Sinful Mates 1-3 novel Chapter 161

　　Evelyn POV

　　I could hear their voices around me yet all I could see was darkness and the occasional flickering of lights above me. I knew I was on some sort of trolley, felt the movement and jostle of the gurney they had me on, yet all I could think of was the pain. My insides being ripped to shreds and I had no control over it, my body jerking, and I could feel the savage movements of her trying to rip her way out of me.

　　“Hold her down” I hear a feminine voice yell before I feel gloved hands grip onto me, panic coursing through me as I try to thrash unsuccessfully. Coughing uncontrollably as I feel warm liquid leave my mouth and run down my neck choking me, I was choking on my own blood, my lungs burning for air.

　　“Just cut it out, she is as good as dead anyway” I hear a male voice talking calmly as if the very person they were effectively killing wasn’t laying and writhing in pain below them. The coldness seeping into my bones as I feel my life draining from me painfully slow.

　　“Once the baby is out, take it to the lab. I want its blood, then we need to move before its father comes looking for her.”

　　“You are sure this going to work?”

　　“He will come looking for her, then we will use her blood to kill him.”

　　“What about the baby?”

　　“It’s a monster. It will grow up to be exactly like her father. We only need her blood then dispose of it.”

　　My screams dying out at their words, as I tried to focus on what they were saying, what they mean. I start thrashing, mustering any strength I have.

　　“I said hold her down. How is she still alive?” I hear the woman mutter before feeling something slash my stomach.

　　Feel the warmth of my blood run over the sides of my body as they cut me yet all I could focus on was the sounds of my blood spattering on the floor, echoing loudly in my ears before I hear a shrill high-pitched sound of a baby crying, why wasn’t I dead? I could still hear them though the sound was becoming muffled, distant as I strained to hear. Hear her cries when suddenly I feel no pain at all, just cold, oh so cold as I listen to my heart thump one last time, the noise I will never forget was my dying gasp before I feel nothing.

　　Ryland POV

　　They took her away, they wheeled her out as she lay writhing in agony, her screams piercing my ears and my heart as I watched on helplessly, thrashing against my restraints and I could feel the silver bleeding into my skin, my skin melting away. I try and listen, but I am much to weak. Unable to even focus on my surroundings long enough to focus my hearing. Looking down I was still losing blood, becoming weaker by the second as I prayed my mates would get to her in time. Amara’s message ringing loudly in my head and the doom that followed if I failed. I failed, I set a path toward a future that will be snuffed into existence. I feel my link to her growing weaker, weaker as the seconds tick by and I know my mates can feel my failure. My agonised scream echoing off the walls as I feel my teether to her snap painfully, like a hot poker was shoved into my chest removing soul as she died. I could almost hear her last breath as I gasped, tears burning my eyes and I know I failed. She was gone, our little mate was dead. They left her with me, trusted her to me and I failed her.

　　Hearing footsteps outside the door I look to it. The door opening and a man walks in, in his lab coat. He was young, only in his twenties yet I could tell by the way he looked at me with pure hatred he had been raised a hunter, raised to despise anything that wasn’t human. His black glasses perched on the end of his nose as he stepped into the room. He walks over crouching in front of me.

　　“I would say congratulations on your baby girl, but you will never see her. She is just a means to an end” He mocks. I growl at him thrashing but he doesn’t even flinch, he knows he has the upper hand in this situation. Knows I can’t escape and just to make sure he pulls a syringe from his pocket. I identify the green liquid instantly as wolfsbane and brace myself for it.

　　His brushes his blonde mop of hair from his eyes, his hazel eyes glinting wickedly, I thought Thaddeus was evil but by the look in his eyes, this man was worse. They think we are monsters, yet he was here to get his jollies off, over inflicting pain. He stabs the needle into the bullet hole in my chest squeezing the plunger as I feel the acidic liquid burn through my cells. Gritting my teeth, he seems dissatisfied that he didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for, instead he pulls a knife from his pocket, the blade glinting under the dim light casting shadows on the walls as he twirls it between his fingers.

　　“You think you’re the higher beings of the earth, little do you know your just a pawn in our games. Thaddeus, your mate will fall, and I will watch him die and gladly the reap the rewards of being the world’s hero,” he says before pushing the blade into my stomach, the silver slicing through my skin like a hot knife on butter as he twists it. His face contorting as he smiles showing his teeth.

　　“You’re all dead, every god damn one you,” I spit at him choking on my own blood.

　　“I don’t think so,” he says before turning and nodding to the man standing guard at the door with a gun in his hand. I hear the sound of a trolley before seeing another man in black armour push the gurney into the room, dripping with blood. He walks beside it dumping the body wrapped in a sheet at my feet. Evelyn’s dead limp body falling to the ground with a thud, the sickening sound of her head hitting the concrete as she is dumped on the ground like rubbish makes bile rise in my throat.

　　“Yet you react to her, what is it that is so special about an insignificant human?” he says pulling the blade from my stomach and stabbing her in the chest. I thrash as I watch him mutilate her body, mutilate her face. The man in armour throws up on the ground near the door. The man in front of me looking at him over his shoulder before looking back at me, shaking his head in disgust.

　　Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, he clicks his tongue. “Some don’t have the stomach for this line of work,” he states before standing up.

　　“I will leave you with this,” he says kicking her body with his foot as he walks toward the door. I can’t help it, I laugh they have no idea what they have done, no idea what is coming for them.

　　The man in armour stares at me yet I have tears rolling down my face from laughing. They talk of destroying him, yet he was going to destroy everyone and everything when he finds her and he will find us, they have no idea what they have awoken, the hell that was about to rain down on everyone and everything.

　　They stop, staring back at me, the man in armour looks at his boss nervously.

　　“I would run if I were you, you have destroyed the last shred of his humanity, you have just awoken the devil, he will bring hell on earth for what you have done” I tell him before going into fits of laughter.

　　“Ignore him, fear does weird things to people” The man says pushing the others toward the door before closing it, while I continue to laugh that’s all I have left is the sick satisfaction knowing Thaddeus was going to destroy them all, destroy all of us.

　　Thaddeus POV

　　Amara was the one who first alerted us, we were on our way back and had just stepped onto the busy main street when my phone started ringing making us stop. She uttered one word, like she had seen it seconds before she rang, seconds before agony tore through me.

　　“I’m on my way” the phone going dead just as I was brought to my knees, along with Orion who was still walking collapsed violently in a heap. My veins felt like they were on fire, as I felt Ryland’s pain through the bond. Taking my breath away as I clutched at my shoulder. Acid moving through my veins, engulfing everything in flames. Evelyn’s fear hitting us, pure panic kicking in and I could feel that she was running. Feel her getting weaker as she too felt Ryland’s pain along with her own. Orion screaming on the ground trying to put out the invisible flames that were consuming him while I tried to breathe through it unsuccessfully. People staring wondering why two people were suddenly on the ground writhing in pain, yet I didn’t care, all I cared about was getting to them.

　　When suddenly it stopped, stopped just as quick as it started. Orion’s screams died out and I rolled onto my hands and knees panting, anger coursing through me as I stood up. People in the main street backing up, the ground rumbling violently beneath my hands, the road cracking along with the building around me as I feel the darkness trying to take over, but I needed a clear mind, needed to find them as I focus on them, focus on my mates. Orion stands sweat coating his body and drenching his shirt, something I never seen on him as he struggled to find his legs. My phone shattered on the ground into pieces from where it fell from my hand. Moving, I make my way to Orion grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet as his legs kept giving way from under him.

　　“We need to move, come on” I gasp out trying to catch my breath. Frightened onlookers scattering as we staggered down the street cars stopping as we dart across the road and into their path.

　　“What did they use?” Orion coughs out still trying to catch his breath.

　　“I have no idea, but whatever it is, it would be ten times worse for Ryland.”

　　“Evelyn?” he asks his voice shaking with fear.

　　“The link severed,” I tell him, knowing they both must be unconscious. We start running, forcing o0urselves to move, heading home. Praying we make it in time, get to them in time. When we hit the concealed driveway, I get a burst of energy as the house comes into view. My mother and Father I could hear inside the front door thrown open while Amara comes running from the trees beside the house.

　　“They aren’t here, I didn’t get here in time,” Amara says, fear on her face, as her eyes frantically scan our surroundings.

　　‘What did you see?” I ask, gripping her arms and shaking her before forcing her to look at me.

　　“I saw Ryland fall. I knew something happened but then I lost it. I couldn’t hold it like they went unconscious“ she says shaking her head, I could tell she had been using her magic, her aura was weak. Weak like she had been overexerting herself, trying to see what happened.

　　“Head to Leven, they have to be at the facilities there” I tell them.

　　“Your fathers are going to check the military facility on the way” My mother says as I see them come out of the house, my father trying to pick up any scents, but the place was clean. No scents at all not even human scents like they masked themselves in some way.

　　We race to the compound on the outskirts of Leven minutes feeling like hours as we race to get to them in time, running past the sign bordering the town when I feel her wake. Feel Evie’s consciousness start to wake but it doesn’t last long. By the time we got to the gated compound, I feel the bond break, feel her dying breath and I snap, a scream leaving my lips as I feel my soul shatter into a million pieces, the part of it that is her dying with her. The ground moving in a wave as I approach the fence, feel the volts of electricity rippling in the wire as I tear it apart with my hands, the barbed wire sticking to and catching on my clothes as I tear a hole through it, storm clouds brewing violently as lightening sets the trees on fire.

　　She was dead, they killed her. Raising my hands, I feel the darkness ebbing and flowing throughout my body, sickly sweet and sadistic. My eyes bleeding black, and I feel the darkness consume me as I march towards the brick building on the hill. I hear horns blaring when I am tackled to the ground. Amara smacking me in the dead centre of the chest, knocking me backwards.

　　“Get off me” I scream as I feel her trying to absorb my magic, trying to take it from me but they must pay. They must die for what they did.

　　“You will bring the entire building down on them, think Thaddeus” Amara shrieks.

　　“I doesn’t matter she is dead, she is fucking dead” I scream at her, electrocuting her. She growls as she is thrown off before Orion grabs my arms, flinging him off, the ground cracking in my anger.

　　“Your daughter is alive, you do this, you will kill her” Amara screams making me halt.

　　“You don’t know that” I tell her, my mother grabbing my arm just as gun fire rings out, we all duck for cover before feel fire burn in my veins igniting every cell in my body as it leaves my fingertips, lighting the surrounding buildings on fire, people running and screaming, and my fury takes over.

　　“I do I can feel her, she is not dead, and neither is Evelyn, you have been feeding her blood. They want you to walk in there. They would be expecting this” Amara screams trying to stop me as she blasts me with what little energy she has left, pinning me on the ground while chaos breaks loose. They knew we were here and were now getting ready as we fought with each other wasting time.

　　“They are in there; you do this you kill us all,” my mother says. I could hear trucks leaving the facility making me look up, armed vehicles leaving in succession barrelling through the fences toward us. I watch my mother dig her hands into the ground, feel her energy leaking out of her as the ground moves.

　　“You need to get me in there,” I tell Amara.

　　“I can’t we could end up anywhere, I don’t know what inside looks like, I can’t just mist us in without seeing inside.”

　　The sound of metal on metal making me look toward the four armoured trucks as roots shoot from the ground, crushing the vehicles and bend them like paper origami. The entire place looking like a war zone as my mother uses her magic wielding it like a weapon. Orion moving quickly killing anyone he comes across and those being thrown from the vehicles while I was still stuck to the ground, held by the snares of Amara’s magic.

　　“Let me up” She shakes her head.

　　“I don’t want to hurt you, but you give me no choice” I tell her before letting hell fire loose, the ground turning black as charcoal as it consumes everything in its path, a line heading straight for the facility that has my mates held hostage. Her magic wavering as she tries to hold it. Tries to stop me, but she is no match for me, her magic comes from life, needs energy to empower it, to strengthen it. Mine is dark, mine comes death, like a muscle it flexes, I am nor living or dead, Amara is life and even she knows her power has its limits, mine doesn’t need anything to draw off, whereas hers does. She gives a piece of her life essence to use hers, whereas mine takes from anything surrounding it strengthening me, while hers weakens her.

　　“Thaddeus, you’re killing her,” my mother screams.

　　“Tell her to let it go.”

　　“Amara please,” my mother begs. sweat coating her face as she buries her hands further into the earth. Amara’s magic dims, breaking under the pressure the entire ground turning black and burning. Everyone screaming as the flames lick at them while I get to my feet. Mother trying to stop the flames creating a barrier forcing my darkness around us, protecting them from burning along with the earth on which they stand.

　　“Get me in that building now,” I tell my sister.

　　“We could end up anywhere, Thaddeus.”

　　“I don’t care, just get me in there.”

　　“It’s a trap, Thaddeus,” Orion says coming to my side, drenched in the blood of hunters, their fallen bodies laying on the grass and road everywhere, the smell of burning flesh and metal heavy in the air as I look around, the entire place had gone silent except for the sound of the roller shudders closing on the entire building, blocking the entries and windows, the siren cuts off and I knew they were right, they wanted me to come in to get them.

　　“You’re right,” I tell them. Looking around the entire place was a trap, and my mates and daughter were the bait. Orion lets out a breath looking around for another point of entry.

　　“And that’s why you’re not going in there,” I tell him, he looks back at me just as I snap his neck, his body falling limp against me as I catch him. Sinking my teeth into his neck and draining his blood. I will not risk him, there was already enough on the line.

　　Ryland POV

　　The first flicker of life was the twitching of her fingers. Her lacerations slowly closing as our blood moved through her veins, closing and sealing every wound. I look around the room, trying to find something to free myself but only seeing concrete walls and a chain hanging in the middle of the room to the floor. The steel door the only way out beside the grate in the ground that was much too small.

　　Hearing a predator growl, my eyes snap to Evelyn on the floor when I hear her heartbeat, thump. Her body trying to kickstart itself before I hear it again before It becomes steady thumping in her chest as every cell in her body is awoken.

　　“That’s it, baby. Wake up” I tell her, trying to nudge her with my foot. She growls, the sound of a predator about to attack as her senses take over. I hear her sniff the air, before seeing claws slip from her nailbeds tearing off her nails as she stretches her fingers. Yet I don’t hear bones snapping, don’t hear agonised screams nor does she smell like a vampire or Lycan but something else, something close to her old scent but slightly different she wasn’t either but both and that became startling clear when her head snapped in my direction, and her amber eyes stared back at me, her lips curling over her top lip as fangs protruded, bloodlust taking over her as her eyes scanned the room before landing on me. She sniffs the air and I notice the crazed look on her face, and I was the perfect prey, completely defenceless and at her mercy.

　　The bond reforming with renewed strength as she suddenly looks down and I know she can feel it, feel it coming back, but it still wasn’t enough as she lunges at me, her fangs sinking into my neck as her fangs tear through my flesh. I let out a gurgled scream.

　　“Evie,” I choke struggling against my restraints as she starts draining me. Footsteps outside making her pull her face away her face snapping toward the door.

　　“Focus on the noises,” I tell her trying to get her attention off me. When the door opens suddenly and I see the man in armour race in, gun drawn. Shock registering on his gaunt face, his human blood appealing to her more than mine as her attention goes solely to him, her head tilting to the side as she watches him. His shock wearing off as fight or flight kicks in, seeing her covered in my blood and her own, he tries to slam the door shut but she was quicker as she lunged at him. Her legs wrapping around him as he turned to run, her claws sinking into his chest as he lets out a bloodcurdling scream, his blood spraying across the walls as she sinks her teeth into him, her hands going through his chest as he staggers backwards back into the room as she drains him, the man going limp underneath her as she continued to rip him to pieces, before he is left completely drained and in pieces.

　　Her eyes clearing of the haze before she realises what she has done, his limbs ripped from his body as it falls to pieces in her hands as she looks at them in pure horror. Evelyn kicks his body away from herself frantically and I can hear the erratic beating of her heart.

　　“Look at me love” I call to her, her head snapping up so quickly if she were human, she would have snapped her own neck.

　　I watched recognition register in her mind, her hands going to her belly before she starts clawing at herself looking for our baby, looking for the bump that was no longer there.

　　“Where is she, where is she Ryland?” Her voice breaking as she realises she is no longer carrying our child.

　　“I don’t know but you need to get these braces off,” I tell her, her eyes darting back to me before she gets up within a blink of an eye, she had ripped them from the wall, the sound of metal hitting concrete sounded loud in this empty room. She hauls me to my feet, chucking my arm over her shoulder as I lean heavily against her, when the entire building starts to shake, the ground rippling under our feet before we hear gunfire from outside.

　　“We need to find her before this building comes down,” I tell her as she half drags me toward the door, my breathing wheezing from the movement and the bullets lodged in my chest. She places me on the ground.

　　“We need to move,” I tell her when she suddenly holds her breath before tearing the front of my shirt. I hiss as she digs her claws into my chest, pulling the razor like bullets out, green liquid oozing from the holes down my chest, her fingertips sizzling as if acid was tipped on them. She grits her teeth removing all five, her fingertips mutilated as the silver burns her flesh.

　　“We won’t be getting anywhere with you like this” she says, and I realise she has been holding her breath the entire time as she draws in a breath through her parted lips. I could feel the wounds healing extremely slow not able to heal around the wolfsbane that has flooded my system. She pulls me to my feet just as we are knocked to the ground when the building shakes again, chunks of concrete falling from the roof around us, the lights flickering and swinging as we make our way down the corridor to a door that led to stairs, a green neon sing flickering above it saying exit.

　　Grabbing the railing we make our way up and I realise we are in some sort of basement, the entire place coming down around us and I feel my strength coming back slowly but not fast enough, my wounds healing at an agonisingly slow pace. Evelyn’s anxiety levels peaking, and I can feel her mind is completely consumed with finding our daughter when we reach a door. She lets go of me hitting the door so hard it blows off the hinges, shattering to the ground as she starts going from door to door. I hear screams of people as she moves quickly from room to room as I stagger after her when a hole is blown in the side of the building dust pouring in making the corridor fill with debris.

　　Reaching the first room, I notice the blood bath left in Evelyn’s wake as she continued from room to room. I collapse as I feel the wolfsbane spreading toward my heart, the bullets stopping its lethal spread, yet my body wasn’t healing fast enough to get rid of it now that they had been removed.

　　The loud bang of a gun going off making me look toward the direction Evelyn went in. Her body flinging against the wall when suddenly Amara appears in the corridor in front of me. Evelyn coughs getting to her feet before spewing blood onto the floor.

　　Amara gasps before vaporising in front me and appearing next to Evelyn, when we hear the faintest of cries, a woman stepping out behind the man from a door behind him, our daughter clutched tightly in her arms.

　　Evelyn lunges for her just as Amara touches her shoulder and they disappear into thin air.

　　The man in the lab coat raises the Shot gun, his eyes not leaving me as he uses the lip along the wall to walk across the hole in the floor, the floor breaking off under his weight as he presses his back close. The woman behind him looks at the gaping hole before looking to room that was blown apart trying to figure out how to get across just as I hear the click before a bang sounds out. My chest exploding in pain, sending me flying into the wall and along the floor. He reloads the gun as I try to get to my hands and feet when I hear him scream for her to hurry up, the woman places my daughter on the ground before jumping across the gap, her foot slipping on the loose rubble as she tumbles through the hole in the floor to the floor below, her terrified scream echoing of the cracked rendered walls before I hear a thud.

　　Blood pouring from my mouth as I try to breath while I drown on my own blood when Thaddeus appears, jumping to the ledge from outside. His eyes going to our daughter next to his feet as he nearly steps on her, a menacing growl sounds throughout the entire building. The walls shaking and coming down around us as the darkness consumes him. I watch the man fumble falling on his ass as he takes a step back toward me. Thaddeus picks up the bundle of fabric that is covering our daughter when I hear the man laugh hysterically. Thaddeus fingers zapping with electricity when the man pulls a device from his lab coat.

　　“Either way I win” He chuckles looking toward the ceiling where I see cables running along the one side of the roof that is intact.

　　“Run” I scream, adrenaline pulsing through me as I lunge toward the man, his deep booming laugh reverberated loudly in my ears before Thaddeus registers what I said, he turns jumping from the ledge and disappearing out the hole in the wall. Everything moving slowly, as I land on the man. His head smashing against the concrete but not hard enough to knock him out when he speaks, “My back up plan” He gasps out as he squeezes his hand into a fist, and I hear the click. The entire building vibrating like an earthquake, deafening noise echoing as the entire building detonates, sounding like a freight train as I watch in horror as flames consume everything, overwhelming hot wind moving over me.

　　Evelyn POV

　　Each room empty, yet I could feel I was getting close, like a bond tethering me to her, drawing me closer. Opening the next door, I find some scientists, standing around some device. They jump as I burst through the door before leaping into action but the moment, I thought it, I was on them ripping them to pieces and draining them before moving onto the next door. I could hear Ryland staggering through the hallway as I went from room to room before being knocked to the ground when the wall suddenly explodes next to me.

　　Debris hitting my skin and slicing me, but my focus was on her, I could feel her and that pushed me to keep moving through the pain and shock. Reaching the end door, I look back to see a hole in the floor from where the wall blew away and crashed through to the floor below. Twisting the handle, I shove open the door to see a woman grabbing vials and shoving them in her pocket before snatching my baby from the table. My mind not even registering the other person in the room until it was too late, and I feel myself being knocked back.

　　My stomach feeling like it was smothered in acid, the wind being knocked out of me as I am flung backward out of the room. I see a man walking towards me, a shotgun pointed at me as the woman used him as a shield, hiding behind him. Her red hair sticking to her face as her head whipped around and saw me on the floor. Standing up, my stomach turns and I projectile vomit on the ground, slipping on my own blood as I reach for the woman, wanting my baby when I feel a hand touch me and I feel motion, like a stone thrown in a pond, a ripple effect, the room disintegrating around me.

　　“My baby” I scream, and I find myself outside. Gun fire ringing out everywhere and I have no idea how I got here. Jumping to my feet, I see Orion’s body next to me propped against a tree. I get to my feet running across the field of dead bodies and blown apart trees and cars when I feel hands wrap around my waist flinging me to the ground before I find myself tackled and pinned.

　　“Thaddeus is getting them” Imogen’s dirt covered face hovering above mine trying to reassure me when I hear a groan making me turn to see Orion come to, shaking his head. Imogen allows me to sit up, and I get to my feet. I can see a huge hole blown out the side of the brick building and a dark figure standing just inside the cavity. My eyes focusing when I see them bend down picking something up.

　　“Where is Amara?” Theo asks, looking around just as I feel the entire ground tremor like an earthquake before I am knocked backwards by a gust of wind, seeing black as my head bounces off the ground from the force. Sitting up, I rub my eyes that were filled with dirt to see the building had exploded, everything on fire and I hear the loudest screech as I start running toward the burning building as it starts collapses in on itself. When I feel nothing but soul shattering pain ripple over me. All-consuming pain as I reach the building, Ryland’s agonised screams beneath the rubble, ripping my heart to pieces. The sounds of a baby’s cry echoing around me as I try and find her. Trying to see her through the clouds of smoke billowing out, my ears ringing when I see Thaddeus sit up. The cries getting louder, pulling at my heart when I feel air blast past me, clearing the smoke before I hear things crashing around.

　　“No no no” I hear her frantic screams before finding me feet through the shock, to see Orion ripping pieces of concrete from the pile and tossing it as he digs through the wreckage. Tobias and Theo scrabbling at the ground, channelling through it, while Imogen drops to her knees clutching her stomach. A heart-breaking hysterical scream tearing out of her as she howled. Running toward the remains, Thaddeus grabs my leg nearly tripping me and I look down to see my daughter cradled in his arms, covered in dirt and dust but unscathed. He pushes her toward me, and I grab her as he stands.

　　Thaddeus runs toward the crumpled structure before raising his hands, slabs of broken concrete, brick and rubble moving at rapid speed being hurled into the paddocks and trees. Watching as the dust settles and my vision clears, and I gasp before the air gets lodged in my throat.

　　I see them drop, Tobias and Theo falling to their knees and Imogen’s screams get louder. I stare in shock not able to process what’s happening when I see Orion pull Ryland off the ground, his entire body white with dust as he sobbed, relief hitting me at seeing him when I feel a wave of air move through the trees as Thaddeus screams, clutching her limp body to his chest, she was unrecognisable by the dust and blood covering her body, but I had no doubt who it was by the sounds of the cries, the guttural cries of a parent losing their child. That soul crushing pain as I look to Imogen’s heartbroken face. Amara was gone, and I realise that was how I got outside, how Ryland was still alive, she sacrificed herself to save us.

　　Tears slipping down my face, as I watch Thaddeus clutching her body, her head falling limp over his arm and her arms hanging oddly as she lay limp. Tobias choking on his sobs as he takes her from him, brushing her hair from her face and hugging her close, like he couldn’t bear to let go. Imogen’s cries going silent as he walks toward us before laying her next to Imogen, she clutches her daughter rocking her back and forth sobbing before humming, her voice cracking and all noise dies out except the sounds of her hums, while she soothes her dead daughter, like she could sooth away the pain of losing her.

　　Theo stood silently staring off blankly, no emotion registering like he just shut down completely, I stared around waiting to wake up, wake up from the nightmare we were trapped in. Praying I wake up and all this be a dream my mind had conjured up.

　　“She saved me” Ryland says his voice breaking, Orion the only thing holding him upright as he staggers forward. Imogen looks up at him, tears rolling down her face in a steady stream leaving tracks on her skin as it washed away the dust from her cheeks.

　　“She saved us all” she whispers before looking back down at Amara, her thumb brushing her cheek. Tobias takes Amara from Imogen who clutches onto her not wanting to let go of her.

　　“Come on Hun, you need to let her go” he says trying to take Amara from her, but she refuses shaking her head. Thaddeus crouches down in front of his mother, grabbing her face forcing her to look up at him. His eyes watering as he fights against his own emotions which were tumultuous. He felt guilty, angry, every emotion rippling through him at war against the other.

　　“You need to give her to me ma, you need to let her go” he says but Imogen shakes her head.

　　“We need to take her home ma, we can’t stay here” he says, and I could feel him using his magic, see her eyes glaze over slightly before he nods to his father who bends down, taking his daughter from his wife’s arms. Imogen reluctantly let’s go staring at her now empty arms.

　　Feeling movement in my arm my daughter sneezes before coughing her little lips making a little O shape. Her faint cries making everyone look to the bundle in my arms as her face turned searching for milk, searching something as her mouth opened, sucking at air.

　　“She is hungry” Imogen says, making me look at her. Theo out of his daze steps closer, looking down at the baby in my arms. She starts crying and I try to sooth her, her cries getting louder and filling the silence when Theo steps closer, his arms outstretched wanting to take her. I stand passing her to him and he dusts off his hands on his pants before cradling her in his arms.

　　“We should head home; she will be hungry, and you won’t have milk now that you’re no longer human” Theo says, making me remember I also died but came back. Looking at Amara I feel my heart palpitate, survivors guilt kicking in before I come to realize it wasn’t my guilt but Ryland’s as he too was staring at Amara in her father’s arms. Imogen turns before fleeing and I hear that she is running toward our house and away from the destruction.

　　“Can we run with her?” I ask, worried remembering how sick I always felt running while human. Theo nods.

　　“Yes, in short bursts. Bianca ran with Thaddeus when she kidnapped him” Theo says, and I look to my daughter suckling on his knuckle knowing that’s why she had gone quiet.

　　“Bianca did what?” I ask, confused by his words.

　　“It’s a long story, one for later,” Thaddeus says before grabbing Amara from his father. I notice Theo look away like he couldn’t see his daughter like that, like he didn’t want to remember her that way. I hear bones snapping before seeing Tobias shift into a black wolf taking off after his wife.

　　“I will take Ryland,” Theo says, passing me back my daughter and trading places with Orion who still had a tight grip one Ryland’s arms. Thaddeus takes off leaving only Orion, Ryland, Theo, and myself. I look down at our baby before passing her to Orion. “I am scared I will drop her” I tell him, and he takes her, his hand holding the back of her little head before he tucks her inside his shirt against his chest.

　　“Let’s go home” Theo says looking at what’s left of the building and burning surroundings, I could hear sirens in the distance getting closer, see the flickering of the blue and red lights coming from the town.