The alpha I hated

Chapter 26: The unborn child

NOAH'S POV

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not trying to do anything."

The golden glow got brighter, and the sounds from outside got quieter. The creatures were moving farther and farther away from our territory.

"It's the baby," Dr. Martinez said in amazement. "The child is protecting itself. And all of us."

"But it's only six weeks along," I said. "How can it have that kind of power already?"

"Because it's not just any child," Maya said, staring at Daisy with something like awe. "It's the child of an Alpha and a hybrid. A combination that has never existed in the history of our world."

The golden glow around Daisy suddenly got much brighter, and I heard something that made my heart race.

All the creatures outside let out a collective howl of pain and fear. Then there was the sound of hundreds of feet running away from our territory as fast as they could move.

Within minutes, the red glow in the forest was gone. The terrible sounds had stopped. Everything was quiet and peaceful again.

"They're gone," Elias said in disbelief. "All of them."

"But how?" I asked.

Daisy stood up from the bed, and the golden glow around her got even stronger.

"I can feel it," she said, placing her hand on her stomach. "The baby. It's... it's like it's telling them to leave."

"Telling them to leave?"

"Not with words," she said. "With power. Pure, clean power that they can't stand to be around."

Alex and Maya looked at each other with expressions of complete shock.

"This changes everything," Alex said.

"What do you mean?"

"The creatures weren't just hunting Daisy because of Pyritha," Maya said. "They were hunting her because they could sense what was growing inside her."

"The baby?"

"A child with the power to banish darkness," Alex said. "A child with the power to send evil creatures back to where they came from."

"But they're gone now," I said. "So we're safe, right?"

Maya shook her head.

"They're not gone forever," she said. "They're just... waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"For the child to be born," she said. "Once the baby is born, its power will be separate from Daisy's body. It will be vulnerable."

"So they'll come back?"

"Eventually," Alex said. "But not for a while. Maybe not for years."

I felt relief flooding through me. Years. We had years to figure out how to protect our child. Years to prepare for whatever was coming next.

"But there's something else," Maya said, looking at Daisy with concern.

"What now?" I asked, feeling tired of surprises.

"If the baby has this much power already, what's going to happen when it's born?" she asked. "What kind of child grows up with the ability to banish ancient creatures just by existing?"

I looked at Daisy, who was still glowing softly with that golden light. She looked beautiful, strong and powerful. But also young and scared.

"We'll figure it out," I said. "Together."

"Noah," she said quietly, "what if the baby is dangerous? What if it can't control its power?"

"Then we'll teach it to control its power," I said. "The same way your parents taught you to control yours."

"But my parents are dead," she said. "And I never really learned to control my power anyway."

"Then we'll learn together," I said. "All of us."

I looked around the room at the people who had become our family. Elder Sarah, who represented the wisdom of the pack. Elias, who had always been my closest friend and advisor. Alex and Maya, who had appeared just when we needed them most. Dr. Martinez, who had delivered the news that changed everything. And even Lucien, who had risked everything to try to save us.

"We'll all help raise this child," I said. "We'll all make sure it grows up knowing how to use its power for good."

Daisy smiled, and the golden glow around her got warmer and brighter.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," I said. "Both of you."

I placed my hand on her stomach, where our child was growing. The child who had already saved us all before it was even born.

But even as I felt happiness and hope filling my heart, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning. The creatures might be gone for now, but they would be back. And when they returned, they would be bringing something much worse with them.

Something that even our powerful child might not be able to stop.

As if reading my thoughts, Lucien walked over to the window and looked out at the now-peaceful forest.

"They're not just gone," he said quietly. "They're regrouping."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I can still sense them," he said, his golden eyes reflecting the moonlight. "They're far away now, but they're not giving up. They're planning something."

"What kind of something?"

Lucien turned away from the window and looked at all of us with an expression of deep concern.

"They're going to get help," he said. "From something much older and much more powerful than anything we've seen so far."

"More powerful than shadow demons and blood wraiths?" Elder Sarah asked.

"More powerful than ancient goddesses," Lucien said grimly.

The room fell silent as we all tried to process what he was saying.

"How do you know this?" Alex asked.

"Because I can feel it through the connection I have with Pyritha's power," Lucien said. "And what I'm feeling is... terrifying."

"What are you feeling?" Daisy asked.

Lucien looked directly at her, and I saw fear in his golden eyes.

"They're going to wake up the First Ones," he said.

"The First Ones?" I repeated.

"The original vampires," Maya said, her face going pale. "The ones who were created by the gods themselves. The ones who were supposed to sleep forever."

"But if they wake up the First Ones," Alex said slowly, "then..."

"Then even a child with the power to banish darkness might not be enough to save us," Lucien finished.

I felt cold dread spreading through my chest.

"How long do we have?" I asked.

"I don't know," Lucien said. "Waking up the First Ones isn't easy. It requires a lot of power and a lot of preparation. But once they start the process..."

"Once they start the process, what?"

"Once they start the process, we'll have maybe a month before the First Ones rise," he said. "And when they do, they'll come here looking for the child."

"Then we need to leave," I said immediately. "We need to take Daisy somewhere safe."

"There is nowhere safe," Maya said quietly. "Not from the First Ones."

"Then what do we do?"

"We prepare for war," Elder Sarah said firmly. "We gather every ally we can find. We learn everything we can about the First Ones and their weaknesses. And we get ready to fight for our lives."

I looked down at Daisy, who was still glowing with that soft golden light. The idea of putting her in danger made me sick.

But the idea of the First Ones getting their hands on our child made me even sicker.

"How do we fight beings who were created by gods?" I asked.

"The same way we fight everything else," Elias said. "Together."

"But this time," Alex added, "we're not just fighting for our pack or our territory."

"We're fighting for the future of the world," Maya said.

As if responding to our conversation, the golden glow around Daisy suddenly pulsed, like a heartbeat.

Like the child inside her was listening to everything we said.

And like it was getting ready to fight too.

But something else was happening. Something none of us had noticed in all the excitement.

The silver light in Lucien's skin was getting brighter. And his golden eyes were starting to change color.

They were turning red.

"Lucien," I said carefully, "are you okay?"

He looked at me, and for just a moment, I saw something in his eyes that made my blood freeze.

Not Lucien.

Not Pyritha.

Something else entirely.

"Oh," he said in a voice that was not his own, "I'm better than okay."

And that's when I realized that while we had been celebrating Daisy's pregnancy and the departure of the creatures, we had been ignoring the biggest threat of all.

Whatever was inside Lucien was not what Pyritha had left behind.

It was something much, much worse.

And it had been waiting for exactly this moment to reveal its

elf.

The red light in Lucien's eyes got brighter, and he smiled at us with teeth that were suddenly much sharper than they should have been.

"Thank you," he said, "for making this so easy."