Page 24 of Bully Alpha’s Pregnant Mate (Starfire Hollow Alphas #2)

The smell of sulfur burns my nose, and I’m starting to question if trailing a demon for miles was a good idea. But it’s too late to turn back now.

Around me, the team moves quietly. Members from all three packs in the region step carefully as we tread through the dense underbrush surrounding Glory Town. The sharp edge of worry tightens in my chest, and an almost instinctual fear warns me, reminding me how real this danger is. The faint rush of water grows louder in the distance. Maybe it’s a river.

“Remind me why we’re following the world’s worst tour guide?” I grumble, glancing at Kai, who’s keeping pace beside me, her eyes forward and laser-focused.

“Because you wanted an adventure?” she answers with a wry grin, but there’s a seriousness in her gaze that matches the tension coiled in my chest.

Ahead of us, the demon limps from its injuries, but there’s a determination in its steps that makes my skin prickle. It’s hurt, no doubt, but it’s not behaving as though it’s panicked in the slightest. It’s leading us somewhere. The question is, where?

“Keep your distance,” I whisper to everyone, gesturing with a hand to fan out. The last thing we need is to get too close and alert it that we’re following. I had wanted to charge ahead and keep the others farther back, but in the end, Alec wouldn’t hear of it. So, we’re bunched together, trailing just far enough to stay out of the demon’s sight.

Jade’s potions sit in the pouch at my hip, their glassy clinks a subtle reassurance that we’re prepared—or as prepared as we can be against something like this. She threw a few concoctions together to help us, and while I don’t typically partake in witchcraft, I’ll take all the help I can get.

The rushing of the water grows louder, echoing through the trees like a constant heartbeat. And then, through a gap in the foliage, I spot it—a waterfall, tall and imposing, mist billowing out from its base like something out of a dream.

“What are the odds that’s where we’re headed?” I ask, though no one bothers answering. We all know by now that it’s the only place this thing could be leading us. There’s nowhere else to go.

I take a breath, steadying my nerves, and signal for the team to fall back slightly. “Alright, eyes open. Something tells me we’re not going to like what we find.”

The demon pauses at the water’s edge, casting a look over its shoulder that’s almost… smug. My stomach twists, and a sick realization dawns on me as I watch it turn toward the waterfall, slip behind the cascade of water, and vanish.

“That’s the portal,” I whisper, half to myself.

“Well, looks like it’s either a portal or it’s taking a really dramatic bath,” Kai mumbles, though I don’t miss the tension in her voice. The rest of the team clusters closer, each of us staring at the spot where the demon disappeared.

With a shaky exhale, I tighten my grip on the vial in my hand. The cold glass is a sharp contrast to the adrenaline buzzing through me. “We’re not backing down now,” I say. “Let’s get closer, but stay behind me. If this is the portal, we need to know for sure—and we need to be ready for anything.”

We move as one, creeping toward the waterfall. The roar of the water fills my ears as I approach, and my heart pounds in sync with its rhythm. My pulse quickens when I step around the edge, half-expecting to be dragged through some fiery gate. But instead, there’s a cavern behind the water, and in the center of it… a swirling mass of darkness, crackling and alive.

“That’s it,” I whisper, unable to tear my eyes from the portal. It’s an abyss, a tear in reality itself. Its energy pulses like a heartbeat, filling the air with a malevolent force that makes my wolf shiver beneath my skin. The portal glows faintly, its edges lined with flickering embers as if the air itself is burning.

“Well, we found it,” a wolf named Bryce declares. “Now what?”

“Now,” I answer, reaching for the first vial in the pouch, “we try to close it.”

Jade’s instructions echo in my mind as I twist the cap off the vial, a strange, almost herbal scent wafting from it. “Pour it along the edge of the portal,” she’d said. “The potion will create a seal that should disrupt the portal’s energy flow, closing it off.”

I step forward, holding the vial steady despite the tremor in my hand. The portal’s pull is stronger up close, like a magnet drawing me in, and I fight the urge to recoil as I approach.

But just as I tip the vial to pour the potion, a sudden, guttural growl reverberates through the cavern.

My head snaps up as demons emerge from the shadows, barely distinguishable from the darkness itself. One, two… five of them surround us, each one twisted and monstrous, their eyes burning with a malevolent fire.

“It’s a trap,” Kai hisses, her eyes narrowing as she shifts her weight, ready to spring into action.

“Looks like our ‘tour guide’ wanted some backup,” I mutter, tightening my grip on the vial as I step back, positioning myself between the portal and the team. “We’ve got to close it. If we don’t, more of them will keep coming.”

“Noted,” Kai growls, her own wolf just beneath the surface. She shifts instantly, her form blurring as fur and muscle surge forward. The powerful gray wolf at her core steps into the fray.

The demons close in, and their guttural snarls fill the air as I quickly empty the vial along the edge of the portal, watching as the liquid sizzles on contact, creating a faint, shimmering barrier. But before I can breathe a sigh of relief, the portal pulses, and the shimmer dissipates as if it were nothing.

“Are you kidding me?” I grit out, grabbing another vial, but the demons are already upon us.

One lunges at me, claws swiping through the air with deadly precision. I duck, rolling to the side as I twist open the next vial, but another demon intercepts me, its teeth snapping inches from my face. My wolf howls within me, desperate to break free, and I let her take control, feeling the familiar surge as my bones shift and fur ripples along my skin. The change is swift and instinctual, and before I know it, I hit the ground on all fours, senses sharpened to a razor’s edge.

The world bursts into focus—the scents, the sounds, everything amplified as I face the demons in my wolf form. Snarling, I dodge another swipe, baring my teeth as I launch myself at the nearest one, sinking my fangs into its arm. It screeches, a sound that’s like nails on glass. I jerk back, the taste of sulfur burning on my tongue.

Chaos erupts around me as the team fights back, the echo of claws rending flesh reverberating off the cavern walls. Kai tackles one of the demons. Her gray fur is streaked with blood as she twists and tears, but two more move in, surrounding her with vicious speed. Another demon lunges for me, and I twist, slamming my body into its side, knocking it off-balance before I swipe at its face with my claws.

But they keep coming, each one more vicious than the last. I back up toward the portal, desperation clawing at me as I fumble for another vial with one paw, even as my wolf’s instinct takes over, growling, fighting. The portal pulses again, stronger this time, as if taunting me, daring me to try and close it.

I snatch the vile in my mouth and pour it along the edge, watching it sizzle. But again, the shimmer fades, the portal’s pull growing stronger with every second. A demon slams into me from behind, knocking me forward, and I barely catch myself. My claws scrape against the stone floor as I turn and face it with a snarl.

It lunges, and I leap to the side, but another demon intercepts me, its claws raking across my side. Hot pain sears through me. I stagger, but I don’t back down, baring my teeth as I ready myself for another attack. My wolf growls, fierce and defiant, and I launch myself at the nearest demon, biting and clawing with everything I have.

But they’re stronger, faster, and their numbers are overwhelming. I’m dragged further from the team, further from the portal, until I’m cornered against the cavern wall, three demons advancing on me with lethal intent in their eyes.

I brace myself, blood dripping from my wounds, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. This isn’t how it ends—I won’t let it. I snarl, baring my teeth as I prepare to fight with everything I have. Not just for me but for the life growing inside me.

The demons close in, their snarls filling the air, and I charge, determined to take at least one of them down with me. My fangs sink into the nearest one. Its blood coats my tongue as I twist, throwing it to the ground. But the others are on me before I can react, and their claws sink into my fur, dragging me down.

Pain explodes through me, white-hot and blinding, but I bite back a scream, refusing to give them the satisfaction. I fight, clawing and biting, every instinct screaming at me to survive, to protect my baby. But there are too many, and I can feel my strength waning, the edges of my vision blurring as I struggle.

Just when I think it’s over, when the darkness starts to close in, a familiar scent cuts through the stench of sulfur and blood.

A scent that’s grounding, powerful, and unmistakably Alec.