Page 62 of A Luna's Revenge

"What's going on here?" Alpha Stone exclaims.

"That's my wife."

"Ex-wife." I correct.

He eyes me up and down, pausing at my stomach. "Wow. You sure work fast. You must have been pregnant when you left." He sneers. "Who's the father?"

"What?" I am in shock. He gets another she-wolf pregnant and then dares judge me. I feel a murderous rage; at least I waited until we had divorced before I moved on. He is lucky I can't shift because Lana is ready to slice and dice his junk off. My claws come out as I reach out for Jenson.

A loud, explosive shock wave rips through the air.

Reggie

As I monitor the security feeds, we hear an explosion in the distance. I scan the security cameras until I spot a plume of smoke to the west of headquarters. “What is that?” I shout at the techs seated at the control console.

“Reports are coming in of an explosion at the treasury building. Emergency vehicles and enforcement have been dispatched to that location.”

“Where are the units coming from that will respond?” I ask because all resources are concentrated on this building right now.

“From here, sir.”

That will leave us short coverage. Before I have time to think and determine how we will compensate, another explosion sounds further away. “What now?”

As we search the video feeds, my tech yells, “Another bombing to the east. It appears to be the theater complex.”

Thank the goddess, that is an empty building at this time of day. Unfortunately, more units have been dispatched to the location several miles away, leaving us vulnerable. Two more explosions are heard faintly as I realize these are distractions.

“Sir, reports arecoming in that the Stone Mountain Genetic Research Institute at the Science Square has been hit.”

A loud explosion shakes the building just a few seconds later, making it tremble and groan. A heavy cloud of dust fills the room as ceiling tiles start to fall and alarms blare. I’m thrown to the floor by its force.

“No! No, no, no.” I scream as I leap into action. I attempt to race out the door to Charlie, only to find the exit blocked by a beam.

Charlie

In the aftershocks of the explosion, the building quakes and leans a bit. A massive plume of dust engulfs the room. Choking for air, I am knocked to the ground.

Roland rushes to me. "We need to get you out of here." I can barely hear him over the alarms. As the building trembles, he lifts me in his arms and tears out the door. Luckily, since we are at the end of the hallway, an emergency door is next to theconference room. Roland pushes the bar on the door to open it, and more alarms sound.

The stairwell has a thick dust cloud, and I can smell smoke. I vaguely make out that other people are following us down the stairs. As we continue down, the smoke gets thicker, and I choke on the fumes. The sprinkler system finally engages, and we are quickly doused with water. I grip Roland tighter around his neck and press my face into his coat in an effort to take in a clean breath. Finally, we make it to the ground floor. We exit the building, but Roland keeps running to the park across the street. As Roland sits me on a bench, we look up to see that a massive chunk of the building is missing as it sags to the side.

It’s utter chaos. Ambulances and fire trucks begin to arrive. Coughing and choking to breathe, I feel horrible pain in my lower back. I lean forward, screaming as a gush of water soaks the front of my skirt and legs. "Goddess, Roland. My water just broke."

Without missing a beat, he rushes me to the nearest ambulance. "We need help." He yells. "She's in labor. She has inhaled a lot of smoke."

A burly EMT rushes up. "Let's lay her on the stretcher." I am writhing in pain and can't seem to manage a full breath. The EMT lays me back gently and straps an oxygen mask to my face. "Breathe deeply." He says, "Shhh. Easy, miss. You’re safe." He doesn't skip a beat but continues to connect wires and leads to my chest and stomach. The monitors come to life, and we can hear the racing heartbeats of my pup and me. "Relax for the baby. Take deep breaths." He goes to the back of the ambulance and shouts. "Rex, we need to transport. Female with smoke inhalation in labor." After closing the doors, he places a blood pressure cuff on my arm and continues his ministrations.

I feel the vehicle rock as his partner climbs in the front and shifts the running ambulance into drive. Through the window, I watch Roland, disheveled and panting, as he turns to look up at the chaos of the burning building. My eyes stay on him until we turn down the street toward the hospital. As he disappears from view, my mind slips into darkness.

Chapter 35 - Jenson's Epiphany

Charlie

Reality fades in and out. The shock of the explosion and the onset of my labor is setting in, and it’s causing my body to shut down. Lana takes charge, but we don't physically change places. That would be fatal to the pup. I am deep in the recesses of my mind, watching, waiting, barely aware. It's for the best; Lana is pure instinct, nurture, and nature. We need to work as a team for our pup to survive this. For us all to survive.

Peaceful silence settles upon my mind and body. I can see shadows around me. I hear frantic whispers. What are they saying?Distress? Erratic heart rate?

Suddenly, I am sucked back into full awareness, like a bubble popping. My senses are overwhelmed with the bright lights, the harsh humming of the various medical devices, and the pain ripping through my body. My eyes remain closed, and I cannot bring my body to move, but I am achingly aware of everything around me. Tears pool and drip down my temples.

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