Chapter 5
1186 Words
Lily's POV
I've been in Xavier's home for three days. I still can't believe this is real. It feels like a dream. I might wake up any moment.
I have been eating, sleeping and recovering. He didn’t allow me to work with the maids in the kitchen. He gave me a maid to attend to me morning and night.
And sometimes, I catch Xavier watching me. His look is so intense that it makes my skin tingle. I don't understand him. Alphas don't help omegas without wanting something back. They especially don't help pregnant omegas who carry other men's children.
On the fourth morning, I hear shouting coming from downstairs. I know one of the voice the moment I hear. It is Aiden.
My blood runs cold. Why is he here?
I get out of bed and wrap a robe around my body. I sneak to the top of the stairs. I can hear them, but they can’t see me.
"You had no right to keep her with you!" Aiden yells, his voice is full of anger. "She belongs to the Silver Moon Pack!"
"She belongs to herself," Xavier says.
"She is mine! She belongs to me! You can’t keep what's mine!"
"Yours? When did you ever treat her as yours? When you hid your relationship for over two years? Or when you embarrassed her in public for your chosen mate? Or when you let your mate hurt her?"
"I didn't know she was pregnant!"
"That makes it worse, not better. You threw away your mate. You didn't even know she was carrying your pup."
"I have duties, Xavier! The pack needed... Just give her back to me. She carries my child.... I give you three days to return her back. I will not let her stay with you…"
Aiden still sees me as property. Something he can just take. Why does he think he can just take me back? And Xavier, why is he protecting me?
What does he get from fighting his own brother? Is he for revenge? Is he using me to get back at his brother?
I can't stay here and let Xavier and Aiden fight over me. This place is not safe. What if Aiden comes back in three days? I have to leave before Aiden comes back again
I wait until the night. Then I pack a small bag with just the basic things I need. I slip through the halls. The side exit has no guard for three minutes between patrol shifts.
I step out of the packhouse and the cold night air hits my face, looking for a hotel to stay till morning. Then I will figure out how to leave this place.
But I make it only halfway down the street before the pain starts in my stomach. It's different from the pain in my back. The pain spreads through my whole body like fire.
I fall to my knees on the empty street, gasping as the pain tears through me.
In the distance, I hear voices like search parties. Xavier must have found out I'm gone.
I try to stand, but my legs won't hold me. The forest spins as I fall down.
Strong arms lift me from the cold ground. I expect Xavier, but the smell is wrong. I force my eyes open. Three rogues are around me.
"Pretty little girl," one of them says. "And pregnant too. Someone will pay good money for a breeding omega."
"Please, let me go. I have nothing valuable."
"Oh, but you do. Fresh bloodlines are always worth money. Especially when they're already proven fertile."
They start dragging me into the forest. With each step, I feel weaker. The pain takes my consciousness.
Who will help me? I think desperately as they carry me through the trees. The rogues are talking about selling me to whoever pays most. They talk about what they'll do to me before they hand me over.
Suddenly Xavier's face fills my mind. Help me, please. Help me, Xavier.
I don't know why I'm thinking of him. I don't know why his name echoes in my head like a prayer.
Xavier, please find me.
And a howl echoes through the trees. Then another. The rogues freeze.
"Hunting party," one whispers. "They're tracking us."
"How? We covered our scents."
The howl echoes again, closer this time. It's filled with such anger that even the rogues look nervous.
"Run," the leader says.
They break into a sprint, carrying me between them. Every rough step sends fresh waves of pain through my body.
The howls are getting closer.
We reach a clearing where two other rogues wait 1 on the horses. They're planning to take me far from here.
"Kill them," a rogue shouts, pulling out a silver blade.
But before they can move, wolves explode from the tree line.
Xavier is the first to shift mid-leap. He's a massive black wolf with eyes like burning coals. He tears into the leader's throat before the man can scream.
Chaos breaks out. The rogues scatter, but Xavier's men are everywhere. The rogue holding me tries to use me as a shield. He presses his knife to my throat. "Back off or she dies!"
Xavier's wolf turns toward us. Murder is in his eyes. But he doesn't charge. Instead, he shifts back to human form.
"Let her go," he says. His voice is deadly calm. "And I'll make your death quick."
"I'll slit her throat!"
"You'll try. But you'll be dead before the blade breaks her skin."
Xavier moves. I've never seen anyone move so fast. One second the knife is at my throat. The next second Xavier has the rogue's arm twisted at an impossible angle. The sickening c***k of bone echoes through the clearing.
The rogue screams. He drops both the knife and me. Xavier catches me before I hit the ground.
Xavier doesn't stop there. His fury is terrifying. He tears through the remaining rogues. Blood soaks the forest.
When it's over, Xavier kneels beside me.
"I've got you. You're safe now."
"How did you find me?" I ask. My voice is barely a whisper.
Xavier's eyes meet mine. "I heard you calling for me. In here," he touches his chest. "Clear as if you were standing right beside me."
I stare at him. "That's impossible. How could that happen?"
Xavier is quiet for a long moment. Then he speaks, "It happens between mates, Lily. True mates can hear each other's calls for help. They can feel each other's pain across any distance."
The words hit me like a physical blow. "Mates?"
"You're my mate. I've known since the moment I saw you in that square. The bond between us Is real."
I think of the electric feeling when our eyes meet. The way my wolf stirs for the first time since Aiden's betrayal. The pull I felt toward this man who saved me.
"But I was bonded to Aiden…"
Suddenly I feel something tearing inside me.
"The baby. Something's wrong with the baby."
Xavier's face goes white. He yells at his men.
"Get the doctor! Now!"
- Writer
