Page 67 of Bully Alpha's Secret Baby

“You’ve done enough!” I grip her shoulders, forcing her to look at me, to see me. “Jade, you’ve weakened it. Now let me end this.”

Her breathing is shallow, and her body is trembling with the effort to keep her magic in check. For a second, I think she’s going to fight me, but then I see the flicker of fear in her eyes. Not fear of the demon, but fear of what she’s doing to herself.

She nods, just barely, and I take that as my cue.

I turn, my body already shifting, bones cracking as my wolf takes over. The demon is still struggling, weakened but not defeated. Its red eyes lock on me, and it lets out a guttural snarl. But I don’t hesitate.

With a fierce growl, I launch myself at the creature, my claws sinking into its thick, scaly hide. It thrashes, trying to shake me off, but I’ve got the advantage now. Jade’s magic has done the hard work, and the demon is barely holding on.

I bite down on its throat, and my teeth tear through flesh and bone. The demon lets out one last, strangled cry before it collapses beneath me. Its massive body hits the ground with a sickening thud, and then everything goes still.

It’s over.

Panting, I step back, shifting back into my human form as I wipe the blood from my mouth. The demon is dead. Its lifeless body is sprawled out at my feet. But I don’t feel relief. Not yet.

“Jade!” I call, turning to her.

She’s still standing, but just barely. I rush to her side, catching her just as her knees buckle.

“I’ve got you,” I murmur, pulling her into my arms. She leans into me, her body trembling with exhaustion.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t mean to—”

“You did what you had to,” I cut her off. “You saved us, Jade. You saved the pack.”

She looks up at me, and her eyes are filled with a mix of relief and guilt. “I could have hurt you. I could have—”

“You didn’t,” I remind her, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “You didn’t lose control, Jade. You’re still here. We’re still here. And that demon? It’s not coming back.”

She lets out a shaky breath, and I can feel her start to relax as the tension slowly leaves her body. “It’s over,” she says, more to herself than to me.

“Yeah,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “It’s over.”

But as I look out over the wreckage—the scorched earth, the broken trees, the lifeless body of the demon—I know our packs have a long way before we recover from this.

Chapter 24 - Jade

I wake up feeling like I’ve been hit by a truck.

Not the metaphorical “Oh, I’m a little tired” kind of truck, but the literal “I got slammed into the ground by a demon and overexerted my powers until I broke something” kind of truck. My head is pounding, my body feels like it’s been stretched beyond its limits, and there’s a weird, hollow sensation in my chest, like something’s missing.

I blink against the light streaming in through the window. The first thing I see is Penny’s little face all scrunched up with worry, staring down at me like she’s waiting for me to stop being a zombie and join the land of the living.

“Mama?” she whispers, her voice so small, I can barely hear it.

I force a smile, despite how heavy everything feels, and reach out to brush a lock of hair away from her face. “Hey, baby.”

Her eyes light up, and before I know it, she’s launching herself at me, throwing her tiny arms around my neck and hugging me so tight, I can barely breathe. Not that I care. I’d let her squeeze the life out of me if it meant I got to hold her like this.

“You scared me,” she mumbles into my shoulder. “Don’t do that again.”

I close my eyes, breathing her in, feeling her warmth against me. “I’ll try my best, sweetie.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement and realize I’m not alone. Damien’s there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, looking like he hasn’t slept in days. His eyes lock on mine, full of relief, but there’s a tension in his stance. It’slike he’s been standing there, ready to spring into action at any moment.

Alec’s sitting beside the bed, too. “Glad to see you back with us, little sister.”

I give him a weak smile. “Glad to be back.”

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