Page 70 of Curvy Alpha Bride
“Mabel?” I say, looking around in confusion.
The maiden shrieks with laughter, the sound of it like sheets of ice shattering over frozen rocky peaks. Fear strikes me through the chest, so shocking that I fall to the ground, gasping as if I’m having a heart attack. The stench of rotted blood fills my nostrils again, making me gag as I try to draw breath.
“It’s just us, Xavier!” the witch laughs, standing over me. “Finally, we’re alone!”
“No,” I gasp, trying to get to my feet, but she reaches out and puts her fingertip to my chest. The second her cold hand touches my warm skin, a wave of pain rushes through me, as if my insides are getting dragged over the sharp points of billions of needles.
“Oh, yes, lover,” she whispers. “That’s the stuff I like. You really know how to please a woman.”
I put all my effort into one last, final struggle, but it’s no use. My senses blur, and I can’t be sure if I’m in heaven with a luscious siren or sunk into a cold hell with the worst demon Satan himself could cough up. Pleasure and pain war within me as I realize the witch needs my pleasure to make me compliant, but enjoys my pain too much to drain my life force without hurting me.
As my grip on the world begins to fail, the only thing I know with complete certainty is that I failed. I failed my family, my father, my pack, but worst of all, I have betrayed Mabel. For the third—and last—time.
Chapter 25 - Mabel
My dreams are deep and comfortable, a place of soft sounds and warmth where Xavier and I are together, forever, without any pain or threats looming over our future.
A sharp stab of anxiety pierces through the sweet sensations of contentment, and I try to push it away. I don’t want to leave this wonderful place, even if it isn’t real.
You must wake…a sweet voice drifts through my dreams.Tonight is the night, mother. It has to be tonight.
I struggle against waking, eventually coming out of my deep sleep so violently, I almost fall off the couch. The chiming of the little voice rings through my mind, and I feel a rush of love so powerful it sends prickling goosebumps across my skin.
It can’t be.
I expect Xavier to be right next to me, comforting me already, and when I don’t hear him speak, the splinter of anxiety pierces into my heart, sending cracks of fear running through my body.
He’s not here.
I hurl myself up from the couch, refusing to believe it. Even though I know what I’m going to see, I run through the house, checking every room and finding the cabin terrifyingly empty.
Hopelessness overwhelms me as I return to the living room, and I sit down in front of the fire, my arms wrapped tightly around myself as fear robs me of breath.
This can’t be happening!
Tears slide down my cheeks, and the memory of my dream haunts me. In that perfect place, we were together in absolute safety, and about to welcome our child into the world.
And I still haven’t told him… he doesn’t know! He’s gone out to fight the witch all alone, and he doesn’t know he’s going to be a father!
The thought of my baby brings me strength, and determination builds with every beat of my heart. I get up and go to the door, pushing it open and staring out into the moonlit night.
Now, mother. It must be now.
I’m still not convinced I’m hearing the voice of my unborn child, but I hang on to the hope in that voice. It gives me the courage I need to keep fighting.
I won’t let you grow up without a dad, little one.
Taking a deep breath, I step out onto the porch. I wait to hear the screaming of the witch, smell her fetid stench, and feel her claws sinking into me. But instead, I feel nothing.
I take a few cautious steps into the yard, the bright moonlight flooding down onto my head. My instincts tell me nothing is amiss. There isn’t even the faint aura of threat that usually hangs over the valley.
She’s busy with Xavier.
I turn towards the hills, and I can sense her, like a dense, malignant shadow. The urge to race into the woods and take her on is almost overpowering, but I know it would be death to Xavier, me, and our child.
And then the destruction of Wolfshade. I have to get help!
Whatever mystical protection I am beginning to suspect my baby has, I’m not ready to put it to the test—but I feel like I don’t have a choice.
