Page 70 of Released

ASH

We all take our seats on various couches in the main living room after a long day of hunting elk and a meal of freshly caught elk heart. My father likes the idea of eating the heart of our enemies, and it doesn’t taste too bad once you get over the idea. The staff that cooked it have gone home as planned, so it’s just the eight of us.

Jax hands out glasses of scotch, catching my eye and giving an imperceptible nod to let me know that he’s done his part and, at most, we have half an hour before the effects of the GHB kicks in.

The elders talk about business, lots of bullshit back slapping and congratulatory talk about this or that company that has been made bankrupt. I watch, sipping my drink and trying not to sneer at the devils these men have become. It turns my stomach the amount of lives they’ve ruined, have forced us to take, all in the name of getting richer.

This isn’t how the world is meant to work. Lilly has shown me that with her light and goodness, and her caring for others. We’re meant to help people, help to pull them up, and not knock them down for our own gain. How many families have struggled because of us? Because of my father’s insatiable greed?

“Asth—” the man in question slurs, grimacing as his eyes try to focus on me. Seconds later his glass slips from his hand, landing with a dull thud on the rug as he slides to the floor, eyes closed and slack-jawed.

Similar noises sound around the room, and I look up to see all four of them lying in a comatose state.

“Stephen won’t be out for long,” Jax informs us, going over to Kai’s uncle and giving him a vicious kick. A small moan leaves the man’s lips, but he stays down. Jax leans down, grabs Stephen under the arms, and hauls him in the direction of the basement.

“You ready?” I ask Kai, pausing him with my hand on his bicep. He turns to face me, and it takes more effort than I’d like to admit not to flinch at the sight of his cold, dead eyes, all the warmth drained away.

“Yes.”

I loosen my grip, letting him go, but the stiffness in my shoulders remains as I watch him.

“Let’s get this show on the road, brother,” Loki says, his usual, teasing tone gone and replaced with the hard Knight that we’ve all been moulded into.

Taking one final, deep inhale, I draw my own darkness to the front, letting my inner demon take over for this bloody night’s work.

One last life to take.

* * *

LILLY

The pains increase steadily as the day wears on, becoming more intense and frequent as evening draws in. When we returned from our walk, Mai helped me to set up the main living area as my birth space; placing affirmation cards around the room, and plugging in fairy lights that she’d brought with her. The twins helped to set up the bluetooth speaker, and the classical playlist that Loki and I had created specifically for the birth is playing softly in the background. There’s a sharp pain in my chest which has nothing to do with my labour and everything to do with my missing Knights.

I keep walking round the space, pausing and breathing every time a contraction hits me. It’s full nighttime now, the moon shining through the French doors, the curtains left open at my insistence. I’m looking out into the darkness as another pain tightens my abdomen, and I grab hold of the back of a chair in a tight grip as it washes over me.

“That’s it, just breathe through them, Lilly,” Mai soothes, rubbing my back in circles. “You are doing so well, sweetheart.”

Tears sting my eyes at the endearment. It’s Kai’s new nickname for me, and I would give anything to have him here. To have all of them here.

“They’re getting stronger,” I pant out, straightening up once it passes and resuming my pacing, Mai giving me the space to walk.

“And closer together,” she says with a smile. “Baby is growing impatient to meet its mama.”

“Here,” Rowan says, holding out a bottle of some kind of sports drink. “You need to keep your energy levels up, especially as you haven’t eaten much.”

I take a sip, my heart aching when mango fills my mouth and I remember Jax taking care of me in his truck after Julian had said those awful things at the paintballing centre.

I gasp as another searing pain hits me, and Rowan quickly grabs the bottle before I can accidentally drop it. I grasp his arm, digging my nails in as I pant, this pain stronger than the last and much sooner.

A cool cloth smelling of lavender is pressed to my forehead as the contraction subsides, and I sigh, breathing in the relaxing scent. It reminds me of all the bubble baths the guys ran for me.

“Sorry.” I wince when I see the crescents in Rowan’s forearms left from my nails digging in.

“No worries, pixie,” he assures me with a grin.

The next hour or so is more of the same, walking and panting through the pains, time slipping away as I get lost in my own body and the war that is raging inside me.

I come to realise that’s what birth is, a war with only one outcome. Your body is literally being ripped apart, and all you can do is ride the waves of agony, praying that you both come out of the other side.

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