“Go see,” I say. “Maybe we can help.”
He nods. “Fine. Butcarefully.”
We move toward the sound. As we get closer, we hear other noises—panting, a high, desperate whine of agony. And a voice—a voice belonging to a man.
“You’re doing great,” he says. “You’re almost there, Annie.”
We turn a corner and peek around to the back side of a building.
What I see makes my knees go weak.
There’s a woman lying on her back, her blond hair splayed out on the ground around her head. Even as I register her presence, she surges up, hands digging into the ground, crying out, and I recognize the scream I heard before.
A lean, fit, agile-looking man is kneeling between her legs, short sandy hair falling into his eyes. He rubs her hip, and for a moment, I don’t understand what’s happening.
And then I do.
I’ve walked in on someone giving birth. The woman in front of me has managed to carry a baby to term. And the man—is he the father? He’s helping her deliver.
We should leave. This is private. We should go.
I’m about to turn and pull Nate away when the man looks up, right into my eyes.
I see the reaction in his eyes.
He’s afraid of us. He sees us as a threat.
And in a heartbeat, I know that we’re going to have to act quickly to keep it from coming to a fight.
Chapter 35
MILO
Annie’sbabyisdead.
I’ve known that for a while, and so has she. The fact that she has to go through this labor anyway, even though her baby isn’t going to make it—it’s one of the cruelest things I’ve ever seen in my life.
So when the two strangers show up, looking around the corner of the building at us like we’re some kind of exhibit in an old museum, my blood is already up and I’m just about ready to tear their heads off for it. Fuck them. Who do they think they are? They don’t know what this woman has been through.
I turn on them, shifting as I do. I’m not going to let anyone hurt Annie any more than today has already hurt her. I’ll kill them if they try. Well, maybe not the big one—he looks like he might be able to take me in a fight. But I’ll kill his woman, and he’ll regret messing with me.
The woman steps forward, her hands up.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” she says.
“Emlyn, fuck, let’s just get the fuck out of here,” the man says.
“They need help,” says the woman. She walks right past me—it’s like she’s not even scared of me—and drops to her knees beside Annie.
The man stands back. It’s clear he doesn’t think much of Emlyn’s decision making.
I hesitate for a moment—but then Annie cries out again, and her need for my help is more important than anything else. I shift back to my human form and hurry over to her.
Emlyn has positioned herself behind Annie’s head and is holding her, wiping sweat from her face. “You’re doing fine,” she whispers. “Keep going.”
“Thank you,” I say, looking up at her.
“Where’s your pack?” she asks me.