Hope Awakened by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 33

Poor Locke!

“No!” Hope gasped. “It can’t be.” She shook her head. She’d really come to like him over the last few weeks. He was such a great guy who had so much to give. It was clear that he and Reece were good friends. Reece’s whole body was stiff; his nostrils flared with every breath he took.

“Are you sure?” Hope asked.

Claire was breathing rhythmically, still clutching her belly. She nodded. “His eyes were…just staring…at nothing. His neck…” She whimpered, another tear rolling down her cheek.

“Was his head removed from his shoulders?” Reece asked, crouching to Claire’s eye level. He spoke softly. There was concern in his eyes.

His question made Claire cry even harder.

“That’s a bit graphic.” Hope widened her eyes at him.

Claire shook her head. “No…just broken.” She sniffed. “I’m pretty sure it… That he was…” She sobbed, clutching her belly with both hands. “They ripped one of Zaire’s wings off! He fell…bleeding…screaming… So much screaming…” She shook her head. “I’m not sure what happened to Andy.” She shrugged. “Couldn’t have been good.”

“You poor thing. No wonder you went into labor. You are safe here with us,” Hope lied. Sometimes a white lie was necessary. Claire was petrified, and it wasn’t doing her or the babies any favors.

“Back to Locke,” Reece said.

“Reece!” Hope widened her eyes. “I don’t think that now is the time.” She wanted Claire calm, not hysterical. That meant changing the subject.

“I need to know if they removed his heart from his chest.”

“No,” Claire whimpered. “There was no removing of anything. Just maiming and killing and then flying off with me.”

“I think Locke will be fine. Zaire too. We have superhuman healing capabilities.”

“Claire said he was dead. You don’t come back from being dead. Can we change the subject?”

“Non-humans can come back from the dead. It hurts like gouging your eyes out or cutting your cock off, but it’s possible.”

“Sounds lovely,” Hope muttered. “I’m glad he might be okay.”

“Locke is young and strong. As is Zaire. I’m sure they’ll be just fine.”

Claire clutched at her belly again. Hope could see it pull tight under her dress. “Here’s another one,” she groaned. “This one is worse than the last one.” She groaned and breathed and moaned.

“You haven’t felt any wetness gushing from between your legs?” Hope checked to make sure that her membranes hadn’t broken.

Claire grit her teeth and shook her head, groaning low and deep. It took a minute for the pains to subside.

“Let’s help her onto the bed,” Hope said to Reece. “First, pile some pillows up at the head of the bed. Claire won’t feel comfortable lying flat.”

He did as she asked. They helped Claire lie back on the bed; her upper body was propped against the pillows.

“This is bad,” Hope whispered to Reece as Claire’s next contraction started up.

“What?” Claire asked between pants. “What did you say?”

“I asked Reece to help me fetch some supplies.” She pushed some hair behind Claire’s ear. “I’m going to get you something to drink and a blanket. There are a couple of other items we need. It looks like these eggs are coming.”

“No! No, no, no, no!” Claire shook her head hard. “My mates. Magnar and Leukos aren’t here. I need them.” She groaned, clutching her stomach again.

“They’ll be here soon.” Another lie she prayed was the truth. “Also, this is your first pregnancy and even though it seems like you’re progressing quickly, it usually takes time to fully dilate.” Hope prayed that this was true as well.

“Come with me,” she told Reece. “We’ll be back in a sec.” She glanced at Claire, who nodded while breathing through her contraction.

Hope pulled Reece into the bathroom, handing him some towels. “I need to do a check, but I suspect that Claire’s labor is moving quickly.”

“The eggs are coming?”

She nodded. “The eggs are most definitely coming. Her contractions look quite severe and they’re coming fast and furious.” She pulled in a breath. “I’m worried. I was hoping and praying they wouldn’t get their hands on Claire, but I think Ekon plans on harming the babies. It sounds like he’s changed his crazy-ass mind about keeping them. He wants Claire now, instead…not the chicks.”

“It does sound like he wants Claire, but we don’t know for sure that he plans on harming the chicks,” Reece tried. She could see he wasn’t convinced. That he was trying to talk himself into believing it. “Who would harm innocent chicks?”

“A madman. Ekon talked about burying them. Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but this place has everything a woman could want. From clothing to toiletries. There’s nothing here for babies. No cribs, no diapers, or baby clothing. Isn’t that strange to you, considering he planned on kidnapping a heavily pregnant woman? He talks about Claire’s pregnancy and babies with revulsion. The asshat said himself that he can’t wait to plant his own seed inside her. He’s disgusting and vile and evil. I’m very worried about Claire and her little ones.”

“Ekon is a madman. I agree with you about all of this, but…I don’t think we should tell Claire.”

“Hell no!” She chewed on her lip. “If Claire has these eggs…” She shook her head. “If Ekon finds out that they are here.” She shook her head again, not wanting to contemplate what would happen.

“Is there any way to stop the laying?”

She shook her head. “No! She’s too far along. It is her due date and it would therefore be dangerous to attempt such a thing. I don’t have any medical supplies, anyway. Even if I did, I would let things progress normally. I have to help her lay these eggs.”

“I’ll give my life to protect those chicks.” His jaw tightened.

Hope felt everything inside her soften as she looked into his determined stare. She took his hand. “I know you will, but…” She gnawed her lips. “I’m really afraid, and hoping to god it doesn’t come down to that. Do you think Leukos will find out about this soon?”

Reece nodded. He squeezed her hand. “He will send an army as soon as he does. Ekon didn’t think this through at all.”

“I hope that they make it here in time.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

“Like I said before, one thing at a time. We can’t control what happens outside of this nest. We will tackle this head-on…together.”

Hope nodded. “You’re right.”

Claire wailed from the other room. They quickly walked back. “What took you so long?” she cried.

“Trying to find supplies,” Hope quickly came up with.

“Did you see Ekon, or did they bring you straight here?” Reece asked.

“No.” Claire shook her head, clutching her belly. “They brought me straight here.”

“Do they know you’re in labor?” he asked.

“No!” She shook her head some more. “It started to get worse towards the end of the flight, but I held it in. I didn’t want them to know. I know that Ekon wants to take them from me.”

“Don’t think about that now.” Hope rubbed the side of her arm. “You’re doing really well.”

“What happened after Hope and I were taken?” Reece asked Claire. “Was it Locke who sounded the alarm?”

“Yes, it was Locke.” Claire licked her lips, breathing hard after a big contraction. “Water…please.”

“Blast me! Of course.” Reece ran to the refrigerator, throwing it open. He grabbed what looked like ten bottles of water and jogged back. After dumping a pile of them on the bed, he started to hand one to Claire, then cussed, cracking the bottle open. “Can I help you with that, my lady?”

Claire nodded, her face pinched with pain. He held it to her lips. Claire clutched at the bottle and drank deeply. “Thank you,” she finally said.

Reece put the bottle down on the side table. “There are plenty more.”

Claire started up with her breathing again. “Not again,” she moaned.

“Another one?” Hope asked.

Claire nodded.

Shit!This was going too quickly

Reece stood and began pacing. He paced during her entire contraction. As her breathing normalized, he sat down next to her. “My queen, I need to know what happened after we were taken.”

“Andy found your note…” she huffed out a few breaths. “So we knew that you were pretending to be me.” Claire spoke quickly, her face pinched. “I was sent to a nest on the outskirts of—”

“To the east of our lands?” Reece asked.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I was sent with Delise, Locke, Andy, and Zaire. The theory was that if you were here as me, that I would be safe. That the fewer people who knew where I really was, the better. Magnar and Leukos pretended to be frantic with worry. A fake search for me ensued. It was—.”

“That’s good. I take it that they didn’t harm Delise when they came for you?”

Claire shook her head.

“That’s good. She will let Leukos know that you are gone. This is important, my queen. Who else knew that you were fine after Hope and I were taken? Who knew that the search was fake?”

“Is this necessary?” Hope checked in. “Right now?”

“Only those with me, my mates… Oh, and Shard.”

She watched as Reece’s eyes flared with rage. They brightened. Another contraction started up.

“I will need some items to help with the laying,” Hope said to Reece, trying to divert his attention.

“What else do we need?” Reece asked through clenched teeth.

Hope gave him a list of household items that would work. The eggs were coming sooner than anticipated. Claire’s contractions weren’t letting up.

Hope fetched a washcloth and a bowl, filling the bowl with water. She used the cloth to wipe Claire’s brow. “I need to check on how things are progressing,” she told Claire as her contraction subsided. “Do you want more to drink?”

Claire shook her head. “I’m sure I’m far more than just a centimeter.” She gave a weak smile, looking exhausted. Her hair was plastered to her forehead. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She grabbed Hope’s hand. “I can’t do this without Leukos and Magnar. I can’t!”

There was a loud screech from outside. Then another and another.

Hope looked over at Reece. He had several feathers sprouting from his chest. He looked taller and far more muscular. His eyes were glowing. “Our army has arrived.” His voice was gravelly.

Claire sobbed with both pain and relief. Her eyes widened, and she groaned.

“Another one?” Hope asked.

Claire nodded. “Except this time, I feel the need to push!” she yelled.