Page 144 of Altered

I could feel it; the life seeping out of me, as I lay on the ground bleeding out.

Tell her I love her.

Tell her I'm sorry.

Tell her I loved her in death.

When I closed my eyes for the final time, and embraced the darkness sweeping over my body, I sawherface.

Hope.

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Chapter Fifty-Six

Hope

Something was wrong.

They should have been back by now.

He told me he would be back by now!

"Hope, you need to calm down," Teagan coaxed as she watched me pace around her living room like a deranged lunatic.

I couldn’t calm down.

I couldn’t.

Every instinct inside of me was screamingdanger.

My stomach was laced with dread.

I could hardly breathe.

With my hand pressed to the small swell of my stomach, I continued to pace, unable to stop.

"I'm sure everything's fine," Teagan added, her eyes following my every move.

"Then why do I have the most horrendous pain in my heart?" Stopping dead in my tracks, I turned to face her, pressed my hand to my chest, and whispered, "I canfeelit, Teegs. Something terrible has happened."

"It's the pregnancy hormones," she assured me. "They make a woman go crazy."

The words were no sooner out of her mouth when the headlights of a car shone through the bay window.

Relief washed over me like a tidal wave.

"See," Teagan said with a smile as she slowly pulled herself up from the couch. "I told you they'd come back."

With relief flooding my heart, I rushed into the hallway with a huge smile on my face.

The smile faltered the moment my eyes landed on Noah standing in the doorway, covered in blood, and holding a screaming Ryder in his arms.

"Noah?" Teagan ran over to where her husband was shaking violently. "Noah, what's going on?" Taking the baby out his arms, she asked, "What are you doing with Ryder?"

"His mother's…fuck," he strangled out. "They killed her, Thorn…Right in front of him. I…I had uh…" He shook his head and exhaled a ragged breath. "She told me…bring him home…Jordan."

"Where is he?" I demanded. "Where is Hunter?"

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