21. Jaxson

Icouldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. My hands were shaking, my heart was racing as I tried to pack up our things. This town was insane, filled with monsters. Monsters like him. I had to get Emilia and me out of here.

The world needed to know about this. The government, the press—people had to know that things like this exist.

I tossed my clothes haphazardly into a suitcase, my mind a whirlwind of fear and disbelief. Rhys was a shifter. He’d transformed right in front of me. I hadn’t seen that coming. Of all the thoughts that had gone through my head, I’d never even gone there.

Who would?

Emilia’s cries pierced through my frantic thoughts, bringing my protective instincts into sharp focus. She was likely feeling my panic and anxiety. So I scooped her up and held her close. “It’s okay, baby girl. Daddy’s got you,” I whisper, trying to calm both her and myself.

My mind was racing, too many thoughts flooding it. All I could focus on right now was running! We needed to move quickly. Get out of town before he came back.

I grabbed Emilia’s favorite blanket and her stuffed bear—the irony was not lost on me—stuffing them into the bag.

The government needed to know about this. If there were others like him, people needed to be warned. We couldn’t just pretend this didn’t exist. But my first priority was to get Emilia to safety.

I fumbled with the phone, my fingers slipping as I try to call Shepherd. He’d know what to do. The phone rang repeatedly, but there was no answer. Damn it! I ended the call and threw the phone into the bag.

Every muscle in my body was tense, every nerve on high alert. I kept replaying the moment he shifted in my mind, the way his body contorted, the animal he became. It was burned into my memory, like a nightmare I couldn’t escape.

As I zipped up the suitcase, I heard a noise downstairs. My heart leapt into my throat. I grabbed the gun from the nightstand, holding it tightly as I crept towards the stairs. I couldn’t let him come near Emilia again. Not after what I’d seen.

“Stay back!” I shout, my voice trembling. “Don’t come any closer!”

But as it turned out, it was just the wind, rustling the blinds. I lowered the gun, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I couldn’t stay here any longer. We had to leave. Now.

After packing up as many of her things as I could from her room, and bottles and formula from the kitchen, I dropped it all onto the front porch by the car.. grabbed the suitcase and added it to the pile.

The only thing left was the baby. I picked her up from her swing and wrapped her in her blankets. Holding her close to my chest, I knew she could sense my fear, her tiny hands clutching at my shirt. “It’s okay, baby,” I whispered, more to reassure myself than her. “We’re getting out of here.”

As I stepped back out into the cool night, a million thoughts raced through my mind. Where would we go? Who could we trust? How could I protect her from a world I didn’t understand?

But this was not the time to think about all that. I had to put some space and distance between us and this town.

Turning, I took one last look at the house we’d called home.

How had everything changed so quickly?

I loaded an upset Emilia into her car seat, my hands trembling as I strapped her in. Her high-pitched wail cuts through the night.

“I’m sorry baby. I’m sorry,” I murmured to her before jumping into the driver’s seat. I turned on the ignition and let out a shaky breath as the engine roars to life. I peeled out of the driveway, my heart pounding in my chest.

Emilia’s cries echoed my own sense of panic and fear. I drove as fast as I could, the dark road stretching out before me. Every shadow felt like a potential threat. I wanted to scream, to let out the fear and confusion that was choking me, but I couldn’t…I had to keep it together for Emilia.

The miles blurred together as I drove through the night. My eyes burned from exhaustion, but I couldn’t stop. Not yet. I had to put distance between us and Rhys.

My thoughts were a chaotic jumble, replaying the moment he shifted over and over. How could he keep something like that from me? What if there was more he was hiding?

Emilia’s wailing finally stopped as she cried herself to sleep. I was a shit parent, and I knew it. It was all a reminder of how helpless I felt. She was crying for both of us because I want to wail, too. My world had fallen apart, and I didn’t know how to piece it back together.

After hours on the road, I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open. My eyelids drooped and I fought to keep them open. I couldn’t risk falling asleep at the wheel, so I have to find somewhere to stop. I spotted a sign for a Ramada ahead and pulled into the parking lot.

I parked the car and took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Pulling out my phone, I quickly found our location and made an online reservation. With that done, I gathered what she would need for the night and put it all into one bag.

I hated to disturb her now that she was sleeping, but I didn’t have any other option. So I got out of the car and unhooked her car seat from the behind me. I tucked in the blankets around her, slung the bag over my shoulder, lifted the car seat. After locking the car, we headed to check in.

The desk attendant looked up with a smile on her face. “Can I help you?”

“Yes. I made a reservation online.” I gave her my last name and waited for her to process everything.

When she slid the keycard to me, I thanked her and headed for the elevator. After a short ride, I found our room. It was clean and a refuge from the chaos outside. I set Emilia down on the bed, unbuckled her from the car seat, and laid her out on her blanket on the bed. When she was settled, I laid down beside her.

For the first time since we’d left Asheville, I could finally slow down.

The silence in the room was deafening. I watched her tiny chest rise and fall with each breath. She looked so peaceful, so innocent.

And that’s when I lost it. The tears I’d been holding back came rushing out. I got up so as not to wake her and I buried my face in my hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

I thought I could handle anything, but this... this was too much. Rhys wasn’t even human. What does that mean for us? For our baby?

My mind spun with questions I had no answers for. Fears I couldn’t seem to banish. The betrayal was a sharp knife, plunging deep into my heart. To discover the man I loved had kept such an essential part of himself hidden from me was devastating.

As the tears faded, a numbness took over. I had no idea what to do next, or where to go from here. All I knew was that I had to protect Emilia. I had to find a way to keep her safe in a world that suddenly felt more dangerous than I ever imagined.

As I sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep, I tried to come up with a plan. But all I can think about was how everything had already changed, and how nothing would ever be the same again. The man I loved, the life I thought we were building—it was all gone.

But for Emilia’s sake, I had to keep going. I had to find a way to navigate this new reality, no matter how terrifying it might be. I leaned down and kiss her forehead, whispering everything was okay. Even though I didn’t know how I would do it.

And without Rhys.