, should an occasion arise in which I would need to defend myself.”

Her words did little to reassure me, especially when she looked as pale as a ghost and felt as hot as hell. Oliver clearly sensed my lingering concern and said, “Don’t worry Lucien. It’s perfectly normal. You just need to make sure that she stays in bed and avoids doing anything strenuous. The first few days are worst and nigh times are hell. You’ll think she’s dying about fifty percent of the time, but don’t freak out, it’s all part of the process.”

“Was that supposed to be reassuring?” I asked.

Oliver shrugged and fell silent for a moment before he spoke again. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about your father… and about everything else. Tristan has been my number one priority for as long as she has been in my life. I didn’t want to risk anything by telling you the truth.”

Although I wanted to be angry at Oliver for lying to me, especially because he and I were supposedly close, I couldn’t. He did what he had to do to keep Tristan safe and I knew that if I were in his position, I would have done the same thing.

“You were just trying to protect Tristan…” I muttered out.

“Do you think your brother and Jasmine will be as forgiving towards she and I as you are?” He asked.

I took a quick glance at Tristan. She was now fast asleep, breathing heavily through her mouth. She looked so vulnerable, a strange and jarring contrast to how powerful she looked earlier on. She made mistakes and big ones, but that didn’t change who she was. In the end, she’d made the right decision and fought for her family, and I knew that Damon and Jasmine would see it the way I did as well.

“Yes, I do think they will be as forgiving. But I can’t say that they’ll show any sympathy towards Ambrose once they find out that he’s alive.” I said, thinking back to my father. I still couldn’t quite believe that the bastard roamed the earth. It was like a nightmare that had come back to haunt us, a nightmare Tristan had lived through for most of her life without even knowing. As I thought this, I leaned in and gently placed a kiss on her clammy skin. I hated seeing her like this, especially after all that she had put herself through, all for me. She did not lie, nor mistake her feelings when she had confessed her love. In fact, I doubted anyone loved me as much as she did. 

“You love her, don’t you?” Oliver said, glancing at us through the rear-view mirror.

I wanted to answer him, to tell him how I felt about the woman who lay shivering in my lap. But before the words could leave my mouth, Tristan cried out and blood began to gush from hers. It came cascading, scarlet, thick and without an end.

“Fuck! We need to get her out of the car as soon as we possibly can. Your old house is closer to us than mine, hers or Damon’s pack grounds. Is the place still operational?”

I answered in the affirmative and Oliver picked up speed. Tristan continued vomiting up blood, and as she did, I held her hair back and gently rubbed circles on her back. It was all I could do for her, despite wanting to take her pain away and suffer it myself. Her vomiting did not stop for a long while, but once it did, she weakly wiped at her red-stained lips and placed her head on my lap before closing her eyes again. Pain was etched into her face, burned in and branded. Yes, it truly was a steep price that she had to pay for an undeserving man to love her. Some part of me was sad that it took Tristan practically giving up everything for me and putting herself through agony, for me to finally realise just how I felt about her. And so, I made my decision there and then to make it all worth it. I’d love her enough for the pain to subside. I’d love her enough for her to never regret giving up power all for me and come rain or shine, hell or high water, I wouldn’t abandon her either. It was an oath rather than a promise, for promises were easily broken and I’d broken enough already.

***

By the time we reached our destination, the gentle sunlight of day had succumbed to the darkness of night. Tristan had grown quieter and nothing but her chattering teeth could be heard.

Oliver gazed up at the house before him in amazement and then turned his head towards me before saying, “I thought you ran this place into the ground.”

I then cast my eyes down, back to Tristan, rubbed my hand at her hair and then said, “I did… but I had someone special to help me fix it up. Now why don’t we get her inside?”

I carried her the entire way and led her to my old room before I placed her limp body in my sheets. She winced and whimpered, but eventually, she melted into the mattress and fell silent again. I took a seat next to her, at the foot of my bed and placed a hand on her hip as I watched her closely.

“You do love her…” Oliver said as he stood by the doorpost at the entryway of the room.

“Yes, more than I’ve ever loved anyone else in this world.”

I heard Oliver walk towards us, and then his footsteps came to an abrupt halt as he stopped in front of us. A gentle smile tugged at his lips.

“Finally.” Then his smile faltered, and a stern look appeared on his face to replace it. “But if you dare break her heart, Lucien, I will kill you.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “If I ever break her heart, you have my permission to kill me.”

Oliver nodded before gazing out of the window and saying, “I should get going. But before I leave, is there anything you might need?”

I took a moment to think and then, after finding something, said, “Calista.”

“Who is Calista?”

“She’s… *our* cat. It’s been a while since she’s eaten or had any social interaction. Please, bring her here.” I asked.

Oliver rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t like cats, Lucien. Ask for something else.”

It was then that I grew impatient with him and finally left Tristan’s side as I walked up towards him and said, “After all you’ve kept from me, this is the least you could do Oliver. Now, bring me Calista, or you and I are going to have a problem.”

“Fine!” Oliver’s answer was curt, and reluctance laced his voice. But we both knew that this was a small price for him to pay.