Alpha's Claim

by Amelia Hutchins

  I didn’t pause, didn’t think as I rushed toward the woods where Chaos had vanished. Blood pounded in my ears as I entered the forest. I could hear the sound of weapons clashing, and screams filled the night. The wind howled, and the cracking of wood surrounded me.

  I caught Chaos’s scent in the wind. Turning without stopping, I rushed in the direction from which it came. My blood would lead Saint to me, and he’d find me, hopefully after I’d found Chaos. The wind howled through the trees, whipping my hair against my cheek as I heard the horrifying sound of trees uprooting and ripping free of the ground. Panic flowed through me as I saw a tree coming right for me where I stood. Before it could hit me, something slammed against me, taking me to the ground, hard.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I stared up into Chaos’s wide, horrified eyes. He grabbed me, pulling me up with him as shouting started. Swallowing down the scream of pain that rocked through me, I peered around. I understood the reason for Chaos’s panic. The men shouting and the power rushing through the woods around us weren’t our people.

  Standing, I doubled over in pain as Chaos pulled me with him deeper into the woods. I couldn’t hear him through wind howling and blood pounding in my ears. My legs were wet, soaked all the way down into my boots. We were fighting to move through the snow, so deep that it was up to our knees. It made it impossible to trudge through, but Chaos didn’t give up. He pulled me with him, refusing to leave me behind.

  The shouting was getting closer, forcing my head to whip toward it moments before something struck me, sending my body into the snow. I screamed for Chaos, standing as I howled, rage and fear rushing through me as Lestair grabbed him, yanking him off of his feet as Chaos struggled to get free.

  My entire body vibrated seconds before I shot toward the vampire, forcing him to drop Chaos. Lestair grabbed me by the throat, shaking me and yanking me off of my feet. Closing my eyes, I swallowed down the pain. Opening them, my wolf peered out, sensing we were in danger. Power rippled through the clearing, and I growled from deep in my chest as Lestair laughed coldly.

  I saw a blur from the corner of my eye just as something crashed into us. Lestair snarled, baring his teeth as he grabbed me by my bicep, dragging me with him as his nails tore into my flesh. My eyes slid to where Chaos laid in the snow, blood splatter all around him. I yanked against the vampire’s hold, fighting to get back to Chaos.

  Men moved in around us, and I watched in horror as Lucas grabbed Chaos by the back of his neck, dragging his limp form with us.

  “Protect my children,” I whispered the prayer.

  “I’m going to fucking eat them while you watch, stupid bitch!” Lestair laughed coldly.

  “I choose them, and I free you to protect them,” I continued, speaking to Fenrir as the howls of a thousand wolves erupted around us. Power shot through the clearing, pulsing as I released my wolf.

  More yelling came from far away as I was dropped to the ground, falling into the frozen snow. Trees snapped and crunched against the wind and vortex of power that rushed around us. The snow increased, making it impossible to see anything beyond my nose. My chest rose and fell as I crawled to where I’d last seen Chaos held.

  Shrieks of pain filled the area, my hands numb from the bone-chilling cold I crawled through. I gasped as something brushed against me, and before I could think to attack, warm arms picked me up, moving me away from the fighting.

  Sage and bergamot filled my senses, soothing me against the intensity of the pain that consumed my mind. Saint sat me down in Eryx’s arms, pushing the hair away from my face. His eyes scanned my body, and then he exhaled.

  “Chaos?” I asked, watching him.

  His head shook as a loud, blood-curdling howl ripped through the clearing. I sat up as a large, black wolf padded forward, blood-red eyes focusing on me as I lowered mine to see what he carried. Relief washed through me as he opened his jaws, dropping Chaos onto the ground. Sian scooped him up, moving to us as I leaned back, resting against Eryx. Saint grabbed Chaos’s limp form, rubbing him as I stared over his head, where thousands of wolves were tearing through the vampires, snarling and ripping them apart.

  The men gaped in awe, and no one moved as the souls of Fenrir’s wolves protected my children. Leif sat on his knees in the snow beside me, his eyes following Fenrir, who was the size of a large horse. Fenrir watched his wolves work, his head down and ears back, baring his large teeth in warning. No one spoke or made a sound as the scene played out, even as the pain continued pulsing through me, shooting down my spine.

  Lucas appeared in the clearing, trying to outrun the wolves, and Fenrir growled, the sound deadly and low. Abandoning his post, Fenrir leaped through the air and caught Lucas by the neck, ripping it open with his teeth as his claws pushed through Lucas’s chest, removing his heart before eating it.

  It wasn’t until Fenrir spun, his eyes going to a deep shade of Nordic blue, that the men tensed. He padded on his feet, covered in the blood of the undead, and leaped toward us, and Saint and his men tensed as they prepared to fight him. Only Fenrir went through them as I opened my mouth, taking the god of my people back into my soul.

  Saint’s eyes bugged out in wonder, his mouth opening and closing in shock. I screamed, crying out as pain forced my body to tense.

  “She’s coming,” I sobbed, watching the men look at one another in panic and sheer terror. “The baby is coming.”

  “You can use my fort,” Chaos whispered, forcing my eyes to his before Saint grabbed me up and rushed into the forest.

  “Hold on, Braelyn,” Saint urged, shouting orders to the others as he ran through the snow, taking us to the old fort that had once been our sanctuary. “Don’t push.”

  “No shit,” I grunted, holding onto him as he trudged through waist-deep snow before ducking into the fort. “It isn’t safe to have the baby here. It’s not even sanitary to do this outside!”

  “Women have been having babies since the dawn of time, and way before they had hospitals, Braelyn. Your mother had you outside beneath the blood moon,” Leif announced, rolling up his sleeves. “Start a fire, and strip out of those coats, gentlemen. We need padding,” he ordered, nodding at Chaos. “Get up by your momma’s head, boy. You don’t want to be at this end of the show.”

  Panic shot through me, and then pain. Saint removed my pants and then my panties as the men lifted and adjusted me on the coats they had piled onto the fort floor. The wind howled outside, but nothing mattered—nothing except ending the pain and giving in to the need to push.

  Saint positioned himself behind me, holding me as Leif forced my knees apart. Chaos held my hand, and I screamed, gritting my teeth as my stomach tensed, and an intense pain radiated around my back, moving to my stomach.

  “Breathe, Brat. In through your nose and out through your mouth. You’re strong enough to do this,” Saint said against my ear, kissing it softly. “You’re having our daughter in our sanctuary. How fucking poetic is that?” he continued, nuzzling my ear between contractions. “Remember the day I built this place for us? Nothing can touch us here—nothing can harm us. This fort is our place, where nothing matters except us. This is where I told you I loved you for the very first time. The same place where you kissed me and told me you would give me all your pretty babies. It’s only right that you’re giving us our daughter inside of it.”

  “I was stupid back then! They make painkillers for this shit, ya know? I can’t do this. I can’t bring her into a world where she could be harmed. She’s safe inside of me. I think she should just stay there for a while,” I argued, hearing him laugh against my neck.

  “I want to meet her, too,” he whispered near my ear.

  “Me too, so just tell her to get out,” Chaos snorted, his hand holding mine tightly, even though I wasn’t squeezing his. “Girls are so stubborn.”

  “That they are,” Leif agreed, watching my face. “She’s ready to meet her family. You ready to do this, Braelyn?”

/>   I nodded, grabbing my knees and waiting for the next contraction. The moment it hit, I bore down as a scream ripped through me. Saint tightened his hold, whispering against my ear as Chaos cheered me on, oblivious of what he was cheering. The coat over my stomach lifted, and he screamed for an entirely different reason. Saint grabbed him, turning him to face away as Eryx slipped in to take his place, shielding Chaos from seeing what was happening.

  “She’s crowning, Braelyn. I need you to stop pushing for a moment,” Leif stated, peering over my head at Saint.

  “What’s wrong?” I demanded.

  “She’s just a little tangled in her cord, and I need to unwrap it from her,” he said calmly, making my panic ease a bit. “There you go. Next contraction, you’re going to give it everything you have.”

  On the next contraction, I lifted with how hard my body pushed to free her. Leif smiled, and then the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard ripped through the fort. An angry cry from being displaced from the warmth of my body tore through the air. Leif handed Lycia to me, removing his shirt to cover her.

  “Put her inside your shirt, against your flesh, Braelyn. Help her, Saint. You’re going to need to push once more to get everything else out. Once we’re done, we’ll get you both back to the warmth of the lodge,” Leif promised.

  I stared at Lycia’s red, angry face, watching the fluorescent blue eyes of her wolf peering up at Saint and me as we stared at our daughter in wonder. “Hello, Lycia Magena. We’re your parents, sweet girl,” I whispered thickly.

  “She looks like you,” Saint murmured, helping me slip her tiny form into my shirt. “She’s perfect, just like you.”

  “I love you,” I whispered through the tears. “I love you, Saint.” I wasn’t going to wait to tell him, not when our world kept getting turned upside down.

  “I’ve always loved you, Brat. You, you’re my moon, and my wolf pines for you. We really need to talk about your wolf, though.”

  “I freed him to go with her,” I admitted. “I permitted him to protect Lycia. I have you now, and she will have all of us,” I returned, melting into his heat while Leif cleaned up my lady parts. It was a bit awkward to have him cleaning me, but it was as if he’d done it a million times before.

  Jackets were wrapped around us, and before I could argue against it, Saint picked me up, and we were moving through the snow once more. My arms wrapped around the slight burden, feeling Lycia moving against me as she howled her displeasure to the moon goddess.

  We entered the lodge, and everyone was waiting for us. My eyes slid through the people, finding Toralei and Xariana both staring, smiles on their faces. Tora started forward, her eyes leaking waterworks as she stopped in front of me.

  “I thought we’d lost…”

  Lycia wailed, and Tora’s eyes widened as they lowered to my chest. I adjusted the blanket, revealing the top of her black hair, still covered in blood and goo. Tora reached forward and touched Lycia’s forehead and gasped, lifting her eyes to hold mine.

  “How?” she asked, her mouth dropping wide open. “Please tell me you didn’t have our baby in the snow!”

  “Ours?” Saint asked, his hold tightening on me.

  Jacob pushed through the crowd, his nurse hot on his heels as he stopped in front of us. His grey eyes searched mine, noting the blood covering my shirt and the bruises on my face.

  “Bring her to the infirmary, Saint. We should double-check them both and make sure they’re healthy. With Braelyn’s body healing from childbirth, her wounds will heal slower than usual. I’d like to clean them up and check out Lycia.”

  “Okay, but we’re not letting her out of our sight,” Chaos snarled, his arms crossed over his chest as he puffed up.

  “That’s fine. I see you’re already taking on your responsibility of big brother, Chaos. I just want to be certain she’s healthy before you spirit her away to your rooms.”

  “Eryx, have the fire in the apartment burning and ready for when we arrive. Get the bedrooms set up, and bring in the bassinet we built,” Saint ordered, even though we were already heading toward the medical ward.

  My eyes moved through the pack, watching as they fought to get a peek at the littlest wolf. It made my heart clench, and the familiar family bond we’d shared ache. I missed the closeness we’d once had and the way we’d all worked together, providing and protecting one another from everything else.

  “Stop,” I said, tugging my shirt down enough that they could see her. “Lycia, this is our family. This is the pack, and they are our people. Welcome to the family, littlest wolf.”

  Tears swam in my eyes as they slowly stepped closer, smiling as she sucked her hand while taking in their faces. Her eyes were still glowing, which meant a part of Fenrir was still adjusting to its new host. This would cement her bond with the pack and ensure that they felt her as one of their own. More so, it meant they would sense her bond with Fenrir, and they would always need to be near to her and us.

  “Our family,” Saint murmured, kissing my forehead softly before he started down the hallway that led to the medical ward.

  Saint whispering the words sent heat rushing through me. My heart settled, and there was no fear of the unknown with him holding us. We had a long way to go before everything would be perfect, but this felt right. It felt like I didn’t have to continually keep my walls up, guarding my emotions to keep others safe. I wasn’t alone anymore. I had a family, and the pack would ensure that our enemies never fucked with us, and if they did, we wouldn’t ever be alone in that fight.

  Epilogue

  Three months later

  I studied the men, struggling with their instructions, pointing to things in the heap of metal that sat on the apartment floor. They’d been at it for over three hours, each one growing more frustrated as they took turns reading the manufacturer’s instructions. Saint’s eyes lifted to mine, holding them, and he smirked while I patted a freshly bathed and fed babe against my shoulder.

  Chaos stood a few feet away from me, always close by in case Lycia needed him. He had been true to his word, guarding over her with a protectiveness that just made me love him even more than I already did.

  I’d always been terrified of having a child and the love I’d held for Chaos dimming or growing less when my own child arrived. It hadn’t. It had intensified and blossomed, knowing he loved her as much as she would one day love him.

  “This is bullshit,” Eryx snapped, holding up bolts. “Why the hell don’t they just come assembled?”

  “Because it would be impossible to fit it into the Blackhawk, dumb shit,” Zayne stated, holding up a metal bar. “What the hell? It doesn’t appear that they sent us the right parts.”

  “Calm down,” Saint demanded, smiling at me as his eyes sparkled.

  The other men looked at him with annoyance, but he never acknowledged them. He remained calm, which seemed to be his new thing. Ever since his daughter’s birth, Saint had settled into his role a lot easier than I had.

  Saint had been calm and collected. I’d asked him how he’d managed it, and he’d replied that with everything we’d been through, raising a daughter would be a cakewalk. However, the moment Lycia fussed, Saint was right there, picking her up. He held her so tenderly that if his enemies ever saw it, they’d think he was growing soft.

  A knock sounded at the door, and I moved to open it, revealing Xavier and Xariana. Both hunters were becoming part of the pack based on how often they were here.

  There was also the never-ending parade of creatures, hunters, and others who came through with information on more trafficking rings. They also brought the wounded or orphaned and other creatures that needed a safe haven to heal, which our mountain had quickly become.

  “She’s getting so big,” Xariana gushed, her wide eyes taking in the changes to Lycia with wonder. “What the hell are you feeding her?”

  “Titty,” Chaos groaned. “I can’t even feed her because only Braelyn can,” he said w
ith disgruntlement buried in his tone.

  “Oh,” Xari said, fumbling for something to say to the sullen child.

  Xavier let loose a loud bark of laughter before he kissed my forehead and headed toward the boys. “Braelyn, you look happy.”

  “I am,” I admitted, moving with them toward the couch.

  I sat beside Chaos, handing him his sister, and his face beamed with pride. He held her tightly, and her pale eyes opened before she leaned closer to his shoulder, closing her eyes to sleep in the protection of his arms.

  “What the hell are you assholes doing?” Xavier asked, tilting his head from side to side, angling it to figure out what the mess of metal could be.

  “Building Lycia’s swing,” Saint muttered, dropping the metal he’d held to stand, pulling Xavier in for a quick hug, and then pointed at the paper Bowen held, glaring down at the metal. Bowen had refused even to attempt to build it, but he offered to oversee their efforts. Saint scratched the back of his head, frowning at the mess.

  Xavier snorted, rolling up his sleeves as he joined in, making quick work of the swing. The others watched, handing him the part when he pointed at it. Within five minutes, Xavier had it built and working.

  “How the hell did you do that?” Saint asked, folding his arms across his chest and lifting one eyebrow in question.

  “Xariana’s mom died in childbirth, and I did everything alone. Once you build one of these things, you pretty much get the hang of them all,” he shrugged.

  “I didn’t know she died in childbirth,” Saint admitted, his face scrunching up before turning to me as if considering how rough it would be without me.

  Xavier shrugged and then exhaled. “I don’t talk about it because it still fucking hurts. Death doesn’t ever get easier. You just learn to live with that pain as the world moves on without them in it. You get tougher, and you keep moving forward. I started hunting when I lost Xari’s mom and began raising Xari the best I could with the shit-hand I’d been dealt. We did pretty well, didn’t we, kid?” he asked, turning to look at Xariana.