Page 25 of Bully Alpha’s Pregnant Mate (Starfire Hollow Alphas #2)
The second my claws tear through the demon’s throat, sulfur fills my nostrils, sour and thick. The demon’s body crumples beneath me, barely hitting the ground before another lunges my way, teeth bared and eyes burning with malice. I whirl to face it, growling, fur bristling, ready to fight with everything I have.
Isadora is on her feet as soon as I’ve torn the demon off her. Once she starts moving, her black wolf is a blur as she takes on two demons at once. She’s ferocious, and my wolf instincts scream to shield her, to stand between her and each enemy. But she holds her ground, fierce and focused, her eyes catching mine briefly as she dodges a vicious swipe.
One demon charges me, snapping me back to the battle as I lunge, catching it mid-leap. My teeth sink deep, the bitterness of its blood coating my tongue. I shake it fiercely, throwing it to the ground in a final twist that breaks its neck. But there’s no time to recover—the cavern’s thick with them, a writhing mass of snapping jaws and glowing eyes. I lose count, every instinct in me focused on keeping each new demon away from Isadora.
Ahead, I catch her gaze as she backs toward the trap she’d set up earlier, before the team headed out here. Her posture shifts, signaling a plan. I understand in an instant, and my instincts kick in as I move to cover her, circling closer. She bolts suddenly, baiting the demons, her eyes sharp as they chase her into the trap’s range.
With a final darting move, she doubles back, leaving the demons charging blindly toward the trap. I take her cue, leaping forward and using my weight to drive them further in, biting and snapping at their heels as they funnel into the enclosure. She’s ready, and just as the last one barrels inside, she springs forward, sealing them in with an iron resolve.
Just then, footsteps thunder through the entrance, and I catch the scents of the other alphas and their teams. Gray and Damien, both in their wolf forms, scan the cavern with battle-readiness, reading every dark corner as they pick up the pulse of the fight around us. Behind them, Jade enters, her magic sparking as she joins us with a look of intense focus.
A fresh wave of demons surges forward from the shadows, their numbers seemingly endless. The other alphas dive into action, positioning themselves to contain the remaining demons, pushing them back toward the cavern’s center where Jade can focus her energy on keeping them contained.
Gray and Kai team up, using brute force and teamwork to cut off one group of demons as they attempt to scatter. They herd them back, circling until the demons are trapped, their fiery eyes narrowing as they snarl and swipe at the wolves surrounding them. Damien takes up position on the far side, his powerful frame a wall as he snaps and lunges, keeping the demons from breaking through.
“Keep them in place!” Jade yells, her voice carrying over the growls and clashes. She retrieves a potion from her pouch and pours it in a controlled arc around the contained area, her fingers weaving intricate patterns in the air as she activates the spell. “If they break this line, the portal might hold.”
We close in tighter around the demons, leaving them no choice but to stay within the barrier Jade is creating. The ground beneath them begins to glow faintly, pulsing with her magic. Soon, a shimmering dome of energy takes shape, holding them in place.
Jade’s face tightens with concentration as she pours another vial of potion directly over the portal. This time, the energy responds, the swirling dark mass flickering as if struggling against her magic. With a final, decisive gesture, Jade draws a pattern in the air, sealing the portal in a burst of blinding light that fills the cavern.
As the last of the demons crumples to the ground, the silence that follows is thick with the aftermath, every breath heavy with exhaustion and relief.
The alphas exchange silent nods, each wolf taking a moment to glance around at the now-silent cavern, at the remnants of the demons that litter the floor. The cheers of our surviving team echo through the cave, an energy surging around us that’s as raw as it is relieved. I’ve never been so glad to see the mix of exhaustion and triumph on everyone’s faces. But amid the crowd, it’s Isadora I search for, my gaze snagging on her the moment I spot her, standing a little apart with one arm around her waist, eyes fixed on the portal’s now-closed, silent stone.
I don’t hesitate—I’m at her side in an instant, my heart still pounding from the fight and from everything that’s happened, everything she’s risked. Relief is a wild thing in my chest as I reach out, barely able to keep myself from pulling her in.
“You’re okay,” I state. I don’t even ask; it’s a need to say it out loud, to reassure myself that she’s here, whole and safe.
She looks up at me, her expression softening. As her fingers brush over my hand, I feel the same relief, the same intensity mirrored back. “We did it,” she says, her voice carrying that edge of pride and awe that makes my chest ache.
“We did,” I agree as my hand finds hers. I can feel her pulse against my fingers, steady, alive. “Isadora, I…” I trail off, realizing I don’t know where to begin. How to tell her everything I’ve been feeling, everything I don’t have the words for.
She looks at me, something in her gaze shifting, and now she’s the one gripping my hand a little tighter. “Alec, I… there’s something I need to tell you.” Her voice wavers slightly, and she glances down before looking back up, eyes steady but searching as if she’s weighing each word carefully. “I’m pregnant.”
A surge of emotion tightens my throat, and I have to take a second to process it. Even though I’d known, hearing it from her, seeing her face as she says it, brings the emotions crashing over me in a way that’s almost overwhelming. “I know,” I say quietly, my voice filled with all the things I can’t quite say.
She blinks, surprise flitting across her face, followed by a flicker of uncertainty. “You… you knew?”
I nod, pulling her close, and my hands settle on her shoulders as I try to convey in a look what I can’t put into words. “Jade told me. She saw it in a vision. But hearing it from you…” I shake my head, and a smile breaks through despite everything. “Isadora, you’ve been everything to me for a long time now. Knowing this just makes it all feel right.”
Her shoulders relax slightly, but there’s still a vulnerability in her gaze that makes me ache. “So… you’re not… worried?” Her voice is soft, and I can feel the weight of the question, the way she’s bracing for my reaction.
“Worried?” I echo, letting out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “Not for a second. This changes nothing about how I feel about you, except maybe to make me even more certain. I want this, Isadora. Us, all of it.”
For a second, the world around us seems to still, and she lets out a shaky breath, a tentative smile breaking through as if she’s finally letting herself believe it. “I wasn’t sure. I mean, I hoped, but you know how complicated things have been between us.”
I brush a thumb across her cheek, my gaze steady. “Then let’s make it less complicated. I love you, Isadora. Let’s build this life together. We’ve fought for everything else. This—us—we can figure it out as we go.”
She laughs, a sound filled with relief and something more. She steps into my arms, burying her face against my chest as I wrap her close, feeling the steady beat of her heart next to mine. The others around us start to gather, filling the space with laughter and shared relief, but for a few seconds, it’s just us in the center of it all, holding onto the future we’re just beginning to imagine.
“I love you, too, Alec,” she says. “So, so much.”