Azalea

I couldn’t feel the baby. Just pain and panic. Was Missy okay? Did Liam and Maddox get to her in time? What about all the fighting? Was anyone hurt?

“Azalea, I need to know how long ago your contractions started,” I could hear Doctor Ron call out calmly to me.

“Liam,” I whimpered. “Liam, I can’t feel it.” I pried my eyes open and looked up into his face. He was filthy and naked from all the fighting and shifting. He had b***d on him, but I didn’t know if it was mine or someone else’s. One of his eyes was brilliantly blue while the other almost black; Gavin was sharing control with him.

“It’s okay,” Liam mollified, trying to sound calm. “Doc is here, and we’re going to help you both.” Liam’s large hand pushed the hair back from my face that clung to the cold sweat covering me.

“Where’s Missy?” I asked desperately.

“She’s safe, Little Luna. She is with her mate,” Liam told me. I could see the restraint in his face; I could feel his panic adding to mine, but he was keeping himself together.

“Save the baby, Liam. You have to save the baby,” I pled.

“You are both going home from here, Little Luna,” he tried to assure me. I looked over to Doctor Ron, who was coming over to the other side of the table Liam laid me on with scissors in his hand.

“You have to save the baby. The baby is more important,” I implored.

“I’ll do everything I can, Luna,” he said as more pain radiated through my body. Another person I didn’t recognize stepped up beside Liam.

“I need to get an IV in her now,” she said. He stepped over closer to my head but didn’t step away. Another person began hanging some draping at my chest, blocking my view of my body and Doctor Ron.

“What is going on?” Liam growled as the draping rose above his head as well.

“Nephew, their best chance is me getting this baby out now. I need to cut her open. Step foot across that draping, and by Damien’s orders, you will be removed!” Doctor Ron yelled forcefully. I felt a prick then a bit of warmth. Heaviness settled into my body, but I couldn’t actually feel anything.

Tears were running down my face. Fright filled me being. I didn’t want to die, but I was more afraid my baby wouldn’t make it. I closed my eyes and tried to swallow the thickness in my throat.

“Luna, I need you to stay awake,” the woman nearest to Liam said. I opened my eyes as Liam began slowly patting my hair back away from my face again. He leaned down, resting his forehead on mine.

“Stay with me, baby,” he said softly. “Don’t leave me.”

“Liam,” I breathed softly.

Missy

“Mom,” I cried softly. Liam disappeared inside the tent with Lea in his arms, followed closely by Doctor Ron. When we arrived in the tent, Doctor Ron checked me quickly as Maddox told him Liam was coming with Lea. Just as Doctor Ron was clearing me to go, someone linked Maddox that Liam was close. Doctor Ron ran from the tent, and one of his nurses handed me some clothes. I pulled them on quickly while Maddox held the blanket up around me to give me a little privacy. As soon as I was dressed, we left the tent only to see Liam running toward us; Lea appeared limp in his arms. I held the tent door open for them.

As soon as I let it go, Maddox wrapped his arms around me from behind. All the emotion and stress of the last week were crashing down on me all at once. I wasn’t going to be weak, but I couldn’t fathom Lea or the baby dying either.

“He did this. He helped them,” I sobbed. Maddox had his head leaned against the back of mine. My hands covered his as he gripped me tightly around my waist. “He gave them information!”

“I know,” Maddox assuaged softly. I could hear an edge in his voice.

“He got my brothers taken and all of us attacked!” I said louder now.

“He can’t hurt you now,” Maddox told me.

“Why? Why would he help them? My dad could have helped him!”NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“He will never touch you again,” Maddox promised.

“My mom. How could he do this? He was the only one who got it!” I was a ranting mess now. Everything that was bottled up in the cell was coming out. Everything I couldn’t say out loud was pouring out of me. “What did I do? Weren’t my parents enough? Now my family too?”

Maddox loosened his grip but turned me around to face him. His hands came to the sides of my face. “Vlad won’t ever hurt you or anyone else again, Missy.”

“She can’t die, Maddox. I can’t lose another mom. She doesn’t deserve it. She is the best mom!”

“The doctor is going to do everything he can to help her and the baby, Missy.”

“Junior and Leo can’t lose their mom! They are just kids. And Liam. He would die without her. She’s our glue, Maddox. She holds us all together!”

“I know, sweetheart. I know.” He wasn’t patronizing or mad; he was just letting me vent. I felt like I was going to burst. Everything inside of me felt like a storm, and the only one who could calm it was my mom.

Maddox pulled me close to him, laying my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I did the same to him. His lips came to the top of my head, kissing me gently. “Let it all out,” he said quietly.

I closed my eyes and breathed in a shuttering breath. Cedarwood and citrus flooded my senses. A relieving calm swept over me like a warm blanket. Small, pleasurable tingles began to pepper the skin of my arms while I hugged Maddox’s bare torso. The storm broke, and everything inside of me felt like it was falling into place.

“Mate,” Holland cooed.

I pulled away from him abruptly. “Maddox,” I said disbelievingly as I stared at him with wide eyes. His hand came to my cheek, and I felt the tingles, the mate bond.

“I told you,” he said before he bent down and kissed me. His k**s was deep and passionate. I closed my eyes and let myself lean into his embrace. His lips moved over mine, and I felt my wolf rejoicing.

Maddox was my mate. It was him all along. Maddox is my one, and I didn’t want to accept it. But here he was. He rescued me; he got me away from the vampire. He came through a battlefield and saved me from vampires.

His lips parted from mine for just a moment. I looked up into his brown eyes, dazed. I quickly snapped out of it. I launched myself at him, jumping up into his arms. He caught me readily as I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I planted my lips against his once more in a hungry k**s. Maddox was my mate!

He obliged, kissing me back with just as much energy, his hands running up and down my body. I didn’t want to think, or worry, or breathe. I wanted him. My body suddenly craved him entirely; I needed him.

Before we could pass out from oxygen deprivation, Maddox pulled away from me. “I want nothing more than to mate you right now, sweetheart. But there is a battle raging only a few hundred meters that way.” I nodded my head, trying to control myself. “Is it safe to say you accept me as your mate?” his face turned up into a cocky smile.

“Shut up and k**s me,” I said, returning his look.

Liam

“Stay with me, Little Luna,” I chanted. I rubbed her head over and over, trying to keep her eyes on me. Her eyes were fluttering, and she was growing whiter the longer my uncle worked.

“What’s taking so long?” I called, tearing my eyes away from her for only a second. There was no reply, just bodies moving around the table on the other side of the draping. I turned back to Azalea, whose face had grown calm and relaxed. “How are you feeling, baby?”

“I can’t feel anything,” she hummed, her voice barely audible.

“Uncle,” I called terror spiking again.

“Baby is out!” he called. He lowered his voice, and I could hear frantic directions being given to the people helping him. There was no crying from the baby like there had been with Leo and Junior.

“Is it okay?” Azalea asked feebly.

“We’ll know in just a second. I am sure the baby is just fine,” I told her, not confident in my own words.

“The pup, the pup, the pup,” Gavin repeated over and over. He wouldn’t calm until we laid eyes on our pup.

Finally, someone stepped around the curtain, blocking our view of Azalea’s lower half, holding a bundle of blankets. “Congratulations, Alpha, Luna. Say hi to your baby girl.”

My heart completely stopped as my eyes traveled to the small hole in the bundle where a tiny face was peeking out. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be sleeping soundly. The nurse carefully passed my daughter to me.

“She will need to be hospitalized as soon as we get to the pack. We need to run tests and watch her, but you can hold her now,” the woman told me. I slowly turned to Azalea, her droopy eyes straining to look up at the bundle in my arms.

I leaned down and brought the baby close to her face. “She’s perfect, just like her mother,” I said softly. Azalea smiled softly, sweetly.

“She’s okay,” she whispered.

“You did it, Little Luna. You did it,” I told her.

Her eyes fluttered all the way closed now. I waited a moment for her to open them, but they didn’t. There was frantic movement, then a long, monotonous beep sounded. When had they hooked her up to any monitor?

The same woman who had handed me my daughter pushed me back from the table as I cradled my pup tightly. “What’s going on? Azalea, open your eyes!” I called.

“Liam, Azalea is in distress,” my uncle shouted in a calm tone. “We need to get her stable and back to the pack. We can only do so much for her here.”

Missy appeared by my side, Maddox only a step behind her. “Give me the baby, Dad,” she said. She stood tall and confident, holding her arms out to take her baby sister. I looked down at the precious bundle in my arms. My body was torn. I had my pup in my arms, and she could remain there where I knew she was safe. But Azalea was in distress, and I needed to be with her too.

“Stay with Mom. We’ll take the baby. If you are here with her, she will be fine,” Missy said. I nodded my head before gently handing over the baby. She held her sister tight and turned around to leave the medical tent, giving space again to the team working around my mate.

I stood there at a loss, not knowing what the right thing was right now.

“Nephew. You need to end this battle. Get everyone out of there. I need hands to get your mate back. Get your Beta and the other Alphas that have come to help you,” my uncle commanded. His entire demeanor was naturally authoritative. He may have never wanted to be an Alpha, but leadership ran through his veins.

“Don’t let her die,” I growled. I turned on my heel and torpedoed from the tent. Missy and Maddox were right outside, huddled around the baby. I took off past them, sprinting back to the battlefield.

“Those filthy b***d bags will pay for taking our mate!” Gavin roared. I completely agreed. I let him take complete control as I stepped back into my mind. I shifted mid-stride and quickened my pace back to the estate grounds. When I broke through to the opening, the battle was clearly waning.

“Damien,” I tried linking him but got no response. Gavin targeted us at the now destroyed front doors of the large house. The taste of b***d soon coated our jaws as Gavin ripped through vampires remaining in the fight. Too many wolves lay on the ground wounded or not moving, but far more of those lecherous creatures laid next to them.

I leapt, clearing the stairs of the porch easily, but I skidded to halt as I reached the doorway. Langston, with the help of three other wolves, was carrying a large body.

“Liam,” Langston called. “It’s Damien.” My heart paced, and a growl escaped my muzzle. “We don’t know what happened, but we need to get him to the medical team now!” Langston yelled. I nodded my head. I turned around, and Langston knew immediately what to do. They lifted Damien’s massive size over my back and draped him lying face down. I was the best bet at carrying him out of there quickly. I let out a long howl that the other Alphas of our force quickly mirrored. The message was clear- end this now.

The vampires may not have been as stupid as we thought because as I stepped out of the large house through the fractured doorway, I could see them trying to make their escapes. Langston and the others pushed past me to lead the way. We moved at a quick pace but not fast enough. I listened closely to Damien’s breathing and heartbeat; it was ragged at best. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that I hadn’t gotten my best friend bitten or killed while my search for Azalea blinded me.

The other Alphas were soon flanking Langston and me as we charged into the trees towards the medical tent. As we approached, I noticed a large clearing to the side of the tent that was now full of wounded wolves being attended to. I was so focused on Azalea previously that I hadn’t noticed at all. There were so many. Maddox ran up to us on our approach.

“Alpha,” he said quickly.

“Damien needs help now!” I linked him. He nodded and dashed over to the tent, calling inside to my uncle. Another man exited the tent, b***d all over his front.

“He’s the Beta of B***d Eclipse. Our Alpha just carried him here,” Maddox was saying as they both quickly strode over to use. Everyone around me shifted back to their human forms so they could lift Damien from my back. The doctor Maddox brought had them lay him down on the ground. He looked him over quietly for a moment. I shifted back and was handed a pair of shorts for the first time since the battle began.

Finally, the man looked up at me. “Alpha, I think he may have been bitten.”