Page 55 of Alpha's Secret Baby Girl
Rafael was almost to Lianne. But Lianne was already at the barrier. She slipped through, and the demon lunged. Gwen screamed again, and Rafael charged through, his howl ringing through the air as his jaws clenched around the demon’s wrist. The weight of his bulk slammed into the demon’s side, forcing it back a step, and the swipe it took with its other hand barely missed Lianne. The demon whirled, slashing at Rafael. Something dark sprayed into the air.
The demon threw Rafael off, sending him rolling across the ground. Shouting came from behind her, but Gwen ignored it. She reached the barrier just as the demon grabbed for Lianne again. Gwen snatched her daughter’s arm, dragging her back just in time. The demon’s claws raked across the barrier uselessly as Gwen fell backward, dragging Lianne with her.
“Wha?” Lianne gasped. She shuddered and started to flail. “Let go.”
Her voice was slurred, her eyes half-shut and glazed. The demon howled and pounded its fists against the barrier. Gwen focused, trying to find the magic inside of her once again. Light blazed in her hands, and she pressed them to either side of Lianne’s head, praying that it would work.
Lianne blinked. The glassy, far-off look faded. “Mommy?”
Rafael was just getting to his feet. The demon’s blow must have knocked him on the head. He stumbled as he turned and snarled. The demon whipped around, its glowing eyes locking on him once more. Gwen’s heart stopped. She lifted her hands, the light weak against the night as she screamed once more.
Rafael bunched his muscles, ready to attack. He didn’t realize she and Lianne were inside the barrier.
“Rafael!” she screamed as he charged.
Something flew over her head. Michael charged through the barrier, heedless of the danger. His wolfish form was a blur as he attacked the demon’s leg. He distracted it just long enough for Rafael to dodge a blow that would have shattered his spine. The light in Gwen’s hands flickered as her lungs seized. What were they doing?
Get back through the barrier,she wanted to beg, but her lungs just weren’t working. She watched helplessly as thebrothers fought the demon, frozen with fear and a strange, tingling numbness in her limbs. She couldn’t look away, couldn’t pull Lianne back to the house. Hands were on her arm, trying to tug her to her feet. Chelsey.
But then Chelsey, too, went still, watching the battle. Rafael tore a limb off the demon, but the severed appendage merely reformed itself, turning into something that spun and dove around them. The scent of blood rose heavy in the air.
Gwen tried to put more magic out, tried to build a barrier around the demon to keep it in one spot and prevent it from continuing to attack. But she was frozen, inside and out. Someone was screaming. Was it her? She felt oddly untethered. The two wolves seemed to be moving in slow motion, taking far too long to attack and dodge. She tried to make them go faster, tried to warn them, but her jaw was welded shut.
So she wasn’t the one who was screaming.
Who was?
She tried again to bring her magic forward. It slipped through her grasp, trickling away from her. But the light was growing brighter. Not the light in her hands. It trembled and died, but there was more light. It blinded her, searing against her eyes. The scream was louder now, and she realized it was Lianne. Lianne, her hands lifted in the air as though she was trying to ward off the demon. Lianne, screaming and blazing with light.
Gwen suddenly understood why she was frozen, why Chelsey stood there, her hands lightly touching her arm and Lianne’s shoulder. They were making a conduit, the three of them. The man from Gwen and Chelsey’s bodies was flowing toward Lianne. It moved into the light around her, growing brighter and brighter until Lianne was as bright as the full moon.
The demon kicked Rafael in the chest, sending him flying through the barrier. Michael was caught in a massive, clawed hand.
Lianne screamed again, and this time the magic rippled out from her. The energy exploded through the night like a supernova. It crashed into the demon. It stumbled, then roared. Its body writhed and then, suddenly, it was torn to shreds. Those pieces scattered about like flies before the light consumed them, too. Soon, there was nothing left of the demon except the memory of where it had been.
The light faded with Lianne’s scream. Gwen sucked in a deep breath, shuddering as movement came back to her. Lianne slumped against her, whimpering.
Everything became very still. But rather than that strange, slowed-down time where she had been frozen, this stillness was simply a moment where they all came back to themselves. Gwen’s heart raced as she processed what had just happened. Lianne had tapped into the magic. She’d siphoned from Gwen and Chelsey both and then had obliterated the demon.
That blast of magic had been more powerful than anything Gwen had been able to produce. And considering Chelsey hadn’t even been able to make a flicker before…
Gwen reeled as she pulled her daughter into her arms. Rafael and Michael moved stiffly, in pain. Chelsey was the one who first hauled Gwen and Lianne to their feet. She walked them back into the house, made them sit on the couch, and went back for the men. Rafael was bleeding from his chest, wincing in his human form as Michael and Chelsey helped him inside. At some point, they’d both put on boxers, though Gwen wasn’t sure where the clothes had come from.
“I need to contact the special ops,” Rafael started. He glanced around for his phone, grimacing every time he moved.
“No, you don’t,” Michael said firmly. “You got beat pretty good by that demon. I’ll take care of the special ops and have them on the lookout. You stay here, get patched up.”
Chelsey headed out of the room, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll get the first aid kit.”
Lianne twitched and scratched her arms, staring at the adults with a look of stunned surprise. Gwen didn’t even know what to say. She checked Lianne for any signs of injury, but other than a little gravel stuck to the seat of her PJs, she was unharmed. Gwen’s hands shook as she tucked Lianne into a blanket on the couch and turned her attention to Rafael.
By this time, Michael had retrieved a cellphone and was already making calls. He retreated to another room while Chelsey brought back the first aid kit. Gwen began to clean and bandage Rafael’s injuries.
“I’m going to make some food,” Chelsey announced, wringing her hands. “That’s what we need. Some nourishment.”
Gwen thought it was probably more so that she could cry in privacy. Her eyes were welling with tears. But she didn’t say that, only nodded in acknowledgement.
Lianne pushed off the blanket and continued to scratch her arms. “It itches,” she complained, rubbing her foot over her calf. Her expression became pained. “It itches!”
