Ram's Parting

The smell of sage smoke overwhelmed the room, overpowering its way into Ram's dreams and awakening him from his sleep. It was nighttime now; he could see the moon through the window and knew that he'd slept all day. As his eyes opened, he saw Tymarie in his arms and the realization hit him all over again; his mate was in danger. The female was still unconscious and limp in his arms. There was a numbness in his chest, and he feared it was the absence of her as she was fading.

"Eat." Iris seemed to appear out of nowhere and placed a plate of food and a drink next to him beside the bed.

"How is she?" He asked. "Any progress? Has she woken up at all? Is her breathing okay? It seems slow to me." A panic squeezed at his heart as he looked Tymarie over.

"I said eat." Iris placed her hand on his shoulder, and he felt himself calm a little at her familiar touch. The old woman could have a hand of steel or hands like cotton, he'd come to know both since his childhood.

"I'm not hungry." Ram laid his head back on the pillow and the scent of his mate made his skin tingle. He needed her to be alright. Damn it. She had to be okay.

"Listen to me, boy." The healer grabbed his chin and pulled his head to face her. The old woman was ballsy for putting her hands on the Alpha, but she was like kin and knew he would never harm her. "She's weak and she's getting worse. I need you to eat so you can have the energy to help keep her alive."

"I told you, I'm not hungry," Ram told her.

"Eat the food." His beta's voice caught him off guard as he stepped into the room and approached the Alpha. "We have a few issues that need to be dealt with."

Ram could feel his Beta's anxiousness and he knew the male well enough to know that there were some serious problems going on, more than the Beta wanted him to alarm him with.

"Tell me." Ram gently scooted out from under Tymarie and covered her up with the blanket before standing up to his feet. "Go on, speak."

"First, eat," Iris demanded as she shoved the plate at him.

Irritated at being told what to do but knowing the old woman would continue to pester him, he grabbed the plate and started scarfing the food down.

"I will return." Iris headed for the door, but Ram called out to stop her.

"No, wait! You can't leave her like this." He yelled, but Iris ignored him and continued walking, nodding at Payne as she passed. "Don't let her go." He demanded his Beta.

"Please, let me explain. She has someone else to check in out quickly." Payne told him.

"Who? Who would be more important right now?" Ram began to go after the healer but Payne stepped in front of him.

"Tyla, your mate's sister." His beta said.

Ram felt the anger boiling inside of him as he imagined what in the hell could've happened to that female and what males from his pack were to be blamed.

"What is wrong with her?" He asked.

"The female went into heat." Payne shrugged. "A really strong painful heat."

"So, let her get laid." Ram threw his hands up in frustration. "Our females go into heat all the time and they don't need a healer or special treatment."

"Their pack doesn't go in heat anymore, they haven't in generations. Another loss from the Moon, I guess. And this heat was strong, even I felt my body being drawn to the female. I had to pull all the men away from the house, expect the Fitzgerald brat."

"Good, let him deal with his bride and bring Iris back here."

"It's not that simple. Because of their pack's abandonment of the Moon, the girl's heat is causing issues. She's in pain, more pain than usual. And, well, so far, they haven't mated. So, the heats only getting worse and more dangerous. Iris said that the Moon's effects must've laid dormant in Tyla being around our strong wolves and the pack must've activated her heat."

"Damn that weak pack," Ram growled as he thought about the decades of Alphas from the Azzora pack that damned their members by abandoning the Moon. He looked over at Tymarie and sighed as he imagined her as part of that cursed pack. "Make sure that Iris has everything she needs to keep Tyla healthy and comfortable."

"Yes, Alpha." Payne agreed, but his lingering made it obvious that the male had more to say, plus the link between the Beta and his Alpha insured that keeping secrets was hard.

"What else do you have to tell me?" Ram asked as he grabbed the drink and downed the water in it.

"You never showed up for your meeting with Alpha Tyler today. I tried to explain that you had an emergency come up, but he's pissed. And I couldn't exactly tell him that it's because his own daughter is…sick. Nor could I mention that the other daughter is in heat."

"And?"

"He's threatened our pack. He says if you don't meet him by midnight tonight, then the deal is off and you have to return everything that was part of that deal." Payne's eyes flashed over at Tymarie. "Everything."

"Oh, now he wants to claim his daughter, after using her to get what he wants from me?" Ram grew so angry that he threw the glass cup across the room, shattering it to pieces. "He won't take from me. I dare him and his whole pack to try. He wants to threaten us when he can't even fight his own battles? What will he do? What will any male he has do against me or you or any member of this pack?"

"He's not strong, but he's conniving and smart. We don't know what he has up his sleeve. We don't want a pack war, not yet. Meet up with him, tonight." His Beta told him.

"And leave her like this?" Ram growled.

"Sir, I know you don't want to leave her, but Iris can take care of her while we meet up with him. It's what's best for the pack." His Beta told him.

The words angered Ram, but not because they were wrong, only because the male was right. As much as he wanted to protect his mate, his pack needed his protection first. It was the struggle and honor of an Alpha, the task of always putting the pack before anything; before yourself, before your mate, before everything. It was his promise before the Moon, and he was loyal to her above all.

Still, seeing Tymarie so frail and ill, made him second guess his whole outlook and want to break any promise that meant parting ways with her.

"You need to stay here with her," Ram told his Beta.

"Sir, no," Payne argued. "I need to be with you, by your side, in case anything bad happens. If Alpha Tyler decided to try anything, you need me there to fight with you, to fight for you."

"You are my most trusted friend and the strongest male this pack has. That is why I need you here with her. You can link up with me and let me know if anything goes wrong, just like I can tell you if I run into any problems. Stay here, with her. I command you."

With a command from his Alpha, Beta Payne was forced to do nothing but follow his Alpa's order. Payne sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Now, can you please go grab Iris and check on the sister? I'll leave here as soon as you get back." Ram directed his Beta. Payne hurried away, leaving Ram alone with his mate.

Ram kneeled down next to Tymarie and began to pray to his Moon. The bond may have been forced, but it was effective, and he felt like if he lost her, he would lose himself. Tymarie was so much of him now and parting with her would be parting with his own heart forever.

He would leave her, only briefly, and it would be a battle stronger than any fight he'd ever fought.