65: Get ready to run.
**Aife pov**
After the drive back, I wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Jonathan had given me good food for thought, and of course, I didn’t want to risk the safety and health of my baby, but something was still there, deep inside me, pulling and nagging at me.
Jonathan was at the far end of the house, sorting through the supplies we had left while Zion sat on the worn-out couch, one arm draped over his side as he tried to hide the discomfort and pain. His wounds had stopped bleeding, but the bruises spreading across his skin were a clear sign of how much damage had been done before he managed to escape.
I looked around and bit the inside of my cheek. It wasn’t like all of us were fighting about something, but there was clear tension around the small house.
Jonathan wasn’t happy about the conversation in the car and he grew increasingly more worried about the supplies. He had admitted it himself - he and Killian had counted on only two people staying here, not four, so we could run out of many things soon.
To distract myself I approached Zion while Kala stood in the kitchen, making tea and humming to herself quietly.
“Are you sure you don’t want to rest? I can help you to the bedroom or Jonathan can,” I offered.
Zion lifted his gaze to mine, a smirk tugging at the corner of his busted lip, “and miss out on a little girl talk time? Never, Aife, fucking never.”
Kala scoffed as she brought the cup of tea to Zion and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. I watched how she gently pressed her lips to his and glared at him playfully.
She stood next to me and tugged at my wrist, “you can be insufferable later, my love. Right now, we’re going for a walk. These pregnant ladies need more fresh air.” The finality in Kala’s tone left no room for argument.
I shot Zion one last look before I allowed myself to be pulled outside.
As we exited the house, a gust of wind hit my face, dancing in my hair. It smelled like pine and rain-soaked soil, a scent that was so calming and relaxing that I didn’t want to move from the spot.
But I couldn’t just stand there and enjoy the moment since Kala dragged me away from the house, our unlikely friend, the rogue, still laying on the grass, watching us with curious eyes.
“I needed to get away from there for a bit,” Kala admitted under her breath. “Jonathan keeps hovering like I’m about to break, and Zion, well, he’s always trying to act like he’s invincible.”
While I understood where her frustration was coming from, I also understood Zion and why he acted the way he did.
Everyone had a moment in their life when they felt the need to put on a mask and pretend that everything was fine just to ensure you didn’t hurt anyone. Maybe you were dying, painfully rotting from inside out, but pretending was better than letting those you love suffer with you.
Glancing at Kala, I muttered, “yeah, I get that. I feel like running away sometimes too.”
For about five minutes, we walked in silence, enjoying the moment only we could share as the woods stretched around us.
Although the forest sometimes felt intimidating, reminding me that there were so many things in life that were much larger than me, at the same time, it grounded me. Walking around like this was yet another reminder that I was safe. At least for now.
Kala stopped suddenly and sighed. Her eyes darted down to my belly as she murmured, “I know you’re carrying.”
I stopped and looked at her like she was crazy and whispered, “what?”
Of course, she knew I was pregnant. She had known for a while, so this sudden mysterious act literally came out of nowhere.
“I can smell it, Aife,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “It’s faint, but it’s there. Don’t bullshit me.”
Fuck.
I should have known she’d pick up on it. I had barely come to terms with it myself, barely allowed myself to think about what it meant, and yet here she was, saying it out loud like it was the simplest thing in the world.
I swallowed, forcing myself to breathe. “I haven’t told anyone. Not Jonathan, not even Clove.” I admitted.
Kala nodded, arms wrapping around herself as she leaned against a nearby tree. “It’s not easy, is it? Knowing there’s a life inside of you, knowing that you have to protect it no matter what. But it has to be so much harder for you, right? I can’t imagine the pressure you’re feeling carrying an Alpha pup.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, pulling my hands into tight fists at my sides. “It doesn’t matter, Kala. The blood doesn’t matter to me for as long as the baby is healthy.”
She glanced at me, a kind smile on her lips, and nodded. “How about we walk some more and discuss names? Both of us need a moment away from the madness and some positive emotions.”
I opened my mouth to agree, but before I could, a sharp pain surged through my neck, tearing through me like fire. My breath hitched in my throat, my body tenses as agonizing pain traveled down my spine. It felt as if my skin was being ripped open, as if claws were dragging across my flesh from the inside out.
“Aife?” Kala called out, panicked.
I stumbled back, my hands flying to my throat, fingers pressed against where the mark that bound me to him was supposed to be. My mate, my fucking mate.
Something was wrong. No, not just something - everything.
The pain only intensified as my vision blurred and I gasped for air. It wasn’t just a pull - it was a scream, a desperate, agonizing cry through the bond.
*Bane.*
He was suffering, in pain.
“Aife, what’s happening?” Kala grabbed my shoulders, trying to steady me, but I barely felt her touch. All I could feel was him, almost like there was no more of me, only his rage, torment and his darkness that wrapped around me like suffocating vines, threatening to pull me under.
This didn’t feel like anything I had felt before. The pain didn’t come with anger or possession, it came with breaking.
“No,” I choked out, my knees giving out from under me.
I barely managed to catch myself, but Kala was already there, holding me upright. “Aife, breathe! You’re scaring me.”
I shook my head, my heart beating so violently in my chest, I could feel the thumping against my skull, “Bane,” I choked out.
Kala’s grip tightened on me, as if she could read my mind. “No, Aife. You can’t, it’s not safe.”
The words barely registered. My body was already reacting, the need to go to him overriding every logical thought in my head. My mate was in pain, and every part of me screamed to fix it.
My hands trembled as I forced myself to my feet. “I have to,” I whispered. “If I don’t, I-”
A loud growl startled us both. I barely processed what the sound might be when something heavy crashed through the bushes behind us. Kala cursed, yanking me behind her as we both spun around.
The forest around us was still, way too still.
I looked around frantically and froze when I noticed something. Just at the edge of the clearing, a pair of glowing red eyes emerged from the shadows.
My blood turned to ice and the pain in my neck pulsed harder. Bane was out there, I could feel him, but he wasn’t entirely alone. There was something else with him and it didn’t want me to reach him.
Kala took a step forward, positioning herself between me and whatever was lurking in the dark. Her body was tense, her stance protective. “Get ready to run,” she hissed.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I grabbed Kala’s hand, gripped it as if my life depended on it and when the figure in the shadows took a step closer to us, I ran for my life, dragging Kala with me.
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