Page 74 of Mating Mia
Ignoring the pain, ignoring the heat still coursing through me, I half-crawl, half-drag myself across the stone floor to where she’s fallen. Ash is crying in earnest now, his wails bouncing off the cave walls as he lies partially trapped beneath the omega’s limp form.
“I’m coming, baby,” I gasp, pushing myself faster. “Mama’s coming.”
Heart pounding in my chest, I immediately shove the omega’s body aside with strength born of pure maternal rage. Her head lolls, blood matting the feathers of her dress where it pools beneath her. I don’t care if she’s dead or just unconscious—all that matters is getting Ash away from her.
I scoop my son into my arms, my hands running frantically over his tiny body, checking for injuries. He seems physically unharmed, even though he’s crying.
I clutch him to my chest, rocking him gently despite the tremors still wracking my body.
“Shh,” I whisper against his downy hair, tears streaming down my face. “Mama’s got you. You’re safe now.”
I drag us both away from the fallen omega, putting as much distance between her and us as my weakened body allows.
When my back hits the wall, I curl around Ash again, forming a protective cocoon with my body. My heat still rages, making me dizzy with need, but I force it to the background.
Nothing matters except keeping my son safe until my alphas return.
twenty
. . .
Finn
Blood.
The taste of it, hot and metallic and thick on my tongue, is the only thing that cuts through the roaring in my skull. I snap the other wolf’s neck with a single jerk of my jaw, feel his body go limp beneath me, then fling him aside.
I spit a chunk of fur from my mouth, hack a wet gob onto the trampled moss, and lift my head. Every nerve is still on fire, fighting instinct screaming at me to hunt the next challenger, to decimate anything that comes near my omega or my pack.
My claws scrape the stone as I turn, panting.
Jace is already crouched over the last of Orion’s wolves, his muzzle dripping, golden fur slicked black at the snout. Kane’s somewhere behind me, a smear of red across his face, eyes mad with battle-lust.
The air is thick with wet earth, wolf-musk, and fear. But I smell another scent. It’s barely there, but I know it instantly. Honey. Drenched, wild, frantic.
My head snaps up. I take a breath of air again, more carefully this time. It’s not just a trail, not just the low-level background hum of Mia’s usual presence.
There is a spike in her scent. A fucking thunderbolt.
I hear a whimper that’s halfway to a scream, echoing off the rock. Not fear. Something else. Something raw and desperate.
Mia.
I don’t even think about it—I just break for the waterfall, paws pounding the muddy ground. I mind-blast Kane as I run, a single urgent pulse across the bond:She’s in trouble.
GO, Kane, bellows.Only two left here. We’ll finish. Mia needs you.
He’s right. The war is already won. There’s nothing left for me but her.
I’m already shifting before I hit the sheet of water, bones tearing and knitting, fur sloughing away as I force my body upright. The cave is a smear of mist and darkness, but her scent covers every inch. I notice a dead omega wearing a black dress on the floor of the cave.
“Finn!” Mia shouts from the back of the cave. I barely notice the pain in my own body as I rush to her.
She’s on the floor.
Her shirt is bunched around her hips, face white as bone, hands clutching her stomach like she’s holding herself together by sheer will. There’s a wet, gleaming pool under her ass and thighs, more than I’ve ever seen before. She’s never released so much slick before.
Her scent hits me so hard my vision tunnels. The scent of honey is so concentrated I nearly drop to my knees.
