CHAPTER 134: DANGER.

CHAPTER 134: DANGER.
~ Ava’s POV~

The door swung open again barely a minute after Damon made the call. Footsteps rushed down the hallway, voices rising in urgency. I pressed my palm over my lower stomach, trying to steady my breathing, but the ache pulsed harder, like a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.

Eric stayed beside me on the bed.

“Ava… look at me,” he whispered, brushing hair off my sweaty forehead. “The healer is almost here. You’re okay. Just breathe.”

“I’m not hallucinating,” I said through clenched teeth. “I swear I saw them—shadows everywhere. They were moving. They were watching me.”

Eric swallowed, his eyes darting to the corners of the room again even though he still saw nothing. “I believe you,” he murmured softly. “I don’t understand it, but I believe you.”

Damon turned sharply. “You don’t help by encouraging her,” he snapped. “She’s pregnant—she could be stressed, exhausted, or reacting to whatever she felt earlier during training.”

I glared at him, my voice shaking.

“Damon, I’m not making this up!”

“I didn’t say you’re lying,” he replied, but his tone was tense. “I’m saying your body is under pressure. That can cause…”

“Shadows?” I cut him off. “You think stress makes shadows walk around my room?”

His jaw clenched. For a second, he looked genuinely torn, like he wanted to believe me but was fighting his own logic.

The door opened again.

The pack healer hurried in—Eldra, an older woman with a calm but alert presence. Her eyes swept over the room, then settled on me.

“What happened?” Eldra asked.

Damon stepped forward immediately.

“She felt sharp pain. She screamed. And now… she thinks she saw shadows.”

Eric shot him a look. “She didn’t think. She said.”

Eldra approached the bed, ignoring their argument.

“Ava, look at me,” Eldra said gently.

“Where does it hurt?”

“My belly. It felt like—like my child was warning me. And then… Everything went cold. And I saw them.” My voice wavered. “Black figures. Watching. Moving. Almost touching me.”

Eldra placed her warm hand over my stomach. “Is the pain still there?”

“Yes… but it’s fading.”

She nodded slowly. “Let me check.”

Her hands glowed faintly with healing energy as she hovered them above my stomach. Eric squeezed my hand while Damon stood stiffly near the wall, arms crossed but eyes locked on me.

After a moment, Eldra frowned.

“What?” Damon asked immediately.

Eldra didn’t answer. Her brow furrowed deeper as her glowing hand moved lower, then higher, tracing an odd pattern in the air.

“Ava,” she murmured. “Your child’s energy is… unusual.”

My heartbeat spiked. “Unusual? What does that mean?”

“It’s strong. Very strong. Too strong for where you are in your pregnancy.”

Eldra glanced at Damon. “This kind of strength doesn’t appear without a trigger.”

Damon looked confused. “A trigger?”

Eldra nodded. “Something might have awakened or amplified the child’s abilities.”

Eric’s grip tightened on me. “Abilities?”

But my mind was spinning in a different direction.

Abilities.

Shadows.

Warning pains.

“My baby was trying to protect me,” I whispered. “Or warn me.”

Damon exhaled loudly. “Ava…”

“No, listen!” I snapped. “What if something really came here? What if the shadows were real, and I wasn’t imagining it?”

Eldra hesitated. And that hesitation alone made my stomach twist.

“You know something,” I whispered.

“I know that unborn children of strong bloodlines can sense danger before adults do,” Eldra admitted. “And some can project… reactions.”

“Reactions like showing me shadows?” I asked.

“Reactions like heightening your instincts,” Eldra replied carefully. “Not… actual shadows.”

I shook my head. “You weren’t here. They were real.”

Damon stepped closer, trying to steady his voice. “Then why can’t anyone else see them now?”

“Because they came and left!” I shouted. “Or because they were never meant for you, only for me!”

Silence settled for a moment. Thick. Tense.

Eldra finally cleared her throat.

“I need to examine her further. Damon, Eric, step back a bit.”

Eric did. Damon didn’t move.

“Damon,” Eldra said firmly. “Give me space.”

He let out a frustrated sigh and moved to the corner of the room.

Eldra closed her eyes and lowered both hands over my stomach again, glow intensifying this time. I felt warmth spread through me… then a strange pulse, like a soft echo of my baby’s heartbeat answering back.

Eldra inhaled sharply.

My blood ran cold. “What is it?”

She opened her eyes slowly. “There is a powerful aura surrounding your child,” she said. “Something ancient. Something… protective.”

Eric gasped softly. “Aura?”

“Yes. And it reacts to danger,” Eldra said, voice dropping. “Which means Ava might truly have sensed something.”

I shot Damon a look, but he still seemed unconvinced.

“So she’s not hallucinating?” Eric asked.

“She’s not imagining the pain,” Eldra said carefully. “But the shadows…”

“I SAW THEM,” I insisted. My hands trembled. “They were right there. They filled the room. Something wants my child. I can feel it.”

Eldra placed a steadying hand on my shoulder. “For now, you need rest. Stressing yourself will only make things worse.”

Damon stepped forward again. “Is she in danger?”

“Not physically,” Eldra replied. “But her connection to the child is amplifying everything. If she feels fear… the baby reacts. That reaction might trigger more visions.”

“Visions?” I said sharply. “I didn't have a vision. They were real.”

Eldra didn’t argue. But she didn’t confirm it either.

Frustration tore at my chest.

“I’m telling all of you,” I whispered, voice breaking. “Someone—or something—is coming for us.”

Eldra straightened. “I’ll prepare a calming tonic and a protection charm for her room. That should stabilize the aura and help her sleep.”

Damon nodded, relief in his voice.

“Good. Do that.”

But Eric frowned. “A charm? You only use charms when—”

“I said it’s a precaution,” Eldra cut her off.

I wasn’t blind. I saw the look she tried to hide.

She was worried.

And that terrified me more.

Eldra turned toward the door. “I’ll return shortly.”

Damon followed her as she left, probably to ask more questions.

Eric leaned close once they were gone. “Ava… tell me honestly. How many shadows did you see?”

“Three,” I whispered. “Maybe four. They moved like they were searching.”

Eric’s face paled. “And they looked at you?”

“Yes.”

She shivered. “Ava… that’s not stress. That’s not a hallucination.”

“Then why doesn’t Damon believe me?” I asked, voice breaking again. “Why does he think I’m losing my mind?”

“Because if he accepts it,” Eric whispered, “then he has to accept that something terrifying is targeting his mate and child. And he can’t accept that. Not yet.”

I closed my eyes, fighting tears.

Footsteps returned, heavier this time. Damon’s voice came from the hallway.

“Eldra! Hurry, bring whatever you need!”

I opened my eyes.

He was calling the pack healer again.