Chapter 27

27

Ruby

M arrok's wild eyes bore into mine as he burst into the room. I tried to close my legs, but it was too late- he had already seen that I was in the middle of labor. A twisted smile curled on his lips.

"This is perfect," he said. "Just in time."

"Please," I begged, my voice shaking. "Don't hurt my baby." But he just laughed, which confirmed that he wasn't changing his mind.

"Why would I keep the spawn of another pack?" he sneered. "You'll feel better once this burden is eliminated from our relationship. And your beautiful scent will go back to normal."

With predatory grace, he knelt between my legs and placed his hands on my thighs.

"Go away," I cried as another contraction, harder this time, ripped through me.

"Push," he said with a wide smile.

The urge to push came again, and I screamed as I did. Something shiny caught my eye, and I saw the glint of a knife in Marrok's hand.

My scream turned to one of fear, and I didn't want to keep pushing anymore. Tears streamed down my face, mingling with snot, as I sobbed uncontrollably and wiped my nose with the edge of my dress during a brief respite from the contractions.

"I can't," I moaned, breathing hard with pain and terror.

"Push, Ruby," Marrok urged, his voice unnervingly calm. "Soon, you'll smell like sweet candy again, and we can go back to our lives together. Think about all the beautiful vacations we'll go on."

But all I could think about was the danger my baby was in and how horrible it would be if Marrok followed through on his threat. Another contraction hit, and I pushed once more, pleading with my eyes for him to spare my baby.

"Ah, the head is out!" Marrok exclaimed, his golden eyes burning with excitement. "The baby is crowning!"

My cries grew louder, each sob ripping at my heart as I continued to plead with him not to hurt my child. But he just watched me, ignoring my cries as I labored to bring this innocent life into the world.

Suddenly, I heard the rush of paws against the wooden floorboards.

My gaze snapped to the door, and I saw them. Four alpha wolves in their shifted forms, their massive bodies bristling with fury, their eyes on Marrok.

The moment I smelled the familiar scents of my pack, I felt relief from the outside threat, but I was still in a lot of pain in the middle of giving birth.

Marrok yelled as two of the wolves dragged him out of the room, their powerful forms moving with lightning speed. My heart pounded in my chest as one of the wolves shifted back into alpha form, revealing Jasper standing there, fully naked.

"Jasper," I whispered, shock coloring my voice. But he didn't waste any time.

"Ruby, I need you to focus and push," he said gently as he got in position between my legs while I screamed again from the pain. Marrok's screams echoed in the background, but I didn't care about him. All that mattered now was giving birth to my child safely. "Focus on me, Ruby. You're safe now."

I looked into Jasper's blue eyes, drawing me in, and a calmness overtook the pain I was in. Davy rushed into the room, also naked, his red hair wild around him.

"Oh my god," said Davy.

"It hurts," I screamed, feeling red-hot pain sear down below.

"Davy, we need something to wrap the baby," said Jasper. "I'm here, Ruby. Take a deep breath."

"On it," Davy replied, ripping off half the sheets while I screamed with pain. The baby's head was fully out, and sweat poured down my neck as I took in deep breaths.

"Almost there, one last push," Jasper encouraged. I gathered all my strength and pushed with everything I had left.

And then…the sweet sound of my newborn crying.

The sound brought my entire pack into the room. Rufus and Wayne had come into the room just in time to witness the birth. Wayne was still in wolf form, and he cut the umbilical cord gently with a claw.

The intense pain was dwindling, but I felt dizzy and sick as I closed my eyes, listening to my baby crying in Jasper's arms. I smiled, relieved that my baby was safe.

"She's beautiful," said Wayne in wonder as he shifted back.

Rufus kissed my face, and I knew it was him with my eyes closed because of his scratchy beard.

"Ruby," he muttered. Then, in a louder, panicked voice. "Ruby! Wake up."

It was hard to respond to him because of how dizzy and confused I was at that moment. The pain was still there, pulsing below, but it felt distant.

"Fuck, she lost a lot of blood," said Wayne.

"I'll wash the baby, take care of Ruby," shouted Jasper as he hurried out of the room. My eyes were open halfway to keep track of what was going on, but I could feel myself slipping away.

Pain wracked my body as Davy tried to staunch the bleeding using bedsheets while Wayne helped him.

Everything started to blur together, and I began to lose track of everyone.

"Ruby, stay with us," said Davy in a worried voice. I felt so bad, and tears fell down my cheeks, wishing I could be there for the alphas I loved.

"Make sure my baby's safe," I muttered, and the world went black as I slipped into unconsciousness.

Jasper

Adjusting the water temperature in the kitchen sink, I was careful not to let the slippery baby fall. I took a kitchen rag and soaked it before cleaning her face, which was covered in mucus. The newborn baby's cry was shrill, which tore at my heart.

"Shh, it's okay, baby," I tried to comfort her as I cleaned her up. She was my responsibility while Rufus beat up Marrok outside, and Wayne took care of Ruby with Davy's help.

Suddenly, I heard a yell from the bedroom, and I rushed towards the room, carrying the now-clean baby. My heart lodged in my throat when I saw Ruby, pale and unconscious, in Wayne's arms on the floor. "We need to call an ambulance!"

"None of us have a phone," Davy replied, worry etched on his face. "We all shifted to get here." It was true. After we located her scent at the candy shop, we didn't think much further except to look for her.

"Then we'll have to carry her to a hospital," Wayne said, quickly lifting her in his arms. Ruby looked lifeless, and her body looked like jello as she lay there .

Worry streaked through me as I looked at the crying baby in my arms.

"The baby will need to go to the hospital too," I said, as Davy helped wrap the baby from the torn bedsheets. "Take her there with Ruby."

I handed the baby to Davy, who gently cradled her, fixing the sheets around her. I rushed outside to let Rufus know what was happening.

Rufus was tying Marrok to the tree with ropes. Marrok was grinning through bloody teeth after being beaten by Wayne and Rufus.

"Do you have a phone somewhere?" I demanded of Marrok while checking his pockets.

"If I did have one, why the fuck would I tell you?" the alpha spat, his smile only widening. Frustrated, I kicked him ruthlessly until he was out of breath.

"Ruby's losing too much blood," Wayne shouted from the front door, cradling her limp form in his arms.

I ran towards them and placed a finger on her neck. Her face was deathly pale, but she was still breathing. Blood pooled on the floor around her, and panic gripped me.

"If you don't get to a hospital in time, flag down a car," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Let's go."

Wayne nodded and rushed down the road with Ruby in his arms. Davy, having shifted back into wolf form, held the swaddled baby carefully between his teeth as he followed Wayne.

"Should I finish him off right here?" asked Rufus, growling at the sight of Ruby's limp form.

"Go ahead," I said, not caring as I prepared to shift.

"You might not want to do that," shouted Marrok as Rufus shifted into werewolf form.

"Why the fuck would we spare you?" I said. "You took Ruby and made her life a living hell for no reason. You took our omega."

"I'm Marrok," he said, looking at me with blackened eyes. " Henry's son, and you don't want to start a war with our leader, do you?"

"Fuck," I muttered. "Rufus, leave him tied to the tree. We'll report him when we get back to the compound."

Rufus nodded, and we both bounded across the road, following the scent of our pack. My thoughts raced, praying that Ruby would make it alive and our baby would be okay.

I couldn't bear the thought of losing her in this way at all.