Page 30 of Fated Alpha Baby
Not despite being wolfless, but because she belonged to both sides of the valley—the west and the south.
And Goddess…she’s powerful. More powerful than Sophie or Annika had been when they awakened.
Our eyes meet—mine in wolf form, hers glowing orbs that permeate with the power she wields—and my heartbeat slows down as if the mate bond itself is what feeds air into my lungs.
But out of the corner of my eye, I notice another demon coming for her from the trees. I’m about to call out to her through the mind link, hoping she’d hear me, when Simon’s voice storms into my mind.
“Behind you!” he shouts through the link.
I don’t listen to him, too focused on Hannah as she turns too slowly, exhaustion already shadowing her face.
I launch forward just as the demon reaches her, slamming into the creature with enough force to send us both tumbling across the dirt road.
It claws at me wildly, but I rip into it viciously, teeth shredding black flesh while unstable currents of air slice through the creature like invisible blades.
The demon howls right before fire crashes into it. The flames erupt so intensely that they engulf both me and the creature for half a second, but the fire bends around my body as if it’s protecting me.
The demon is not spared. It disintegrates beneath her combined magic, the last one burning in the fire when it tries to get to me. Silence falls around us then, and only harsh breathing remains.
Smoke curls through the ruined road, and the demons are burned into nothingness.
I turn my wolf head toward Hannah, only to see her swaying, her face paling. The fire around her hands flickers weakly before vanishing entirely.
“Hannah!”
She collapses when I call out through the mind link, so I race forward, shifting mid-run and catching her before she hits the ground. Her body trembles violently in my arms.
“She overused her magic,” Simon says grimly as he approaches with Clarissa clinging tightly to his side. “The air and fire together…shit. We’ve never seen anything like it…”
Hannah’s head lolls weakly against my chest, her breathing shallow. Panic grips me instantly, and I clutch her cheek with one hand. “Hannah.”
Her eyelids flutter but don’t open fully, eyes rolling to the back of her head.
Clarissa rushes forward. “Mommy!”
“She’s alive,” I assure the child quickly, tightening my hold on Hannah. “She’s just exhausted.”
The child’s frightened eyes lift to mine. Something twists painfully in my chest, but I stop the feeling before it can be recognized.
No.
I shove the thought away immediately, knowing what I need to focus on.
Hannah.
“We need to move,” Simon warns, glancing toward the forest. “Those things weren’t wandering randomly. They tracked us.”
I nod sharply. “Take Clarissa.”
Simon hesitates.
“Conan—”
“Now.”
He carefully lifts Clarissa into his arms while I gather Hannah against my chest. My concern for her feels far too raw. Far too deep. The mate bond pulses violently beneath my skin as I stare down at her unconscious face.
She fought for Clarissa without hesitation. Without fear. And Goddess help me…watching Hannah wield both fire and air felt like watching fate itself descend onto that road, and I will do everything in my power to ensure they’re both safe. It’s an oath as deep and convicted as the mate bond itself.
