CHAPTER 74

CHAPTER 74
Dan’s POV

The beast was trying to claw its way out.

I sat in the dim glow of the bedside lamp, fists clenched on my thighs, fighting the fire racing through my veins. 

Every breath felt too loud. My bones ached like they were being slowly stretched and reshaped. I could feel my fingernails thickening, pressing against my skin like they wanted to become claws. 

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood my blood, which now carried a wild, metallic edge that made my mouth water.

Not now, not here.

Emerald slept beside me, still hooked to the IV. Sigurd dozed in the bassinet, tiny fists curled near his face. Two days of this silent war inside my body while I guarded them. 

Victoria had told me the truth, but knowing didn’t make it easier to control. The full moon was still nights away, yet the change didn’t care. It fed on my fear.

I closed my eyes and focused on Emerald’s heartbeat steady now, thank God. Her scent wrapped around me like an anchor: wildflowers, smoke, and the faint sweetness of milk. It helped.

Sigurd suddenly woke up and his cry sliced through the quiet night. It sounded sharp and desperate. 

Not the usual hungry whimper this was pure distress. My head snapped toward the bassinet. The sound hit me like a physical blow; every instinct screamed to protect him.

Emerald’s eyes flew open. She bolted upright with a gasp, IV line tugging at her arm. Her face was pale, streaked with sudden tears.

“No, no!” she cried, voice hoarse from days of silence. “He wants him. They want my baby!”

I was on her in an instant, arms wrapping around her trembling frame. “Em, hey, breathe. It’s okay. I’m here. Sigurd is right here, safe.”

She clutched my shirt with surprising strength, nails digging in as fresh sobs tore from her.

“He’s coming for him, Dan. I felt it in the dark. That’s why Elias is crying he senses it too. They want our son. They want to take him from me!” Her panic flooded the room. 

Sigurd wailed louder, as if echoing her terror. My chest tightened. 

The pain in me surged, pushing against my ribs, heating my blood until sweat broke across my forehead. 

I fought it back with everything I had clenching my jaw so hard I heard it creak, forcing my hands to stay gentle as I held her.

“Shh, baby. Look at me.” I cupped her face, thumbs brushing away her tears. 

My voice stayed low, steady, even as fire licked up my spine and my vision sharpened unnaturally. 

“No one is taking Sigurd. Not anyone. I will tear apart anyone who tries. You hear me? I’ve got you both.” Emerald’s breathing hitched. 

Her wild green eyes searched mine, and something in them softened just a fraction.

She leaned into me, forehead against my chest. For a heartbeat, the transformation eased. The itching faded. 

Her trust was a balm stronger than any of Victoria’s warnings. I pressed a kiss to her damp hair, one hand reaching out to gently lift Sigurd from the bassinet. 

The moment I cradled him against us, his cries quieted to soft hiccups. He nuzzled into Emerald’s shoulder like he belonged there which he did.

“That’s it,” I murmured. “We’re right here, little man. Your mom’s awake. She’s strong, just like you.”

Emerald let out a watery laugh and stroked his dark curls. “My boys,” she whispered. “I was so scared I’d never hold him again.”

The warmth in my chest swelled until it collided with the fire in my blood. A low growl rumbled deep in my throat before I could stop it. I masked it with a cough, but Emerald tensed.

“Dan your eyes. They’re glowing.” Before I could answer, heat flared between us. Literal heat. Emerald’s hand on my arm suddenly blazed hot not painful, but alive with power. 

Flames licked across her fingertips, soft and golden at first, then brighter, dancing without burning her skin or mine. The air shimmered. The IV stand beside the bed glowed faintly as if reflecting her fire.

“Em—” I started, awed and alarmed. 

“I don’t know how to stop it,” she breathed, eyes wide. The flames grew stronger with her lingering fear, curling protectively around Sigurd like a warm shield.

“When I was sleeping. I felt this power waking up. It kept me alive somehow. Dan I think something is deeply wrong.”

A sharp ding-dong cut through the house. The doorbell.

Every muscle in my body locked. The beast roared to the surface. My hearing sharpened brutally I caught footsteps outside, a heartbeat that wasn’t Luca’s or my mother’s. 

Heavier, confindent and beneath it, a scent I didn’t recognize but instantly hated.

Emerald’s flames surged brighter, casting flickering shadows across the walls. Sigurd whimpered again. She pulled him closer, fire dancing along her arms now, ready.

“Dan,” she whispered, voice steel wrapped in fear. “It’s him. Or someone he sent.” I nodded trying to make her feel heard even though I wasn’t convinced that someone was after our baby that was born three days ago.

I stood slowly, every joint protesting as bones shifted under my skin. Claws pricked at the ends of my fingers. 

I forced them back, but the effort left me shaking. I turned to Emerald, cupping her fiery cheek without flinching. The flames felt like an extension of her warm, fierce.

“Stay here with him. Lock the door if you have to. I’ll handle this.”

“Dan, are you sure you can do this? You don’t look okay.”

I leaned down and kissed her hard, pouring every promise into it. “I don’t care what’s happening to me. I won’t let anyone touch our family.”

The doorbell rang again. Louder and insistent.

I moved toward the bedroom door, muscles coiling with unnatural power. The beast howled for release, but I held it on a razor’s edge. For my small family I would master this curse or die trying.

Whatever waited downstairs, man or something worse I would face it as both man and monster.