Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Adeline
“Where is my mother?” I ask him.
“Safe for now, but not for long. I have Maya and Taylor, too, so if you want to see them alive again, I suggest you do as I am about to tell you. I am sick of playing this game of cat and mouse.”
“I want proof you have them.”
“Thought you may say that,” he says before I hear my mother start screaming in pain.
“Stop! Stop, okay? What do you want?” I ask.
My mother starts sobbing before falling silent.
“Mom?”
“She is fine. Now, I want you to meet me in the forest tonight. Tell your mates, and I only have to make one phone call, and they are dead, understood?”
I feel my eyes brimming with tears.
“Do you think you can get away from them?” he asks.
“You are asking the impossible. I can’t walk into the forest at night,” I tell him, knowing it is much too vast and dark. I can’t see inside the forest at night; I can barely see in it during the day.
“You don’t have to find me. I will come to get you. Meet just inside the tree line near the solar panels. I will be waiting,” he says before the phone cuts off.
I try to ring it back, but it cuts off, and I look at the screen to see the reception has dropped.
Getting up, I walk out into the living room, trying to get reception but still no luck, making me go outside. I instantly get reception and ring my mother’s number, the phone ringing out and going to voicemail. I try to dial again, the same thing. Cyrus, noticing me, comes over.
“Hungry?” he says.
I shake my head, about to ring the number again when a text comes through: “I love you, can’t wait to see you.” A shiver runs up my spine.
“Just try her tomorrow,” Cyrus says, reading the text over my shoulder.
Cyrus leads me toward the rows of tables to the front.
“Cyrus?” I say before stopping. I want to tell them, but what if he kills them? I know I should, but I have no doubt Sam would kill them just to hurt me.
“You okay? Your emotions are all over the place,” he says.
“Yes, I am just hungry,” I lie before sitting at the table next to Eli.
I watch everyone nervously but eat as much as I can, my stomach turning with each mouthful; my son kicking around in my belly is not helping my nausea at all.
Eli keeps sending glances my way and so does Cyrus.
I can tell they know something is wrong with me, and I try to block them but also know that would make them suspicious.
I need to figure out a way to get them to remain asleep tonight while I sneak off.
The thought of seeing Sam makes my heart beat faster, fear prickling at me, memories of the cabin resurfacing.
My anxiety is at an all-time high, but I have no choice.
I will not be responsible for my mother, sister, or Maya’s death.
Eli rubs my belly, making me snap out of my head, and I jump slightly not expecting the contact.
“Why are you so on edge?” Eli whispers, pulling on my elbow and helping me stand.
“I’m not,” I tell him, and he grips my chin, making me meet his gaze. He studies my face.
“Then why are you scared? You forget we can feel you.”
“Just worried about next week,” I tell him.
“Don’t be scared, Addie. You won’t even feel it, I promise. Cyrus will do it quickly.”
“I know you’re scared of changing, love, but you can’t remain human, Addie,” Cyrus adds, and I nod, letting them think that is what I am afraid of.
I am afraid of them killing me to change me, but not as scared as I am, knowing Sam has my family, and that I will soon be faced with dealing with him. Nothing scares me more than knowing they are at his mercy.
“I will grab us some towels. A shower might help you settle for the night,” Eli says, and Cyrus places his hand on my lower back, walking me toward the bathroom.
Eli walks inside to retrieve the towels.
The shower does nothing; nothing can warm the cold feeling that has settled over me.
Even hopping in bed, the sparks of them hold no comfort.
Eli is first to fall asleep; he has been up early every morning since taking over as Alpha.
I have to fight to stay awake; I nearly doze off a couple of times before jolting myself awake in a panic.
Looking over at my mates, they are both asleep; now comes the tricky part of getting out of bed without waking them.
I carefully crawl to the bottom of the bed before stepping off it.
I shiver at the loss of their warmth as I step on the cold stone floor before slipping my shoes on.
I then grab my dressing gown as it is the only offer of warmth that fits around my swollen belly.
I check again to make sure they stay asleep before twisting the brass door knob and opening the door before gently closing it.
Walking into the living room, I stop in my tracks when I see Maverick sitting at the small table.
“Addie, dear, what are you doing up?” he asks.
“Thirsty and I need to pee,” I tell him, walking over to the sink and grabbing a cup before filling it with water. I rinse the cup, and he stands.
“I will take you out if you want.”
“No, it’s fine. I will only be quick.”
“You sure? I don’t mind,” he says, but I shake my head.
“Okay, then. Make sure you are quick. It is cold outside tonight,” he says before stretching.
“Night, Addie,” he says before walking toward his room.
I waited till I hear his door close before walking to the front door. I listen for any movement, knowing him being up has just cost me time. I know Cyrus and Eli will sense me not in bed eventually.
Getting outside, a chill runs up my spine at what I am about to do.
The village is quiet, no one awake at this hour, and the only noises are coming from the wind as it whistles between the houses, the sounds of the trees swaying in the wind.
I walk through the small village before coming to the fields.
This place gives me the creeps at night, the trees eerie.
I hate coming out here in the dark, especially when the only light is coming from the moon that sits high in the sky.
I start running, the long grass whipping against me as I try not to fall over my own feet, my hands clutching my belly.
It doesn’t take long before I become winded, my body aching from the sudden exercise.
I clutch my knees, having to stop, trying to catch my breath that comes in short puffs.
I am only halfway to the tree line. I look back toward the village that is in total darkness.
I am about to turn back when I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist. My body instantly tenses as they lock securely around my body, the hairs on the back of my neck rising.
“You weren’t thinking of turning back now, were you?” Sam’s menacing voice says next to my ear.
“You smell lovely,” he says, his tongue running up the side of my neck, and I feel a tear run down my cheek.
What have I done? The monster I’ve been running from now has me in his clutches, and I have no one to blame but myself. I thought I could do this, sacrifice my happiness for my family, but now I truly see how foolish this is. He rubs his hands over my belly. I fight the urge to cringe at his touch.
“I can forgive you for this, but it irks me that it isn’t mine. It should have been mine, Ada,” he says before his fangs graze my neck.
This time I do cringe away from him, a shudder running through me.
“You will be punished for this little disrespect, but I shall learn to love it despite it not being mine. Now, come, my love. It is time to leave this horrid place, time to go home. You have no idea how much I have missed you.”
“My family?” I ask him.
“I will have her set free once I have you home,” he says. He turns me to face him before grabbing my thighs and lifting me; I grab his shoulders to stop from falling backward, tears blurring my vision.
“Don’t cry, my love. It was always going to end this way. You were always going to be mine, and if I can’t have you, no one will,” he tells me, his red eyes peering back at me. He moves me higher, his grip tightening around me.
“Hang on, Ada. Be a shame if I dropped you. You don’t want to harm the baby, do you?” he says, and I fight the urge to break down.
He turns toward the trees before I feel him start running, forcing me to shield my face from the wind as I tuck it into his neck.
I can feel myself moving further and further away, hoping Eli or Cyrus will soon realize I am gone, regret seeping into me.
I should never have been so stupid to leave the safety of my mates.
That realization, after running for a while, makes panic surge through.
Panic grips me, and I start screaming, fighting to get out of his grip.
I know what is coming and can’t go through with it.
I will be condemning my son to a life of torture if they don’t find me.
Sam drops me, my body hitting the ground with a loud thud, and I start screaming for Eli and Cyrus, hoping they can hear me being this far from them.
Yet over the howling wind, I have my doubts before I force myself to my feet and start running blindly into the forest.
Pain ripples through my stomach, and I feel something sharp stab into my hand when I hit the ground, tripping over something in the darkness and landing on my stomach as I am thrown forward.
I clutch my stomach, shooting pain radiating under it, and I feel a stickiness run down my legs, soaking my pants as I stand.
The pain becomes torturous as I try to scream for my mates, the pain taking my breath away.
Sam growls loudly, and I pivot, looking for him in the darkness, only to feel the wind rush past me as he darts off somewhere.
I continue to run, using my hands to feel for any trees, so I don’t run into them, my other hand clutching my aching stomach.
I know we are close to the road leading here because we have been running for a while.
And in the darkness, I can’t even see which way I am running, but Sam has been running for at least an hour before I chickened out, unable to go through with it.
I know it makes me a monster, but I can’t do it, can’t sacrifice my son, not even for my family.
I feel air rush past me, and I stop, trying to see in the darkness before hearing my sister’s voice.
“Addie, run!” she screams before I hear the sound of flesh on flesh, yet I am frozen by the sound of her voice.
“Taylor…” I murmur into the darkness, trying to see a silhouette or anything, listening carefully so I can find her.
“You didn’t think I would expect you to come willingly, did you? I knew you would try to run. So I brought your sister with me,” Sam’s voice says from the darkness.
I feel a hand grab my arm, Sam ripping me toward him. He sniffs the air before he growls.
“Now, that is going to be a problem,” he says, and I feel for my sister, her shaking hands clutching mine in the darkness.
“We need to get that thing out of you, Ada,” Sam growls, but I am too busy checking if my sister is intact as I slide my hands up her arms, trying to feel and make sure she is okay.
“Maya and mom?” I ask her, a sob leaving my lips.
“At home. He took me from work; he can’t get to them. There are too many hunters watching the house, and Pete has been staying there,” she sobs, and I realize it was her voice I’d heard screaming, not my mother’s. She clutches me to her before gasping and stepping back.
“You know?” I ask her. Obviously, she does now, but for how long has she known about everything? Cyrus took her memory.
“Mom told me, and I started to remember everything once she did. Pete gave me some stuff to rid the compulsion from Cyrus,” she tells me. She tugs me back with shaky hands before she gasps, her body touching my bump. I feel her hands rub it, her voice stuttering, and she lets out a choked sob.
“You’re pregnant?” she says, and I can hear the shock in her voice. I didn’t want to tell her over the phone.
“This is lovely and all but start moving, or I kill her, Ada. And fast before your mates find us,” Sam says, shoving me forward.
I don’t move, and Sam does something that makes my sister scream.
“Stop, stop! I will go. Please, just let her go, Sam. She has nothing to do with this.”
“Not until we are back at the car, then I will dump her. So move, or I kill her. You are bleeding everywhere, Ada, and I need to get that baby out before it kills you.”
Sam grips my arm, marching me through the forest, and I stumble around blindly as he tugs me with him.