Chapter 250

Ava

I woke to the soft sound of rustling of fabric and the gentle padding of bare feet on stone. Blinking away the last remnants of sleep, I saw Chris dressing in the dim light of the cave. His muscles rippled beneath his skin as he pulled on his shirt, and I laid there, watching quietly as he dressed.

Chris caught me watching and smiled softly once he saw I was awake. He sat down on the edge of our makeshift bed, his hand coming to rest on my bare thigh. The warmth of his touch sent a shiver through me, and I found myself moving before I could think. I rose to my knees, wrapping my arms around him tightly, as if I could keep him here by sheer force of will.

“I don’t want you to go,” I whispered into his neck, inhaling his familiar scent.

Chris’s strong arms circled around me, and he pressed a tender kiss to my eyelids. His face was normally clean-shaven, but he had a bit of stubble today. It gave him a ruggedly handsome appearance that I sort of liked.

“I know, love,” he murmured. “I wish I didn’t have to. Trust me.”

But we both knew he had to leave. He and Leonard needed to meet the other Alphas and their forces at the warrior camp. Winston’s warriors were drawing near, and they had to be ready for a battle.

I pulled back slightly, meeting Chris’s eyes. “I understand why you have to go. It’s just…”

“You’re scared,” Chris finished for me, his thumb brushing my cheek. “I know. But you’ll be safe here with Ophelia and Patrick. I promise.”

I shook my head, swatting frustratedly at his chest. “I’m not worried about myself, you big idiot,” I growled quietly. “I’m worried about you.”

Chris’s expression softened. “Hey, I’ll be fine. We’ve been over the plan a hundred times, remember?”

I nodded, but the knot of anxiety in my stomach refused to loosen. Chris seemed to sense my unease and began to go over the battle plans one more time.

“We’re not looking for a bloodbath,” he explained, his voice steady and reassuring as he traced absentminded patterns on my palm with his index finger. “The goal is to immobilize Winston’s forces quickly and efficiently, not kill them. Leonard and I will focus on finding Winston himself and surrounding him. With any luck, the fight will be over before it really begins.”

“But what if something goes wrong?” I curled my hand around his and leveled him with a stern glare. “Chris, it wasn’t that long ago that you could barely shift after spending so many years in the human world. What if…”

Chris chuckled, cutting off my spiraling thoughts. Without warning, he dropped his fangs, opening his mouth to display them fully. The sight of those sharp canines, gleaming softly in the dim light, made my own wolf react inside of me.

Almost unconsciously, I reached out, running my finger along the tip of one fang. The sharp point pricked my skin like a needle, instantly drawing out a tiny red bead of blood.

Quick as lightning, Chris caught my wrist, bringing my finger to his mouth. His tongue darted out, licking away the drop of blood, his green eyes never leaving mine the entire time.

“Trust me, Ava,” he said, his voice low and husky. “I’m more than capable of handling myself out there.”

I swallowed hard, my heart racing. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to tell him about my suspicions, about the possibility that I might be pregnant. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back.

No. Now wasn’t the time. We needed to focus on the task at hand. The announcement could wait until after.

“I trust you,” I said instead, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips. His tongue still carried the lingering metallic tang of blood. I hoped that my blood would be the only blood he tasted today.

Our moment was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Leonard’s voice calling from the main chamber of the cave. “Chris? It’s time to go.”

Chris sighed, resting his forehead against mine for a brief moment before standing. I watched as he finished getting ready, strapping on his weapons—although I doubted he’d need them, if he was smart and stayed in his wolf form throughout the battle—and pulling on his boots.

When he was done, he turned back to me, his eyes roaming over my form as if committing me to memory.

“Put on your nicest dress for the party tonight, okay?” he said, a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

I raised an eyebrow as I climbed to my feet, standing on the edge of our bed, my hands on my hips. Even with the extra padding beneath me, he still towered over me. “I didn’t intend to dress up for this farce, Chris.”

His smile turned wistful as he brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “Come on, humor me. In case I don’t come back in one piece, I want to imagine you looking radiant.”

I smacked his arm, hard enough to make him wince. “Don’t you dare joke about that, Christopher. You’d better come back to me in one piece, or I’ll have to kill you myself.”

“Christopher, eh? Now I know you’re serious,” Chris laughed, pulling me in for one last embrace. “I love you, Ava. I’ll see you tonight.”

“I love you too,” I whispered, holding onto him for as long as I could before he gently disentangled himself.

I followed Chris out to the main chamber where Leonard was waiting, not caring if I was only wearing Chris’s button-down and my underwear. Ophelia stood beside him, her face pale with worry. Patrick was nowhere to be found, although I assumed he was sleeping after staying up all night to watch the cameras.

As the men prepared to leave, I watched Ophelia cling to Leonard, whispering something in his ear that made him smile and kiss her tenderly.

Then, all too soon, they were gone. The cave felt emptier, colder without them. Ophelia and I stood in silence for a moment, both of us staring at the cave entrance as if our men might reappear at any second.

Finally, Ophelia broke the silence. “Well,” she said, her voice shaky, “I suppose we should try to get some rest. It’s going to be a long day of waiting.”

But as she turned toward our sleeping area, I moved in the opposite direction. I couldn’t just sit here and wait. I wouldn’t.

“Ava, darling?” Ophelia called. “What are you doing?”

I quickly tugged on a pair of pants and boots, then pulled a couple knives from our weapon stash, strapping them to my body even though I barely knew how to use one. But I never intended to let Chris go off to battle on his own. That hadn’t been in the cards for so much as a moment.

“I can’t stay here, Ophelia. I can’t just sit around and wonder if Chris is okay.”

Ophelia’s eyes widened as she realized what I was planning. “Ava, no. You can’t go out there. It’s too dangerous!”

I paused in my preparations, meeting her gaze. “I have to, Ophelia. I can’t let Chris do this alone. If he gets hurt, I need to be there to pull him out of the fray. I’m his… mate.”

Mate. I wasn’t sure if I had said it out loud before, because we had never talked about it or had an official mating ceremony. But he was—especially if I was pregnant with his child.

“But Chris wanted you to stay here, where it’s safe,” Ophelia argued, her voice rising with panic. “What if you get hurt? What if—”

“I’ll be fine,” I cut her off, dropping my fangs.

Ophelia opened her mouth to argue further, but snapped it shut again when she saw the two gleaming canines poking out of my mouth. Besides, I was already moving toward the cave entrance.

“Stay here,” I told her. “Patrick will need your help monitoring the situation.”

Before she could say another word, I shifted. The familiar rush of power flowed through me as my body changed, bones cracking and reforming, fur sprouting across my skin. In seconds, I had left my human form behind.

With one last look at Ophelia’s shocked face, I turned and bounded out of the cave.