Queen Midknight: The Wolf’s Bride - Chapter 182

Chapter hundred and eighty two: Max’s sacrifice

Jamie collected the bowl of water and clean rags the beta Wolf gave her. She tended to Zuri’s wound like she wasn’t the crazy Queen that stabbed him. He didn’t resist much, only grunting at intervals when the pain became unbearable.

Zuri looked around the little forest and it was everything he imagined the forest of the west to be. With the tall trees and the struggling sunlight trying to fall on the ground, it was exactly everything he imagined.

He cleared his throat like he was an older man with a throat disease.

“I have always wanted to come to the West. I heard it was a beautiful place. I am glad it didn’t disappoint” Zuri told her as he looked around once again, distracting himself from the pain.

Jamie watched him curiously. What was wrong with him? For a stab victim, he was unusually chatty.

She wrapped his leg with a clean bandage.

“….so beautiful!”

“For someone that was not too long ago stabbed by me, you are unusually chatty and without malice, Prince”

“You did what you had to do for the man you love. It’s hard to be angry at that” Zuri answered.

“You are…weird” Jamie murmured to him and secured his lease before she walked away.

When she got to Jared’s house by the river, she saw Rosemund. She was standing there with a frown on her face and her palm folded into a fist. And she watched Jamie as she approached.

“Hello, Sister in law!” Jamie called out to her.

Rosemund straighten her posture and her glare became murderous.

“Don’t hello me, Jamie! You are like a child with sharp objects that can’t be trusted to be alone without supervision hence you maim yourself….”

“Rose, I simply…”

“Shut up! Shut the bloody hell up! You can’t just unanimously decide to risk your life for something that I was planning on rectifying. You could have died, stupid! You are not a cat and you don’t have nine lives, Janessa. I was sick to my stomach. Do you know how many times I threw up because I kept imagining you lying in the pool of your own blood slowly bleeding to death! You are not a cat, you don’t have nine bloody lives” Rosemund yelled as she shook her head.

Jamie hugged her. In retrospect, she should have placed the princess’s feelings into consideration. Just like Alexander, they were family now.

“You are not a cat…and I will be terribly sad if something happened to you, Jamie” Rosemund whispered this time around.

“Sorry Rosemund. I couldn’t sit still and watch you marry your brother’s captor. And I am alright now. I found Alexander” Jamie explained as soon as she pulled away.

“I know. Max tried to get him to talk to me but…he is drifting. He can’t hold on much longer. We are going to lose him” Rosemund admitted out loud.

“There is a portion that I can try….” Jamie started to lie but Rosemund corrected her.

“No. You are not sleeping with him. We are going to let him die on his own terms. The wolves have the mobile cage close by and very soon, he would be placed in it and taken to the packhouse where he would leave out his days” Rosemund answered.

Jamie could see that she was trying to be brave. She was failing miserably but she would give her kudos for the effort.

Her lower lip trembled and her eyes were filled with tears. She was losing someone that can’t be replaced in her life and Jamie knew that feeling all too well.

“You should say goodbye, Jamie. I h-have” Rosemund walked away as she wiped her face with the back of her palm.

Jamie rushed inside the house and she almost collided with Judd. He had a look on his face. Jamie knew he said his goodbyes too.

“He is waiting for you. Alexander is barely in there and it’s time, little sister” Judd told her and rubbed her shoulder.

Jamie nodded and continued her journey inside.

She found Alexander lying on the bed and he simply looked like he was sleeping. She touched him and smiled. He stirred and opened his eyes.

“There you are. Keep your eyes open” she urged him.

(You have to save him)

“He doesn’t want to be saved, Max. Both of you are doomed and I am helpless. But if you consent, I can save you. Just kiss me and make love to me”

Jamie touched his jaw and caressed it. She watched him with eyes that were beginning to pool tears.

(No. Alexander and I are in agreement about keeping you alive. He doesn’t love you more than I love you. You know I love you, right?)

“I know and I love you too, Maximus”

Jamie touched his cheek tenderly.

(There is an alternative, Luna. Separate us and save Alexander. I can stay in the cage)

“No….”

(Jamie, listen. There is no need for him to die too. I am the doomed one. J-just let this be my last act to protect my human. It’s a wolf’s job)

“I don’t want to lose you, Max.”

(Come on, Jamie. Just do it already. He doesn’t have much time. Let me do this for him. Hey! Hey! Stop overthinking it and just cast the spell)

“A-alright”

“Goodbye” Jamie murmured and kissed his lips.

(Goodbye, Luna)

Jamie thought of the spell of separation. She didn’t remember most of it. She needed Red’s help. She closed her eyes and tried to create a dream world where she could summon Red and it was strangely easy.

“You’ve made a difficult choice, Mistress”

Red’s voice startled her.

“I need the spell for separation. You told me if I separate Alexander from his wolf then he will be alright then, right?” Jamie asked. She was impatient and eager to go back to the real world since time worked differently in the dream world.

Every minute she spent there was an hour out there.

“Speak, Red! I don’t have much time”

Red nodded “Yes. Just cast the spell by saying ‘Septentrionalis, Australis, Oriens et Occidens, veni et testis esto haec duo”

Jamie stared at her like she had gone bunkers.

“Septen…what now?”

She blinked and tried to remember but there was no chance in hell to learn a new language now.

“It’s latin, you can understand latin right?” The woman in red asked her.

“I am…no, I can’t. What does it mean and can’t I just say it in the language I know?”

Jamie knew she can’t keep arguing with Red while time passed in the real world.

“Sure, you can. Won’t be as potent and will of course require your blood but you are a white witch and you are all powerful…”

“Just tell me the spell, Damnit!” Jamie yelled at her.

“Just say…north, South, East and West, come and bear witness as I separate the united two…. Then give him your blood, obviously”

Jamie didn’t even wait for her to finish talking, when she woke herself up.

“Wake up, Jamie!”

When she opened her eyes, she was still alone with the Alpha King. She stood up from the floor.

“How long have I been gone?”

(A hour and a spare. Can you separate us now?)

“Yes, I just have to say….” Her voice trailed off.

It suddenly hit Jamie that she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t condemn Max to doom just to save Alexander. She loved him too. He was a part of Alexander and he would never forgive her if he woke up to find his wolf gone.

Jamie cleared the fog at the back of her throat. She knew exactly what to do.

(What do you have to say?)

“I will cast the spell but it won’t work without your help, Max”

(Tell me what to do, Luna)

“I have to make you hide and convince Alexander that I separated you and sleep with him”

Max found the spell confusing. Was Jamie trying to trick him? He watched her curiously. There was no deceit in her eyes and he listened to her heart beat. It was just as fast as it was an hour ago. She was no more nervous than she was when she came to say goodbye.

(Okay. Can you tell the king something?)

“Of course, Max. Anything for you, darling”

(Tell him…it’s b-been a pleasure…standing with him for as long as…I was alive. Tell him to treat my Luna right or no cage or madness can keep me from knocking some sense into him…. finally, tell him…he shouldn’t mourn me for too long)

Jamie placed her head on his chest and she kissed him there.

“Goodbye, old friend”

(I am ready. Do it!)

Jamie stood and she took a blade and she cut herself on the palm. She said a bunch of gibberish in what she thought sounded like latin.

“It’s time to hide. Alexander, can never know you are in there, he can’t know you are not gone yet or he won’t let me do what I have to do”

(Okay)

Max retreated to the corners of Alexander’s mind that he couldn’t access yet and he hid himself there and waited.

Alexander opened his eyes. He saw Jamie. He searched for Max but he couldn’t feel him.

“He is gone, Alexander.. I separated both of you to save your life. Now, you have no reason not to make love to me”