Page 72 of Curvy Alpha Bride
Lyssa pulls away and gestures to the others. Just as they are about to leave the square, I call out to her one last time.
“Lyssa!”
“Yes, my luna?”
“If you make it to the top of the ridge and out of the valley… don’t stop.”
“What?”
“Keep going,” I say, forcing the words out through my tears. “Don’t look back. Run as fast as you can along the Pass. Follow it to the east, and it will lead you to the human world. You might be safe there.”
Lyssa bows her head and touches her heart, smiling as she turns to run towards the hills. I know that she acknowledged my command, but she won’t follow it.
“Right,” I say, turning back to the pack. “Who is coming with me?”
The small group of people who have come up out of the bunker shuffle back, looking around fearfully. Serra stands before them, a look of determination on her face.
“None of us will go,” she says. “It’s bad enough that our young women took your word and left town. I’m not letting you take anyone else!”
“According to you, all of us are doomed!” I hiss, hurrying over to glare into her face. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather go down fighting instead of trapped underground, shivering in a puddle of my own cowardice!”
Serra’s face hardens, and unrecognizable emotion shimmers in her eyes. “Have you seen the witch kill?” she croaks, her voice weak. “Have you heard the sounds she makes when she feeds? None of us wants to die like that.”
“Then die as cowards!” I yell at her. “All of you. Crawl back into your holes and cling to your false hopes. I’m going to get my husband!”
I run back to the truck, expecting someone to follow me, but nobody does. Even though I’m disappointed, I have to admit I really don’t know what I’m up against.
Maybe it’s better if I don’t know. What’s that saying about fools rush in?
I floor it, wrenching the truck around every bend with reckless determination. Even though I know I’m putting myself in danger, the threat of a car crash has little impact on me.
There is a certain death looming in my future, no matter which path I choose. Maybe it would be better to go out in a crash.
Even though the thought is self-defeating, it has an odd ring to it. Somehow, I just feel like it isn’t my destiny to go out in a crash. That my path is waiting for me beyond the cabin.
Tonight is special, I can feel it. Whether we beat her for good or go out trying, this is the night we’ve been waiting for.
When I pull up at the cabin, the night is still, with a faint, warm breeze flowing down the mountain. There is a hint of sweetness in the wind, but I can also smell the stench of the witch hidden beneath it.
I look into the cabin for a moment, the soft glow of light from the fire and a comfortable couch waiting for me to go and curl up again, shutting the door and turning my back on the fight. Somehow, I know the wards would protect me if I went back inside, and the witch wouldn’t get me or my baby.
But I can’t give up. Not now. The others are counting on me—and the whole Range could be on its way right now! I know what I have to do.
A warm glow surrounds me, and again, I feel a sense of peace and confidence sweeping through my body. I don’t hearthe strange, sweet voice again, but somehow I know my child is with me, and she is giving me strength.
I walk past the cabin, heading out to the shore of the lake. To my right, small, windswept waves catch the light, while to my left, the clearing stretches out towards the sheer fall of the mountain.
Ahead of me, the dense forest waits, the shadows getting thicker as I watch.
I stop at the edge of the lake, staring into the woods. I won’t fight her in the shadows. If she wants me, she’ll have to come out into the moonlight.
Cackling laughter echoes across the plain, and the shadows stretch like claws reaching for me across the ground. A blue haze condenses at the tree line, and I begin to see the edges of her form as she walks towards me.
Even in the full light, it’s hard to truly see her. I can only barely glimpse her form and features, as if she isn’t solid.
Where is Xavier?
My heart aches as I think of the possibility that he’s already dead and the witch left his body in the forest. I know she is supposed to enslave the alpha, though. Surely she wouldn’t have wasted his power like that.
