“But, what if they aren’t?” I asked as I pulled away. “I know this is part of their job, and I’m going to have to deal with how dangerous it can be, but they have to come back. I need to know more about their lifestyle. How will I raise a shifter, when I don’t know anything about them?”
I was beginning to feel a little panicked, but I pushed it down. I told myself it was not the time for a meltdown. I had to be strong for Ava.
“You will always have us,” Bear said as he leaned forward on the chair. He had his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together. “That baby will have a team of shifters to help her. Neither of you will ever be alone.”
I smiled my thanks at him, then gasped as a sharp pain shot through my lower back.
“What’s wrong? Sam?” Liz grabbed my hand.
I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, but the pain was persistent. “I don’t know,” I groaned. “My back has been hurting all day, but this feels… different.”
As soon as I finished the sentence, the pain dulled, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “There, it’s gone now.”
Liz’s eyebrows furrowed. “Are you having contractions?”
“I don’t think so, I mean, I still have another four weeks until my due date.”
Liz rolled her eyes at me. “That’s far enough along. You could be going into premature labor. Let’s call the doctor and see what he says.”
“That’s a good idea,” Bear said.
Another sharp pain speared through my lower back, and I gasped, clutching Liz’s hand in my own.
“Just breathe,” Liz murmured, as she reached around me to rub my back with her free hand.
I focused on breathing in and out until the pain receded.
“I forgot to count. Do you know how long that was from the last one?” I heard Liz asked.
“Three minutes,” Bear answered swiftly.
“Let’s just call the doctor from the car. We should get to the hospital.”
Liz began to help me up, as Bear grabbed his keys. As soon as I got to my feet, I felt a small tug from between my legs, then suddenly, I was drenched. Liquid gushed down my legs and onto the hardwood floors. I looked up at Liz with wide eyes.
“Oh shit!” I heard Bear whisper from across the room.
Liz smiled at me. “It looks like we’re going to meet baby Ava today.”
31
Alex
A crowd of over a hundred people stood cheering and waving their hands, as if they were having the time of their lives. Bleachers surrounded the large arena, but most people were standing, jumping up and down excitedly.
Jordan and I were in the center of the arena. It was the size of a baseball field with a dirt floor and enclosed by a twenty-foot tall fence. It sunk into the ground lower than where the spectators sat, which was why they called it the trench. How the community was able to build such a thing underground was beyond me.
The air reeked of sweat and blood. The heat was almost extreme, and I wondered if that was affecting the boisterous crowd. I’d heard of high temperatures making people do strange things.
Turning my thoughts away from the crowd, I watched the four snarling, drugged up jaguars that were circling us, waiting for their next chance to pounce. I was bloodied and tired, but I wasn’t ready to quit yet.
I glanced to my right. Outside the fence, Alexander and Lee were chatting up the spectators, smiling, laughing and collecting money. My father looked at me and smiled. I growled, but he only laughed and continued his business.
Jordan and I had been fighting in the ring for over three weeks, and so far we hadn’t lost one yet. It had started out just one on one, then moved up to two to four. I was a little worried what would come next.
However, we found out that those fucked up cats were not as hard to beat down as we first thought. They were by no means easy, though. Those jaguars were sneaky, I had given them that, but without the surprise, Jordan and I had been able to come out fairly unscathed.
“Alex, I have to shift into my human form. I need the leverage.”
It was sometimes easier in human or half-shifted form, because we stood upright and could use our hands for an improved grip. We would also still have claws.
“Okay, I’ll stay like this a little longer. Have you gotten through to the team yet?”
“No, but keep trying. I don’t understand why no one’s answering.”
We’d been sending out our mental connection since we were captured, yet so far no one had replied. I was sure they were looking for us, but why hadn’t they contacted us? We could have told them what was going on and where we were.
We had discussed that maybe Paul had something to do with it. Maybe he told Alexander about the mental connection the team had and they did something to block it. I’d never heard of such a thing before, however, many things that seemed impossible only weeks before were now our reality. Including drugged out shifters with immense strength, fighting in an arena full of betting onlookers.