*Zara*
I fell asleep waiting for Noah. My heart sank when I woke up to find he’d co and gone again without a word.
I got ready for the day and then paced back and forth in the room trying to decide what to do next. The stress weighing on caused to let out a sigh.
I’d need to face Noah.
These sigils were burning in my brain, causing to grow more and more panicked. My child could be in danger, as could he.
Clearly, I couldn’t solve this over the phone either, and so, I took a deep breath and began to wander the Drogomor mansion. Eventually, I found Caleb and dipped my head in polite greeting.
“Hello. Do you know where Noah is?” I asked.
He nodded. “He’s been busy with pack business, but his patrol should end in a half hour. I suggest waiting for him in the dining room for lunch.”
I thanked him, and the servants were inford to prepare sothing for us. I didn’t start eating, wanting to wait until Noah ca back to do so. Having lunch together could be pleasant, I thought.
Maybe it would get him in better spirits for the conversation. I tried not to let the knife of doubt twist into my heart, but damn, was that hard.
I leaned back in my chair, my hand gently resting on my belly. All this stress couldn’t be good for the baby, I knew, but I couldn’t help it. When I took care of one thing, sothing else jumped up in its place.
Eventually, Noah arrived, coming to sit down and giving a light nod. His eyes studied closely, no doubt trying to grasp for more aning to the mories he’d been finding.
Things had been awkward. That was an understatent.
“Hi, Noah,” I began, trying to muster up the courage to actually inform him about the journey.
“Hello, Zara. Did you ask for lunch to be set up here?”
“Yes, I did. You’ve been busy lately. How has pack business been?”
“Well, like you said, it’s busy. There were no enemies spotted on patrol, which is a relief.”
“Considering everything we’ve dealt with, yeah,” I grumbled. I paused, then sighed. “I wanted to talk about sothing.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I’ve gotten more information on how to investigate these sigils more. I need to travel to discuss matters with a dream dancer.”
Noah tensed, a deep frown settling on his face. “You? Traveling? Zara, that is a horrible idea. I would need to go with you, but I cannot. I am far too busy with pack matters.”
I narrowed my gaze. ”But it’s just in Winter Forest, less than a day’s journey.”
He furrowed his brow. “Less than a day’s journey, and yet, a day nonetheless... Zara, things here aren’t going to settle down anyti soon. We just can’t.”
“I’ll go alone, then.”
“What?!”
“You heard ,” I said firmly. “I’ll be back the following day. It’ll be like I wasn’t gone in the first place, and ideally, I’ll have more answers for us.”
Noah’s eye twitched, his blazing blue orbs fixing on . I could sense he was getting riled up, which caused to tense and clench my jaw.
I didn’t avoid eye contact with him, though he was intimidating like that. I knew he wouldn’t hurt even when completely angry. Still, the anger showed clear in his deep frown and narrowed eyes.
“That’s not ideal at all. Zara, you can’t venture out alone. You’re pregnant, vulnerable. I won’t be there to protect you and can’t right now. It’s not sothing that we can work out.”
“It can be. I can take so of the pack guards, even, like I had when I visited the pack near Midnight Sun. That hasn’t been a problem.”
“I hadn’t been happy then either.”
“Well, that’s a sha, but it’s a similar situation and I need to figure this out.”
“The baby will be here soon. You’re even more vulnerable than when you worked that matchmaking situation out. The answer is no.”
I felt anger of my own surge through , and stood up, planting my hands on the table and leaning forward. I wasn’t the most defiant of won, more delicate than anything, but I wasn’t known for backing down.
Noah and his decisions greatly grated on , what with how spontaneous they were. He couldn’t let do the sa, when I knew I could take care of myself?
That was bullshit.
I swallowed, took a deep breath, and said, maintaining eye contact, “Noah. This is for discovering the truth about myself. The sigils are a mystery, they–”
“If they haven’t hurt you yet, they won’t right this second. It’s sothing we can figure out at so point in the future, Zara.”
“You don’t know that, and–”
“You can’t live life looking over your shoulder for sothing that hasn’t happened yet. Why would it happen now? It’s far more dangerous to travel than deal with the silence you have for years.”
I grit my teeth, then growled, “Well, if you’d let finish, I’d be able to elaborate even more.”
He rolled his eyes, then fixed his glare on again, tilting his head in a ‘well, go on’ gesture.
Great.
I was dealing with the stubborn brat of a man Noah could be, during sothing incredibly important. “We need to discover this truth about myself for the mate bond, Noah,” I said calmly.
I saw him widen his eyes and clench his fist. He stood up and leaned forward as well, his face twisting even further in rage. “Zara. Look, I don’t give a shit about the damn mate bond.”
Shock rushed through , as if he’d stabbed right in the heart with a knife. My hand flew up to my chest as my jaw dropped.
“How... how could you say that?!”
“Because you’re not going anywhere, and that is final,” he said. “Your safety is more important than the damn mate bond. What aren’t you understanding? A journey like that, no matter how short, is unreasonable.”
“It is very reasonable!” I said impatiently.
I opened my mouth to snap sothing else but felt a sharp bite of pain rush through . I gasped as it felt as though my breath was being taken away.
I felt a surge of wetness splash down my legs and realized sothing. “M-my water... my water, it broke!” I shrieked.
The pain was unbearable, and I doubled over, tears streaking down my cheeks. I shuddered, barely hearing Noah curse and call out to the pack to co help .
“Estella! Get the healers ready, Zara is going into labor!” he shouted.
Chaos erupted around us as the pack mbers rushed this way and that, trying to get to the healer’s room for care.
Everything was a blur, and a swirl of panic and pain rushed through as I began to sob, the agony ripping through .
My instincts were screaming at that sothing was very wrong. My wolf was in a panic. This was too early... it shouldn’t be happening right now, I thought.
I cried out, terrified, at all the activity. It was all too much, and I was overwheld. Desperately, I cried out, “Noah! Noah, I need you! Please!”
The quarrel we had was intense, but regardless of that, I ant my words. I writhed in agony as pain shot through again, tears pouring down my cheeks.
Noah was at my side in an instant, grabbing my hand in his strong grasp and leaning into my ear.
“I’m right here, Zara,” he said in an urgent tone, “and I’m not going anywhere.”
“T-thank you... agh!” I shrieked as another powerful contraction ran through , my body wracked with so much pain I could barely think.
Noah took into his arms and carried to the healer’s room as several mbers of the pack followed behind him, chaos continuing from their rushing about.
When I was placed on the bed, Calvin rushed to my side, trying not to bombard with questions, but also trying to make sure I was doing okay.
My words ca out in short whimpers as I described the pain scale. “Ten of ten... Goddess, this is so p-painful. It’s too early, I—”
The pit in my stomach only grew at the grim expression plastered across Calvin’s face. There were no words of reassurance for right now because my gut instinct was right.
Sothing was indeed very wrong.
Noah kept his hand in mine, and I had his in a death grip. My petite fra was wracked with one contraction after another. I could barely focus as Luna Estella entered the room with more healers.
Calvin, as the head of them, quickly barked out orders as they gathered supplies, such as the proper herbs for delivery and dicines in case sothing went wrong.
The chaos and pain were unbearable, and I thrashed around, my chest heaving as wave after wave hit , each one worse than the last.
At tis, my eyes t Noah’s. He stared down with a deep asure of fear, squeezing my hand and leaning to whisper into my ear, “I’m here, Zara. I promise I won’t leave you. I promise.”
His words managed to calm down, but only a little. I opened my eyes and locked them with his, the blazing blue of my mate’s gaze the only comfort I had right then.
“It hurts. It hurts, Noah. It hurts—”
“I know, baby, I know. You can get through this. I know you can. You’re so strong, Zara.”
I let out another choked sob as a painful contraction washed over again.
I didn’t even know how long I’d been at it. It felt like days, years, even, but it was just hours, according to Calvin. I wanted it to stop. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take it.
Estella’s words rang out in my ears, intertwining with Calvin’s. “Push, Zara. Push! Keep pushing, push!” I tried my hardest, my body being put through so much.
A few minutes of grueling labor later, I gave one last agonized push at their encouragent, collapsing on the bed and taking several deep breaths.
I lay there, completely wiped out and weak on the pillows, unable to hear... anything.
Nothing at all.
Where were the baby’s cries....
There was not a sound in the room, only cold, terrifying silence. It was deafening, sothing worse than the loudest sound I’d ever heard.
A nerve-shredding panic gripped as the silence stretched from just one second to two... then three... then four.
My stomach clenched, and I felt nausea wash over from the panic. No one was saying anything, and the absence of crying was heavier than the heaviest weight in the world.
Was my baby alive?
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