Page 29

Marinah

Ms. Beast paced inside me, her feet stomping angrily across Nova’s intestines. Protect, she whispered over and over, her voice a constant pressure in my mind. I sat at the back of the plane, holding tightly to Labyrinth. Somehow, he was meshed with the baby inside my brain. I had to get Labyrinth to Axel. Axel would fix him. He had to.

For a brief moment, I tried shifting back to human form. The pain was unbearable, and it simply wouldn’t happen. Keeping Labyrinth safe was more important than my discomfort. My mate checked on me often, and I bared my teeth at him. I couldn’t sleep. Internally, I begged Labyrinth to hold on and glared at the men when they looked at me. I disregarded the sadness in their eyes. They knew nothing.

When we landed on the island airfield, a vehicle waited. Carefully, I stood with Labyrinth, cradling him as I carried him to the Jeep. Even during the drive to the citadel, I didn’t let him go, keeping his limp body on my lap.

My thoughts were fragmented. Nova was in control, and I finally understood something I hadn’t before. She wasn’t just about rage and destruction. She was part of me—a side that had always been there.

Protect, Ms. Beast whispered again.

I carried Labyrinth into the citadel, taking him straight to the infirmary. Axel looked up from a young man he was treating as I entered. Gently, I rolled Labyrinth onto one of the beds, but his body didn’t land right. He was stiff, too stiff. Axel walked over; concern etched on his face.

“Fixth,” I said, the word slurred between my fangs.

Axel hesitated, glancing over my shoulder. I turned and saw my mate standing there, no expression on his face.

“Fixth,” I demanded again, louder this time. All eyes in the room were now on me.

“Marinah,” Axel said with so much sorrow. “I can’t fix him.”

The words snapped something inside me. My hand shot out, claws curling inward just in time, and I struck Axel in the chest with my fist. He flew back several feet, crashing into a tray of supplies.

I stepped toward him, rage boiling beneath my skin, but my mate’s hand landed firmly on my shoulder. “He’s gone, Marinah,” he said gently, but it didn’t quite break through the haze.

“No. Fixth!” I roared, my voice shaking the room.

“Give her something,” my mate snapped at Axel as he struggled to stand.

“I can’t,” Axel said, his voice filled with regret.

“If you don’t, I’ll send you across the room again, and this time you won’t get up so fast,” King yelled, his anger no longer contained.

I turned to look at Labyrinth on the bed, and his lifeless form blurred in my vision. My head spun, and my knees buckled. I thought I felt my mate catch me, but I couldn’t be sure. Everything went dark.

∞∞∞

A nightmare jolted me awake.

I was in our room, disoriented for a moment. Then my thoughts went to King. Rolling over, I saw him sitting beside the bed in a chair he’d pulled close. His blue eyes were dark, simmering with anger, and they suggested terrible things. I lifted my hands. I had human fingers, no claws. My gaze flicked back to King.

“You said nothing,” he said with accusation.

“Axel told you,” I replied evenly.

King shot to his feet, pacing across the room. My eyes followed him as he moved. He stopped and stared at the wall, and I wondered if he was going to put his boot through the plaster. I should have felt bad. I tried to summon some guilt but came up empty.

“I’m Alpha. Pregnancy doesn’t change that,” I said, wishing my voice sounded stronger.

His entire body snapped toward me, but he didn’t move closer. That wasn’t a good sign.

“Your Nova wouldn’t let anyone near Labyrinth, not even me. You wouldn’t shift back. What the fucking hell, Marinah?”

Oops. Someone had dropped a very bad word. I placed my hand over my stomach, and his eyes followed the movement. “Nova was in protective mode,” I explained. “I think Ms. Beast was controlling her.”

“You think?” His voice rose as he took a single step in my direction, his eyes still locked on my stomach, but he stopped himself. “We went on a dangerous mission. You risked your life and the future of the Shadow Warriors.”

That was the wrong thing to say.

“I’m not some engineered baby factory.” The anger grew inside me. “You and Beck have done nothing but pound into me that I’m in charge,” I spat. “Well, it finally sank in. I will make the best decisions for my people. Get used to it. Axel telling you I was pregnant was not how I wanted this going down.” My voice had risen with each word.

“How exactly did you want this to go down?” he yelled back.

I had never seen him this furious. His fists clenched, and red crept up his neck. If I wasn’t careful, he might give himself an aneurysm.

“We had a limited window to get Barnes, and you know it as well as I do,” I said, glaring at him. “We had to go in when they least expected it.”

King took another step toward me, then stopped abruptly. He turned on his heel and marched out of the room without saying another word. Sadness settled over me like a heavy weight. I hated fighting with him. But I had made my decision knowing he would be furious. I had understood the risks, and if I’d thought he would be reasonable, we could have discussed it.

Doubt crept in. King might have even agreed mine was the only way, dammit. I hadn’t given him that chance. I’d taken it away from him.

My thoughts drifted to Labyrinth. His incredible eyes that were now lost to the world. “If you have a boy, name him after me,” he had said before he died. Even through the haze of Nova’s influence, his words had touched something deep inside me.

The hole in my soul left by the Shadow Warriors who died when the Federation attacked was nothing compared to Labyrinth’s death. He had plans. He wanted a future and a Shadow Warrior bride. Tears ran down my face.

I gave myself a few minutes, wiped them away, and rose from the bed, craving something I rarely did: comfort. It was also time to take Ruth and Che out of confinement and give their mothers a break. It would give me something else to think about.

Missy answered the door, her red-rimmed, swollen eyes meeting mine. Without a word, she pulled me into the room, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ruth peek out from behind her bedroom door. The moment she saw me; she jerked back and slammed it shut. Apparently, no one was happy with me today.

“I need to speak with you,” I told Missy.

“Hopefully, you’re taking me off restriction, because I can’t stand it any longer,” she replied, wiping her eyes and attempting a weak smile. She had told me once that restriction didn’t work as punishment for Ruth because the child made everyone else miserable instead. I hadn’t thought about that when I’d sent the children to their quarters.

“Has the confinement been that bad?” I asked.

“Worse.”

“I’m pregnant,” I blurted.

Missy’s mouth dropped open.

“King hates me,” I added, and then, to my own surprise, I burst into sobs.