Chapter 167

Carol’s POV

Everything happened so fast; Miranda was shouting at me, but I couldn’t hear a thing she was saying. This petite woman was lying lifeless on her bed, soaked in blood. It was clear where the blood was coming from, and it appeared it wasn’t stopping anytime soon. Her blonde hair was matted to her head and her face was so pale.

I couldn’t tell if she was breathing; I wasn’t even sure if she was alive.

“Carol!!” Miranda shouted at me and from the fury in her voice I knew it wasn’t the first time she had called my name. “I need you to get yourself together and call 911; all our emergency calls get directed to our pack emergency hotline. We need to get her to the hospital. Something is wrong with the baby!”

I finally gathered my surroundings, and I knew she was right. I didn’t have time to stand there and be shocked by what I was seeing. I needed to call 911. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and with trembling fingers I called 911.

As soon as the dispatcher answered the phone, I was on autopilot. I told her what we had just walked in on and gave her the address. She assured me that the ambulance would be here as soon as possible and to just keep monitoring her breathing and heartbeat. After I hung up the phone, I found myself going to her.

“Is she breathing at all?” I asked. Miranda was seated by her side, trying to move the sweat-soaked hair from Cassidy’s face with one hand while holding her hand with the other.

“Yes. She opened her eyes,” Miranda said. “She can’t speak though. I want to know how this happened and how nobody was aware of it. We also need to figure out where her kids are so we can pick them up.”

“It’s still early; they could be at school,” I said, glancing at the time. It was only 1 pm, which meant school would typically be ending in a few hours. Something was telling me I would have to call the hockey coach and tell him I couldn’t start today. I’m supposed to be at the stadium at 3:30 this afternoon.

A small groan came from Cassidy’s lips and her eyes fluttered open again.

“Hey,” I said, giving her a small smile. She lifted her gaze to meet mine and I kept my eyes on hers. I wanted to dig into her past and see what exactly caused this. How did something like this happen?

One minute, I was seated by her bed, and the next, I was standing in the living room of her apartment. I blinked a few times, knowing I was in a vision because of how hazy everything was. My heart raced; I was never going to get used to having visions like this.

There was a knock on her door and Cassidy walked out of her bedroom. She looked exhausted; her hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she looked just as pale and worn out as she did when I found her lying on the bed.

She opened the door without checking to see who it was first. A man walked in, shoving the door open and she nearly fell backwards.

“You came back?” She said, her voice hopeful, tears clear in her eyes. He stopped in the middle of the living room and turned back to her. “I knew you’d come back…” she whispered, her body trembling.

I felt so bad for her. I assumed this man in the middle of her living room was her mate.

“Where are the children, Cassidy?” He asked, his voice echoing off the walls. He didn’t look happy, and she realized this as well. Her smile slowly slipped off her face.

“Wh…what?” She stammered.

“I’m not going to repeat myself,” he said, his eyes piercing into hers. “Answer me!”

She flinched at the force in her voice.

“Th…they are at school,” she said.

“I’m taking them, and we are leaving. You will never see your kids again, understand me?” He hissed.

She gasped as tears poured out of her eyes.

“B…Ben! What are you talking about??” She pleaded for him to answer as he started to walk towards the door.

“I’ve had it with you and your bullshit,” he growled. “You don’t deserve to have kids and I’ll be back for that baby in your belly too.”

She started to hyperventilate as she chased him to the door.

“P…please, Ben. You don’t know what you are saying. Please don’t do this,” she sobbed, trying desperately to catch her breath.

He whipped around to glare at her, his eyes blazing.

“I, Benjamine Rodgers, reject you, Cassidy Lucille, as my mate.”

She gasped and screamed out in pain as she fell to the ground. She grabbed her stomach and cried as if it hurt physically hurt her. Ben just scoffed and stormed out of the apartment. Cassidy sobbed and her entire body trembled. She gritted her teeth as she managed to get to her feet. She walked through the trash that consumed her apartment and into her bedroom. I followed behind her, watching as she crawled into bed. She lay like that until blood poured down her legs; she remained lifeless.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I glanced at the clock. That happened 20 minutes ago.

I released my hold on her mind and came back to the present moment.

I hadn’t realized the ambulance was already there; I wasn’t sure how long I had been out of it. Ut when I came through, they were lifting her onto a gurney. Her eyes were still on me, and I knew that she knew I had seen everything.

“We need to get to the hospital with her and make sure she’s okay,” Miranda said from beside me, making me jump.

“No,” I said, standing to my feet. “We need to get to the school.”

“They aren’t out of school for another hour or so,” Miranda told me.

“I know, but I think those kids are in danger,” I said.

Miranda narrowed her eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

I grabbed her arm without thinking and pulled her along with me; there was no time to explain but I knew with every fiber of my being that I was correct about this. I needed to get ot the school to save those kids from that monster. I have no idea why he wants to take them, but I’m not going to let them go without a fight. I don’t know Cassidy, but I know I don’t trust Ben.

Miranda asked numerous questions while we traveled to the school. I only told her to trust me and that this was important. When we reached the school, Ben was already there and Miranda grasped.

“Ben?” She asked as we approached the reception desk.

He turned to see us approaching and he rolled his eyes.

“I’m waiting for my kids and then I’ll be out of here,” he muttered.

“Where have you been? We thought you went rogue,” she said, stepping beside him, and staring at him. “When did you get back?”

“Today. I’m not staying,” he said; he was trying to appear polite. “I’m taking off again. I just need to see my kids.”

“They will be down soon,” the receptionist said with a smile.

I glared at him, unable to take my eyes away. There was something wrong; I could feel it.

“We just got back from Cassidy’s. She’s being sent to the hospital. I think something is wrong with the baby. We were all pretty shocked when we found out you left her. Wasn’t she your true mate?” Miranda asked.

“Hurting her wasn’t my intention,” he murmured.

He was lying; I could tell he was lying. Anger was boiling inside of me, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from saying something stupid.

“Maybe you should take the children to see her,” Miranda suggested.

“I’m kind of on a time limit,” he said casually as he glanced at the clock.

Miranda frowned.

“Where exactly have you been Ben?” She asked, her brows furrowing.

Before he could answer the door across the hall swung open and two adorable kids ran into the room.

“Daddy!” The girl, who looked to be the youngest exclaimed as she ran to her father.

The boy, who was a little older it appeared, stared at him cautiously. He looked as if he was about to pull his sister back just as her father bent to pick her up. Something was wrong and I wasn’t going to let him take the children.

“Stay back!” I yelled, holding my hand up and enforcing a shield right in front of the little girl. I was in shock because I had no idea, I could do that; I stared at my hands in amazement. Clearly, there were other things I could do that not even my birth father knew.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Ben yelled loudly.

The boy had already grabbed his sister and was holding her; she was struggling to get away from him though.

“I want Daddy!” She cried, tears streaming down her face.

“Carol, what is going on?” Miranda asked, stepping towards me. I stepped away from her, my eyes never leaving Ben’s.

“Tell us the truth. Why are you really here?” I demanded to know.

He snarled at me, his canines elongating, and I knew he was close to shifting.

“I told you; I came here to see my children. Who the fuck are you??”

“I’m the new Luna of this pack and I demand that you tell us the truth,” I said right back.

“I already told you the truth!” He said through his teeth as he attempted to smash the shield in front of him. “Move this damn thing!!”

I looked at the kids who stood behind me; both were trembling, and the girl was crying.

“Go to the former Luna,” I ordered, trying to soften my voice.

The boy nodded and dragged his sister with him towards Miranda. She was still staring at me like I had just grown another head.

“Have you lost your mind?!” Ben growled. “Those are my kids.”

I snapped a look at him.

“Tell. Me. The. Truth!” I hissed, a green glow appeared around him, and I knew my eyes were probably glowing too. Miranda sucked in a sharp breath as she watched the events unfold.

Ben stiffened and his eyes grew hazy.

“I ran into some trouble with a rogue. I made a poor bet, and he lost. At the time, I didn’t think he would ever find out about my family back home. But I promised him my child…three times.” /.,