Sixty Nine

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Ashira's POV

"Come again?" Roscoe tilted his head and his brow furrowed. "What did you say?" he asked Jacob again.

I was fidgeting on my seat while watching the brothers fought glances with each other. Jacob bit his lip and looked away first. I can tell how guilty he is, Jacob never looked away first when it comes to Roscoe.

"You-" Roscoe can't finish his sentence. He backed away and sat on the chair with a thud.

"I didn't--"

"She will get pregnant!" Roscoe cut Jacob's words and he stood up as hastily as how he sat. Jacob let out a sigh and closed his eyes shut, his jaws clenching hard.

I'm still in a daze here.

After the 'accident' as we start to call it, Jacob kept on apologizing over and over again. He claim he didn't mean it, he claimed that he has no intention to finish inside. It was not his plan, and I know he's telling the truth.

Roscoe arrived after midnight while the pack was still enjoying their booze and dancing their life. He caught us in the moment of despair as Jacob and I both stare at nothingness.

"She'll get fucking pregnant and the pup will be the end of your fucking life, Jacob!" Roscoe was pacing all over, walking back and forth with his hands curled on his head.

Jacob sat on the couch, leaning his head on the backrest while closing his eyes tight.

"I don't fucking mean to." Jacob mumbled.

Roscoe stopped and leaned forward, facing Jacob and looking at him eye to eye. "You didn't believe us, did you? You wanted to challenge fate, you wanted to fucking know if the prophecy was true!"

"Of course not!"

"Then--"

"His eyes went black." I cut them off. I was looking at the fire by the hearth. "Jacob was not himself."

With my peripheral vision, I saw Roscoe turned his head to me and Jacob was stilled in his position.

There was silence, it was loud that I was deafened. I was not sure what it means but I know what I saw. Jacob was not Jacob during the accident.

After a few seconds, Roscoe quietly went back to his chair and I looked at him.

"You know what it means, right?" I asked though inside, I know the answer.

Jacob groaned as he already knew about it, too.

Roscoe clicked his tongue and looked away. "Darkness took over." then he managed a slow nod. "I saw the same thing when he beat me up and given he have no memories of that event…" he turned to Jacob. "You don't remember this one, too?"

Jacob looked at me, his head still resting back and his jaw clenches nonstop.

I gave him a smile. A smile of assurance that its okay, I'm okay, well… not that its me I have to worry.

"Yes." Jacob answered at last.

"Whole of it?" Roscoe pried.

"No. The last I remember was when I was close to--" he groaned. "that."

Roscoe sighed and stood up again. He went to the server table and poured himself a glass of whiskey, gulping it down in one up while we're eaten by silence again.

"I didn't find anything significant at Prime's library." Roscoe talked again. "And I thought the feeling of unease I had was because of that."

"No one want this to happen, Roscoe." I groaned.

"I fucking know, Lucianna. And its too late to point fingers either."

Jacob moved, leaned forward and looked directly at me. "Maybe she won't conceive." he hoped.

And I hoped, too.

But hope is a blur if you have a glimpse of fate. I heard I'll be bearing a child on our next mating, and this was it.

Roscoe chuckled rather sarcastically. "Oh she will, brother." then he placed the glass down with a thud. "And the least you will regret was not remembering if you've made a good orgasm. Now, excuse me. I'll leave you two to talk this out."

Roscoe gave me one last narrowed glance then walked out of Jacob's office.

I hear the loud music and laughs coming from the Hall when he opened the door and the sound died down as he closed it.

I sighed.

We're fuck.

"I'm sorry, Lucianna." Jacob whispered after a while.

The sounds of the woods burning by the fireplace echoed the room and I looked to it. Jacob's head was down and his eyes probably burning holes into the floor.

He's been like this and I know he has every reason to feel this way. I bet he's taking all the blame, even thinking what could happen and what may.

But its not only him into this alone.

I stood up and went to him. Without any thoughts, I curled my body over his and embraced him tight.

"This is not your fault, Jacob." I said, my words hushing.

"Something is wrong with me." he sniffed an inhale. "And I don't even know how that fuck is coming out of me."

"Shh." I kissed his temples. This is fear, this is his fear talking. "Don't think that way, baby. That's exactly what it wanted you to feel."

"What if I hurt you next?" he looked at me. His eyes are wet though there's no tears. "What if I fucked up again, lose my control over this and hurt you?"

The image flashed on my head for a second but I blinked it away.

"No, you won't come to that." I palmed his face and made him focus on me, only to me. "You will never come to that point."

His chin moved and formed some crease. "Oh, no." I breathed when I realized he was about to breakdown. "We'll get through this, Jacob. We always have and we will again." I pulled his head close to my chest.

Then I prayed.

**

The next day, my head was throbbing hard due to lack of sleep. Jacob was wide awake when I woke up this morning, he probably didn't had any sleep at all.

No one bothered to speak between us. We washed up and get ready for the day but I noticed Jacob put on his normal clothes.

He's not going to work. I guessed but didn't asked.

We're both lost for words, only drowned into thoughts.

I cooked breakfast and we ate in silence.

If I will be pregnant, which will be once fate will be in line, then this is trouble. I'm trying to think of my options, but I was left with nothing.

Or maybe there is something but my mind is trying to block those ideas. This is one of those moments of my life that I'm completely lost in a battle with my own head.

After breakfast, we had an early visitor. One that we don't seem to need at the moment.

Roscoe.

"How are you feeling? Any symptoms of the pregnancy?" he asked the moment I opened the front door.

I rolled my eyes. "Good morning to you, too. And no, that's too early to have." I widened the open door and he welcomed himself inside.

"Was it? How's that work? When shall we know?"

"You're too early to give us headache, brother." Jacob came out of the kitchen with rum on one hand. "Want a glass?" he motioned for the liquor.

"Uh, that what's early so no." Roscoe shook his head. "And I guess you two didn't had much sleep like I do, huh?"

Jacob sat on the couch by the living room and sighed. "What do you want, Roscoe?"

Roscoe licked his lower lip as he look at Jacob before clicking his tongue and turned to look at me.

"I tried calling her, you know." he cleared his throat. "Fhoxia."

My brow raised from what he said. "Called her how exactly?"

A Fhoxia popping out of nowhere is understandable but calling to her? Now, that sounds shady.

"Why nobody said we can just call her out if we need her?" Jacob was suddenly attentive.

I shook my head. "Because she was not reachable." then I glared at Roscoe. "Explain or I'll think the words slipped in your mouth unintentionally. It's not possible to call her, Fhoxia is just a spirit!" my voice raised a bit.

Roscoe closed his eyes and tilted his head down. My jaw clenches from his unresponsive behavior.

"If you're gonna confess that all of this is a sham, better do it now Roscoe or I swear to God--"

"What? No. No! That's not what I'm-" he exhaled loud. "I said I 'tried', okay? I don't know if it worked."

Jacob was listening quietly. He just looked at us repeatedly and I am losing the point of this conversation. What did Roscoe fucking did?!

I grunted and sat on a chair facing Roscoe. "You're not making sense, Roscoe."

And I'm far from understanding a thing. Can he do witchcraft? Magical like enchantress? What the heck was I thinking? That's all impossible and mostly have something to do with genes.

"We have some type of portal, Lucianna. Though I think it doesn't work 'cause I haven't heard a word from her."

My jaw dropped. "Portal? Roscoe, you should explain more clearer than that."

"You're part of my pack, brother. And it doesn't sound like this Fhoxia is a member of another pack." Jacob said and gulped on his drink.

Roscoe palmed his face and I saw how the veins in his temple shows. His ears turned red and then he exhaled.

"Not the pack portal but like what you two have." Roscoe then looked at us.

I looked at Jacob and he does the same. Our eyes met and for a second we're talking through our eyes. And its as if we understand each mind.

"Uh…" Jacob scratched his nape. "Now, I'm lost."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Roscoe. "Mate portal, Roscoe? Is that what you're talking about?" I asked at last.

Which doesn't make any sense as well.

Jacob stood up and poured another shot on his glass, he walked towards his chair and sat again. He did all that and Roscoe still hasn't said a thing.

After a while, Roscoe stood up.

"Well," he started then grabbed the liquor in Jacob's hand. "She was my mate."

"What?!" both Jacob and I exclaimed and so our jaws dropped altogether.

"Mate? I thought you're mateless. What the fuck?" Jacob stood and closed the space between them brothers. "Did you fucking lie to us, Roscoe?"

Roscoe shoved him away and I stood on my feet to get in between them because they're starting to tremble, losing their cool.

"I said 'was', you dumbass." Roscoe replied rather calmly. "That messenger took my mate's dead body when she died. I've been trying to reach our portal, well… if it exists."

Goddamn…

Mual's sister was Roscoe's mate. I thought he never met her--oh well, he never did met his mate but seeing the physical body. Whoa.

The image of Fhoxia and her long hair and unseen face made my face crumpled. Oh well, he never did see her.

"Fhoxia taught you about the portal thing?" I asked.

Roscoe shook his head. "No, I kind of…" he cleared his throat. "…thought about It myself." he handed the now emptied glass to Jacob. "And I think it doesn't work." his voice cracked that he had to clear his throat once again.

I sighed. There was sympathy I feel for him and… too much sadness that he himself immerses.

"No. It worked." says a voice from somewhere.

We stood on our ground, ready to attack. The visitor has no presence, and I can't sense a thing coming from her but I know the voice.

Fhoxia.

I turned to the door and saw her slowly forming from nothing. Jacob went in front of me and shielded my body because I'm the closest to Fhoxia. Roscoe sighed as if relieved that he had reached her.

"And I think you've brought us trouble."

But I am far from relieved.