Chapter 23

Berlin

Daddy used to sing lullabies to my brothers and I when we were young. They were sweet songs about the joys of life and the value of love. I liked to think that I had learned a lot from the lyrics about how wonderful a privilege it is to simply be alive.

That's why when I learned of the innocent pup growing inside of me, my will to survive this hellish experience skyrocketed. I couldn't be selfish and only think of myself, because I had an obligation to my baby. I promised myself that no matter what, I'd be the best mommy in the entire world.

However, in this moment I wasn't feeling so optimistic.

I was hyper-aware of the stabbing pain in my stomach, right on the top of my baby bump that was just beginning to form. Callie's face sneered down at me with a twisted scowl, one that eerily reminded me of those that Max was so prone to display in his features. Just the thought terrified me, and if I wasn't so concerned about the precious life of Osias and I's baby, I would've been paralyzed on the floor in fear.

Nonetheless, my strength was already depleted from the days of beatings, starvation, and the mental stress of caring for my unborn pup, so much so that my desperate yanking and tugging at Callie's ankle to move her sharp heel away from my tummy did practically nothing.

"You think I'd let you get to my Master that easily? He's my mate you know." Her voice barely registered in my mind, but when it did I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for her. The Incubi had clearly deceived her as well, making her believe that he was her mate and that he somehow loved her. I wish I'd known she was suffering so much over being a Lone Wolf, I would have tried my best to find a way to help her, but instead she fell prey to the hypnosis of the same demon who also deceived Max.

I could only sob tears of dismay and helplessness. For by unborn baby, for Osias, for Corey, and for Ortiz. They all risked their lives to save me; someone who means close to nothing to them in the ultimate scheme of their life. I was like a speck of dust in an infinite plane of bigger, better things. At least, that's how I felt.

I sobbed because the one time that my existence was actually needed, everything was about to be taken away.

What felt like a million years of being crushed beneath Callie's heel was probably only two seconds, but my mind was racing so frantically that it was hard to tell. I could only focus on one thing, and that was my motherly instinct to protect my child. I begged to the Goddess to save me, and I think that she finally heard me because it didn't take long until my situation suddenly took a turn for the better.

Osias' huge wolf suddenly flew over me, tackling Callie to the ground hard enough that I heard bone snap, followed by a piercing scream of pain. I winced at the sound but took no time to evaluate the situation - instead I scurried away from the scene with a whimper and curled up in a ball in the farthest corner. My sore forearms wrapped protectively around my tiny baby bump to silently assure the ray of sunshine that everything was going to be okay - even though I wasn't even confident in my own words.

I could feel my entire body shaking with fright at the sounds of tearing flesh and blood-curdling screams all around me. I knew that there was practically a war going on in the room, but I couldn't bring myself to lift my head and aid my friends, knowing that I would have just been a handicap to them. My eyes felt heavy, almost as if an ethereal being was telling me to avert them from the scene, and I did just that. The best that I could do was hope that Osias was doing his best to protect us.

And I trusted him to do just that. With all of my heart.

"COREY, RUN!" Came Osias's deep, authoritative voice from across the room, and I flinched against the wall when I noticed the ounce of pain that hid just beneath the surface. I wasn't anywhere near prepared when I suddenly froze up, and my mind became cloudy as memories of the trauma of seeing Max die flooded my consciousness. It was almost as if I lost control of my bodily functions as I began to convulse, screaming aloud as my hands desperately clutched at my ears. I could feel blood drip down my hands as I dug into my skin, trying to pry my ears from my very skull in order to make it stop.

It was too loud.

Everything was too loud.

It was too much.

Strong arms wrapped around my body, picking me up with what seemed to be little to no effort. I immediately recognized the scent of my mate in human form, instinctively curling my body into the safe confines of his broad chest which was sweaty and smeared with blood as I continued to grab at my ears.

I still had yet to open my eyes.

I knew that if one sense was already overloaded, opening them would probably only serve to make things worse.

"Baby, please! Open your eyes! Hurry, he's about to get back up!" Osias's urgent tone jostled me out of the cluttered confines of my mind, my eyes flying open involuntarily in pure shock. He'd never spoken to me with such an urgent tone, and it scared me to no end.

"I- I..." I stuttered out, tears of confusion and pain sliding down my cheeks as Osias bent down to deposit me in a corner that was even farther away from the fighting, and I clung to him for dear life, refusing to part from the sense of security he offered.

"P-please... D-d-don't leave m-me!" I begged, sobs ripping through my body as I caught sight of Callie's lifeless body, her stomach torn open and her entrails spilling out onto the now blood-soaked carpet. I choked on my sob, my entire body feeling as if it was on the brink of shutting down.

"I'll be back. I promise." He quickly muttered to me in an effort of reassurance, the intent to murder laced deep into his alpha tone as his eyes swirled with a bright golden hue, indicating that his wolf was absolutely furious.

With that, he turned his back to me and took a protective stance as Max began to gain his bearings once again, and I let out an even louder sob at the sight of the three deep, heavily bleeding, parallel slashes that ran diagonally, right across his toned back.

For once the situation was completely flipped, as I couldn't find the ability to look away as the demon walked with a drunken swagger and a cocky, crooked smirk; almost falling over his own legs as blood from the corner of his mouth dripped down to the rest of his face before smearing back up as if he attempted to wipe it away. It reminded me of a child that got too messy with finger paints.

"LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE WANTED TO JOIN THE PARTY!" Max yelled out, his head swinging dramatically over to Callie's lifeless body. It would have been comical, how fast his smirk turned to a pout, if it were not a life-or-death situation. This one was foul, a brutal concoction of insanity and Power-Hungry Monster.

"Shame she had to die like that, I really could have had such a fun time with what I had planned for her demise. Nonetheless, you really did a number on her, Osi!" Max bellowed, his legs crossing over the other as he tried to continue towards Osias, clapping his hands in a congratulatory manner. His use of my mate's nickname caused me to flinch in distaste, and I could tell that Osias had a similar reaction, as his back muscles that weren't slashed up by Max's claws flexed in what could only be read as annoyance.

"Shut the fuck up and stop stalling." Osias sneered, his heavily bruised fists clenching and unclenching. I could feel his rage through our mating bond, and it ripped through me almost as if it was my own emotion. The power of it was overwhelming, which means that Osias must have been absolutely furious.

Not that I could blame him.

For the first time in my life, I thought that killing was somewhat justified. Taking this monster from the world would be a gift to humanity.

The demon simply collapsed into another fit of laughter, somehow thinking that this situation was somehow a joke; like his life was not on the brink of being taken away.

"You're hilarious, I've got to give you that." He mused, clutching his stomach as he breathed through the laughter. I could see the veins in Osias's neck, forearms, and biceps straining against his tanned skin as Max continued his ridiculous actions, and I silently commended him for his restraint.

Although I knew he was bound to snap at any moment.

Max's giggles came to a sudden halt, as if he had a revelation in the middle of all of the chaos that was ensuing. I knew that this moment was the most important. The slight movement of Osias's toned calf told me all that I needed to know, and the fact that Corey had a bloodied, unconscious Ortiz cradled in his arms on the far end of the room told me that he wasn't planning on moving any time soon.

This was the final battle.

One will come out the winner, and the other: Dead.

Osias was the first to strike.

He took no time in swinging forward to land a hard punch on Max's jawline, a sickening crack echoing through the room from the sheer force of the attack. The veins in my mate's temples were bulging, his face red as he took the moment of disarmament to take Max down to the floor - taking advantage of Max's bloodied leg that he shot earlier by kicking it with his foot.

Max let out a scream like none other I'd ever heard from him, and the resonance of his voice shot a sharp shiver down my spine, causing me to flinch against the blood-spattered wall. I let out a soft whimper, squeezing my eyes shut and covering my ears once more.

Please, let it be over.

Please, just let him live.

I whispered to the goddess earnestly, my hear beating as my salty tears began flowing even more. The reality of the situation was already much too heavy for me to handle, but when it dawned on me that I would potentially have to go through yet another loss of someone I loved, I had to bite my lip to resist screaming in angst.

I tried my best to drown out all of the sounds around me, finding myself drifting off into a state of nothingness as I drowned in the black abyss of my eyelids. The few agonizing crunches and grunts that I heard through my ears were torture, and to make it worse I couldn't even tell who they originated from.

All that I could do was cry.

It felt like time moved in slow motion as I waited. I must have lived a million lifetimes in the moments that I sat there, anticipating the outcome of the battle. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, it was almost as if they were glued shut to protect me from the horror ensuing.

There was a loud grunt, which I could tell was from Osias.

Then, it was silent.

I waited, shaking against the wall as heavy breathing filled the room.

Was it over?

There was only one way to know.

I was finally able to open my red eyes, but I can't describe how much I wished that they would have just stayed closed forever.

My throat constricted to the point where I struggled to breathe, and a fresh batch of never-ending tears flowed down my cheeks.

The sight of his bloody, lifeless body laying in a pile of his own guts in the middle of the carpet; his bright eyes left open and frozen in a final stare was too much for me, and I struggled to believe the truth.

I sobbed aloud, wrapping my arms around myself to keep from hyperventilating.

It couldn't be...

But it was.

He was gone.