29. Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-eight

Amelia paced in their bedroom. Malcolm’s words had played in her head for the last week like an oncoming train waiting to take her out.

“I don’t want the hunter close to our pack.” Rome had been reassuring her that everything was okay, and she believed him. Except there was a feeling in her chest that said if a hunter found the pack, all she loved and lived for would be destroyed. The way her mother died was confirmation that she couldn’t allow a hunter next to the pack. They could send someone in as a friend, only to wait for the next omega to be born.

What could one pregnant omega wolf do? She wasn’t sure, but something had to be done to protect all she was beginning to love. To protect the mate who would give his life for hers. When he said that he was immortal, it had given her peace to know he would always be here. Now she thought of it differently. Immortality didn’t always mean you couldn’t die. Watching him get hurt when he fought the wolves that came for her had opened her eyes.

Rome thought he couldn’t die, but she wouldn’t bet ten dollars on Dark Night keeping her word. She’d watched the face of his brothers when they examined the wound in his side. It healed, but much slower than any of them thought.

No, the hunter couldn’t be allowed to find the pack. Which left one other solution. She was going to have to find the hunter.

“No.” Rome was sitting in a chair watching his mate pace. He could feel her emotions as she worked through her problem with logic that defied reason, or so he thought.

“What else can we do?” She didn’t go through her reasoning with him or tell him what conclusion she’d drawn. They were close enough now to know what the other person was thinking. They’d also been talking about what needed to be done over the last week.

“Amelia…” He didn’t know what to say. A large part of him agreed with her. The last thing they needed or wanted was the hunter to find their pack. It wouldn’t be safe. “I don’t want to lose you or our pup.”

She stopped pacing and went to sit on his lap. This was everything she wanted and didn’t know how to ask for.

“I don’t plan to be lost, but mate, there is more at stake than just my life and the pup’s. If we don’t meet this head on, not only are we going to suffer, but so many more will feel our failure.”

She couldn’t get the picture of the small child she’d helped earlier out of her head. Defeating this hunter was going to be bigger than she thought. “I don’t get it, I can’t explain it, but something is changing in our world.”

“I know love.” She snuggled into Rome’s arms and waited. “Tomorrow, we leave, early.”

“You know something?”

“I’ve had several of my brothers looking for the hunter, and they believe they have found him. You’re right, he’s making his way to our pack. I want to intercept him.”

“It has to be the two of us and no one else.” Rome wanted to argue, but he knew his mate was right. They couldn’t bring a contingency with them.

“You’re pregnant.”

“We have to make sure that he never gets a chance to let anyone know.” Now came the hard part. Could she leave without saying goodbye, just in case? The thought of never seeing Malcolm again or Theron, and Saul. What about Sheela and Todd, or Mark and Janice? Their baby girl wouldn’t miss them, but the rest would, and so would the pack.

“What do we do?”

“We do what I’ve always done. Leave as a conquering hero who will come back. We let the pack know when we will be leaving, and they will do the rest.” She nodded before closing her eyes, trusting her mate and pack to do what was best.

“You’re leaving.” Malcolm was standing outside their door the next morning. His dark skin was flushed with health, bringing tears to Amelia’s eyes. His hair hung long against his back in silky waves. Those honey brown eyes were trained on her.

“I am.”

“I want to come. You’ll need me.”

Her heart almost overflowed with love for this teenager who’d been chased out of his home with a shotgun and then treated like less with the first pack willing to take him in. Now he wanted to risk his life to help save hers.

“I can’t allow you to do that. Don’t you know your life is as important as mine, maybe more? You’re a seer. Some kind of seer or oracle. I’m not sure which yet, but you’ll be needed to help guide the pack forward no matter what happens when we face the hunter.”

Malcolm hugged her. “I need to be there. Either I go with you, or I follow, but I will be there.”

“Let him come.” Rome was standing in the doorway watching them. His son was only fifteen, and he would never risk his life, but already he could tell the difference between the teen and what Luna placed in his life, in his soul. One day he would come into his power, now it was just hit-and-miss. Malcolm was standing firm on the notion that he needed to be there, and Rome wasn’t going to treat him like a child when he wasn’t.

“Rome!” She didn’t want anything to happen to him if she didn’t survive.

“Who said our world is changing? Malcolm is a prime example of how it is changing.” He drew her into his arms. “We can’t say one thing and then do another. If we trusted him earlier, we need to trust him now.”

Her mate was right, but she didn’t want to admit it. “This is a fight, and I’ll be fighting for my life and that of my pup, as well as Rome’s and yours if you’re there.”

“I know, that’s why I have to be there.” He went into his room and came out with a backpack. “I’m ready.”

Amelia shook her head and followed her mate and son down the hall. What happened to the small life she planned to lead, as long as she found a place to be safe? This wasn’t it, and she couldn’t say she was disappointed, not even with her son following them into conflict.

“Sit and eat,” Sheela said when they came close to the kitchen. “No arguments.” There were three plates on the table and hers had a bottle of blueberry juice.

“You always know what I need.”

“Whatever, I made you blueberry pancakes and plenty of bacon. I anticipate all three of you back for dinner tonight or tomorrow.” She turned her back and wiped her eyes.

Amelia discreetly wiped her eyes. She was going to fight for more than their small family at the table, but for their pack and the ones they didn’t know about. Theron and Saul came to join them, and they talked like it was any other day.

When they went outside, the pack was there cheering them on, giving them well wishes on their hunt. Someone even shouted, “Make sure they bring back a buck.” Amelia laughed, thinking it must have been like this a thousand years ago.

“I love our pack.” She made herself comfortable in the front seat of the truck Rome was driving, while Malcolm made room for his long legs in the back.

Rome put in the coordinates in the GPS, and she closed her eyes, knowing this was her last chance to get rest.

Amelia woke when Rome pulled into a gas station. “I could use a bathroom break. Be right back.” She slid out of the high truck to find the bathroom. She was waddling more; it felt like it happened during the time she was sleeping.

The bathroom made her wrinkle her nose. Being a wolf, she smelled things that humans didn’t. Holding her breath, she went to the bathroom, wondering why she hadn’t shifted and gone behind the gas station.

After washing her hands, she stepped out and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She was being watched, and it wasn’t her mate or son.

“Hunter,” she said quietly, knowing he would be able to hear her along with Rome and Malcolm.

“I’ve been looking for you.” The hunter’s voice came back just as quietly.

“I think you mean stalking me.” She took in the surrounding area. She’d had to go to the bathroom the way only a heavily pregnant woman had to go. That was why she missed the hunter. Where were Rome and Malcolm?

She wasn’t sure where she was, but it was far out. There weren’t any other establishments close to the gas station. The surrounding area was cleared, nothing but concrete. The further back she looked, the concrete shifted into trees. That’s where the hunter was waiting for her.

Amelia knew better than to step into the hunter’s trap. The forest whispered its warnings, the branches swaying as if to reach for her, but her boots — the same ones that started this journey — carried her forward. They seemed to have a will of their own, dragging her into the shadows of the woods where danger awaited. For twenty-five long years, this confrontation had loomed over her like a storm cloud, and now, it was impossible to avoid. The time had come.

Her eyes darted around, searching for Rome. The absence of her mate sent a pang of fear through her chest. His vehicle was gone. That wasn’t like him. Rome would never leave her. The realization unsettled her more than the hunter who stalked closer, his presence radiating malice. Her gaze swept the area again, desperate to find Mal, her son. She had barely begun to savor the joy of giving him a nickname, and now he, too, was nowhere to be seen.

The hunter’s steps grew louder, closer. A shiver raced down her spine, a primal warning that evil was near. The gas station behind her seemed to shrink, its garish fluorescent lights no longer a sanctuary but a distant memory. She was halfway to the tree line now, and every step felt like crossing a threshold into another world. The air thickened, charged with energy that didn’t belong to Earth. It was as if this walk had become a corridor, leading her to a place that shouldn’t exist.

Her boots trudged on, defying the voice in her head screaming for her to flee. Running wasn’t an option. If she turned her back now, she knew she’d be dead before taking another step. Her body froze as she scanned the woods one last time, pleading silently for her mate or her son to appear. But she was alone, and that realization chilled her more than the hunter’s proximity.

Why was she here, facing this monster? It wasn’t for herself. Survival wasn’t the driving force. Love was. She loved her mate, her son, and even the countless lives out there depending on her without knowing it. Love was what propelled her forward, even as fear clawed at her mind.

A metallic click shattered the silence. She braced for the bullet’s impact, her breath caught in her throat. But nothing came. Instead, the hunter’s voice broke through the tension, low and laced with frustration.

“Damn thing’s jammed,” he cursed.

Amelia took a shaky breath, then called out, “Problem?”

He spat another curse. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t need a gun to end you. Thought I’d make it easy for you, that’s all.”

“Death is never easy,” she replied, her voice steady despite the dread pooling in her stomach. “The only easy death is one you meet after a full life, slipping away in your sleep, content with all you’ve accomplished.”

He chuckled, a sound devoid of humor. “A monster and a dreamer, I see.”

“Perhaps,” she said, stepping closer to the tree line. “But I find it odd that I’m called a monster by those who slaughter children, newborns still cradled in their mothers’ arms. You kill the mothers too, don’t you? And the fathers before them. Yet you dare call me a monster. Go figure.”

“Necessary kills,” he snapped, his voice now just behind her.

“Necessary?” She let the word hang in the air. “I’m twenty-five. You’ve been tracking me. Tell me, where are the humans I supposedly killed? Show me the bodies, the blood, the carnage. Give me a name, a face, an age.”

Silence. The hunter refused to be baited.

“What’s your name, hunter?” she pressed.

A long pause. Finally, he said, “Reed. My name is Reed. Thought you should know the man who’ll kill you.”

Amelia stepped into the woods, her heart pounding. The trees opened into a glade bathed in an otherworldly glow. The grass shimmered, as if kissed by an unseen wind. Flowers unlike any she’d ever seen dotted the ground, their colors impossibly vibrant. The air was thick with magic. It felt like she had stepped into a forgotten realm.

Reed followed, his broad shoulders radiating confidence. His brown eyes burned with hatred, his knife gleaming in his hand.

“You’re breeding,” he growled, disgust twisting his face.

Amelia squared her shoulders. “I’m pregnant.”

“You won’t bring that abomination to term. I’ll kill you and it.”

Her lips parted, but no words came. This was no time for witty retorts. The hunter lunged; his blade aimed for her throat. Instinct took over. She bolted, her body shifting mid-stride into her wolf form. Her belly, heavy with life, swayed as she ran, but she moved with grace and speed. Reed threw himself after her, his knife slashing the air where she’d just been.

The battle was brutal. They clashed, her snarls filling the air as she knocked him down, only for him to strike back. His fists targeted her belly, and she sprang away, her maternal instincts screaming. He fought dirty, but she had expected no less. Again and again, they circled, each growing more fatigued.

When the moment came, she shifted back into her human form, her fingers morphing into razor-sharp claws. Reed lunged, his knife plunging into her shoulder. Pain seared through her, but she retaliated, her claws raking down his back. He howled in agony, stumbling away, but not before he flung the knife again. This time, it struck her abdomen.

Amelia’s scream tore through the glade, a sound of pure devastation. Darkness crept at the edges of her vision as blood poured from her wounds. Reed sneered, victory flashing in his eyes. “You’re dead. So is the thing inside you.”

A thunderous howl shattered the moment. Rome burst into the clearing, his massive black wolf form barreling toward the hunter. Mal followed, his focus solely on his mother. Reed tried to flee, but Rome was faster. He pounced, his jaws closing around Reed’s neck. Blood sprayed as he ripped the hunter’s head from his body.

Mal skidded to Amelia’s side, dropping to his knees. “No! No, no, no! This can’t happen. I won’t let it!”

Amelia’s vision blurred, but she forced a weak smile. “Mal,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I won’t be around to tease you about your nickname.”

Rome’s anguished howl reverberated through the glade as he knelt beside her, his fur wet with her blood. She reached out a trembling hand, stroking his fur. “I love you, Rome. You must live. Find another mate. One day, I’ll see you again.”

Her words broke him, his howl filled with unbearable grief. Her eyes fluttered shut as darkness

claimed her.

“No!” Mal roared. “I refuse to lose her!” His hands, glowing with a blinding light, pressed to her wounds. Energy poured from him, searching, healing. Time stood still as Amelia drifted between life and death.

In the void, she felt her child’s spirit, nestled against her heart.

With a final breath, she surrendered to the darkness.