The Alpha's Blood

umbled over dry leaves, sticks that pricked my bare feet, and stones that cut into my s

s, the unfairness, the ugliness of this place and her mate. She could see the brutality and the wrongness o

und. Cursing under my breath, I tucked away the knife I was holding in my hand and kneeled next to her, helping he

bl

. Michael wasn't at the packhouse and neither were most of his warriors, so this had been our only chance. But I hadn't noticed that somebody had stabbed her,

ght, Stella, you were right from the start. I just didn't want to see it. I thought that once we were mated, things would change, he would change. I thought I could make him happy and with the child... the

dy, but I had barely got the news a few weeks back when I realized we had to get away. If either of us gave birth in that place, it would have been the end. We were never going

looked at her with panic, eyes darting to the wound on her side. "I lost too much blood and my stom

an make it! Just a bit more and we can get to the highway

She moved it into my free hand, her eyes finding mine. Her gaze was bleary, red veins r

the knuckles on the hand holding the knife turned white.

ust need to know that you will protect my child. You will get out of here, as far away from them as possible, and you will start a new life. You will raise my child

were young, with all that warmth and affection we never got from our parents. A sob escaped

I dropped the knife, covering my mouth with both my hands before the scream rising inside escaped my

ear the faint thud-thud-thud from her stomach and my own racing heart raging in my chest. I looked down at my stomach, sucking in a deep breath. I was show

the last few weeks. I waited and waited, but the heartbeats next to me remained two, and

us out of there, they were going to capture us again, and

at its shiny blade, at the bloodstains and the chipped edge where it had met nails and

of mine. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my hand, and wiped my tears before pressing the tip of the knife to the top of her stomach. A hiccup escaped my lips as the skin broke and blood gushed from the incision, staining my fingers and painting my sister's skin red. Her eyes were closed as if she w

med. I cut the placenta and cleaned it off it, carefully separating the umbilical cord as I had seen others do when my mother had brought me to

re was no way they hadn't heard that, which meant they were going to be h

uld never do it while pregnant since it was goin

inside my body and if the strange silence was an indication of the worst, but I had to make a choice. If I shifted, the chance of keeping my baby alive was

own the inside of my thighs, ignored the pain in my abdomen. Tearing apart the skirts, I made a swing and packed the child inside, wrapping it carefully. I discarded my underwear and straightened up, moving my sho

the shift took over. Bones cracked, skin tore and fur covered my body as pain ex

had almost reached us. Stepping toward my sister's body, I licked her face one last time be

ce and the sounds of the forest mixed into a cacophony of background noise. The voices and shouts grew dista

eel its body heat. It looked asleep, content with the rocking

stop, to turn around. A whimper escaped my bared teeth as the shadows swallow

. The form of a window registered in my unsettled mind, then the shadows slowly pulled to the corners, allowing me to recognize the rest of the room. I remembered the small double bed I laid on, the chair w

he five-year-old boy sleeping by my side. His Paw Patrol paj

th me, that he was real. I pulled his pajama top down before tucking him in and getting

ater even before I had fully discarded my towel. I let the hot water wash away the horrible n

proaching ⁠- no, our birthday. Being twins, my sister and I shared a birthday and even

r. I didn't bother wiping the steam off of it, focusing on my trembling hands while I tried to put toothpaste on my toothbrush. I was just washing my fac

om, I'm