Chapter 36

(Julia’s POV)

The first thing that registered in my mind was the pain. My head hurt worse than it ever had before, but I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes. What happened? I don’t remember hitting my head.

Finally, I pushed myself up to a seated position and opened my eyes. What the — ? From what I could tell, I was in the woods, surrounded on all sides by tall trees. Another shock of pain went through my head, and I put my hand to my forehead.

When I brought it back, I was shocked to see it was covered in blood. Blood? What could have done this? Did I fall? I tried to go back over the last few things I remembered. I had been at the office, working late, as always.

Suddenly, I remembered — Sandy. Sandy had come to my office and apologized for all the things that had been said at the house. She had brought me a mug of tea and…that was the last thing I could recall.

I didn’t want to even think of it, but the truth was obvious: Sandy had drugged me, maybe even poisoned me, and brought me out here so that I would miss the Beta selection ceremony. Or maybe even die, I thought and shuddered.

Another bolt of pain ran through me, this time in my chest, and I knew that it was the poison Sandy had given me. I was going to die, all alone out here in the woods. My baby was going to die.

I slumped back onto the ground, tears leaking from my eyes and running down my cheeks. I can’t believe this is how it’s going to end. I can’t believe my baby is going to die with me. I closed my eyes and sobbed even harder.

Suddenly, I felt a strange burst of warmth flow through me. It left me comforted and calm in its wake, and I couldn’t understand what it could be. I focused and realized the source of the warmth was my belly.

I looked down. So strange. It almost feels like the warmth I get when Ronan touches me. But how could that — I gasped as I realized what was happening. My baby, my Alpha-powered child, was protecting me.

The baby was fighting off the effects of the poison, and it seemed to be doing a pretty good job. I tried to stay calm and let the pup do its work, but suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and cried out.

Maybe it’s not powerful enough. It’s just a baby after all. Maybe it can’t save us both. I closed my eyes again, tears sliding down my face. I don’t want it to end like this. I thought I had more time. I wanted to tell Ronan the truth. Now, he’ll never know, and the baby and I will die out here, all alone.

I felt another stab of pain in my stomach, and then I realized what was happening. I was feeling contractions. I was going into labor. I was about to have my baby. I tried to stay calm, but it was useless. I was stuck out in the middle of nowhere, my body fighting off poison, and now I was about to give birth.

I moaned in pain. I wanted to give up, but the next contraction reminded me of what I was fighting for. Who I was fighting for. I was going to take what came next bravely, whether that was delivering my child…or death.

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and focus. I could do this. I had never backed down from a challenge before, and I wasn’t going to now, not with so much on the line. I concentrated as hard as I could on my contractions.

“Julia!” I closed my eyes and shook my head. I was hearing things now, and I didn’t know if it was the pain of childbirth or the effects of the poison. “Julia, open your eyes!” I did, and was shocked at what I saw.

A woman in a dark dress emerged from the trees, watching me carefully. “Julia, come with me,” she said, stepping closer. “We don’t have much time. The baby will be coming any moment now.”

I stared at her, my mouth wide open. I didn’t understand who she was, or why she was here, or how she seemed to know who I was. “Julia, please,” she said. “We don’t have time.” The woman put her hand on my arm.

In the blink of an eye, we were suddenly transported to a house. “What — how did you do that?” I asked. I tried to look around us at the house, but another labor pain tore through me and I doubled over.

“They’re getting stronger,” the woman said. “The baby will be here soon.” She began moving through the house, opening cabinets and gathering jars and bottles. “Julia, I need you to relax. Birthing is hard enough. You don’t need to add any stress to the situation.”

I took a deep breath. The pain was getting worse and this woman seemed like she knew how to safely deliver a baby. It looked like I had no choice but to trust her — even though I now understood she was a witch.

(Ronan’s POV)

I was filled with worry. Julia hadn’t responded to my calls or texts all day, which wasn’t like her. She wasn’t at work or the house, and no one had seen her. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

I left my office and roamed the halls, halfway hoping I would run into Julia and this would all just be some big misunderstanding. Instead, I came upon Sandy as she was leaving the break room.

“Sandy!” She looked up at me with a bit of fright, and I relished the fact that our last meeting had affected her so much. “Have you seen Julia today?” Sandy shook her head quickly. “No, no, I — I haven’t seen her in ages.”

I frowned. Ages? I knew for a fact she had seen her at a staff meeting yesterday. “Do you know where she might be?” Sandy shook her head again, but her face was starting to get red. “No, I really don’t. Julia could be anywhere! She’s always just…going off places.”

Now I was really starting to suspect something. Firstly, Julia never just disappeared like this. She was practically tied to her desk. Secondly, Sandy was acting very strangely. I decided I needed to investigate a little more.

I called Alex into my office and told the Gamma to hack into Sandy’s work cellphone. “We need to look at her GPS activity. Flag anything that looks suspicious or out of character.” Alex got me the results quickly and I began to look over them.

Immediately, I saw what I was looking for. Sandy had driven out to the woods last night, straight into the middle of nowhere. She had only spent about 15 minutes there, then went back home. I knew it.

I raced to my car and drove as fast as I could to the location in the forest Sandy had gone. I spent the whole drive trying not to picture everything that could have happened to Julia while I wasn’t there, all the things I had sworn I would protect her from.

Finally, I reached the point on the map where Sandy had gone. I looked everywhere, but there were no signs of Julia. Suddenly, I noticed a dark patch on the grass. I approached it slowly, praying it wasn’t what I thought it was.

I sniffed the air and nearly wept at what I sensed. The grass was covered in Julia’s blood and…something else. I sniffed again and dropped to my knees. The witch who had cursed me, the witch I had been searching for all these years — I smelled her scent. She had been here with Julia.