Chapter 116

Maeve’s POV

For a moment, I thought I was once again alone. But then I heard the soft humming coming from the crib across the room. My heart swelled, knowing exactly who was going to be in that crib and I couldn’t get to him fast enough. As I peered into the crib and looked at my baby, my heart raced rapidly in my chest. He was playing with a teething toy, a smile lighting up his gorgeous face.

I scooped him into my arms and brought his little face to my lips so I could kiss his forehead. He was such a perfect baby, and I couldn’t believe that I was the one who created this little miracle. My heart swelled at the very thought. There was a knock on the door that turned my attention, and I spun my body around to face the sound, thinking that Xaden would be the one to greet me.

“How is our little guy?” The oddly familiar voice said. My heart fell into my stomach at the sight of this stranger. He was tall like Xaden, and he had an Alpha aura that illuminated him. But his face… it was nothing more than a shadow. I couldn’t see any features of his, but he spoke, so he must have had a mouth.

I took an unsteady step away from him, holding my baby close to my chest.

“Are you unwell?” The man asked, taking another step closer to me.

“W… who are you?” I asked, my voice stammering.

He froze in his movements and his head cocked to the side.

“Do you not remember me, Maeve?” He asked suddenly. “I have to say… I’m a little hurt. After everything we’ve been through together?”

He made a movement towards me again, but I jerked away.

“Stay away from me,” I ordered, turning my body to shield my baby.

“Maeve…” he started to say slowly but I didn’t give him the time of day. I ran past him as fast as I could and burst through the bedroom door, running through the house that seemed so familiar to me, and yet not familiar at all.

My heart was racing.

I needed to find Xaden. I needed him to be here with me… with us. He would protect us from this man. This stranger. As I ran through the house, I paused when a picture on the mantle in the living room caught my attention.

It was a picture of me and my baby, but standing beside us, with his arm wrapped around me, was the stranger I saw in the bedroom.

I wasn’t smiling, but I wasn’t pulling away from him either. My face was unreadable and he was masked in shadows so I once again couldn’t see any of his features. But there was something in my eyes that isn’t normally there and my chest tightened at the sight.

I knew I was dreaming, but I wasn’t sure why I would have a dream like this and where this man came from? I thought he would be chasing me around the house, and maybe he was for a moment, but the footsteps seemed to have stopped. My baby was no longer in my arms, and I felt more alone than ever.

I looked around the vast space, a sob choking out of my throat.

“Xaden…” I managed to croak, but there was no response.

Tears slipped down my cheeks as I stared down at my hands. I felt more alone than ever, and I wanted to crumble into myself.

“Maeve…” a woman’s voice spoke to me through the wind; I had heard that voice before and I lifted my gaze, hoping to get a glimpse of her, but like always, it was only a voice. “He will take away everything you care about if you aren’t careful, Maeve…”

“W…what?” I stammered, wiping away the tears from my cheeks. “Please… I need more answers. C…can’t you tell me more…??”

“There are Alphas in your life who only wish to cause you harm,” the voice continued. “If you aren’t careful, they will take everything from you.”

The voice was comforting, but her words sent a chill down my spine.

“Who? Tell me who I need to be careful of! Please!!”

But there was no response, only a new voice drifted in through the window and wrapped around me like a warm blanket.

“Wake up, Maeve dear. It’s time to wake up…”

My eyes flew open as I sat up in bed; my heart was still pounding against my ribcage and my body still trembled wildly, but I was back in my room. I reached over to Xaden to make sure he was still beside me. My hand found his and I turned to look at him, only to find him awake and staring at me… his eyes haunted.

……

Xaden’s POV

“Xaden!” I heard her yelling through a room that wasn’t ours. It was obvious to me that I was dreaming, but I wondered if she was dreaming as well. My eyes were trained on her pale face as she held our baby close to her chest, staring up at the faceless man who claimed to be the father of that child.

But I knew he wasn’t… who the hell was this stranger?

I couldn’t move and whenever I tried to yell for Maeve, letting her know that I was here with her and I wasn’t going anywhere, she wouldn’t hear me. I saw the tears streaming down her cheeks as she held our baby, protecting him. Then she started to run; she ran through the bedroom door, screaming for me.

I wanted to chase after her, but I couldn’t move my body. I was still in some form of limbo, watching as my mate disappeared from the room with our baby. I thought that the stranger would have followed her out of the room and chased her down, but he didn’t. He just stood and watched her go.

“Stay away from her,” I managed to muster through my teeth, hoping that at least he could hear me.

He was quiet for a long moment, and I began to lose faith that anyone would ever be able to hear me in this dream. But then his body transformed, and his image became even taller and bulker, like he was someone completely knew. His face was still masked in shadows though and it infuriated me that I didn’t know who he was.

How could I protect her if I didn’t know who the threat was?

He chuckled darkly and lifted his head, so it appeared as if he was looking at me.

“Your mate belongs to me,” he said darkly, sending a chill down my spine. “And I will get what I want even if it means destroying everyone in my path.”

I was about to say something in protest, but he faded away, and soon the entire room turned dark until I was floating in an abyss of nothingness. My eyes flew open, and I quickly sat up in bed, my heart racing. I looked around the room and saw Maeve sleeping beside me. But from the looks of it, she was having a bad dream as well.

I wanted to pull her into my arms and comfort her, but I was too frozen after what I had just seen. What the hell was that?

I stared down at my hands feeling more helpless than I ever felt in my entire life. I hated how she screamed for me, and I couldn’t be there for her, even if it was just a dream. I ran my fingers through my hair and took a few deep breaths before willing my body to relax.

Soon, her eyes flew open as well she shot up in bed, startling me. Her breathing was heavy as she looked around the room, trying to get a grasp on her surroundings. Her hand stretched over to me, and I felt her warm fingers touching mine.

She turned and her gaze met mine; she let out a shuddering breath.

“W…why are you awake?” She asked once her breathing started to calm.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I told her, running my fingers through my hair again.

I didn’t want to worry her with my dream because that’s all it was… it was just a dream. Just like her dream was just a dream as well. There was no use worrying my pregnant mate.

“D… did I wake you?” She asked, blinking back her tears.

I shook my head and wrapped her in my arms.

“No,” I assured her softly, kissing the top of her head. “You didn’t wake me.”

She relaxed in my arms, and she let out a shuddering breath.

“Are you okay?” I asked her gently.

She was hesitant for a moment as if she wanted to tell me what she dreamt about, but then she changed her mind and nodded.

“Yeah,” she murmured, lifting her gaze to meet mine. “It was just a nightmare.”

I stared at her for a short while before relenting. I nodded slowly and kissed the bridge of her nose.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Just a nightmare.”