Chapter 116
Chapter 116
For one second, nobody moved.
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The healer held the baby in both hands, and I lay against Damien’s chest, too weak to lift my head properly. Rain kept slamming against the windows. Thunder rolled so hard the bed frame trembled. My throat hurt from screaming, my body felt broken, but my eyes stayed on that tiny body in the healer’s arms.
“Why isn’t she crying?” I whispered.
Damien went still behind me. His arm tightened around my waist. “Healer.”
The healer rubbed the baby’s back fast with a towel. Linda moved closer, lips pressed tight, one hand near her
mouth.
“Come on,” Linda whispered. “Come on, little one.”
My fingers dug into Damien’s arm. “Damien.”
“I’m here.” His voice sounded rough, like he was holding himself together with his teeth. “Look at me.”
“No.” I shook my head, tears slipping down my cheeks. “Make her cry.”
The healer rubbed harder, then turned the baby slightly and cleared her mouth with quick fingers. Lightning flashed.
Then the baby cried.
It was small at first, thin and angry, then louder. I broke immediately. My hand flew to my mouth, and a sob came out so hard my shoulders shook.
Damien dropped his forehead to the side of my head. “She’s here.”
I nodded fast, crying too much to speak.
The healer wrapped the baby in a clean cloth and brought her closer. “Sienna, hold out your arms.”
I tried, but my arms felt useless. Damien helped me, sliding one hand under my elbow and the other behind my back. The healer placed the baby against my chest, and I stared down at her.
She was tiny and red, face scrunched like she was already judging everyone. A little dark hair stuck to her head. Her mouth opened again, and she cried against my skin.
“Oh my god,” I whispered, touching her cheek with one finger. “Hi.”
Damien leaned over my shoulder. He was silent for so long that I looked up at him.
His eyes were wet.
I blinked. “Are you crying?”
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Chapter 116
He shook his head once, then wiped his face with the back of his hand. “No.”
I let out a broken laugh. “You are literally crying.”
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He touched the baby’s tiny hand. Her fingers curled around his thumb, and his whole face changed. The hard Alpha thing disappeared. He looked scared, soft, lost, and completely gone for her.
“She has your attitude already,” he muttered.
I sniffed. “She screamed for five seconds.”
“Exactly.”
Linda laughed quietly, wiping her cheek. “Congratulations.”
The healer checked me again, pressing a cloth between my legs. Her face stayed focused.
“You lost a lot of blood,” she said. “You need to stay awake for me.”
I nodded, even though my eyelids felt heavy. “I’m awake.”
Damien kissed my temple. “Stay with me.”
“I’m trying.” I looked down at the baby again and adjusted the cloth around her chin. “She’s so small.”
“She is loud,” Damien said.
“She gets that from you.”
He huffed a laugh against my hair. “You sure?”
I smiled, then winced when pain pulled through my body again. Damien noticed instantly.
“What is it?”
“Just pain.” I swallowed and leaned my head back against him. “Everything hurts.”
The healer looked at Linda. “More warm water.”
Linda turned toward the table.
Thunder cracked again, louder than before. The candles near the window flickered. Somewhere outside the room, a loud crash sounded from the hallway.
Damien’s head lifted. “What was that?”
Linda froze by the table. “I’ll check.”
“No.” Damien said. “Stay here.”
A guard knocked once, then pushed the door open. His eyes were wide. “Alpha, the east side has been hit
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Chapter 116
again.”
Damien’s body went rigid behind me.
I clutched the baby tighter. “No.”
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The guard swallowed. “It’s a distraction. We think they’re trying to pull guards from the packhouse.”
Damien looked at Linda. “Lock this floor down.”
Linda nodded and moved fast to the door. “Two guards outside. Nobody enters unless I say.”
The healer reached for the baby. “Let me check her breathing once more.”
I hesitated.
Damien brushed my hair back. “Let her.”
I handed the baby over, but my hands stayed in the air like I could still feel her weight. The healer placed her on a blanket beside me and bent over her, listening carefully.
Another sound came from the hall. Not a crash this time. Footsteps. Quick. Too quick.
My wolf stirred.
Blood.
I lifted my head. “Damien.”
He was already moving. He slid out from behind me and stepped toward the door. “Who’s there?”
Linda’s voice snapped from outside. “Stop.”
Then someone screamed.
The door burst open so hard it hit the wall. One guard fell backward into the room, blood on his neck. Linda stumbled in after him, fighting someone in a dark cloak.
Damien lunged forward.
The cloaked figure threw silver powder into his face.
“Damien!” I screamed.
He staggered, roaring, one hand clawing at his eyes. The healer grabbed the baby off the blanket, trying to move away from the chaos, but another figure slipped through the side door near the washroom.
My heart stopped.
Alice.
11:53 Thu, May 21 ♫
Chapter 116
Her hair was wet from the rain, sticking to her face. Her eyes went straight to the baby.
“No,” I gasped, trying to sit up.
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Pain tore through me. My body refused to move fast enough. The healer turned, but Alice was quicker. She slammed something into the healer’s neck, and the woman dropped to her knees with a choked sound.
Damien fought through the silver, grabbing the first attacker and throwing him across the room. “Sienna!”
Alice snatched the baby from the healer’s arms.
The baby cried immediately, so damn loud too.
Something ripped inside me worse than labor.
“No!” I screamed, reaching for her. “Give her back!”
Alice looked at me, baby wrapped against her chest. For once, she was not pretending to be sweet. She smiled, breathing hard, rain dripping from her chin.
“You took my place,” she said. “So I’ll take what makes you Luna.”
Damien turned, eyes wild, blood and silver on his face. “Alice.”
Linda staggered up, one hand pressed to her side. “Block the door.”
Alice backed toward the broken side entrance, holding my baby tighter.
I tried to crawl off the bed. Damien caught me before I fell, but I fought him, screaming, grabbing at the sheets, at his arms, at anything.
“Sienna, stop. You’ll bleed out.”
“I don’t care!” I sobbed. “She has our baby!”
Alice stepped into the rain.
The baby’s cry cut through the thunder.
And then Alice disappeared into the dark with my daughter.
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