Chapter 44 PROTECTED
ALICIA’S POV
I wake gasping, tangled in sweat-soaked sheets, my heart beating fast against my ribs.
The nightmare clings to me like cobwebs. Vincent attacking. Warriors dying. Being dragged away by Jake while Ray stood helpless. The terror of silver chains burning my throat.
But it was just a dream. Just my anxious mind processing fears and what-ifs and worst-case scenarios.
I press my hand to my chest, feeling my racing pulse slowly settle. The bedroom is quiet. Early morning light filters through the curtains. Everything is peaceful. Safe.
Then I notice them.
Four pairs of eyes watching me in the dim light. Ray is sitting onthe chair beside the bed. Monty sits at the foot of the bed. Kai stood, leaning against the wall by the window while Logan is standing near the door.
All of them awake. All of them watching. All of them radiating protective intensity that makes the air feel thick.
"How long have you been there?" My voice comes out rough.
"All night." Ray's voice is soft but his eyes are hard. "We've been taking shifts watching you sleep since yesterday afternoon when Sarah confirmed the pregnancy."
Well, the pregnancy part isn't a nightmare then.
"You didn't have to watch me sleep. I'm fine." I sit up slowly, very aware that I'm wearing nothing but Ray's old t-shirt. "That's kind of creepy actually."
"You're pregnant with one of our children and The Veritas is hunting you and your mother appeared from the dead with warnings about Moon's Fury rituals." Monty's voice is matter of fact. "Forgive us for being a little overprotective."
"A little?" I look at each of them. "This is suffocating. I can barely breathe with all of you staring at me like I'm made of glass."
"You're not made of glass." Kai's voice is quiet. "But you are carrying something precious. Something vulnerable. Something that needs protecting."
"I'm three weeks pregnant. It's barely a cluster of cells right now." Even as I say it, my hand moves automatically to my stomach. "I don't need four bodyguards hovering over me constantly."
"Yes, you do." Ray stands, moving closer to the bed. "Because Blood Moon Pack is still out there. Vincent and Jake sent a message that they are not coming for the competition anymore but we know that they are planning something else. And the Veritas apparently wants to use your pregnancy to trigger some apocalyptic ritual."
"We're not letting any of that happen." Logan's voice carries absolute certainty. "Which means you don't leave our sight. You don't take risks. You don't do anything that might threaten you or the baby."
The casual way he says "the baby" makes it real in a way the blood test didn't. This isn't theoretical anymore. This is an actual life growing inside me. A child that will depend on me. That I'll be responsible for.
The weight of it crashes down all at once. I can't breathe, or handle this on top of everything else.
"I need space." I swing my legs over the side of the bed. "Just for five minutes. Please.
"
"Alicia…" Ray starts.
"Please!" The word comes out sharper than I intend. "I just woke up from a nightmare where everyone died and I was captured and dragged away. Now I'm awake and you're all staring at me like I'm a bomb about to explode. I need five minutes alone to process everything before I lose my mind completely."
They exchange glances. Some silent communication passing between them.
Finally Ray nods. "Five minutes. We'll be right outside."
They file out slowly, like leaving me alone might cause immediate disaster.
The door closes. I'm alone in the quiet bedroom.
I press both hands to my fla, normal stomach that didn't suggest any sign of the life supposedly growing there.
"Hi," I whisper to my belly. Feeling ridiculous but needing to say something. "I don't know if you can hear me. Don't know if you're even aware yet. But this is your mom. And I have no idea what I'm doing. I have no idea how to protect you from everything that's coming. But I'm going to try. I promise I'm going to try."
No response, obviously, it’s way too early for movement or anything resembling communication.
But saying the words out loud makes it real. The words makes this tiny potential person real.
I heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." I called
Sarah, the pack healer, enters carrying a medical bag. Her face is kind but serious
.
"Morning. The boys asked me to check on you, to make sure everything's okay after yesterday's news."
"I'm fine. Just overwhelmed."
"Understandable." She sets her bag on the bed. "Mind if I do a quick exam? Check vitals, make sure the early pregnancy is progressing normally?"
I nod and sit back against the headboard. Sarah pulls out equipment. Takes my blood pressure, checks my pulse, asks questions about symptoms.
"Any cramping? Bleeding? Severe nausea?"
"No cramping or bleeding. Some nauseous feeling but nothing terrible."
"Good. That's normal for three weeks." She pulls out a small handheld device. "This is a portable ultrasound. It is way too early to see much, but I can check that everything is implanted correctly and to make sure there's no immediate concerns."
She lifts my shirt, squirts cold gel on my stomach. The ultrasound wand presses against my skin.
The screen shows grainy black and white images that mean nothing to me. Sarah studies them carefully.
"There." She points to a tiny dark spot. "That's the gestational sac. Very small, which is normal for this stage. Everything looks properly positioned."
I stare at the screen. That tiny dark spot is my baby. The beginning of a life that will change everything.
"Is it healthy? Can you tell this early?"
"Too early for detailed health assessment. But the placement is good. Size is appropriate for three weeks. No obvious complications." She wipes the gel off and helps me sit up. "However, I do need to talk to you about something concerning."
My stomach drops. "What?"
"Your mate bonds. Specifically the incomplete ones." Sarah's expression is grave. "The pregnancy is creating additional strain on your system. Your body is trying to support fetal development while also managing four mate bonds, two of which aren't fully completed. That's a lot of energy drain."
"What does that mean for the baby?"
"Right now, nothing immediate. But as the pregnancy progresses, the incomplete bonds will put increasing stress on both you and the fetus." She pauses. "I'm concerned that if you don't complete all four bonds soon, your body might not be able to sustain the pregnancy. The stress could cause miscarriage."
The word miscarriage hits like a punch. Losing this baby before it even has a chance.
"How soon is soon?"
"Ideally within the next few weeks. Before you hit the second trimester." Sarah packs up her equipment. "I know the bond with Ray is complicated because of the sibling situation. But I heard Elder Pascal mentioned a ritual that could transform the corrupted bond into a protective one. That might be your solution."
"Pascal's in prison. For ordering the massacre of Kai's family." My voice is flat. "Why would I trust anything he says about rituals?"
"Because he's been studying mate bonds for forty years. And because desperate times call for trusting people we'd rather not." Sarah heads for the door. "Talk to your mates. Figure out a plan. But don't wait too long. The pregnancy won't wait for you to be ready."
She leaves and the door closes.
I sit alone with the knowledge that my unborn child is already in danger. Already threatened by circumstances beyond anyone's control.
Two bonds are complete while two are incomplete. And my body apparently can't handle the imbalance while growing a baby.
The door opens again. My mates file back in. They must have been listening outside. Probably heard everything Sarah said.
"We're completing the bonds." Ray's voice is absolute. "Tonight. Both of them. Whatever it takes."
"The ritual Pascal mentioned, the transformation, what if it kills us both." I remind him. "What makes you think it'll work?"
"Because we have more motivation. There is a child to protect." His warm and possessive hand settles on my stomach. "I won't let our baby die because I'm too proud or too scared to try."
"Our baby." Monty's voice is soft. "We don't even know which of us is the biological father."
"Does it matter?" Kai asks. "The bonds make all of us connected to it. All of us are responsible for it."
"All of us are it's parents." Logan adds. "That's what matters."
They're right. The paternity doesn't matter. What matters is protecting this life. Giving it a chance to grow and be born and live in whatever world we manage to create.
"Okay." I take a shaky breath. "Tonight. We complete the final bonds. Both of them."
"The transformation with Ray will take hours. It's painful, dangerous, and requires all four of us to anchor the magic." Monty's already planning. "We should do Logan's claiming first. Get that bond solid. Then attempt the transformation."
"Agreed." Logan's voice is steady. "I'm ready whenever you are."
Before anyone can say more, a guard appears at the door. Looking nervous.
"Alpha? There's a message. From the prison cells. Elder Pascal wants to speak with Alicia. Says it's urgent."
"Tell him no." Ray's voice is hard. "He doesn't get to make demands from a cell."
"He said to give you this." The guard holds out a folded piece of paper.
Ray takes it. Reads. His face goes pale.
"What?" I grab the note from his hand.
The message is short. Written in Pascal's cramped handwriting.
Complete the final bonds tonight or lose everything. The pregnancy has activated something. The Veritas knows. They're coming. You have until midnight.
My blood turns to ice. "How does he know about the pregnancy and how did he know that they are coming? He's been in a cell for days."
"He's Veritas." Kai's voice is grim. "He probably has ways to communicate we don't know about."
"Or he's lying. Trying to manipulate us into making rash decisions." Ray crushes the note. "We don't trust anything he says."
"But what if he's right?" I look at each of my mates. "What if The Veritas really is coming? What if we're running out of time?"
Silence fills the room. Heavy with impossible choices.
Finally Ray speaks. "Then we complete the bonds tonight. Not because Pascal told us to. Because it's what we need to do anyway." His eyes meet mine. "Are you ready for this? For both claimings in one night? It's going to be intense. Possibly dangerous."
"I'm ready." I'm not. But I don't have the luxury of being ready. Just have to be willing. "Let's do this. Let's protect our baby and finish what we started."
The four mate bonds agreed witin unity.
Tonight, everything changes.
Tonight, we complete the bonds or lose everything trying.
And somewhere in the darkness, The Veritas is coming.
Racing against time we might not have.