The Alpha's Baby (21 page)

She looked around the room, trying to find anything that was sharp enough to cut through the ropes that bound her wrists together. A jagged nail? Nope. A knife? Nope. There was nothing. Why the hell did her captor have to be so damn smart? Panicked, Emmy looked around the room. Unfortunately, she heard the door to the basement open. She drew back in horror when she saw Jake standing at the threshold. Not him again. 

"Get away from me." Emmy crawled backward along the floor, trying to think of a way to save her child.

Instead of heeding her words—not that she thought he would—Jake headed over to her side and pulled her to her feet by her arm.

"Sebastian's here." Jake sniffed the air. "I can smell him."

"No." She twisted in his arms.

Jake tightened his grip on her arm and sniffed again. "And he came alone, just like I told him to. Good. That will make this so much easier."

No, Sebastian was falling straight into his trap. She had to save him.

"Sebastian, don't come down here!" she screamed.

Unfortunately, she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. When Sebastian burst into the room, she cringed, knowing what was to come. And when she met his eyes, she felt so much worse.

Because she realized that she loved him.

And how could she not love him? He cared about her, despite the fact she'd fled from him. Even now, his gray eyes were filled with fury at the sight of her being held captive by Jake. Yet now she couldn't tell him that she loved him. Still, she reached for her lover, trembling, and Sebastian let out a string of curses a mile long.

"Stop squirming, you cunt." Jake held her so close that the breath was chased from her lungs.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that." Sebastian took a step toward her.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you." With a wicked grin, Jake curled his fingers in her hair. "All it will take is one tiny bite for your precious mate and your baby to die."

Emmy let out a sob of despair.

"They're innocent," Sebastian said. "You can hurt me, but don't do anything to them. Please. I'm begging you."

"How noble." Jake grinned at her trembling form. "Of course, I thought you would be."

"Don't hurt them," Sebastian repeated. His eyes were wide with terror.

"I won't if you do what I say," Jake said.

"Don't listen to him." Emmy dug her nails into Jake's skin, trying to pry his fingers away. "He's lying to you, Sebastian. He doesn't intend to let me go."

Jake covered her mouth with his hand to silence her. For a moment Sebastian didn't say anything. Instead, his eyes remained trained on her. She stared back at him, frantic.

"If you kneel before me, your mate will go free." Jake held her tighter.

Silence fell. Still Sebastian's eyes remained on her face. She could see the wheels in his head turning, but she wasn't sure what he could do to save her and her child. Jake was strong. And her baby…her baby was so fragile.

"Well?" Jake's grin widened. "What are you going to do?"

Jake's knees twitched, but he didn't move. Judging by how Jake tensed, the man was losing patience. And it was never good when the person losing his patience was psycho.

"Get on with it," Jake said, a vein throbbing in his neck. "I've waited a long time for this."

Finally, Sebastian groaned and kneeled. "Please don't hurt Emmy."

Watching the man she loved kneel before a person so evil was harder than being punched in the face a thousand times. And what was worse was when she felt Jake's hand tightening around her neck. She knew that the man was going to kill her in spite of Sebastian's begging. Her baby was never going to enter this world. She would never hear her child speak or giggle. It wasn't fair. Just when she'd grown accustomed to the idea of being pregnant, somebody planned to murder her unborn baby. 

Her eyes narrowed. No, she couldn't let that happen. Though the baby hadn't been born yet, she was a mother now. And while Jake may have been a werewolf, she was a pissed off woman who's child was being threatened. As Jake's body shook with laughter, something in her snapped.

At that moment, she was certain that some unknown force seeped into her body, making her unnaturally strong. It was the power of a mother possessed. One second she was weak, and the next, she was a force to be reckoned with. Infuriated, she sank her teeth straight into Jake's hand. He released her, and she used the opportunity to throw her body against him. The man was pushed off balance by her sudden strength.

During his moment of weakness, Emmy kicked and bit every inch of Jake she could reach. Wails of rage escaped her lips. She didn't want to stop until every inch of him was battered and bruised.

"You. Will. Not. Hurt. My. Baby," Emmy screamed at the top of her lungs, protecting her child with every last bit of power she possessed.

Sebastian leaped to his feet and headed straight toward her. Unfortunately, that was when Jake recovered from his surprise. The man stood up and threw her against the wall. As she let out a scream of agony, Sebastian yelled, "Emmy!" and rushed toward her.

At that moment, Jake stepped in his way. The man's eyes narrowed and a deep growl burst from his lips. Sebastian echoed the noise and crouched, his eyes darting toward Emmy.

"I wouldn't be so quick to rush over here," Jake said. "I can still kill your mate and your baby in a heartbeat."

"You son of a bitch!" Sebastian screamed.

With a cruel grin, Jake began to morph into a dark beast. Fur sprouted from his skin, and his cold eyes turned a mutant green. Claws sprouted from his feet, causing divots in the cement floor. Emmy whimpered, terrified of the transformation she'd just seen. Despite the fact she knew that werewolves existed, the metamorphosis from human to beast was horrifying.

"Move one step closer and the woman will die,"
Jake said, his voice echoing in her mind.

Sebastian howled, but he didn't come nearer.

At that moment, Emmy was certain that everything was lost. All it would take was one leap for Jake to reach her. In a matter of seconds, he could sink his teeth into her neck. Even the empowering strength of motherhood would not get her out of this one. Still, she felt no sadness at the thought of her own death and only contemplated the horrors of losing Sebastian and her child. Her family, all gone.

I'm so sorry, baby,
she thought, pressing her hand against her stomach.
I would have done my best to be a good parent.

As a tear spilled down her cheek, Jake glanced at her. She tensed, certain that something was going to happen soon—and that something was going to involve her skull being crushed between jaws.

Then everything went black.

Emmy screamed, wondering if Jake had killed her.

"What the hell?"
Jake howled in her mind.

Okay, judging by Jake's infuriated howl, she wasn't dead. Somebody had just turned off the light. But who? No, that didn't matter. She just had to get out of harm's way.

Shaking, Emmy inched her way along the floor, holding back vomit. She heard howling and growling, but she forced herself not to look behind her. No, she had to keep going forward. After she found a stack of old, dusty boxes, she crawled behind them, shaking. Yet even as she hid, she heard something heading closer to her.

Horrified, she realized that Jake must have found her. She curled up in a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible. Unfortunately, that was when she was seized.

Emmy wailed.

"Will you shut up?" Mary Lou whispered.

"Mary Lou?" Emmy's eyes widened in shock.

"Stand up and run," Mary Lou said.

"But Sebastian…" She peered through the dark.

"Did I risk my keister to save you for nothing?" Mary Lou dragged her forward. "Let's go."

Though Emmy hesitated, she allowed herself to be dragged across the floor. As she hustled, she saw two massive werewolves warring in the middle of the basement. Eyes glowed green and teeth flashed white. One of the terrifying werewolves had to be Sebastian.

Her Sebastian.

Oh, dear God. Tears filled her eyes.

"Come on." Mary Lou trembled as she yanked Emmy out of the basement.

Emmy followed Mary Lou up a flight of stairs. The woman pulled her out the door and into the yard. They were in the middle of a forest, and unfortunately, no other houses were in sight. Still Mary Lou looked around, searching for a way out.

"What happened?" Emmy asked, choking on a sob.

"After I screwed up and led that messed up bastard right to you, he knocked us both out," Mary Lou said. "I woke up in the kitchen and heard you screaming. After that, I came down to help. Thank God turning out the light distracted that monster because I wasn't sure what else to do."

Emmy's eyes widened. "Oh."

"What the hell were those beasts?" Mary Lou asked.

Instead of answering, Emmy hung her head.

"It doesn't matter," Mary Lou said. "We have to get out of here before—Emmy!"

Emmy looked up just in time to see Mary Lou leap at her. Her eyes widened in shock seconds before the heavy woman landed on top of her and then pushed her to the ground. A massive beast landed beside them with a mighty thud and sunk his teeth into her friend. Mary Lou screamed in agony. Jake—she knew it was him because he was the only one who would attack—began to claw at Mary Lou's side. The woman writhed, but still, she didn't stop protecting Emmy.

Mary Lou began, "I'm…so…sorry…Em…"

Before Mary Lou could finish saying her name, she stopped moving. Jake batted the woman aside, his green eyes aglow with rage, and snarled. His gaze darted toward Emmy's neck. He leaned forward and his hot, rancid breath filled her nostrils.

"Say good-bye."
Jake's eyes glistened with malice.

She whimpered in terror.

"Good-bye,"
Sebastian said, his voice echoing in her head as well.

A massive werewolf tackled Jake from the right, knocking him to the ground. Jake screamed in pain before falling on his back. Still, Sebastian kept biting every inch of the other wolf he could reach. At first Jake continued to writhe, but then, after one last pained howl, he was silent upon the ground. At that moment, Emmy knew that Jake was dead.

Everything went still. Not even a bird sang its song. Sebastian turned toward her, his eyes sad. He didn't come nearer, but as she held his gaze, something incredible happened—in his large eyes, she saw
him
. This was the man who cared for her, the man who was the father of her child. She wouldn't pretend that she liked him as a beast, but the fear she felt disappeared.

At least, until she looked down and saw Mary Lou's bleeding form.

"Oh, my God, Mary Lou!" Emmy screamed.

In a matter of seconds, Sebastian's chestnut fur became golden skin and his green eyes went back to gray. Soon he stood naked in front of her. 

"Oh, Emmy." Sebastian looked down at Mary Lou. For the first time ever, Emmy thought that the woman looked her age.

Emmy's teeth chattered as she met his eyes. He leaned down and checked her pulse.

"She's not dead." Sebastian shook his head. "But we have to get her to a hospital. Now."

Emmy nodded, frightened to the core.

Two hours later, Emmy and Sebastian stood in the ICU. She was shaking, but not from cold. No, she was shaking because she was terrified that she was going to lose her best friend.

"You said a dog attacked her?" Dr. Smithfield asked as he jotted down something on a chart.

Emmy exchanged looks with a fully dressed Sebastian and nodded.

"A big dog." Sebastian motioned with his arms.

"I see." Dr. Smithfield wrote something else. 

"Will she be okay?"
Oh God, please, please let her be all right.

"The lacerations on her side are deep, but with proper care, I think she'll be okay." Dr. Smithfield nodded.

"Thank God." Relieved, Emmy sank into a chair. She'd never been more grateful that the hospital waiting room had seats.

Groaning, Sebastian sank down into the chair beside her.

"The nurse will let you know when Ms. Parkinson gets out of surgery," Dr. Smithfield said. "It'll be a couple of hours until there's any news."

"Thank you."

The man left. In the silence of the waiting room, Emmy bowed her head and buried her face in her hands. All that had happened had begun to catch up with her. After all, tonight had been the worst night of her life. As she cried, Sebastian wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you in pain?" Sebastian rubbed her back. "Do I need to talk to the doctor again? He said that your head is all right and that the baby is okay, but it might be good to have him look at you again."

"It's not that." She buried her face in his chest. "I almost lost you and the baby. Oh, Sebastian, I just can't believe what happened. I just can't."

She pulled back, her bottom lip wobbling.

"I know, sweetheart." He ran his hand over her tear-drenched cheek.

"Do crazy people always come after you?" she whispered. "Because I can't take this."

"I've been in a pack my entire life, but I've never seen this happen before," Sebastian said. "Jake is just a psycho."

"A psycho who almost made mincemeat out of us." She could still imagine Jake sinking his teeth into her flesh. "I just wish this had never happened."

"It'll be okay." Sebastian squeezed her shoulder.

Emmy bit her bottom lip. "But what about Mary Lou? I know the doctor said that she'll probably be okay, but those bite wounds were so deep."

"That woman is made out of tough stuff." Sebastian stroked her hair. "Trust me, she'll make it."

"She is pretty tough." Emmy nodded. "I think she could survive an explosion."

Sebastian nodded. "Yeah."

"Or a nuclear holocaust," Emmy continued.

Sebastian stared at her.

"She would even survive a flesh-eating virus," she said.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a list." She shrugged awkwardly. "It makes me feel better."

"Oh." Sebastian paused, then joined in. "Well…she'd survive an atomic bomb."