Page 52 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
Gwen’s heart seized. Inside the town? But that meant…
“Lianne!”
Chapter 22 - Rafael
Rafael’s instincts to rush straight back to town were curtailed by Gwen’s insisting that they instead go to the place she saw in her vision, where she’d seen their mother reinforce the shield. Michael sat in the backseat with Gwen, his head swiveling around, constantly on alert for any sign of attack as Rafael drove. His foot felt impossibly heavy, and he wanted to slam it down on the gas, but getting killed in a car crash wouldn’t help.
His wolf snarled as he listened to Gwen’s panicked breathing in the back. She was thinking the same thing he was. If they didn’t get back to town in time, then Lianne…
“She has Joshua with her. And Chelsey and Kira,” Gwen mumbled, just loud enough for them all to hear, even though she was talking to herself. “Have to reinforce the boundary. Otherwise, the demon can just get in again.”
Rafael’s hands tightened as he pressed down on the gas a little more. Neither Kira nor Chelsey had strong wolves. Neither of them could use magic except in potions.But Joshua is with them. And there were still members of the special ops in town.
They arrived with squealing brakes at the spot where the demon killed Rafael’s parents. He shifted into wolf form as soon as he was out of the car. Michael did the same, and they maintained a loose formation around Gwen, allowing themselves space to intercept the demon if it attacked. The cedars and ash trees were utterly still around them. Gwen hurried to what appeared to be an inconspicuous boulder, a marker whose purpose had long since been forgotten.
She dropped to her knees next to it, placing both hands against the stone. Rafael turned his back, keeping a close eye on the foliage around them. It was a prime location for an attack.
“Done,” Gwen said after a few minutes. She scrambled back to her feet, and the three raced to the car.
This time, Rafael didn’t have the patience for driving safely. He took the bends at dangerous speeds, making them all knock into doors as they raced toward town. Blood rushed in his ears, but not loud enough to block out Gwen’s whimpers.
“Your mother had latent magical abilities,” she said in a voice so small he didn’t know if she was trying to talk to him, Michael, or herself. “She had a strong wolf, too. Lianne has better chances. Maybe she’ll be a wolf and a witch and…”
She collapsed into whimpers again. The distress raced through him, but he was already driving a breakneck speeds. They couldn’t get back to town any faster.
They arrived to find chaos. Smoke belched into the sky with several houses on fire. The pack raced about, trying to put out the fires. Dark sparks shot through the sky near town hall, and Rafael zipped through the streets toward it. There, they found the special ops team facing off with the demon. It was huge, five times bigger than when they had last seen it. The empty space where its face should be had two pale glowing dots as massive clawed hands swiped at them.
Rafael leapt from the car and shifted to his wolf form. As he charged toward the demon, it howled suddenly, the sound like a tornado bursting through the air. Then it swung into the air, funneling itself into a sheet of darkness over the sky and abruptly vanished.
Everything went still, but only for a few minutes. The special ops teams spread out, sniffing and growling as theysearched for where the demon had gone. A body lay on the ground. Rafael’s heart stuttered as he recognized the Elder Priest. Blood pooled around the body, and his skin was the color of a corpse.
“Rafael,” Gwen called.
He turned. She was in the driver’s seat of the car, already slowly backing away. Rafael raced back and jumped in through the back door. He shifted to human form as she whipped the car around.
“Hunt the demon,” he yelled through the window, and then they were gone. Gwen drove even more recklessly than he did, over lawns and through hedges until finally she skidded to a stop just shy of hitting the porch of his house.
Inside, they found Joshua in his wolf form and Kira armed with kitchen knives. When she saw them, she cried out in relief and moved to hug Gwen.
“Lianne?” Gwen called out, her voice high-pitched. “Lianne?”
“She’s with Chelsey in the bathroom,” Kira said quickly.
The only room in the house with no windows for the demon to sneak in through. Smart. Rafael shook himself, growling softly as the adrenaline lingered. They rushed to the bathroom, and when Chesley flung it open, Lianne burst out. She slammed her small body into Gwen’s, sobbing and clinging to her.
The demon was still in town, though. The barrier was restored, so unless it could get out, and not back in—
“Gwen.” Rafael marched over to her and grabbed her arm. His fingers dug in too tight, and he winced more than Gwendid, releasing her at once. He took a short breath. “Sorry, I didn’t—”
“What is it?” she interrupted, searching his face.
Right. Focus. Rafael straightened himself. “You need to put a protective barrier around the house.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Gwen said.
“You can,” Rafael told her, infusing his voice with confidence. If what he’d read in the spellbooks was correct, then the biggest hurdle Gwen was facing was her own self-doubt.
Gwen opened her mouth, but when Lianne pressed her face tighter into her stomach, she winced. Rafael’s wolf huffed, and he leaned forward. Was she injured? But no. There was a wild, terrified look to her eyes that had nothing to do with physical pain. She nodded once, then turned to Kira and Chelsey.
