Twice Tempted: Between Two Alphas (Mia and Cameron)

Chapter Twenty-Five

I move to the crib and stare at Cameron's daughter.

A baby he had with that evil bitch Ashley.

The little girl has my son's eyes. Cameron's eyes. Jace's. Their bloodline is strong.

She's cute and coos and holds Aaron's hand.

But something is not... right.

Nala whimpers and growls. My wolf senses it too.

I glance at my dad. He shakes his head.

"She's sick, mommy," Aaron tells me. My son shouldn't be able to sense such things, but he does.

Outwardly the baby girl appears normal, if not small and thin.

"How old is she?" I ask.

"Merilee is eighteen months old," my dad says.

I gasp. She's so small. She seems more like a baby half that age. That can't be good.

My dad sweeps the baby up, natural as can be and she taps at his mouth. He blows air and makes kissy sounds.

Who is this man? And where was this doting father when he raised me?!

The hurt lingers, but I won't allow the jealousy to fester or take hold.

All children are innocent. They should just be loved.

I touch the little girl's cheek. "You're such a pretty little angel."

"We have to help her, mommy." My son is agitated and worried. He holds his arms up, a silent demand for the baby, and my dad takes a knee so Aaron can hold her with my father supporting. The naturalness of it all is astounding.

I glance at Morgan. "Well, you're certainly getting Werewolf 101."

She's been watching our interactions closely and I can tell she's fascinated. But there is also a wariness about her. I sensed it when we started arguing in the sick bay and she's especially fraught with tension now after seeing Merilee.

"Aaron," I kiss his forehead. "I'm going to talk to Auntie Morgan for a bit. You stay here and visit with your sister and Grandpa."

"Pop-pop," he corrects me.

Wow. Okay. He already has a special name for my dad.

Acid rises in my throat. Is there any world in which I can take my kids away?

"Morgan, a word," I tell her.

She nods and follows me back outside. We trace our steps back to the hospital wing and then we pause in the middle of the room.

She glances between Cameron and across to Ashley.

"What do you see?" I ask her.

Dr. Lee enters and joins us. "Yes. I would value your opinion too, as these are inflictions beyond modern medicine and our werewolf genes."

Morgan nods. "It's magic. Dark magic."

A chill traipses up my arms.

"Do you know who wove this spell?" I ask.

She looks away. "I do."

But that's all she says.

Dr. Lee and I share a worried look. "Can it be undone?"

"No." Morgan jerks her head toward Ashley. "Humans and non-mystical beings...they all think magic is like a chalkboard where you write your desire and then when you're done you just erase it and everything goes back to the way it used to be. But that's not how magic works. It is permanent. Binding. This spell especially."

"What is it, exactly?" Dr. Lee presses. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"A soul binding...animus ligare."

Dr. Lee nods. "Wolves mate naturally. We consider a 'true' mating a gift of the Goddess."

"As you should,' Morgan agrees. "But when we trick nature there can be consequences. Every spell comes with a price. Nothing is ever given freely."

There is a warning in her words and it gives me a prickle of unease.

"Is there a spell to break it?" I ask. I'm staring at Cameron and watching him decline before my eyes. "There has to be something..."

"I told you. That's not how this works." She sighs. "I feel especially bad for the baby... her genes would be mutated."

"Yes, we've assessed as much," the doctor says. He frowns. "This is one of the rare times, I'd say human medicine could be of real merit. With a stem cell match, we could intervene."

"Stem cells. Like from the placenta?" It's the first time I've ever heard a wolf talk about science as a solution for anything.

"Yes." The doctor nods at me.

"How long does Merilee have?" I ask. I still don't know if I'm carrying a baby-that dreamscape makes me think it's possible, but that would defy all the rules of science.

As in...every rule.

I rub my head.

"She doesn't have long, I'm afraid," the doctor admits. "She's lost a lot of weight and she struggles to eat."

So even if I was pregnant, we don't have the time to go to term. "Are there any alternatives?" I ask this of both of them, but when I meet Morgan's eyes, she's panicked, and looking very guilty. "No," I whisper. "You wouldn't..."

Dr. Lee is confused. "What?"

I don't even glance at him, my attention is glued to my 'friend' -the one who 'helped me' and held my hand through my pregnancy and delivery.

I have a horrible suspicion... "Tell me you didn't..."

Morgan backs away. But the truth is there. Written clear across her face.

"You're fucking kidding me, right? How could you do this to me?!"

"It's not like you're implying," she insists. "It wasn't intentional. It was a situation... that presented itself." She shrugs defensively. "It isn't like you were going to do something with it."

Dr. Lee is glancing between us. He has no idea what we're talking about.

I laugh bitterly. "If I'd been home, I would've shifted and eaten it. That's what wolves do."

"Ewww. Gross." Morgan makes a gagging sound.

I shake my head. "It's not like you're picking up a penny you found on the ground. Collecting afterbirth is pretty fucking intentional, Morgan!"

Dr. Lee gasps.

I can only shake my head. I connect the dots and it... kills me.

"That's why you befriended me in the first place...isn't it? You wanted my genes for your labs."

She looks away guiltily. "I didn't know that we'd become friends."

"Nothing is given freely, right."

She bites her lip. "I'm sorry."

Dr. Lee looks at me sharply. "I'll need to notify Alpha Healmsworth of this."

Cameron's father.

The doctor's eyes are already fluttering as he relays his message mentally.

Panic grips me. The true severity of what I've done is like a vice squeezing my chest until it is impossible to breathe.

Oh my god. Oh my god...

"Mia, what's wrong?" Morgan asks.

"You have no idea what you've done." I can already hear the Alpha roaring outside and clamoring for me.

"What do you mean?" She's confused.

"We don't share our secrets with anyone, Morgan. Not humans. Not other species. We have very strict rules about preserving our packs." "But it wasn't your fault!" Morgan argues.

"This is our most sacred law. And whether intentional or not, Mia broke it." Dr. Lee looks at me with sympathy. "There will be consequences..." "What kind of consequences?" Morgan's voice rises.

There is yelling outside and the sounds of many people descending on this building. Doors slam. Feet pound over the tile floors.

"Death," I tell her. "The punishment for what I've done is death."

"No!" She gasps. "But this isn't your fault." She reaches out. "Mia..."

"Don't," I snap. "Don't touch me." She lowers her hand, at least having the decency to look ashamed. "My kids-" Oh no, no, no... my children... "The Alpha is coming," Dr. Lee says, his voice soft.

But the warning is moot. The Alpha barrels into the room. "Restrain them!" he orders.

The guards behind him hurry to obey. They surround me. Two of them grab my arms. Three others position themselves at the door.

Dr. Lee is no help. His loyalty is to pack. And as the pack has always done, they see in black and white. There are no shades of gray.

"Mia, I'm so sorry," Morgan is saying. They shackle her with runes. And the effect is immediate. She nearly collapses from how they bind her power.

"I just wanted a life, Morgan. Safe with my children." I realize now, that trusting anyone was my mistake.

I should've been stronger.

My weakness and fear, my loneliness, made me an easy target for this witch.

I can't even be angry with the Alpha or Dr. Lee or my pack. It's a horrible transgression I've committed. If I were in their shoes, I'd be outraged too.

I'm dragged to the opposite side of the room and tossed onto a gurney. I suppose I can count myself lucky that my kids won't have to see their mother restrained like a criminal and paraded across the square to the holding cells.

"Mia was completely unaware of what my coven planned," Morgan pleads.

Alpha Healmsworth glares at her, but Morgan won't be quiet.

"She came to us with nothing. She had no one to turn to," she says. I appreciate that she's trying to defend me.

But it's too little, too late.

And her apologies don't change the fact that she used me.