Page 35 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Alpha (Forbidden Alpha Kings #52)
Hannah
Shifting into my skin side, I rush toward Saben, who lies unconscious just outside of the fire’s warmth.
His small body shivers, reigniting all the anger and hatred I have toward these hunters, but I force these emotions down to focus on the task at hand—removing the silver chains from my pup’s body.
Thankfully, these chains are wrapped in leather, preventing them from burning my pup’s skin, but the scent of burned flesh does reach my nose, and I turn in time to watch Julian cuff the female hunter with her own silver cuffs.
Hearing her pained screams, I smirk and turn back to carefully inspect the lock keeping the chains held tight.
It seems this lock isn’t made of silver, and with just a squeeze of my hand, the lock breaks.
It takes me about three minutes of carefully unwrapping the chains from Saben’s body to free him, as I have to support him, but Julian is quickly by my side, carefully holding Saben up and allowing me to unwind the silver chains more easily.
“Keep the chains. They could be useful for interrogating rogues,” Julian says, his deep voice a quiet whisper while cradling our pup in his arms.
“I was planning on doing that anyway,” I reply, my eyes glued to my son as I watch him breathe and search for any injuries he may have.
All I find is a small bruise on his neck, and after bending close to Julian to sniff the bruise on Saben, I confirm that this was where they injected wolfsbane into him.
“Fabian said Aileen caught the fourth hunter. He had managed to make his way into the training grounds.” Looking up at Julian in shock, I quickly link to Aidan to see if this information is correct.
Aidan is quick to confirm that Aileen did, in fact, catch the hunter and managed to compel him using her vampire musk to follow her to the pack house, where we had reinforced the basement as our pack dungeons.
Relieved to know that four of the hunters were either dead or captured, I ask about the hunter by the semi-truck.
From what Aidan gathered, Claira had gone back to the accident on the road to find that a vampire from Aileen’s coven had arrested the hunter on charges of reckless driving.
He will be dealt with accordingly by the vampires in charge of the prison to which the hunter will be taken, and I can’t help but sigh with relief.
“Good news?” Julian asks, and I smile.
“Yeah, all the hunters are either dead or captured,” I state, explaining the arrest of the final hunter and that we won’t have to worry about him. Julian chuckles, the sound making the mate bond hammer against my mind. He hands Saben to me, and instantly Saben snuggles into my embrace.
“Fabian and my men are on their way to get us. Saben is cold, so why don’t you sit by the fire with him while we wait?” he says, motioning toward the fire the hunters had made.
Deciding not to argue, I nod and walk over to the log where the woman sat, settling down with Saben in my arms as the heat from the flames caresses our bodies. Saben seems to relax further now that he is growing warmer, and I smile, pressing a kiss to his temple.
“Mama’s got you, baby,” I whisper, closing my eyes and taking a moment to breathe in his mango custard scent.
“We both got him,” Julian states from behind me.
A mixture of unease and acceptance fills me, and I say nothing, unsure if I want Julian in Saben’s life.
One day, my pup will want to know who his father is, and I know I can’t keep this information when that day comes.
But for now, I want to keep Saben away from life at the royal pack.
To everyone there, he will be known as a bastard, and the rumors about me will reach his ears.
Hell, they might even create new rumors about him, and I can’t allow that to happen.
“We can talk about you being his father another day,” I finally say, looking up to find Julian watching us. “Right now, I just want to take him home and have the pack doctor look at him.”
A look of hurt flashes in Julian’s eyes, but he doesn’t protest. Instead, he mutters that he understands and won’t force the issue, and something inside me clicks. The Julian I know would have argued with me, and I can’t help but see him in a new light.
The sounds of movement crashing through the forest catch my attention, and I turn to find Fabian, Mikos, Aidan, and Mavric rushing into the small clearing we occupy. The four men take in the dead male and the unconscious female before Aidan rushes toward me, a bag slung over his shoulder.
“We brought some clothes for you, Han,” he says, ignoring the warning growl that Julian gives him as he looks down at Saben. “How is he doing?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I answer, the adrenaline of rushing to rescue my pup slowly fading. “I want to get him home as soon as possible to get him looked at.”
Aidan nods and holds his arms out to take Saben from me. I hesitate, tightening my hold on my pup, not wanting to let him go.
“Hannah, I can hold him while you put clothes on. Then you can have him right back,” Aidan says calmly, his tone soft and soothing.
I hesitate again before agreeing that Aidan is right.
I need to get dressed before I can trek through the forest back to my lands and risk a human seeing me naked.
With reluctance, I hand Saben to Aidan, who carefully holds my son.
Julian grumbles under his breath about this, but I ignore him as I reach into the bag and quickly produce sweatpants, sneakers, and a T-shirt.
“No clothes for Julian?” I ask, taking Saben back from Aidan.
“We figured it would be faster to head home in wolf form while you ride on one of our backs,” Fabian answers, scratching the back of his neck. The idea is actually quite smart, and I look at my friend, wondering if Fabian would be okay with me riding on his back.
“Hannah, I want you and Saben on my back,” Julian interjects just as I was about to ask Fabian to be my ride.
Shocked, I turn to glare at him, unease settling inside me.
“Please, Hannah. I don’t think I could mentally handle seeing you on another man’s back with our pup.
The need to protect you two is overwhelming, and I have been holding myself back because I don’t want to hurt you and ruin any chance of winning you back.
” His voice cracks, and I sigh. Julian did help me track down Saben and save our son, even if he did hesitate for a brief second at the border of my land.
“Fine,” I agree, enjoying his groveling and pleading a little too much. “I’ll ride home on your back after you help secure the female to Mavric and the dead male to Mikos.”
Julian smiles, his eyes lighting up as he hurriedly agrees.
Mikos tries to argue about this arrangement, but Julian lets out a warning rumble, telling his theta he has no choice and to shift.
The sight is almost comical as Mikos reluctantly shifts into his red wolf.
Fabian and Julian secure the dead male hunter to his back using ropes the four men brought, while Aidan and I watch in amusement.
By now, Mavric has shifted into his gray wolf, my friend standing protectively beside me with his snout resting on my shoulder.
I can sense that Julian is displeased by how close Mavric is to me, but I keep my enjoyment of his displeasure to myself.
Once he learns that Mavric has a mate and that this mate is my head hunter, who is currently leading his team on a hunting trip, he will know that Mavric isn’t into me romantically.
With the dead hunter secured on Mikos, the two wolves quickly help strap the female onto Mavric’s back; the whole ordeal takes less time than dealing with the dead hunter on Mikos did.
Before I know it, Aidan and Julian have shifted into their wolves, with Julian lying down to make it easier for me to climb onto him.
Knowing I can’t put off climbing onto Julian’s back any longer, I hand Saben to Fabian and carefully throw my leg over Julian’s body, settling in before telling him he can stand.
With me secured, Fabian helps me lay Saben onto Julian’s back, and I watch as my pup subconsciously snuggles into Julian’s brown fur.
Leaning over Saben’s body, I wrap one arm around my son and the other around Julian’s neck, feeling him let out what sounds like a soft purr.
Smiling at me, Fabian shifts into his wolf, and our group takes off with Aidan leading us, Fabian and Mavric flanking either side of Julian, and Mikos taking the rear.
Dr. Grace is waiting at your cottage with me to take care of Saben, Jiya links to me privately.
I thank her, calling out to the others to head to my cottage and settle in for the ride home, praying that Dr. Grace can reverse the drugs affecting my son’s body.