Page 66 of The Wolf's Bullied Pregnant Mate
And hope was a flimsy, feeble thing at times.
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We lay together that night, entwined in bed. My back pressed to Zephyr’s chest as he held me protectively, as he had to do.
We had come so far from the two people who tried to sleep complete ends of the bed, not at all touching, lapsing into stony silence.
I was dreaming—Zephyr and me beneath the waterfall, the water cascading over our heads, laughter in the air—when Ifelt the temperature in the airdrop. When I came slowly out of my dream, I heard the hisses.
We crave the taste of witch blood. We remember it well.
I opened my eyes. Around us, moisture collected on the walls, illuminated by the flickering candle I had left lit when we slept. Zephyr was awake before I could even reach for him to wake him up. Demons were peeking out from the other caverns, their blank, manic faces staring back at us as they swarmed closer.
“The seal,” I whispered, my stomach dropping. “I forgot to reseal the doors.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Zephyr said, his voice urgent. “Adalyn, I need you to get somewhere safe.” He pushed himself from the bed and got me behind him, angling me away from the demons, so I had a clean break right through the main, long tunnel to the other exit. The demons were coming up from the pool and crawling through the ceiling. Down the tunnel, there was a blue flashing light. More portals.
They hissed, calling out for my blood, for shifter blood.
Clawed fingers moved them in a slow gait towards us.
“Adalyn, swear to me that you’ll run like hell and not stop until you’re safe,” he said. “Use your shields. Put up ten of them if you need to.”
“I want to fight,” I insisted, backing up automatically as he pushed me away from the swarm. “Zephyr, you promised—”
“I know,” he said. “I know, but right now, I need you to focus on keeping yourself and our baby safe.”
“Zephyr—”
“Please.” Desperation weighed in his voice as he met my gaze. He held my face for a brief moment. “Please, Adalyn. Get both of you to safety.”
With that, he nudged me over the threshold of the sanctuary on the other side. And then he ran for the tunnel. I was stunned, and panicking, but had just enough time to throw up a seal over the sanctuary entrance as demons slammed against it, stuck on the other side. Stuck withZephyr.
I left a whispered spell that would unlock the seal the moment he touched it as a shifter, allowing that unity into my spell without me there. It took much of my energy immediately, and I swayed, holding onto the wall.
Safety.
Where was it safe? I had no idea where any of the other shifters were. I didn’t even know where Gramma was, safe with Harper and Alex.
I went to the only place I knew was second best to the sanctuary. Somewhere, I would be on the ground I knew well enough to protect myself. A place already thick with shields and wards. I turned around and sprinted out of the main entrance through the cavern, bursting through the waterfall.
And then I ran into town and towards the Emporium, casting a shield around myself. I had to think of my baby—of this new life that needed to grow, not end before I had a chance to bring something good into the world. I couldn’t put Zephyr through more loss and heartache.
I ached for him. That tether between us grew unbearably taut. I thought of him calling me his mate, and I struggled to keep my wits about me as I ran. He had to be okay. He would shift. He had taken down swarms before.
Only with the others, I thought fearfully. But I needed to believe in him. I had to trust that he would be okay. I had to be okay—I had to protect my baby and protect her, as Zephyr swore to protect us both.
I didn’t see the glowing spots of neon blue following me as I ran.
Chapter 22 - Zephyr
Demon after demon came for me. I had fought off several alone before, both utterly alone and taking some down within the group. But it had never been like this.
Demons launched themselves at me, diving in and out of portals as I ran for the exit. I couldn’t fight them all alone. After we had restocked on food the other day, I had gone against orders and snuck back to the very empty villa, retrieving my favorite shotgun. I had brought it back with me. I fired that now with the magic-infused bullets, blasting demon after demon.
But the bullets would run out soon, and I would be left with only a shifted body to fend for myself in. Bullets gave me distance from the demons, but they were faster than I had seen them before.
There were too many to fight off alone.
