Chapter 19

I could feel the betrayal radiating off of Damon's body. He looked at me with a mix of disgust and sadness. I felt guilty, so incredibly guilty. I can only imagine how heartbroken this sight makes him. With his entrance, the witch was distracted. I knew that this might be our only opportunity to escape. I knew that Damon wasn't going to like this plan one bit either.

Quick, we need to mark each other. He is my other mate, with both of you here. If we mark each other, I will be powerful enough to bring the witch down.

I didn't wait another second. I marked Raidon and he immediately marked me in return. The feeling was just as euphoric as when Damon and I did it. I could feel Raidon's emotions turn into my own as we became one. All of a sudden, a growl sounded from next to us as Damon ripped Raidon off of me and held him by the throat. I could see the pain in his eyes, I could feel his pain washing over me through our bond. I felt horrible for being the reason for his pain, but following what the moon goddess had told me, I knew that I would be the strongest, marked and mated by both of my mates with them by my side. I could unlock my full potential to get us all out of here.

The witch was on me in a second, a knife stuck to my neck. I could feel it digging into me with each movement I made. I choked as the blade pushed against my windpipe. Damon noticed instantly and dropped Raidon.

"Make another move and I will kill her" the nasty witch spoke as she pushed the blade hard enough to draw blood.

My eyes met Damon, my guilt flooding through to him. I promised to explain everything to him once we were safe. I asked him not to kill Raidon. I told him I loved him. I would always love this man, he was so good to me and I had hurt him in the worst of ways.

I could see the hesitation in his eyes, but I knew Damon. I knew he wouldn't leave, he was a loyal man. He would fight to the death for the people he loved.

"Whatever you want, I'll get it for you. Just please let her go," Damon pleaded.

"She is the only one that can give me what I want. Now, leave now with your life or die now. The process has already started. She is pregnant. She will bear a child for me in one to two days, then I will kill her and I will kill this child." She cackled.

I felt furiously protective, not only of my mates, but of my now growing child. It's like I instantly had motherly instincts.

A growl escaped me, I would feel Eve pushing forward, we were both in control now.

"TOUCH MY CHILD AND I WILL KILL YOU!" I warned, but the voice was not my own. The same loud goddess's voice returned as I felt my protectiveness over my child increase. I could feel my body heating up, a bright light creeping its way across my skin.

"What are you?" I heard the witch ask.

"YOU'RE WORST NIGHTMARE!" I shouted, and the entire room was filled with a bright light, and it felt as if an explosion went off in the room.

Everyone was thrown against the walls; the witch, Damon and Raidon. But I remained untouched.

Just then Chad came running into the room. He must have been waiting there. He ran to me and, once realizing I was okay, ran to Damon.

The witch was up in an instant, she started chanting and a ball of electricity formed in between her hands. Her eyes were rolled back, showing only the whites of them. She threw the ball of electricity towards me but it bounced off an invisible barrier surrounding me, one I didn't realize was there.

Her eyes turned normal, she proceeded to chant again as she walked towards Raidon, she raised her hand at him, and he was forced flat down on the floor as if being forced down by a ton of bricks. He grunted as he fought against her.

I could see blood coming from his nose and ears as if he was being flattened.

Fear filled me, his fear. I screamed an ear-piercing scream, windows shattered. The room was shaking violently, Chad, Damon were holding the wall to balance themselves, Raidon was lying still on the floor. I stared at him for a moment, hurt to see my mate in that condition. I could hear his heart beating but it was faint. I turned my attention towards the witch, as my sadness was quickly replaced with rage.

"I will kill that baby of yours, all it takes is a few words and poof. Gone. I will find another way to do the ritual." She threatened.

Eve laughed within me, not a laugh of joy. It was deep, demonic, so scary it shocked even me.

"NEVER!" Eve yelled through me as a surge of power exited my body and smashed into the witch with full force. She blew into a million pieces, blood splattered everyone in the room and coated the walls.

I could feel her blood soaking my body, but it didn't scare me. In fact, I felt a deep satisfaction.

I looked down at my belly, it had already grown in this short time. I already looked 4 months pregnant. I rubbed my belly and smiled, I couldn't wait to meet my little one.

I walked over to Raidon and stroked his cheek, a light passed from my hand into him. He slowly opened his eyes, they lit up when they met mine. I couldn't deny the butterflies I felt when he gave me that look. He coughed and I helped him sit up.

Damon growled from behind me. I got up from my place and walked over to where he and Chad were standing. I stared into Damon's eyes, butterflies dancing in my stomach once again.

I knew that it would be a difficult path ahead to get these men to accept each other and this strange situation we have been stuck in. But I knew that we would make it through. I pulled Damon in for a slow kiss. He hesitated at first, but then gave in to it. It was passionate as our lips moved together. I could feel his relief flooding through our bond.

I pulled away,"Let's go home." I gestured to Raidon to follow us. He got up and stood next to me, Damon stood on my other side. I grabbed both of their hands and together we exited.

"Damon, you must know. This baby belongs to both of you. It carries both of your DNA." I looked up at him to see his reaction, it was a mix of happiness and worry.

"I'm going to be a dad?" He asked.

"Yes, you both are. But I may be giving birth between today and tomorrow. We must hurry. We have lots to prepare."

We walked home. I didn't want to risk shifting while this far along, so we stayed in human form, warriors surrounded us for the walk. Damon offered to call a car but I refused. I wanted to enjoy the peace of being free.

A:N/ Hello readers, apologies for not updating for awhile. I have been dealing with a lot at home. My 8 month old had a medical emergency so it has been hard to keep up with everything. I will do my best to be regular on my updating again. Let me know what you think, thank you

Trigger Warning!

T:W this chapter talks of child loss.

Allison POV

We made it back to the pack house and after greeting the pack and hugging my grandmother and telling her I would explain everything tomorrow, I decided I needed to turn in. I felt completely drained and my back was killing me. It felt like 1000 tiny knives were stabbing into it, no matter how I sat or stood, it hurt.

"I need to go lie down, I don't have the energy to argue over sleeping arrangements with you both, so please figure it out without fighting." I said to Damon and Raidon as I made my way up the stairs. I could hear them both huff in annoyance, but neither one dared to argue with me.

I stripped my clothes and crawled into bed. Raidon crawled in on my left and Damon on my right. I have to admit, there was something incredibly comforting about having both of my mates next to me.

With the scent of my mates filling my nose, I drifted off into a deep sleep.

I woke up as agonizing pain shot through my body. I let out a shrill scream as my back and legs shook from the pain.

Damon and Raidon both jumped up, ready to fight whatever threat was around. They soon realized what was going on.

"What do you want us to do?" Raidon asked, panic filling his tone. They could both feel my pain through the bond.

"Get my grandmother, she will know what to do!" I screamed, as I was hit with another wave of pain.

Damon ran out of the room to retrieve her.

I could feel sweat beading on my forehead, I felt a large gush in between my legs. I was excited but also terrified. I had had no time to prepare for this. Was I even ready to be a mother?

"Take my shorts and underwear off, quick. I think my water just broke, the baby should come soon!" I yelled at Raidon.

He obeyed and pulled my clothes off for me.

He looked up at me with fear-stricken eyes.

"What, what is it?" I asked.

He didn't answer me, but I could feel the worry through our bond, I sat up and looked in between my legs. There was a huge pool of blood soaking my sheets.

My grandmother rushed in with Damon on her heels. They both gasped when they saw the amount of blood on the bed.

I could feel something off by the way my grandmother looked at me.

I felt the most powerful urge to push rush over me. I spread my legs and flung my head back as I screamed and pushed with everything I had. I could feel my body ripping open as my baby began its way out.

Damon and Raidon each took a leg and held them up for me, while grandma stood in between my legs waiting to catch my baby.

I pushed again as grandma yelled, "I see a head! Keep pushing!"

I pushed again as my baby ripped through me. It felt like my entire body was on fire, I could feel my baby exit my body. I waited as grandma wrapped my baby in a blanket.

I didn't hear any crying,"Why isn't my baby crying?" I half screamed.

Grandma got to work, patting my baby's back and bum, she lay my baby on the bed and began counting as she did compressions. She blew into my baby's mouth and began counting again.

It felt like an eternity had gone by before the room had completely fallen silent.

My heart fell into my stomach, I felt like puking. I felt like screaming, the pain felt unbearable. This pain was worse than giving birth, it was the worst pain I have ever felt. I would rather die a million times over than feel this pain ever again.

She looked at me with tear-filled eyes, "I'm sorry my girl."

I scooped my baby up from the bed, I held on to the tiny bundle in my arms.

I began rocking my baby, humming a soft tune while tears rolled slowly down my face.

"What is the gender?" I quietly asked grandma.

"A baby girl." She whispered, her voice cracking with pain.

Eve was curled up in the back of my mind, she was whimpering in grief just as hurt as I am.

"Her name is Aspen-Eve," I stated as I continued rocking my sweet little girl.

Damon and Raidon stood on each side of me. I noticed they both had tear-stained cheeks.

"Can I be alone please?" I whispered.

Everyone left the room in silence. It was just me and my little baby girl.

She was beautiful, she had such a tiny body, she couldn't have weighed more than 3 pounds.

Her pitch black hair slicked against her head as she was still covered in a mix of amniotic fluid and blood.

I lay there with her in my arms for hours. I could see the sun starting to rise as a soft knock came at my door.

"Come in," I said in a hushed tone.

Grandma walked in and sat on the bed next to me.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, Allison, but eventually we have to take her and have her prepped for a funeral. I don't want you to witness the decay of her body, my dear. I'm sorry. " She said while looking down at her hands.

I looked at her in confusion,"What do you mean decay? She is a healthy baby girl. She's just sleeping. I hummed to her all night, she is such a calm and quiet baby grams." I whispered so as not to wake my little Aspen-Eve.

"Allison? I'm sorry, she is gone. I believe she must have passed away not too long after the witch Lucy was killed. After a witch dies, any spell she casts is void, and I think that is what happened here. I am so sorry, Allison."She reached to put a hand on my arm, I quickly pulled away. "No, you are wrong, she is right here in front of me. I know that my baby is okay. You are trying to take her from me. GET OUT!" I shouted as I could feel heat begin to flow through my body. I quickly pushed the feeling away, not wanting to hurt my baby.

I couldn't believe my grandma would try to take her from me. What was she thinking?

A:N Hello lovely readers, I want to apologize for the delay in updates. I recently suffered a miscarriage. This wasn't originally what I had planned for this chapter but with this recent event I needed to write about the pain I was feeling. I hope to try and ease back into my writing. I will do my best to communicate with you all. Thank you for sticking around <3 wishing you all the best.

Aspen-Eve

Damon POV

My heart was shattered into a million pieces, my sweet little baby, gone before any of us could know her. Aspen-Eve, Allison had picked the most beautiful name for her. I tried to hold it together. For my Allison. I knew she needed me to be strong right now, but trying to be strong when it feels like your entire world just came crashing down around you, feels damn near impossible. How am I supposed to be strong?

Allison asked us to leave her alone. I didn't want to, I wanted to lie with her and stroke my baby girl's hair on her tiny head, comfort Allison. But this wasn't the time to argue. I lost a piece of myself, but Allison lost the most. She needed this time to mourn.

We left the room but didn't dare go far. Raidon and I each sat down on either side of her doorway. Neither of us said a word.

Lena came out and kneeled down in front of me,"I'm so sorry child." Was all she said as she pulled me in for a hug, and did the same to Raidon.

Lena had tears in her eyes, threatening to fall, but she was a strong woman, she held them in. I could tell she wanted to cry more than anything. She sat on the floor across from us,"We need to give her time to be with her baby, then you can both say goodbye, we will need to plan a funeral." Lena whispered as she played with her hands.

Raidon and I nodded but didn't add anything. I feared if I spoke I would break-down completely.

Hours went by, we knew that we needed to say our goodbyes soon before our baby started to decompose. The thought of it broke my heart all over again. Lena offered to be the one to go in and talk to her. Raidon and I stood up but waited on the other side of the door. We both wanted to hold our baby before she was taken away from us forever.

We heard Allison yell at Lena to get out. We both came running through the door, but Lena gave us a broken look and pointed at us to leave.

Lena followed us out and quietly shut the door, "I'm afraid she believes her baby is alive. If we leave Aspen-Eve there much longer, the decomposition will begin. We need to turn her room to as cold as we can, freezing temperatures if possible. Allison's wolf will keep her warm enough. But it will slow down the decomposition process long enough that we might be able to talk to Allison, help her understand what happened, without forcing her baby out of her arms. It will not be easy but you both need to hold it together and comfort her. If we have to take her baby away by force, she will never forgive us, it will scar her for life. She doesn't want to see me right now, so you both must go."

I went straight to the temperature dial for Allison's room and turned it completely off, while engaging the air conditioning to the coldest it would go. Raidon and I entered her room slowly.

Allison clutched Aspen-Eve closer to her and let out a low warning growl.

"Allison, we are not here to hurt you or our baby. We promise. We just wanted to hold her if that's okay with you?" I asked cautiously as I walked closer to her bed.

She looked between Raidon and I and then back at our baby as if thinking for a moment about whether she trusted us or not. There was a look in her eyes when she looked at Aspen-Eve, a look I had never seen in her before. It was full of love but not the same look of love she gives me. This kind is different. The love of a mother.

It was hard seeing Allison this way, the way she is protecting our daughter. I know that she will be an amazing mother. I just wish her time with our daughter didn't have to be cut so short. Why was the world so cruel? A little baby did nothing to deserve such a short life. I felt tears prick my eyes and had to quickly push these thoughts away.

Allison looked up at me again and held my gaze before speaking,"You promise you won't take her away from me? She is mine. My grandmother tried to take her away and I will not allow this. I will raise my baby girl with or without you two, so do you promise not to take her away from me?" Her voice was so low, it was a threat, one that I knew she meant. I didn't know how to answer. I didn't want to make a promise that I knew we couldn't keep, she would hate us forever, she would never forgive us. I looked at Raidon, unsure of what to say, when I felt a mind-link being opened up to me from Lena. She must have overheard our conversation.

You need to promise Allison. It's the only way you can say your goodbyes to your baby and then bring her out to be prepped for a funeral, if you don't promise her she won't let you anywhere near her.