Saving Tragedy Chapter 124

**Rose's POV**

The low hum of the TV filled the living room as the credits rolled down from the movie Lydia had picked out earlier. 

The two little boys — mine and hers — now lay sprawled out on the thick rug in front of us amongst pillows, their bodies wrapped up in soft blankets, faces slack with sleep. An empty bowl of popcorn sat tipped over between them, a few stray pieces scattered across the floor.

It was the kind of mess I'd usually fuss over, but right now, I couldn't bring myself to care.

I sat curled up on one end of the sofa, legs tucked in beneath me, the heat from the half-empty cup of tea in my hands warming my palms. Lydia was on the opposite end, her eyes heavy but still cracked open as if she were waiting — just like me.

We hadn't heard anything since the single text Ashton had sent hours ago. 

'GET INSIDE NOW'. 

No explanation. No reassurance. Just those three clipped words that had rattled me to my core.

He was pissed... 

I'd obeyed his wishes — eventually — though not without putting up a fight first. The guards had practically warned to drag us both inside, grumbling about how neither of us would listen to reason. 

I'd sulked for a good hour after that, pacing the kitchen while Lydia snuck the boys more snacks to make up for their ruined playtime.

But the longer the silence stretched, the more the frustration faded... giving way to something much heavier.

Worry.

I hated the waiting — the not knowing what was really happening or where they were.

It gnawed at the edges of my mind, filling every quiet second with worst-case scenarios. Every time my eyes flicked up to the clock, another pain twisted tighter in my chest.

Were they completely safe?

Was Ashton hurt at all?

Was it finally over out there for Sawyer and his pack?

Lydia shifted beside me, breaking the silence with a soft sigh. I glanced over to find her head tipped back against the cushions, her fingers running lazily through the ends of her long blonde hair.

Her own worry lines were smoothed out for the first time tonight, her exhaustion finally catching up with her.

Still, I could tell she wasn't asleep either.

"I don't want them to grow up," I whispered, breaking the quiet between us. 

Lydia's eyes opened slowly, her gaze finding the snoozing boys before flicking back to me.

"Me neither."

Her voice was thick, barely louder than mine.

"Not into... this," I added, gesturing vaguely around us. "Their world. Their father's world."

Lydia's mouth pressed out into a thin line, her eyes darkening. She didn't need to ask what I meant by it either.

We both knew exactly what kind of future waited for our sons if this cycle continued - which it most likely would.

Blood. Violence. Power.

The same things that had dragged Ashton and Hunt into this life when they were younger, whether they'd wanted it or not.

"They don't deserve this world," she murmured. "We don't deserve the anxiety of it either. If worrying about our men isn't enough, soon we will be worrying about our sons out fighting too!"

I swallowed hard, my eyes drifting back to Tommy — his little chest rising and falling steadily beneath his blanket.

He was only five. Five years old.

It made me feel sick thinking about the title that he would one day have to inherit from Ashton... 

The fact that he'd still gone to bed yesterday saying that it was "the best birthday ever" only made the ache in my chest cut deeper.

They were so innocent to everything around them. 

So oblivious to the weight pressing down on all of us.

How long would that last?

How long before the harsh reality of this life chipped away at that innocence too?

"I don't want them to be completely like their fathers," I admitted stubbornly, staring down into my cold tea. "I don't want them to... become numb to all of this violence. To want to fight... because I damn well know that deep down, Ashton likes it, though he'll never admit it..." I complain quietly. 

Lydia's throat bobbed as she swallowed, looking away for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Hunt does too... it's in their nature... but at the same time..." she started, her voice barely above a whisper, "if they don't become like them... how will they ever survive in this world?"

The question lingered between us, heavy and unanswerable.

I hated that she was right.

We couldn't shelter them forever — not in this life. 

Not when my son belonged to an Alpha... 

But the thought of them ever having to go off to war, to bare their teeth in fights like Ashton and Hunt, it made me feel physically sick.

The room lapsed into silence again, the only sound being the faint crackle of the TV screen and the soft snuffling breaths of our sleeping boys.

It was close to midnight by now and I was surprised that the pair of them had lasted this long... 

But the waiting was now unbearable.

"I don't think they'll be home tonight." I sigh, as I shifted in my seat, glancing toward my phone on the coffee table for what must have been the hundredth time tonight — willing for it to light up with any kind of  an update.

Nothing.

Not from Ashton.

Not from anyone.

I was just about to reach for it again — if only to check the time — when the screen suddenly buzzed to life louder than I had hoped with a text message.

My heart leapt up into my throat, snatching it up so fast that I nearly dropped the damn thing. 

But it wasn't Ashton... 

"It's Millie..." I gasp out, as Lydia perks up slightly. 

'I'm so sorry that I haven't messaged you or Lyds sooner. We're all safe now. It's over. We are just trying to heal and recover but the main thing is - we are all still alive!' 

A shaky breath left my lungs as I read it out loud, my head falling back against the sofa as the tension that was coiled up inside of me finally loosened — just a little.

They're safe.

They're all alive and somewhat well I hope? 

I quickly typed out a response, my fingers trembling against the screen.

'Thank God!! I'm so glad to hear from you Millie! How is Sawyer? How is baby Elsie? I still can't believe what you've had to endure these past hours - this world is beyond cruel sometimes!' 

I hit send, as it shows up as being 'read' almost instantly. I waited, starting to chew the chin on the side of my fingers in anticipation, as Lydia shuffled herself closer to get a better view of my phone too. 

Millie's reply finally came a few seconds later: 

'He's badly injured but alive, that's the main thing. Battered and bruised would be an understatement... but I'm just thankful to still have him here with us! Elsie's fine too... thank the Moon! I'm still shaking though. I thought there was no hope left for us more times than once - I really didn't see us making it out of this one alive. It was beyond terrifying!' 

I licked my drying lips, blinking back the sudden sting in my eyes to read only a snippet of their trauma through text... 

I could picture her so clearly — curled up by Sawyer's hospital bed not wanting to leave his side, clutching his hand the same way I'd done with Ashton more times than I could count over the years... 

That familiar ache squeezed in my chest again.

'I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that... but it's all over now and it's such a relief to hear from you! Lydia and I are sending you all so much love!' I reply swiftly, as Lydia shakes her head from beside me. 

"Jacob is a bastard doing this to them! She's just given birth for Fucksake!" Lydia grumbles out louder than necessary, causing Zander to stir ever so slightly as she smacks a hand over her mouth - clearly forgetting that they had been laying there. 

"Let's move to the dining room..." I whisper and point to the door, not wanting to wake them up with our ramblings. 

We both stand, doing exactly that, leaving the boys in peace for now. 

'Thank you both! I don't know how to thank Ashton, Hunt and the pack enough for coming either. They literally saved our lives, I could cry just thinking about it!' I read Millie's response out loud as soon as we settle in to the chairs away from the kids. 

I stared at the text again, before glancing back up towards Lydia. "Maybe Ashton and Hunt's titles aren't a curse after all? If it weren't for them, who knows what would've happened to Millie and her family..." I eventually admit. 

Lydia blinks, pushing a fallen piece of hair back from her face. "I know, we are just being selfish because we love them, that's all. The world needs guys like them - even if it sucks for us." She shrugs. 

But on the thought of Ashton, he still hadn't messaged. Neither of them had. 

I knew he was alive at least — the guard had said he was fine and Millie wouldn't be texting me otherwise — but something about the radio silence from him gnawed away at me... 

The silence from him always made me nervous.

It meant he was stewing.

Waiting to unleash whatever storm he'd been bottling up the second he walked through that door.

I glanced toward the clock on the wall, chewing my bottom lip to see that it was half past midnight. 

He wasn't coming home any time soon it seemed. Probably choosing to crash at Sawyers pack tonight. 

Maybe he was exhausted from the fighting? That made sense. Probably crashed out sleeping and that's why he hadn't called? 

But judging by that single text he'd sent me earlier...

He was beyond pissed with me. 

"We're in so much trouble when they get back, aren't we?" I release a dry laugh watching Lydia's eyes crack open, a slow grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Probably."

I sighed, sinking deeper into the chair, already mentally preparing for the storm heading our way.

We'd definitely pushed our luck today that was for certain. 

And the price would be facing two very pissed-off wolves come tomorrow...