What If Rian Died During the Final Battle?
WARNING: Main Character Death
Kaine's claws pierce my heart.
I'm dying. I know I'm dying.
But Luca's safe. Behind me. Protected.
Worth it.
"Rian!" His scream tears through me.
I love you, I send through the bond. Take care of our son. Live.
Don't leave me!
But I'm already gone.
Luca's POV
He dies in my arms.
My mate. My husband. My everything.
Gone.
The bond shatters. Pain explodes through me—physical, emotional, spiritual.
"No," I sob. "No, Rian, please—"
But he's gone. Eyes vacant. Body cooling.
"NOOO!"
My magic erupts—pure grief made power. Silver light explodes, obliterating Kaine, his pack, everything.
When the light fades, I'm alone. Surrounded by bodies.
Rian dead in my lap.
My son orphaned.
My life over.
Five Years Later
I raise Kai alone. Barely.
The bond's absence is constant agony. But I can't leave him. Can't orphan our son completely.
"Tell me about Daddy," Kai asks every night.
And I do. Tell him about the kidnapping, the love, the life we built.
"He was a good man," I finish.
"I miss him. Even though I don't remember him much."
"Me too, baby. Me too."
Ten Years Later
Kai is eleven. Strong. Smart. Alpha-in-training.
"I'm proud of you," I tell him.
"Thanks, Papa." He hugs me. "You okay? You look tired."
"Just thinking about your dad." I smile sadly. "He'd be proud of you too."
That night, alone in our bed—the bed I haven't shared in ten years—I break down.
"I can't do this anymore," I whisper to his ghost. "I'm so tired, Rian. So tired of living without you."
Two Days Later - My Death
I don't plan it. My body just... gives up.
The healer says it's bond sickness. Finally catching up after ten years.
"Take care of Kai," I tell Damon. "Tell him I love him. That his daddy and I are together now."
"I will," Damon promises, crying.
I close my eyes. And feel Rian's presence.
"Took you long enough," his voice echoes.
"Had to raise our son first."
"Thank you. For being strong. For giving him ten years of love."
"Is it enough?"
"It's everything."
I die with a smile. Finally reunited.
They bury me next to Rian. Together even in death.
Kai grows up strong—raised by the pack, carrying both parents' legacies.
But he always visits their graves. Always remembers.
"Tell me the story," his own children ask years later.
"My fathers loved each other desperately," he begins. "So much that when one died, the other followed. Not immediately—Papa stayed for me. But his heart was always with Daddy."
"That's sad," they say.
"That's love," he corrects. "Real, deep, eternal love."
In this universe, Rian's death ended Luca's life slowly.
But their love? That never died