Page 169 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

‘What happened?’

‘The wine cellar blew up.’My voice broke as an image of the explosion flashed through my head.

‘Shit. Bells, I’m sorry. I wanted you home, but not like this. What can I do to help?’

‘Grab any of the pack members that want to join.’

‘There’s no salvaging it?’

‘No. The grapes are gone, the wine is gone. Some of the pack didn’t even wait for the flames to be out before they started asking Cade if they could join his pack.’

‘Fuck. What the hell is wrong with them?’

‘Eric died trying to get to the wine. I’ve lost everything. I only have Adam left,’I sobbed.

‘You have us, Bells. We’ll always have your back.’

Cory kept the mind-link open to talk to me until I was falling asleep. I didn’t have the energy to even shower or pretend to care.

My back hit the back of the desk painfully as I struggled against the blade that was inches away from my heart. My lower back spasmed in pain but I couldn’t give in to it. I’d lost everything, and now I was fighting for the life of my unborn pup. It couldn’t end like this. All the sacrifice, the tears, the struggle to be happy.

Coyo lent me her strength, and I recalled the training Brenda gave me growing up. I brought my knee up, connecting with sensitive flesh. The dagger was released and I plunged it into my attacker. He reared back in pain and I pulled it out and plunged it in again until he finally stilled.

I slid down to the floor, my hand covering my mouth. I sobbed quietly for a few minutes, my eyes focused on the desk in front of me before I finally allowed myself to look at Brandon’s body nearby. My mate was dead. I was alone, with a pup on the way.

I struggled to stand, the wound on my shoulder trying to mend itself, my back screaming at me in pain. My hand slipped on the hardwood floor covered in blood, making me drop to the floor again with a cry. I crawled toward the body, pulling the blade out of our attacker and plunging it back into his heart. Once I was sure there was no threat to us anymore, I let the tears fall from my eyes, wetting my shirt as I moved to cradle my mate’s head in my lap and sob, calling out for my brother to help me. To make this nightmare end.

A sudden sharp pain rippled through my abdomen. Coyo’s howl as I felt blood soaking my pants was deafening, as was the sob that tore from my throat.

“You’re just weak, aren’t you?” A disembodied voice thundered through the room.

“I’m not. I’m—”

“You are. You can’t even keep your mate or your pup alive. You’ve lost your pack to your pitiful lover. He’s not even a proper alpha.”

“That’s not true. Cade is a good alpha,”I argued, trying to find the source of the voice.

“Liar! He doesn’t even have an aura.” Martha stepped over the threshold of the office door. “Look at my baby boy,” she spat, forcing my head to look down at Brandon. “You’re the reason he’s dead. This is all because of you. The pack’s misfortunes only began when you came here. You’re worse than death. How many souls is your unfounded pride going to take?”

Eric’s spirit appeared a few feet away. Most of his skin peeled back from the burns. “I should have left when everyone died. I would have still been alive.”

“Eric, I’m sorry,” I cried.

More people began appearing in the small office. All the dead from the attack. I scrambled back from Brandon’s body, plastering myself against the wall as accusations flew out of their mouths. I put my hands over my ears, whimpering while Martha laughed at me.

“Pathetic!” she shouted over everyone.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my wrist. I looked up at the source to find Eric looking down at me. “You need to wake up,” he said, but the voice coming out of his lips wasn’t Eric’s. It was Cory’s.

“Help me,” I whimpered.

“It’s not real.”

“It’s not real,” I whispered back. “It’s not real. It’s not real. You’re not real.” I looked up at the faces looking down at me.

“I’m very real and I’m going to kill you,” Martha hissed pushing past all the specters.

“YOU’RE NOT REAL!”I screamed.

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