Chapter 25 - Adalyn
The beep of a hospital machine slowly stirred me into consciousness. The first thing I saw after the white ceiling above me was my grandmother’s eyes. They were the richest brown, settled on me. Her face was pinched into uncertainty, but a smile broke out as soon as she saw me.
Her hands reached for mine.
“Adalyn,” she breathed. She brought my clasped hands up to her lips to kiss my palm. “My Adalyn. You’re okay.”
Her eyes shined with tears as she nodded, as if to herself.
“Gramma?” I murmured. “What’s happened?”
“You got hurt,” she said. “During the fight with the shifters. A demon poisoned you, Addie. You went unconscious, but—well, Zephyr and the others were there. They called for help for you.”
“Zephyr…” I repeated, my eyes scanning the room. “Where is he? I need to see him.”
My grandmother hushed me, petting my hair. “He’s here,” she assured me. “He’s waiting outside. I asked him to give you and me a moment first.”
It was then that I realized my grandmother knew. Knew that Zephyr and I were mates, knew that I was pregnant, knew that Zephyr was of the original shifter bloodline from the Cove.
“Gramma…”
“We’re not going to discuss any of it now,” she said, her voice tight with all the things that she wasn’t yet saying. “But we will , Adalyn. For now, you should be with your… Your mate before he paces a hole in the hospital floor.”
Everything in me ached but as soon as I saw Zephyr’s shadow in the doorway, I couldn’t help my smile. My grandmother kissed my forehead before standing, leaning far heavier on her cane than I recalled, even on the day we had video-called. Once she disappeared from the hospital room, Zephyr was there, kissing me. I winced as I lifted my arms to grasp onto him.
“Adalyn,” he murmured, kissing me as he kept repeating my name. “Adalyn, you’re okay. You’re alive.”
I forced a laugh. “You didn’t think I would be?”
“I was scared,” he admitted. “You were so white… The poison was infecting you. Your wounds were turning purple, and I just—” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I was so terrified of losing you.”
I held his face in my hands, kissing him again. “You won’t ever lose me, Zephyr.”
He pulled back, his eyes wide. Tears welled in them. “You mean it?”
“Always,” I whispered. “I lo—”
“All right,” a voice announced from the doorway. “Let’s check on your baby’s health, shall we?” A female nurse walked in, her smile wide, as she wheeled in an ultrasound set-up with her. Zephyr stilled, his hand tightening on mine.
“It’s far too early for a proper first scan, but we’ll see what we can see there. I’ve heard there are special circumstances here.”
Zephyr nodded. “Shifter DNA can enable faster growth, right?”
The nurse nodded. “It means that pregnancy detection could be done faster, and the growth of your baby might be further along than would be expected at this point. We’ll be keeping a close eye on you, Adalyn.”
I nodded, fear nestling in my stomach.
But it was all taken away once the scan began and the sound of a heartbeat began to pulse. But that was impossible. I had only had sex with Zephyr more than a week ago.
I looked at him, but his face was dazed with awe as an image came up on the screen. It was a tiny dot, but it was something.
“At the moment, your baby is no bigger than a grain of rice,” the nurse told me. Once again, it felt impossible. This was… This was something I thought would be more like a month along. But then I thought back to Harper’s pregnancies. She had developed quickly, her pregnancy lasting several months rather than a full nine months as usual.
“Damn,” Zephyr whispered. “That is amazing.”
His hand found mine as we both gazed at the baby on the screen.
Ours , I thought.
“We can’t say the gender yet,” the nurse said. “The speed isn’t that fast, but we can book you in for a scan in another month to check the progression and go from there. But what I can confirm, Adalyn, is that you’re growing a very healthy, strong baby.”
“Just like their mom,” Zephyr whispered in my ear. I turned to gaze at him, utterly wordless. I kissed him as tears slipped down my cheeks.
“I’ll leave you both for a moment,” the nurse said, leaving the scan on the screen. That tiny heartbeat continued to sound through the room, and I burst into tears. Zephyr tucked my face into his neck, angling us so we could both watch the screen.
“Look at that,” he whispered, shaking his head. “That’s our future right there, Adalyn. A little witchy wolf.”
I couldn’t help laughing through my sobs. He was right. That was our baby, growing healthy, and I had protected both our child and myself.
“Adalyn,” Zephyr began, kneeling next to me. “What you did at the Emporium… The way you protected us both… It was the strongest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“You were hurt,” I murmured. “You were hurt, and I—I couldn’t fix the shield quick enough and—”
He shushed me gently. “I’m fine,” he told me. “I was checked over earlier. They gave me an antidote, but because you went unconscious, they needed to keep you under observation. But I’m okay. See?”
He held out his arms, those beautiful arms that had carried me through it all, and I slid my palms up them. I swirled my fingertip over his tattoos, pushing up his sleeves, eager to touch as much of him as I could.
“How do you feel?” he asked me softly.
“Like I got hit with a rock,” I muttered. “But you help. You being here… It helps.”
“And I’ll stay here,” he told me, a heavier, second meaning weighing in his voice. His gaze met mine, his hand holding my face. “Adalyn, I was wrong to do… Everything I did before we went underground. I was terrible. You have never been weak. You’ve always been strong, and I’ve been full of misplaced hatred. Alex and Hector have been telling me how much your shields helped the northern part of the island. When you left our cave to do more protection, you stopped a swarm of demons infiltrating the towns. Residents with fewer defenses were saved by you. The shields saved them. Portals couldn’t be opened anywhere you had shielded.”
“But the parts that I hadn’t—”
“Were taken care of,” he assured me. “Alex told me that a bigger catastrophe has been avoided. We took the worst of them out at the Emporium.” Guilt flashed over his face. “And I trapped some in the sanctuary, so I can only hope they’ve teleported out of there.”
I let out a quiet laugh. “You’ll feel the wrath of the witches.”
“Oh, no doubt,” he said. “It was the only way I could get to you.”
“Zephyr, your anger and hatred weren’t misplaced,” I told him, kissing his cheek, then the bridge of his nose, each corner of his mouth. “I’m sorry that any of my kin ever came near your brother and caused so much pain to your family.” I shook my head. “I can’t answer for that witch, and you deserve revenge, but if you’ll take it, all I can offer is a fresh start. A future without any feuds.”
Zephyr nodded. “I’m making peace with my distrust of witches,” he said. “Thanks to you. Although I am still terrified of your grandmother.”
“She… She’s changed her mind about shifters. I fear we might have some convincing to do with her.” I smiled helplessly. “After all, she is the Matron.”
Zephyr’s face went white as he blinked. “That’s… Greta is the Matron of the Lindell coven?”
I nodded.
“And you knew all along?”
“Obviously.”
“And you didn’t say ?” His voice pitched high with incredulity. I could only laugh and kiss him.
“I knew it would freak you out,” I murmured. “But yes, I knew.”
“Does that mean you’ll be the Matron one day?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t necessarily go down familial bloodline but often the one who proves themselves to be worthy of the position. It’s not one I would want, I don’t think. I want a quiet life. I want you and our child to pass on my knowledge to younger witches so they can know that what they have and give and do is so special. I went too long without knowing that from anyone outside of my family.”
“I want to work with you,” he murmured. “To make the Cove safer.”
“The Cove,” I echoed, grinning.
“Well, you know,” he said. “I will become a local.”
I snorted. “You wish.”
“I love you, Adalyn. I’ve been crazy about you since I met you—in multiple ways. Crazy with anger, but now it’s crazy with love. I love you more than anything and I will spend every day of my life making sure you know how much worth you have. My mate.” He kissed me deeply. “My beautiful, powerful mate, who absolutely terrifies me at times.”
I laughed through my tears, holding him close. “I love you, Zephyr. I’m sorry it took me so long to catch up to everything. But this… Our future… It’s right here.” I placed his hand on my stomach as we both looked back at the screen. “I love you—I’m falling in love with you.”
My hands slid through his hair, caressing those tattoos on his head, toying with the length of his hair. His tongue swept against mine, and I pressed close, groaning when my body protested. I gingerly sat back against the hospital bed pillows.
“Can I ask you something?” A smile played on his lips.
“Anything,” I answered.
“That day in the pool… Were you going to kill me?”
I blanched but then only smirked. “Only as much as you were going to kill me the night you hunted me in the woods.”
His cheeks colored. We both had more trauma to work through and mistakes acted upon against one another, but we could make it work. We would get through it together. Even if it was a slow process, all that mattered was that he would be here.
“I want to leave the military,” Zephyr confessed, breaking the silence. “Or maybe find an alternative. But I don’t want to be a part of anything that will take me away from you and our baby. I want to build a home, a life, here. I don’t want to keep running anymore. I’ve done it for too long. I’m exhausted, and my anger doesn’t feel like the driving force anymore.” He shook his head. “If I kept running for revenge, then I want love to be the one thing that grounds me.”
I kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him down to me. He braced his arms on either side of me, holding himself up.
“You will always have a home with me,” I told him, my eyes never leaving his. That bright green gaze fixed on me, sincerity in them. Once, they had been so full of fury and hatred, a need for revenge burning through Zephyr. But now, only love resided in them. Love for me , for this life we could build.
The heartbeat continued around us, reminding us both of what we would soon be welcoming into our lives.
“I’ll never leave you,” he swore. “I will make sure I always return to you.”
Fresh tears prickled my eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you, Adalyn.”
From outside, I heard a sniffle. I looked around, surprised, and found Harper and Frazer peeking around, both of their eyes red.
“Fray, are you crying? ” Zephyr asked, laughing. “C’mon, man.”
“What?” he asked defensively. “I’ve watched you self-destruct for years. Don’t ruin this moment for me.”
Zephyr only laughed and waved everybody in. Harper came over to hold my other hand. Only my grandmother remained outside, but I would have time to talk to her. For now, I was surrounded by shifters and my best friend, and I was happy.
Everything was going to be perfect.