Chapter 34
Boaz
“No… no… no. Come on. Open your eyes. Alex… Alexander,” Boaz said as he dropped to his knees beside him.
His hands moved over Alexander in a panic. There was blood everywhere, gashes across his arms and legs. Boaz didn’t know where to touch him. He was so still, so unbearably still, as if he were already dead.
“Breathe, please. Alexander, come on. Don’t fucking do this.” He gripped his arms, shaking him, but there was no response.
He’d seen him fall seconds after the chasm closed. He’d thought he was just hurt, but he hadn’t moved since. He wasn’t waking up.
He couldn’t be dead. No. No.
Boaz forced his hands together and placed them on Alexander’s chest, starting CPR. “Come on, Alex… come on.”
He pressed down, over and over, then tilted his head back and gave breaths between compressions, repeating the cycle desperately. Still nothing.
Voices gathered around him, but Boaz didn’t look up. Why were they just standing there? Why wasn’t anyone helping him?
“Boaz?” Hansel said, kneeling beside him. He caught his hands, stopping him. Boaz tried to wrench free, but his brother held on firmly.
“Let go, Hansel,” Boaz snapped.
“He’s gone, Boaz,” Hansel said quietly.
“No. He’s just hurt. He needs help… please help me,” Boaz said, tears running down his face. He pushed himself up, looking around the field at the others standing there, all watching him.
“Why aren’t you helping me? Don’t just stand there. Do something.”
“I’m sorry, Boaz,” Manlius said, blinking rapidly.
“No. Don’t say that. Don’t…” Boaz shook his head, turning back to Alexander on the ground. “I’ll take him to Brett. He can heal him. Hansel, help me carry him.”
Manlius stepped forward and caught his arm, stopping him. “Brett won’t be able to bring him back, Boaz. He’s gone. He offered his life for my powers. I was able to close the veil because of him. He’s not coming back.”
“What? No.” Boaz shook his head, suddenly feeling lightheaded. He stumbled slightly.
“Hey,” Hansel said, catching his arm. “Maybe you should sit down and let someone look at your wound.”
Boaz looked down at himself. Blood was soaking through his side, but he could barely feel it.
“Come on, I’ll take you to the monastery,” Hansel said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
They were about to turn when someone who looked exactly like Alexander walked toward them.
Boaz froze for a second, confusion flashing across his face before he caught the differences. Where Alexander had been soft and classically handsome, this man was sharper, rougher, almost dangerous to look at. His eyes were a stormy grey that made him seem almost hostile.
“I’ll take him home,” he said, bending down to lift Alexander.
He straightened carefully, holding Alexander gently in his arms.
Boaz bit the inside of his cheek hard, trying to hold himself together.
Fuck.
He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t look at Alexander like that, so still, so gone.
He had known there was a chance they might not survive the war, but he had never thought it would end like this. That Alexander would give up his life before it had even begun.
He saved them. He saved all of them.
“Take me home, please,” Boaz begged, his emotions rising and threatening to overwhelm him.
Hansel guided him across the field and through the courtyard to the van. He helped him inside, then moved around to the driver’s seat.
Boaz leaned his head against the window as Hansel started driving. He stared out blankly, his eyes unfocused.
The world outside looked the same, but it didn’t feel the same. Everything felt distant, unfamiliar, like he was no longer in the place he had known all his life.
Everything had changed. Everything.
How was he supposed to live in a world he no longer recognized?
By the time they arrived home, Boaz still didn’t have an answer. He felt lost, completely lost.
Hansel parked in the building where they kept their trucks, and even that familiar place felt strange now. Boaz stepped out and moved through it like he didn’t quite belong there anymore, heading toward his cabin.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Hansel asked, following close behind. “You need to get that wound treated.”
“No. I’ll be fine, Hansel. I don’t need you to babysit me,” Boaz said, his voice flat.
“Okay,” Hansel replied gently. “Just tell me if you need anything.”
“I will,” Boaz called over his shoulder as he followed the path to his cabin on autopilot.
He went inside and closed the door behind him.
In the bathroom, he stepped into the shower and turned on the taps, letting the water run over him as he washed away the dirt and dried blood.
When he was done, he stepped out, grabbed a towel from the hook, and dried himself off before dropping it into the laundry basket.
He stood in front of the mirror and opened the cabinet, taking out the first aid kit. Slowly, he cleaned and treated his wound even though he knew his body would heal on its own soon enough.
After that, he went to the closet, pulled out a shirt and sweatpants, and dressed. Then he made his way to the bed.
He lay down on his side, clutching the pillow beneath him, staring into nothing as tears slid down his face. He cried himself to sleep.
The next day, after a long day in the fields, he returned to his cabin and cried himself to sleep again.
The day after that, he did the same thing, holding his pillow close until sleep finally took him.
Hansel watched him quietly each time, saying nothing. Boaz knew he wanted to. He just didn’t.
Even when a meeting was called to give an update on what had happened after the chasm closed, Hansel didn’t say a word to him.
Boaz only heard about it through other pack members. He still went, though, telling himself it was to check on everyone else, to see how they were holding up.
But part of him knew the truth.
He went to see Drago.
Even though he knew Drago wasn’t Alexander, being near him eased the ache in his chest just a little.
Boaz stared at the vampire’s tall frame and long hair, letting his mind briefly blur the line between him and Alexander.
He folded his arms tightly across his chest, holding himself together as he listened to Brett give an update about the young witches who had been infected.
“The infection just disappeared,” Brett said. “It’s like once His Majesty passed on, the infection died within them too. Perhaps the demon that infected him reproduces that way, by infecting others. Much like vampires.”
Boaz turned to leave when they started talking about Alexander.
“Boaz,” Manlius said, stopping him.
“Hey,” Boaz replied as the sorcerer came to stand beside him.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Boaz said, glancing briefly at Drago before quickly looking away again. “Did you want something?”
“No. I just wanted to check on you and give you this,” Manlius said, holding up a chain. At the end of it was a small snowflake.
“He wanted me to give it to you. I preserved it with my magic. It will never melt. It will last for eternity.”
Boaz’s eyes filled with tears. He reached for the necklace, mumbling a quick thanks before hurrying back to his cabin.
Once inside, he locked the door behind him. He went straight to the bed and lay down, the snowflake clenched tightly in his hand. It felt like something was tearing through his chest, raw and unrelenting.
He cried until there was nothing left in him.
For a while, all he wanted was to stay there and let everything slip away. But he couldn’t. The fields still needed him. So every morning he forced himself up and went to work, pouring what was left of him into the land that had been his companion long before he ever met Alexander.
Life around him slowly returned to normal. People went back to their lives, and the war faded into memory. So did Alexander.
Boaz knew he should move on, but he couldn’t.
He stared at the full moon shining over the lake, its reflection rippling across the water. It was beautiful in a quiet, indifferent way. Strange how everything else could change so drastically while some things stayed exactly the same.
Footsteps crunched over the sand behind him. Boaz turned slightly to see Hansel walking toward him.
“Hey,” he said cautiously. “Is it safe to approach?”
“Yes,” Boaz replied, turning back toward the water as he dug his fingers into the sand. He lifted a handful and let it slip slowly through them.
“I guess I’ve been weird lately,” he said quietly.
“Lately?” Hansel let out a short chuckle. “It’s been a month, Boaz. I thought you’d never come back to the lake.”
“Yeah,” Boaz said, trying hard not to look at the spot where he and Alexander had shared their first kiss. “But I have to live, right?”
“Right,” Hansel said. He paused for a beat. “You and Alexander, huh? I didn’t see that coming.”
“Me neither. It just… happened. We just gravitated toward each other somehow,” Boaz said, a faint smile touching his lips. “He was a pain in the ass.”
Hansel let out a laugh. “You hated him.”
“I did,” Boaz said quietly. “I hated him so much.” He wiped at his eyes quickly before Hansel noticed.
Hansel didn’t hesitate this time. He wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close.
“You’re going to be okay, Boaz. Everything is going to be fine,” he said.
Boaz leaned into his brother’s shoulder, watching the slow waves roll across the lake. The moon above was brighter than usual, spilling silver light over the water.
“Yeah… I will be,” Boaz said softly.
The ache in his chest was still there, but for the first time, it felt like something he could survive with.
***
Nine months later.
“Did he say what he wanted to see you about?” Hansel asked, panic creeping into his voice.
Boaz took his eyes off the road for a second and glanced at him.
“The damn war is not happening again,” Boaz said. “Relax.”
“How do you know? We didn’t think it would happen again, and it did,” Hansel said. “I can’t go through that again. Can’t we find a way to make sure they don’t open the veil again?”
“If you come up with something, I’m all ears,” Boaz said as he turned down the street leading to Manlius’ house.
Even though he didn’t want to admit it, he felt uneasy too. The thought of another war sat heavy in his chest. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he took a slow breath.
He pulled the truck up to the curb and stepped out. Hansel followed closely behind, tense and restless beside him.
A few seconds after they knocked, the door opened. Manlius stepped aside and let them in.
“Is everything alright?” Boaz asked as he stepped into the house.
Manlius didn’t answer. He simply turned and walked down the hallway toward the candle room.
“I told you,” Hansel muttered as they followed. “Nothing good ever comes from going into that fucking room.”
He stopped abruptly as they entered.
“This is bad. Killan is here.”
The Fae king stood by the window, and in his arms was a baby wrapped in a soft blue blanket.
“What is going on?” Boaz asked, staring at the baby, his heart thudding hard in his chest. He wasn’t sure why the sight of it unsettled him so deeply. “Whose baby is that?”
“I think you know,” Killan said.
“What?” Boaz frowned, glancing back at Hansel. “I don’t…”
Manlius stepped forward and took the baby from Killan. “Do you remember when you and Alexander went upstairs and stayed in the room meant for the couple we were marrying?” he said, gesturing between himself and Killan. “This is the result.”
He gently handed the baby to Boaz.
“Yes, but we couldn’t have a baby. We are both males,” he said, staring down at the child.
The baby stretched its arms over its head, its tiny eyes fluttering open. They were a vivid blue, just like Alexander’s.
Boaz’s breath caught.
“How is this possible?” he asked quietly.
“The fae have magic that allows same sex partners to have children,” Killan explained. “We grow the womb the baby is gestated in. To you, it might have looked like a fluffy blanket that turned warm when you lay on it. Once both partners’ essence mixes and is absorbed, conception becomes possible.”
Boaz’s face warmed as the memory of that night flashed through his mind.
Congratulations, it’s a boy,” Manlius chuckled.
Damn.
“Hansel,” Boaz said, turning to his brother. “What do I do?”
“I don’t know,” Hansel replied with a short, incredulous laugh. He stepped closer, a smile spreading across his face as he reached for the baby. He carefully took him into his arms.
“Hello, little thing. This is your uncle, yes it is,” Hansel said, cooing softly. “You’re scaring your dad, huh? Oh yes, you are. You’re a handsome one, aren’t you?”
He smiled down at the baby, already smitten. Boaz’s chest tightened at the sight.
He looked at his son properly for the first time, and something in him shifted, sharp and certain.
“You should hold him,” Hansel said, gently handing the baby back to him.
“I have a son,” Boaz said in a shaky voice as tears ran down his face. He stared down at the baby’s tiny face, warmth slowly filling him in a way he didn’t expect.
He looked up and found everyone watching him. Instead of feeling embarrassed, he smiled through his tears, not caring that they could see him like this.
“Killan, thank you,” he said softly. “You’ve given me a part of him.”
“Uhm… there’s no need to thank me. It was meant to be,” Killan replied, his cheeks turning slightly red.
“And you’re not going to thank me?” Manlius added after a beat. “You had sex in my house.”
Boaz groaned. “Do you have to say it like that?”
“Like what? It’s the truth,” Manlius said.
“Thank you, Manlius,” Boaz said, shaking his head, though there was laughter in his eyes. “Thank you for everything.”
Manlius nodded, blinking rapidly. “Take your baby home, Boaz. And take good care of him.”
“I will,” Boaz said.
He turned and walked out of the house, his baby held gently against his chest. Hansel followed him outside, opened the truck door, and took the baby so Boaz could climb in.
Once Boaz was seated, Hansel rounded the truck and got in beside him.
“We need to buy baby things,” he said as he got into the truck, already listing items as he started driving. “A car seat, clothes, bottles, milk, a new car.”
“A new car?” Boaz asked.
“Yes,” Hansel said firmly. “We can’t use the truck. He needs something safe. And that cabin of yours isn’t going to cut it. You’re moving in with me. We can sort out your living arrangements later.”
“I think you’re taking the uncle thing a little too far.”
“Of course I am. This is my one and only nephew. I’m going to be the best uncle ever,” Hansel said, glancing over at the baby.
Boaz looked down at him too. Quietly, he made a promise of his own to be the best father he could be.