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Chase joined me at the door, the two of us silently leaving the room. I heard soft, padded feet following quickly behind us, the scent telling me that Madilyn had left the meeting and joined us.
“When do we go for her?” Madilyn asked, poking her head between Chase and me.
“What?” I asked, glaring at the blonde as she stared back at me.
“Come on, I know you aren’t going to just sit by while Markus has Paige. When are we going to go get her back?”
“It would be suicide to go without the full pack,” Chase answered her for me, shaking his head. “Markus’s pack is as large as the Coronado pack. Without the full pack’s support, we wouldn’t stand a chance. Even with Nyte.”
“So, we aren’t going after her?” Madilyn gasped, looking up at me with widened eyes. “What kind of man doesn’t defy orders to save his mate?”
“The kind who wants his mate to come out of this alive,” I growled, my fists tightening. “If I go in underprepared, he could kill her then and there to spite me.”
“What’s stopping him from killing her with the pack with you?” Madilyn scoffed. “Sounds like the same threat to her life to me.”
“If the entire pack is with him, then Markus would have to accept that she is a member of our pack, not his. It would show the pack has accepted her and that she is not only a member but also our Luna to be, just as Nyte is the Alpha to be. If he killed her, it would be the end of him and his entire bloodline. After kidnapping her, the council would destroy his pack for killing another Alpha’s Luna.”
Madilyn’s eyes widened at the thought. “But the pack won’t accept her. Even after dealing with the vampires, they won’t accept a witch as their Luna. At least, not the majority. And if a witch is helping the vampires, they definitely won’t want her as their Luna.”
“That’s why we need to figure out a way to force the pack to accept her now,” Chase sighed. “For now, let’s get these she-wolves taken care of. Several new mothers are nipping and snarling at anyone who comes near them while all this is happening, and on top of that, there are a few expectant mothers as well.”
At the thought of expectant mothers, my mind drifted back to Paige. Would she have been safe had I told her immediately that she was pregnant? Would she have left in anger if I hadn’t kept so many secrets from her?
Fear crackled along my skin at the thought of what Markus might do should he realize Paige was pregnant with my child. He was under some kind of delusion that she was his mate. He had been since the moment he had chased her along the beach. It was a mystery to me still why he would believe her to be his. Since our bond had been established for a few years now, what was it in his mind that led him to think she was his?
“Hello, Alpha Chase, Alpha to be Nyte,” The old she-wolf greeted as we approached the midwife's lair at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’m no longer Alpha to be,” I snapped at the older woman without thinking.
“My apologies. However, I had always accepted you as my leader, no matter who the fates have chosen as your mate.” The she-wolf smiled back at me. “What may I do for you both?”
“Alpha Alexander mentioned you have secret caves nearby. We ask that you take the women and children there to protect them from the current threat the packs are facing,” Chase explained quickly.
The older woman smiled and nodded. “Of course, I will gladly bring all of the pack’s children into the safety of our caves.” Her eyes looked up at me. “I understand that the Oceanside Pack Alpha has taken your mate. Should I keep room for her? Should you retrieve her before this is all over?”
“Unfortunately,” Chase quickly explained. “We won’t be able to retrieve her until after the vampires have been dealt with and the danger to our packs has been eliminated.”
The midwife frowned, looking from me to Chase, her eyes barely stopping on Madilyn. “I’m surprised that Alpha Alexander isn’t more enraged by the kidnapping of a pack member.”
“He doesn’t see Paige as a pack member,” I growled again at the thought, trying my best to calm my nerves and breathing as my claws cut into my palm.
“I understand how he might feel about the witch,” the midwife said with a shake. “But I was referring to your baby. After all, the child is a pack member by blood. How is Alpha Alexander excusing the kidnapping of one of our pups?”
Madilyn gasped; she and Chase turning to look at me with widened eyes.
“Nyte! Is Paige pregnant?” Madilyn asked, her hands gripping my arm.
“Is it still not common knowledge that she is?” the midwife asked, confused. “Her scent surely has grown since I first caught it in the hallway.” She looked up at me.
“My mate only found out herself just before Markus kidnapped her. No one else in the pack has learned of her pregnancy yet.”
“Oh, my goddess,” Madilyn gasped again, covering her mouth with her hands. “That explains why she had been so tired and sick! How did I not realize this!”
“Nyte, do you really not get what this means?” Chase asked, watching me more closely. He was frowning at my lack of reaction, his head tilted to the side.
“What? Markus not only has my mate, but he also holds my first child's life in his hands?” I growled, irritated by the reminder that my mate and child are in danger and I have no way of helping them.
“No, it means that whether the pack accepts Paige or not, they must accept your pup. The child is born into the pack no matter who their mother is.”
