Page 158 of Broken Souls

For Micha.

For me.

For our baby girl yet to be born.

Lifting my head, I look at Aleric, expecting him to have questions or to make a dumb dad joke, but he isn’t staring at me. His eyes are narrowed on the body in front of us.

“What is it?” I ask, a sliver of unease moving through me.

Without a word, he grabs hold of the body and phases. I turn back to the others, looking for Vlad to ask him what the hel his Boss might be up to. But then I see Aleric. He’s reappeared near Maddox. He shoves the body in front of him, and I race over, that sliver turning into a cord that knots thick in my stomach.

My blood rushes through my skull as I catch the words, “Is it him?”

Fuck! Of course it is!

But when I get there, Maddox is squatting down beside Antonio’s headless body with a frown on his face. Khalid walks over to him, as does Vlad and Ezriel. Leno is tending to the wounded.

“Maddox!” I snap, terrified of the answer.

“Give me a sec, bruh,” he says quietly.

My heart racing, I start tracking the wounds on the alpha werewolf – the partially missing foot, the slices across his chest and back. I try to decide if they’re the same or just close fucking matches.

No.

They have to be.

It has to be him.

But the doubt is curling in my stomach.

Did he switch with a patsy when he was under water? Or was it the wrong person from the start, just spelled to look like him?

Maddox’s face pales as he looks up at me. “Some of his DNA markers are different.”

My heart seems to claw its way out of my chest. I spin towards Aleric. “Take me home,” I snap.

Because if Antonio left mid-fight, then he only came here to make sure none of us werethere.

“He said he would come for our baby, Varius.”

“I won’t let him.”

Fuck! I promised her that. I fucking promised!

As Aleric grabs my arm, I pray that I’m not too late.

Fifty-Five

HER

“I need to tell you something,” my sister says, her voice squeaky as she sits down in the armchair beside me. I’m instantly suspicious of what she’s about to admit to.

“What did you do?” I ask, my eyes narrowing.

“Nothing.” She shakes her head. Her hands twist in her lap. “Well, no. I –”

My eyes widen. I jump to my feet as Varius’ panic comes down our bond. I’ve never felt him terrified before. “Sau!” I scream as I run out of the living room.