Chapter 4

Alpha Kate’s POV:

My cell phone is ringing, and the baby is crying. I pick up Claudia and rush back to grab my phone. It is odd for John to be calling me.

"Hello," I answer.

"Alpha Kate, the council is dead. I only saw one vampire, but he managed to kill them all before we could stop him. I am sorry, but the vampire escaped. I tried to call Alpha Erick, but he is not picking up," John says.

"Thank you," I say, and I hang up the phone.

I put the phone down on my desk. Vivian comes in to take Claudia for me. I start to cry, but I do not have time to cry. I have to find out what the hell is going on here. I hear a truck pull up, and I rush out of the house. I fall into Erick's arms.

"They are all dead," I cry. My knees buckle as Erick holds me.

I feel Raven touch my back as Erick holds me. The two of them start pulling me into the house. What are they doing? I hear something moving around the house. Are the vampires killing off Imperial wolves?

"We need to get you inside; come on, Alpha Kate," Raven says. The two men force me into the house. I am not fighting them. I just cannot seem to move. I am in shock from what is happening.

"John called me. He said he could not get you and that a single vampire did this. A single vampire wiped out the council," I say.

Erick looks at his phone. "My phone died," Erick says. He goes into my office and grabs my phone. I hear him talking to John, but I have no idea what he is saying. My body and mind are in shock.

"Alpha Kate, focus," Raven says.

I look at him and try to smile, but only tears will come out. "I did not like them, but I would never want them dead. Not even Liam," I say.

Raven holds my hand. "I know that. These deaths are not on you. This situation is on Liam. He is the one that brought the vampires into this; we both know that. Now, pull yourself together," Raven says.

Raven is right. I am not the moon river Luna anymore. Now, I am the Imperial Alpha, and I need to get my shit together and be strong for my pack. I cannot take Raven away from Meaghan. He needs to be with her.

"You should go be with your wife," I say. The look on Raven's face as I speak is heartbreaking. I have seen that look on Erick many times. He is torn between family and pack. The pack is always first.

"I am not leaving you, but I cannot leave Meaghan and Levi alone. I will have Vivian go get them for me, and we will stay here," Raven says.

"That is fine with me. I miss her and her company," I say.

Raven leaves me long enough to ask Vivian to get Levi and Meaghan. Vivian quickly does what she is asked to do. "Take one of the guys with you. Chip and Chris are both outside; take one of them," Raven says as Vivian takes his keys to leave.

Erick comes back to me. "We need to lock this place down. We have to protect ourselves in case the vampire comes for Kate," Erick says.

Everything becomes a strange blur. I can hear something in the distance, a familiar voice. It cannot be Macon. Macon is dead. I close my eyes and listen to the other Imperials. I have not done this in a long time. It is a frightening experience. I try to listen to the council members and Liam. I try to place them and what happened to them, and then I see the vampire.

I open my eyes to see Erick and Raven looking at me strangely. "Are you in there, Kate?" Erick asks me.

"Yes, I was trying to connect with the council members," I answer him.

Erick does not look amused. He knows how dangerous the spiritual plane is for me. Raven looks equally unhappy with me trying to connect with the spiritual plane, but I need to know what is happening with the Imperials and why a vampire is killing us.

"Well, what did you see?" Raven asks. The two both stand waiting for a response.

"I saw the vampire, and he looked just like Macon. Are you sure he is dead?" I ask.

"Yes, Macon is dead," Raven answers quickly.

"He looked just like him, but maybe younger. I do not know how to explain it, but it is an uncanny resemblance," I say.

"The child?" Raven says. Erick looks at Raven as if to say, shut the hell up. What are they hiding from me?

"No secrets, Erick," I remind him.

Erick touches Raven's shoulder. "Give us a moment, please," Erick says.

"Sure, I will go outside and wait for my wife and son. I do not want to be in here for this conversation," Raven says as he runs away as fast as he can.

Erick huffs as he sits down next to me. "I did not lie to you or hide anything from you. I was not sure, and there was no reason to get you upset if we were wrong," Erick says.

"The vampire is Macon's son. Isn't he? But he looks to be older. How can that be?" I ask.

"I am not sure how he fits into all of this. I am not even sure if he is Macon's child. I found out not too long after Macon was killed that a boy was looking for you. You were very pregnant and having a hard time. I did not want to add to your stress," Erick says.

I let Erick speak and spill out his tale of why he did not tell me what was going on with this mysterious boy. I know he was and still is only trying to protect me, but we promised each other no secrets. Secrets almost destroyed us before, and now a big secret is knocking on our door.

"Kate, are you listening to me?" Erick asks me.

I shake my head. "I am trying not to be mad. I am talking myself out of being pissed off at you, Erick. I am upset that you hid this from me, and I am pissed off that Raven did not tell me," I say.

Erick takes my hand and kisses the top of it. "Do not be mad at Raven. I know he would have told you. He is loyal to you, but at the time, he was devoted to me. This is not his fault. What we need to be worrying about is why in the hell he is killing off Imperial wolves?" Erick says.

Erick is right. This is not the time for me to nit-pick at him over not telling me something. I need to let this one go for now. There is too much at stake right now for the Imperials for me to be arguing with my husband about why he kept something that would have probably upset me during an already terrible pregnancy.

"I forgive you, but no secrets, Erick. I mean it. I want to know everything you know," I say.

"Agreed," Erick says.

Meaghan and Levi come into the house. Raven follows them. "Should we duck and take cover?" Raven asks.

"No, everything is fine. My temper is not that bad," I say.

Levi comes to me and sits down on my lap. He is the sweetest boy. Belle peaks around the corner when she hears him in the house. Levi quickly leaves me to play with Belle.

"Raven and I will make sure there are enough guards around the house. We need to keep you safe until we know what this vampire is up to," Erick says.

Raven and Erick leave going to check on the house. Meaghan looks exhausted. "Are you okay?" I ask her.

"No, this baby is coming soon, and there is so much turmoil. I did not want to say anything to Raven, but I am having a lot of contractions," Meaghan says.

I take Meaghan by the hand and walk her to the back bedroom to get her settled. "You need to rest. I can call Tibo to come over and check on you if you like me to," I say.

"No need, I know I am in labor. I only need to lie down for a while," Meaghan says.

I help Meaghan onto the bed. As she lies down, a sudden gush of water begins to pool under her. Shit! The look on her face is nothing but terror. A baby is coming in the middle of all of this. It would not be normal if something were not happening during what should be a joyous moment.

"Meaghan, I will go get Raven," I say.

Meaghan grabs my hand. She smiles a soft sweet smile. "Pack first. Let him do what he needs to do to secure us. We have plenty of time. Please just stay with me until he returns," Meaghan says.

"Okay. I will not leave you. Let's get you as comfortable as possible," I say.

Meaghan's dedication to the pack is always unbelievable to see. I do not know anyone in this pack that always puts themselves second. She always puts the pack first, no matter the cost. I pull a chair over and sit beside her, holding her hand and talking to her.

Belle and Levi run into the room. Belle is leading the way as Levi runs behind her. Belle runs and jumps onto the bed. I get up to grab her. She shakes her head, touches Meaghan's stomach.

"Baby is stressed," Belle says and then jumps down and runs away.

"I am calling Tibo," I say to Meaghan.

I rush from the room to grab my phone. Erick has it. His phone is dead. I run up to Claudia's room to get Vivian. I rush into the room. "Call Tibo, now," I say to Vivian.

If Belle thinks the baby is stressed, then we need a doctor now. I hear Meghan scream out. I run back to her. I take her hand. She is in pain, and something is wrong. Belle knew something was happening.

"Do not leave me," Meaghan begs me.

"I will not leave you. Vivian is calling Tibo. Raven will be back soon," I say to her softly.

Meaghan is in pain and trying to be strong. I hold her hand, trying to calm her through this. Meaghan cries out and holds my hand tightly.

"Something is not right," Meaghan screams.

Vivian comes into the room. "Tibo is on his way, but something is going on with Belle. She keeps saying he is here over and over," Vivian says.

"Take the children upstairs and wait for Erick," I say.

Vivian rushes out of the room. I can hear her gathering up my children. "Go, Alpha Kate; you should be with your children," Meaghan says to me.

"I will not leave you alone. I will help you through this," I say.

Meaghan screams as another contraction hits her hard. "I think it is too late for Tibo. I think this baby is coming now," Meaghan says.

"I will check, okay," I say. I let go of her hand. I have worked with Tibo delivering many babies, but this one is scaring me.

I help Meaghan out of her clothes, all soaked with water and blood. I check her as gently as possible. "Meaghan, honey, this baby is coming. You need to push," I say to her.

I reach up and help her to sit up, holding her hands and pulling her forward. Meaghan begins pushing, and then let's go of my hands. I recheck her. "Come on, we got to do this," I say to her.

I grab her hands. She pulls forward and pushes. "I can see the baby, come on, Meaghan," I say to her.

Meaghan pushes one more time, and the tiny little being comes out right into my hands. He is not crying. Nothing is happening. Tibo comes into the bedroom as I am about to panic. Meaghan lies back on the bed.

"What is going on?" Meaghan asks.

Tibo takes over, and I go to Meaghan. "Everything will be fine, sweetie," I say.

I hear commotion upstairs. Something is going on with my children. I hear someone coming down the steps, and then the door opens. It is Belle. She rushes to the baby.

"Baby stressed," she says. She bites into her wrist and gives the baby her blood before we can stop her. Meaghan's baby begins to cry. Belle leaves and rushes back up the stairs.

"She knew to save my baby," Meaghan says.

Tibo is speechless. I know that the baby was not alive when I saw it. Belle saved Meaghan's baby. How did she know we needed her?