Trace: Follow His Destiny (18 page)

Finally, they pulled up to the house and she sighed. Levi jumped from the car and ran around to her door. As he neared the door, he heard Ruby cry out in pain. He pulled open the door and saw she was staring at the floor in horror.

“What? What is it?” He said looking around but all he saw was a spilled water bottle.

“Labor.” She panted and grabbed his arm.

“Huh?” He said trying to figure out what she was talking about.

Ruby turned to him and screamed, “I AM IN LABOR! The Babies are coming NOW!” Levi looked in panic back to the floor and saw that the water had not come from the bottle rolling around. Instead, it was dripping from his mate’s seat. “Shit,” he said and picked her up gently. “It’s okay, I got you. Let’s move you inside where we are safe and then I will call Cloe.”

Ruby nodded through the pain, needing to focus. Cami and Jo had already talked her through this. It would be a snap. All she had to do was focus and breathe. Another pain hit her and she screamed. “Focus my ass.”

Levi paused then continued into the house and to the living area. There were still piles of blankets and sheets in the corner from where a few of the Enforcers had camped out during guard duty. He had known them so he had felt safe letting them sleep in the living room while the house was being built.

He sat her down and then grabbed the blankets and sheets and arranged them into a makeshift bed. There was a pillow also so he put it under her head when he laid her on the floor.

“Ok, let me get my phone,” he said and looked at Ruby who was panting and glaring at him. “Right, I will run.”

She rolled her eyes and focused on the picture that they had hung when the wall had been finished. It was of the three of them in front of the house. They looked happy, well as happy as Levi could look without being in pain; she thought and then heard his pounding footsteps coming back.

“Uh, no phone, which was in our SUV with all our stuff, and not the one we drove back in. I just jumped in the first one,” he said and she yelled, “Are you fucking serious?” Levi frowned and said, “I really don’t think I would joke at a time like this.” Ruby growled and looked at him. “Not funny. OHHHHHHH.” She screamed and grabbed her stomach. Levi dropped to her side and said, “Those are really close together, I thought Cloe said we would have hours and hours before you actually had them.”

Ruby grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I have been having pains all day. Thought they were false labor. Guess I was wrong.”

“Fuck a duck,” he whispered and looked down at his mate. She was sweating and panting. “So how far apart are the contraction things?”

“Contractions, more like rip your insides out and jump on them pain. And they are about three minutes apart.” She screamed.

“What do I do?” he whispered and looked around in a panic like someone was gonna pop their head out and say ‘surprise’ any second.

“Damnit Levi, did you listen at the classes or not.” She growled.

Levi sat back and tried to think. Cloe had made them watch a bunch of films and then go through exercises. He had been grossed out because they were so graphic that he had made Reggie watch them and take notes. But he had listened, and it scared the shit out of him. The women had been screaming and yelling at their mates, he had been terrified.

“Levi, damn it, I need to get these pants off.” She screamed and Levi jumped into action.

He pulled her stretchy pants off and got them caught on her shoes. He swore when he had to slow down, get off her shoes and socks, and then pull off her pants. “Now what?”

“I’m gonna kick your ass when I’m done. Damnit, you should have been paying attention. It’s just like you.” She moaned and then looked at him. “These are your babies too.”

“I know, sweetheart. I was just scared. I mean I can’t stand to see you in pain. You know I love you and Reggie so much,” Levi said and sat there helplessly.

“NO, I DON’T KNOW THAT!! HOW COULD I? YOU HAVE NEVER TOLD ME!” She screamed at him getting red in the face.

He frowned and looked at her. “Yes I have.”

“No, you say. ‘I do too’, or ‘me too’,” she cried.

Levi scooted around so he was at her head and looked into her eyes. “Never, ever doubt that I love you and Reggie. You are my life. You saved me from a dark place, one that I don’t want to share with you because it was so ugly. But you have pulled me out, I have shown you every way I know how that you are important to me. I guess I failed at that again. But no more. I promise. I will tell you every day for the rest of our lives.” Ruby felt tears running down her face and she knew that he meant it. For the first time since their mating, she felt his love and acceptance. Bad timing, but still special.

“I will also buy you a new car or a million pairs of sexy underwear if you will tell me what to do next,” he said desperately.

She smiled and then put her hand to his cheek. “Together.” Levi nodded and leaned down and kissed her. “Together.”

***

Braden sat in the back with the child on the floor in between him and one of the Enforcers. They had not had a child’s seat, didn’t want to get stopped by the human police so they each held a shoulder and braced her between their legs. Roarke drove and looked in the rearview mirror many times.

“What are we going to do now?” Roarke asked calmly. This had turned out to be a cluster fuck and he was not going to get the blame for the screw up. Braden had not planned this very well. He should have known the children would use their powers.

Hell, he should have told them the children had powers in the first place. This changed everything in his mind.

This whole time they had been worried about what would happen when the New Council had been joined and they should have been focusing on the children. To have them would change the fight dramatically. They could brainwash them, he thought. Make them think their parents had abandoned them and gain their loyalty. He needed to find the perfect woman though.

Lola wouldn’t do, she was a selfish crazy bitch. Roarke was thinking of a plan when Braden answered.

“We are going to use this one as a bargaining chip. Of course, seeing her powers she will not be returned to her parents. They would not know how to harness her power effectively. But we will still make them think so and then when they bring my mates to me in exchange for their child. I will kill them and take what’s mine. The time has come to take charge. This should have been easy. I thought these men were the best of the best. They could not even break her shields. I actually saw two humans, and women at that, take out four of your best men with shotguns. Humans hanging out a window at that inn, you said the humans wouldn’t be a problem,” Braden said.

“And I won’t forget that you said there wouldn’t be any cats and that the guards would be minimal. We should have been able to destroy the entire compound and take what we wanted. As it was, we barely got in to the children, and had no time to work out a way around those bubbles. I would have my mates and all the children if it wasn’t for your incompetence.”

Roarke kept it to himself that Braden was the Alpha and should have been able to break the shields if anyone could. He had more power than they did supposedly. Roarke realized that the man was so delusional that he actually thought that he could have broken the barrier the child had put up.

“Master, where shall we take her?” Roarke said calmly. He would figure this out when they returned to the warehouse. Right now, he needed to calm down the maniac.

“Barbara will take care of her. We will tell her that she is going to be the Alpha’s child.

That could keep her busy. Then I will make the ransom call. I want to do it when their defenses are still down. If they have the chance to reorganize, we will have a greater problem. By now, Cami and Jaden must have found out in their grief that not only did they lose their mate, but they lost a child. She will do what I want to get her back.” Roarke nodded as if he agreed. He was going to have to move his own plans up now, he thought as he grabbed the phone to call ahead. They had to be prepared for this child.

From what they had told him, she could really cause problems if she wanted too.

“Lola, we have a change in plans,” he said into the receiver and fought to stop from rolling his eyes when he heard her superior tone that came back.

“Yea, Roarke, when are you going to be here? You know I can’t sit around here all day waiting for you to show up with your package. I have things to do. Now, I have the chains and stuff ready for Braden’s precious women, just get here.” Braden growled in the back, Lola was really pushing her luck about now, not that she knew it, or cared. She only wanted one thing. That was for Braden to allow her to go and finish the job she started. She wanted Cami dead.

“We had a slight change of plans. Seriously, you need to get Barbara at her best; we have one of the Chosen’s children.” He did not want to share that it was Hope. For all he knew the vindictive bitch would think of a way to hurt her. Roarke was not going to lose such a valuable property to that she-wolf’s vindictiveness.

Braden grabbed the phone from his hand and screamed into the receiver, “Get the stuff ready for a child and if you argue with me anymore you will pay!”

***

On silent feet, Bama approached the room the women were in and listened. She heard Lola say, “Now I have the chains and stuff, just get here.” She would not allow them to chain those two women. They had obviously already succeeded in their plan and were now returning. She needed to work fast.

***

Cami bit and clawed her way to the room where her children were. When she got there, she was panting and looking around. Lacy and Jordan were by the cribs trying to calm the children down. Everyone was crying.

CHAPTER 12

Cloe and her mates carried Quin into the clinic and she called orders to the nurses and doctors. They were already seeing injured from the attack but the Alpha would take precedence.

“Room one,” the nurse said and threw open the door closest to them. Cloe stepped back and allowed Teagan to go in first. He had been trying to take the Alpha’s full weight but it had been hard. Cloe had stepped into to help and she felt the pull of the first contraction. Shit, her mates were going to kill her. But she was going to have to wait to tell them; first, they had to deal with Quin.

She turned to the nurse who stood in the doorway and ordered her to get supplies to begin giving him antidotes for a variety of poisons. Unless they knew exactly what they gave him, they would have to treat for everything.

Teagan began to hook up the IV lines they would need and silently they worked in silence, the tension was consuming in the room. They were going to have to do something fast, or they would lose him. Quin’s heart rate dropped a little and Cloe swore.

“Now!” She screamed out in the hallway.

Teagan and Cloe both stopped when they heard the howl. It was their female Alpha and she was royally pissed and upset. Cloe had never heard anything like it. The mournful noise was filling the town. She heard Jaden join her and they knew something had happened at the compound. Cloe silently prayed that it was not her mate. But she concentrated on him and felt their connection. He was okay.

She looked at Teagan and frowned. There was a rustling outside of the door and she turned ready to protect her Alpha and mate. In her hands were both of the guns she had taken with her to the challenge. She wished she really had used them when they found out what was happening. It would have solved a lot of problems. Her father came in the door and held up his hands.

“Lower them,” he ordered and Cloe snapped back and put the guns back in her pockets and turned back to Quin.

“What’s going on out there?” Cloe said quietly and began hooking things up.

“Braden took Hope,” her father said quietly. They heard Quin’s heart rate speed up like he could hear what they were saying.

“Fuck.” Teagan said. “Where are Cami and Jaden?”

“Searching. But that is not why I came by. They called from the compound and are bringing Jo and Tey’s twins here right now,” her father said.

“Shit, where are they hurt?” Cloe said close to tears. She was holding it together by a thread and hearing about Hope and then the twins; she was about ready to lose it.

“No, no. They’re not hurt. Apparently while you were all gone up at the challenge, they healed Jordan, I mean healed like completely. So they’re bringing them here to see if they can help Quin.” Her father said.

Teagan stood with his mouth open and Cloe shook her head. “Really?”

“Crazy I know, but I guess each of the Chosen’s children will have other powers. I can’t wait to see what yours will do.” He smiled and she felt a twinge.

There was a flurry of activity and she saw Jo and Tey racing in, each with a child in their arms. They both looked grief stricken even though they held their children. She suspected that was what the rest of the Council would look like too. They had become a family in the last year. It was going to be bad if something happened to one of the children.

Christian held out his hand and put it on Quin’s face. She saw his heart rate slow down and the blood pressure lower. Then Cassandra put her hand on the Alpha’s chest and hummed. Cloe watched closely and after a few moments, she saw Quin’s heart rate grow stronger. It was working. Quin moved his head a little but the children yelled and Tey reached to his friend and whispered to him, “Hold still for a second.” Quin nodded and remained still and the room was silent. Finally, the twins took their hands off of their Alpha, sighed, and promptly fell asleep in their parent’s arms. Cloe stepped up and took the vitals of the babies; she needed to make sure they had not done anything to hurt themselves. But they were just asleep.

Teagan helped Quin up and then he roared in anger. The babies jerked a little but were too tired to respond to their Alpha’s call. He looked at Cloe's father and said, “Help me get the word out for the Council to return to the Council meeting room.” He snarled. “I am going to get my mates, and then we are gonna get my daughter back.” They nodded and watched as Quin shifted and ran from the room. He was going to have a battle ahead of him getting Cami and Jaden to come back to the meeting place.