Chapter 32

“Itold you, I’m fine,” Bronson growls out, directing a narrowed-eyed stare at Rion, who holds his hands up innocently.

“Dude, I just don’t want you to fall over and become a werewolf pancake. I don’t think Nina would be too happy. Actually…” The crazy shifter puts a finger to his chin in contemplation. “If she gets to eat you, she might be happy. I, on the other hand, am not gonna eat you. Unless you’re into that sort of stuff.” He waits, raising a pierced brow as Bronson glares at him, moving stiffly until he’s finally sitting on a chair in the throne room. “No? Fine. Spoilsport.”

“You should take it easy,” I tell my chief enforcer, watching the relief splay itself across his face when he’s finally able to sit after being on his feet all day.

“I’m fine,” Bronson retorts immediately. The same damn thing he’s been saying every time one of us asks him. I know his natural healing has begun kicking in, but he was shot, for fuck’s sake. That’s not something that will heal overnight, even for an immensely powerful shadow wolf. “Now what did Nina want to talk to us about?”

“Dunno.” That’s from Abel, who tosses another grape in the air. Of course, the asshole misses it when he tries to catch the fruit in his mouth, and we both watch as it rolls towards his brother. Cain gives Abel an annoyed look. “Nina just told me to gather everyone in the throne room.”

“And are you sure that meant him?” Cain asks with a venomous look in Logan’s direction. To be quite honest, I’ve almost forgotten the cupid was in the room with us, which isn’t a good thing. I don’t trust him. At all.

And the last thing I need is for him to stab me in the back while I’m distracted.

Abel shrugs again in answer to Cain’s question. “Again, dunno. He was just sitting there looking lost and shit, so I took pity on him and invited him to join the popular table.”

Logan glares at the trickster demon, eyes hurling daggers. “I wasn’t looking ‘lost and shit,’” he argues. “And I don’t want to join your table of psychopaths.”

Abel places a hand to his chest in mock pain. “Psychopaths. I’m hurt, Logan. I prefer the term ‘sexy and deranged lover.’”

Logan’s pretty boy face twists, but he wisely doesn’t comment.

A moment later, Logan has completely left my mind when the door to the throne room opens and Damien and Nina step inside. My love looks…pale. Her onyx hair appears even darker around her washed-out face. Even her pure white eyes seem brighter in comparison, those glorious depths glimmering with unshed tears.

“What the fuck happened?” Bronson jumps up from the chair, wobbles when he’s greeted with the fresh pain from his wound, and then grits his teeth together as he steps in front of Nina. “Who do I have to kill, Goddess?” He eyes Damien warily, as if he’s half expecting Nina to name the mage. I have no doubt Bronson will try to kill Damien if Nina wished it.

I wonder who would win that fight.

“Nina,” I growl, my dragon unfurling inside of me and demanding to be let out. Demanding to claim his mate and protect her from whatever put that haunted, doe-eyed look on her face. “What happened?”

“I’m…” She swallows heavily, and my eyes drop to the swan-like arch of her throat.

“You’re desperate to ride my cock, Bambi?” Abel asks with a forced laugh. His joke manages to garner a tentative smile from Nina, one that she quickly squashes. She fiddles with the hem of her white dress, tension bleeding from every pore of her body. Damien stands directly beside her, one hand on the small of her back while he gifts us all with an impassive look. It’s obvious he knows what’s troubling her, but you’ll never get him to admit it. There’s only one person he ever drops his mask with, and she’s the one currently shaking like a leaf in the wind.

“Trouble.” Cain’s voice is practically a bark as he stalks forward, stopping only inches in front of her. Damien’s eyes narrow at his tone of voice, but he doesn’t comment when Cain places his hands on her shoulders. “What the fuck is going on? You know I hate when you do this shit.”

“What shit are you referring to?” Rion pipes in. “The sexy kind? I didn’t know you liked that kink, my naughty demon friend.” Despite his words being addressed at a glowering Cain, Rion doesn’t peel his eyes away from Nina. His face is grim, even as his tongue plays with his lip ring.

And then Nina says it. In the throne room. Miles underground. In prison.

The words that barrel me over with the force of a wrecking ball. The words that cause every organ in my body to freeze. The words that make my hands shake erratically as blinding terror courses through me.

“I’m pregnant.”

No. No. No.

No!

I drop to my knees, my legs unable to hold my body up, as I stare at my beloved. Simply stare. I’m dimly aware of Bronson howling, the noise low and tormented, of the twins gripping one another tightly, of Rion dropping his face into his hands. Only Damien’s expression remains blank, hewn from stone and utterly unreadable.

“You can’t be,” Bronson finally manages to say, his voice sounding distant to my ears. “The spell?—”

“Is no longer there,” Damien cuts in, a frown curling his lips down. “It hasn’t been there for a while.”

“How the fuck didn’t you notice something like that?” Rion snaps, and for once, I don’t see the crazy, eccentric shifter. I see the rival gang leader. The fierce and terrifying tiger.

“You’re not…” Nina’s voice trembles slightly, and she wraps both of her arms around her midsection. “You guys aren’t happy we’re going to have a child?”

Her wobbly voice…

It fucking breaks me.

All of our heads snap up at once, and I can see my own horror reflected on each of their faces.

“That’s not it at all, baby,” I murmur, finding my voice when all I want to do is wage a war against this goddamn world. Tears prick my eyes, and I don’t even try to hide them. “We’re going to be dads.” I take another breath, searching for the right words. Because overshadowing the joy and wonderment of this discovery—we’re going to be a fucking family—is godawful terror.

My kid is going to be born in the Labyrinth.

“We need to leave,” Bronson interjects, his words a guttural growl. I wonder how close he is to losing his shit and shifting. I know that the second the throne room is empty, my dragon will explode out of me.

“You’re talking about escaping prison.” Abel turns towards Bronson, mouth agape. “Fuck, Bron.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Bronson snaps, running a shaky hand through his tousled blond hair. “My child—our child—is not fucking growing up here. I can’t…” His voice hitches slightly. Wolves in general place a huge emphasis on family and kin.

The knowledge that his own kid will be stuck inside of this fucked-up place, or removed from our care as soon as she or he is born, is a literal knife to the gut.

“The door…” Rion whispers softly, his long lashes fluttering. And then, with more animation, he repeats, “The door.”

Yes, this mysterious doorway Rion believes will take us out of the Labyrinth. It sounds like a dream. A good dream, but a dream all the same.

“The halls are always changing. There’s no way we’ll be able to find it again,” Cain says, his voice tired and unsure. His eyes are locked on Nina as if she’s the only thing he sees. The only thing in his entire universe.

I understand completely, because God knows that she’s mine.

Bronson turns towards me, his eyes beseeching my own. There’s a sharpness to his face that wasn’t there prior, almost as if his wolf is lurking just beneath his skin, waiting for a chance to be set free.

“We need to leave, Blade. We can’t stay here. Not with the hit list against us. Not with…” He gestures wildly towards Nina.

“He’s right,” Rion adds gravely. He forks his fingers through his dark hair. “Fuck, he’s right—we can’t stay here. Not now.”

Nina is silent as her blind gaze volleys between all of us. I know she’s dying to ask Rion about this door he found, but she remains silent, allowing us to gather our thoughts.

Though all I want to do is grab her, kiss her senseless, and then lock her in my treasure vault so no harm can come to her and our…

My eyes lower to her stomach. Obviously, I don’t see any visible signs of her pregnancy, but I know it’s only a matter of time until her belly rounds enticingly. My cock hardens at the thought, but I shove those lustful thoughts aside.

“Okay.” My voice is soft, but as I expect, it silences everyone instantly. Cain and Abel both stare at me in disbelief, but Bronson sags in physical relief. Rion and Damien, though, are impossible to read. “Okay. We’ll leave.”

“Take me with you.”

We all jump at the unexpected voice. All of us, surprisingly, except for Nina, who simply turns her head in Logan’s general direction. Even Damien seems shocked, his mouth parting slightly before he hardens his features and glares at the other man.

Logan holds our gazes stubbornly, his teasing smile nowhere in sight.

“I can help,” Logan continues, a hint of desperation in his voice. “I can continue to train Nina. I mean, who knows how long we’re going to be down there, searching for an exit? And I can fight if it comes to that. I’m also capable of sensing minds, as you guys are well aware. Romantic thoughts, lust, any sort of attraction, past or present… It’ll give us an advantage if a guard is approaching.”

His words hold merit, but at the same time…

I don’t fucking trust him.

But it’s Nina who speaks, her windchime voice causing all of us to wilt in her direction like flowers seeking sunlight. I would feel fucking pathetic, if I gave a shit about anything or anyone other than the woman before me. “Logan,” she begins, moving away from Damien until she’s able to stand by me. She places her hand in the crook of my elbow, her eyes remaining fixed on the cupid. The cupid who’s currently staring at her with love-struck eyes. “What did you do to land yourself here?” She pauses. “And don’t lie to me.”

“Enter my head. Hear the sincerity in my thoughts,” Logan all but pleads, continuing to give Nina these obnoxious puppy dog eyes that make me want to stab him.

“Me thinks he has a little crush on our fiancée,” Rion murmurs to Bronson.

“I stole,” Logan confesses at last, his gaze lowering to the ground. Nina’s eyes have glazed over, the only indication she’s entered his mind and is now listening intently to his thoughts. “From Councilman Lionel Green. I was living on the streets after an incident with Narian…” Horror etches itself across his face at whatever memory he’s remembering. Nina sucks in a sharp gasp but doesn’t interrupt. I place a hand on the small of her back and begin to rub soothing circles as Logan collects himself. “I heard that Lionel had recently acquired a priceless artifact—a feather from a cockatrice.” He blows out a breath. “I tried to steal it, and I was caught.”

I exchange a look with first Damien and then Bronson. We all know what the twins went through at that monster’s hand. And to discover from Damien that he’s behind the hit list?

Anger burns white-hot inside of me, but I attempt to snuff out the flame before it can blaze into an inferno.

Nina tilts her head to the side, weighing his words, before she finally nods.

“He’s telling the truth, and I think…I think he should come with us.” The skin between her brows creases as she struggles to articulate whatever is running through that beautiful mind of hers. “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that we need him.” She turns her gaze towards mine, her white eyes pleading. “I don’t know how to explain it, Kai. I know you don’t trust him?—”

“But I trust you,” I interrupt forcefully. She blinks at me in surprise, and I kiss the tip of her nose to soften my harsh tone. “And even though it kills me, if you think we should bring the cupid with us, then we will.”

“What about my friends?” She places her hands on my arms, her fingernails digging into my skin. “Braelyn and Jenny and?—”

“There’s a reason they’re in prison, Buttercup,” Rion says softly. “I know you don’t want to hear that answer and I know that you care about them, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring them. Besides, the less people who know about this plan, the better.”

Nina’s face falls, but I agree with Rion wholeheartedly. Nina’s friends…they adore her. I trust my girl with them, no questions asked, but they’re a danger to society.

Braelyn herself went on a murdering spree, killing approximately fifteen people before she was caught and sent here. The only reason she ended up in the Labyrinth is because one of the people she killed was the son of a councilwoman.

Not that we’re any better. It’s completely hypocritical, I know that, but I also know that my men won’t kill anyone now unless it’s needed to protect our family. To protect Nina and our child.

But Braelyn and the others?

They’re wild cards, and for a mission like this, we can’t afford to have any.

“Nina, I’m sor?—”

“Don’t, Kai.” A frown tugs at her lips, and I desperately wish I could kiss it away. “I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.”

I kiss her forehead, reveling in the heat that seems to radiate off of her, before placing a hand on her flat stomach.

By this time next year, my child will be born.

And hopefully, we’ll be out of this godforsaken prison.