Chapter 152 - I never forget a face

HADRIAN

If I wasn’t already lying on the ground, I would have fallen at his words. The silence of the forest is suffocating as his words linger and echo in my mind hours after he has spoken them.

*Pregnant.*

Emma might be pregnant. Could it be true? I’ve analyzed every hair on her body since that moment. I asked her a dozen times if she is feeling different in any way. Does she know and refuses to tell me?

The strong need to bring her to safety creates a rapture in my chest. It bleeds on everything that seems important in life. Who needs to breathe anyway? I need to get her to a healer immediately, but the distance to Sanguinem is too far to cross in one day.

At least at the pace that I’ve been running for the past few hours. Jogging might be a more accurate word for it. I don’t want Emma to strain herself or accidentally hurt our pup.

The concern is spiking in my veins and matching that of Nero. Every interaction I’ve had with Emma is running through my brain in a continuous loop. I think of every possibility where she could've gotten hurt. I’ve not been gentle with her today either.

When Emma said that she was tired, we stopped for a couple of hours to let her sleep. We don’t have a tent and we’re lucky that the night is dry. Emma is huddled against our wolf form. We keep a protective paw around her and keep our eyes on our surroundings.

I know that I won’t be sleeping until I get Emma under a roof and checked by a healer. I’ve thought about going anywhere other than Sanguinem, but I know no other healer than Galena. Going back to Sanguinem feels like the wrong move but I don’t know where else to go.

*“You should've told me sooner,”* I complain to Nero.

*”I didn’t know,”* Nero wines.

Nero and I have been arguing back and forth for hours, without a better solution. His claim is based on nothing solid, but the uncertainty is nagging on us both.

Waking fingers run through our fur and we look down to find Emma watching us. “What’s wrong?” She asks in a sleepy voice.

I look up to the sky. The darkness is slowly brightening as dawn ascends in the horizon.

I shift into my human form and pull Emma in my arms. “How do you feel?” I roam my eyes over her features for a sign of a change.

Emma sighs and rolls her eyes. “I’m fine.” She has done that a few times already. Could it be a sign or am I just drowning her in my concern?

“We should go,” I say and stand up from the pile of leaves.

I watch Emma rise from the ground. I pay extra attention to the lines and curves around her stomach. I exert our ears to listen for more than one heartbeat. I try to distinguish any difference in her scent. But it only makes my body excited for something else.

I let Nero take over and bring us back into our wolf form. The urgency to get back to the city has only become more.

———————————

The trees slowly blur past us. We keep a steady jogging pace which is still faster than any human can run. Emma is sitting on our back without a death grip this time.

In Nero’s excitement last time he forgot to consider that our pace might be too fast for our human mate. Especially now.

*“What are we going to do about your father?”* Nero asks after a while. It seems so insignificant now, while at the same time so crucial.

If Emma is pregnant with our pup, then it will need a world it can grow up in. I want it to grow up in a healthy environment, knowing that it will one day rule this kingdom.

*“We don’t have a lot of choices.”*

Nero and I always agreed over the years that challenging my father to a duel would only continue the tradition of killing for power. I fear what it would do to the curse in my blood when I give into that darkness. But in the recent past Nero started to change his standpoint on murder. I’m still not convinced, but what kind of Alpha King would I be if I don’t. Do I want my pup to know that his father killed his grandfather for power? Do I want to continue that tradition?

There’s a quietness to the forest that is unnatural. Animals see us as a threat and skirt away when we come near. But the quietness is greater than normal. As if all the animals had already left before we got here. There is no scuffle of leaves on the ground or on the branches in the trees.

I slow down our pace and eventually stop. I listen to our surroundings and try to stretch my range of hearing further and past our immediate surroundings. The quietness stretches far, but then I hear the rumble of engines and the tread of heavy paws.

*”Fuck.”*

“Is something wrong?” Emma asks and runs her fingers through our fur. The touch should be soothing, but there’s too much fear and adrenaline in my blood.

*“Very wrong,”* I tell her.

The sheer amount of vehicles and werewolves approaching is catching up to us and I know that they are following our trail.

I increase our pace but cannot go at top speed. Emma has a strong grip on our fur and her thighs are locked around our body. I run back to the river because I know that we won’t be able to outrun them. Not without risking Emma falling off our back or hurting any potential pup.

*“Hold on,”* I bark and I hope that she has an inkling of understanding.

Her grip tightens when she wraps her arms around my neck and lowers her body further against mine. I push our paws into the grass on the riverbed with force.

We fly through the air for a moment and Emma screams into my fur. The water rushes beneath us with a roaring threat. My front paws land on the other side first and are followed by the rest.

Two dozen wolves surround us from all sides as they step forward from their hiding spot behind the trees. The rumble of engines comes to my ears as two SUV’s drive forward and stop in front of us.

They’re dressed in black with gold thread stitches and the ensign of the first division on their uniform. A man with shiny black boots steps out of the car. The deep lines on his face are unmistakable and the five golden stars on his uniform confirm my fears.

*“General Zeno,”* I say through a mind link.

Emma tenses on our back. There’s a tremble in her fingers and I wish that I could hold her in my arms. I want to comfort my mate and protect her from harm.

General Zeno treads toward us with confidence in his step. “Prince Hadrian.” He says out loud with his grating voice.

*“Well, you were easy to find,”* General Zeno says privately through a mind link. The smirk shows his victory.

*“What do you want?”* I ask and the question is accompanied with a growl. It’s long and lingering as we keep an eye on every little movement around us. Every soldier is a threat to my mate and the possibility of our pup in her belly.

“I’m just following orders from the king,” General Zeno says. His eyes shine with glee. He takes pleasure in the distress that I’m unable to hide.

“If you don’t come willingly, we’ll have to make you come by force,” He says as he sweeps his eyes over the scene. They have us greatly outnumbered. His eyes land on Emma before they stop on me.

*“We wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt your fragile mate,”* He says privately. The unspoken treat is clear and I feel murderous fury flow through me.

“We’ll come with you,” Emma says before I can answer. Her voice is strong through the tremble. There’s certainty through her insecurity.

*“Do you let your pet speak for you?”* His confidence turns into disgust. He turns his focus back on Emma and keeps it there. His eyes analyze her too closely.

“Have we met before?” His curiosity seems out of place but sincere.

“Briefly,” Emma says in a small voice.

His smirk turns into a malicious and dangerous grin. “That’s what I thought. I never forget a face.”