Chapter 24

Charlies POV

I stared at Eli as he put his hands in his pocket and continued to smile that shit eating grin at me. This dude really pisses me off. Like so fucking much.

"Why are you, like, so obsessed with me?" I asked channeling my inner Regina George and my wolf along with Eli didn't appreciate my attempt at some humor. "Okay no but seriously dude? Like you're shacking it up with King. He's kinda hot. So why are you still so obsessed with Kit and me?"

"Because Kit belongs to me!" He yelled and I gave him an unimpressed look.

"Calm down Taylor Swift." I yelped when he lunged at me but I didn't move fast enough and he caught me around the waist, throwing me against the wall. I groaned as I tried to stand up, but once again wasn't given the chance before Eli walked over and grabbed me by the hair to pull me up.

"Oh the joys that would come from ripping your throat out." He laughed and I watched him flick his claws out. Panic settled in and I said a silent prayer that the antidote had worked as I tried to push my claws out.

"FUCK!" I heard someone yell and I looked up to see Julian in time as he threw something that hit Eli and made him cry out and release me. I fell to the floor and quickly scrambled to stand up and run over to Julian.

"Sorry I'm late. I got caught up by some warriors that showed up out of nowhere." He apologized and I just nodded my thanks before turning back to look at Eli who had a knife sticking out of his side. He looked at us breathing heavily.

"Killing me won't save your Pack or your mutant friend." He seethed and Julian just stared at him.

"Not killing you. Just immobilizing you." He said simply and pulled out a syringe that has a very familiar looking liquid in it as he walked over to Eli and stuck it into his neck.

"How did you get that?!" Eli yelled and then choked when Julian injected him. It didn't take long before Eli was slowly losing his will to stay awake and Julian looked over at me.

"We need to go." He ordered and then took off towards the stairs. I looked at Eli for a second, debating on whether or not I should just kill him now, but I never got a chance to act on anything before Julian was whisper-yelling my name. I groaned and turned around to meet him at the top of the stairs. We peeked around the corner and saw the coast was clear before heading out. Three minutes later and my nerves were on the breaking point with the silence and the chance that someone could attack us at any moment. I finally had enough of not knowing where we were going and grabbed Julian's shoulder to stop him and make him face me.

"Where are we going?" I snapped and Julian looked at me like I was a pestering child. And maybe I was. But I didn't like not knowing where I was or where my destination was leading me.

"The tunnels Murphy told me about were blocked off. So that either means he was found out or King isn't as stupid as we think." He kept looking around as we talked and I was growing more frustrated by the second.

"So where are we going?" I repeated with more emphasis and he huffed before looking me straight in the eyes.

"We gotta go out the front door."

"Yeah, thats a no." 

Julian threw his hands up in frustration. "Then how else am I supposed to get you to Kit? I was given an order. Get you out of here unharmed and make sure the baby is safe. That part was very much emphasized by your mate." I tried to hide the happiness that filled my chest at that piece of information, but Julian saw the little smile and light in my eyes because he chuckled.

"Let's walk and talk. We are sitting ducks here." I agreed begrudgingly and we continued on our journey. 

"You actually arent the first pregnant male in our community," Julian said and I nearly choked on air at his statement. He glanced at me and smirked at my gobsmacked expression before looking ahead. "When Nixon and I were traveling in Romania, we came across a tribe of wolves. They weren't Rouges, but they lived a very nomadic lifestyle. The Alpha's son had apparently gotten mixed up in some black magic when he came across some witches in the wilderness. The result of that was him having the ability to give birth. It isn't something done naturally, but more so either through magic or surgery. I've never seen a surgery giving the ability, but the other times I've seen other male wolves pregnant, it was due to magic--a very Ancient kind."

I wanted to ask if the other male wolves survived giving birth, but a shout and heavy footsteps made Julian grab me and push us into a random room. I stayed silent as he kept the door cracked just enough to see where the men were going. Once they had passed he opened the door and we stepped out.

"Bryce must have followed up on his side of the plan." He said to himself and the familiar frustration from before settled in.

"Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?" I asked and he sighed, but thankfully answered me.

"The original plan was to escape through the tunnels, get you to Kit and safety and then the rest of us take out King once and for all. But due to the tunnels being blocked, we had to improvise. So now, I am getting you out through the front, while Bryce creates a distraction in the back. That way we won't have many, if any, wolves to fight off while I get you to your mate." I couldn't really object seeing as I didn't really know of any other way to get out of this place. But the bad feeling in my stomach was becoming too much for me to handle, and I was seriously hoping it was just the baby.

We were getting closer to the front of the house and I was getting more anxious that we hadn't been caught yet. Julian was picking up on my nerves and I could see he was becoming suspicious as well. We made it to the front doors and Julian took a breath before opening them and we were greeted with...nothing.

There was no one out here. You could hear the sounds of a fight towards the back, but it was silent where we were.

This was too easy.

"Come on," Julian whispered and we picked up the pace as we went to cross the yard. I kept looking around, very uneasy with the atmosphere, while Julian let out what sounded like a bird call and was answered with a similar one. I stopped walking and looked to where the noise came from and my heart leaped in my chest when I saw Kit stand up from behind a bush, followed by Allister and my mom. I couldn't stop the tears from falling as the brightest smile lit up Kit's face as he started to make his way towards me. I was so ready to feel his arms around me and started towards him as well, but was pulled back by someone and felt claws being pressed against my throat and stomach. Kit stopped in his tracks and the look of fear in his eyes didn't match the look of fury on his face.

"Did you really think it would be this easy?!" The guy holding me sneered and I heard snarls from behind me. I looked as best I could with fucking claws digging into my neck, to see two wolves walking up slowly behind me, making Julian, Kit, Allister and my mom all come out and stand together cautiously. I could already see the workings of a rescue plan going through Julian's mind and I was praying he did something soon.

"Let him go." Kit ordered steadily and the guy behind me laughed. "He has nothing to do with this. This whole war is between Bryce and King. Leave my mate out of this."

"You really think you're in the position to be giving me orders?" The guy bellowed and tightened his grip on my stomach, making me wince in pain as the tips of his claws pierced the skin. "I'll be taking Allister and your mate with me to King and none of you will follow or interfere. Otherwise, you will be having to bury your mate and unborn child." The sudden change of his tone made my blood run cold. "That's if you survive to do so."

"Just let them go they--" My mother started to yell, but Allister interrupted her and stepped towards us.

"We can't let Charlie or the baby get hurt. We must protect them at all costs." He answered and came to stand beside us. I tried not to make it obvious that I picked up on his double meaning there as one of the wolves transformed and walked over to Allister. No one was making any moves to stop King's men, though, and panic started to settle in as I feared for the worst. But that never came when someone suddenly dropped from the trees above us, landing on the remaining wolf, stabbing it in the side of the neck. We heard a yelp and the guy holding me gasped and loosened his grip on me as we looked over and saw Nixon standing in front of the body of the wolf that was holding Allister, her neck twisted in a grotesque way. 

I realized I could escape from my captor and decided to lunge away from him, not calculating that although he loosened his grip, his claws were still drawn and very close to my neck and stomach. So when I got away from him, I was slashed in the process. "Shit!" I yelled and stumbled a little before my mom caught me and Kit moved in front of us. My mom quickly looked at the wounds.

"Just scratches. Not deep, thank the Goddess." She sighed in relief and I looked up to see what was happening now. I couldn't see Kits face but I could practically feel the anger rolling off of him in heavy waves. He was pissed and so was his wolf. The guy that was holding me started to try and run away but didn't get to even move a foot before Nixon grabbed him by the neck.

"You threatened my mate and child's life. Did you think you were going to just be able to run away and hide?" Kit asked through his teeth as we advanced on them. I watched the scene unfold with calm eyes. Most wolves would be scared to see an Alpha or Beta angry, and while I admit my wolf was a little shook, I wasn't. I was angry too. And if I wasn't bleeding or pregnant, I would've kicked that guy's ass twice as hard. We watched all watched as Kit reached the man and drew out his claws, causing the dude to piss himself.

Seriously. This guy, who was acting all big and might, pissed his pants. Don't threaten a higher ranked wolf and think you're going to walk away scotch free.

My mom tried to make me look away, but I refused to as Kit thrust his hand into the guy's stomach and pulled it out, his innards spilling to the ground as his screams of agony filled the open air. I narrowed my eyes in satisfaction as he fell to the ground, dead like the rest of the wolves that threatened us just minutes ago. With the threat gone, I finally looked at our saviors and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head when I saw who the person that fell from the tree was. And he saw my reaction because he chuckled and walked over.

"Miss me?" Drake asked and I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water, unable to express the shock and joy I was feeling. "You know out of you and Allister, I think you were more of the damsel in distress." 

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" I snapped playful while everyone chuckled before Drake pulled me in for a hug. 

"I'm so glad you're safe." He whispered and I smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better." I answered back and he pulled away to give a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess." He said before casting a not subtle eat-shit-and-die look at Nixon, who only took the look his mate gave him with a passive face, but I saw the hurt that swam through his eyes. Someone cleared their throat and I looked over to see Kit standing next to us. My eyes lit up and I couldn't fight the smile that came to my lips.

"Can I hug my mate now or do you two still need another minute?" He asked playfully and Drake looked like he was about to mess with Kit, but I didn't have time for that, so I shoved him away and literally jumped into Kit's arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his shoulders as he held me to him. "God it feels like a dream having you here in my arms." He whispered into my neck as I sobbed.

All I wanted to do was go home and just lock ourselves away, but I knew that would never happen if King, Marcus, and Eli were still around. So, much to my disdain, I released myself from Kit and stood in front of him. He reached down and wiped away my tears before cupping my cheek, and then slowly moving his eyes down to my stomach and smiled. I placed a hand on my stomach and he covered it with his own before kissing me on the nose. We turned to face the others, a new wave of determination running through the air.

"Bryce is on the back end of the place," Julian informed us and Kit nodded his head before frowning.

"He's not answering the link." He said concerned and Allister didn't look too thrilled about that information.

"Maybe he's too busy fighting off rouges." Nixon offered but my cousin didn't look convinced.

"Or maybe he's laying on the ground dead because we took too long getting to him." Allister snapped and pushed past everyone to start heading over to where the real fight was. We all followed, some deciding to draw out the claws in preparation for being sneak attacked, others preparing to shift completely if need be. But as we were getting closer to where the rest of our Pack was, the absence of snarls, growls, or screams was becoming concerning. Here and there you would hear cries of agony, but that was it.

It's almost like the battle was over.

The sight that met us as we entered the giant field was something out of a horror movie. Bodies were strewn everywhere--some missing limbs, heads and even a few missing the lower halves of their bodies. Whatever went down out here was not pretty. This wasn't a normal fight between werewolves. This was a battle to the death. Each side was willing to do anything necessary to stop the other, and with us having superhuman strength--tearing bodies in half was plausible.

"I'll try and call for him--" Kit began but Allister beat him to it.

"He's over there!" He yelled and we all looked to where a large group of people was standing over something in the far distance. Now whether the people standing were ours or Kings was unsure, but we didn't have much time to figure out because Allister was taking off towards them. Kit cursed under his breath and ordered for us to follow and be prepared. As we got closer to the group, relief washed over all of us as we saw Bryce, Tyler, and Lysander were the ones standing. Allister called out to his mate and rushed to cover him with kisses and thanks to the Goddess he was safe. And while everyone was rejoicing and explaining what went down, I decided to take a moment to see who was shackled and unconscious on the ground.

And who I saw made my eyes widen in shock.