MATED TO THE BEAST ALPHA BROTHERS
Chapter 50: How deep can pain be?

Chapter 50: How deep can pain be?

"No one move."

Archer’s voice was sharp, a blade slicing through the tense air.

Haelyn stood in the doorway, her breath shallow, her body trembling. She looked like a ghost....pale, broken, and barely standing. Her once-bright eyes were dim, her hair clinging to her sweat-drenched face.

Artemis took a slow step forward but halted when Cerius raised a hand.

"It could still be Keres," Cerius warned, his voice low and wary.

Marlyil clenched her fists. "She looks terrible. If it is Keres, she’s hiding it well."

Xander’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. "Then why hasn’t she attacked?"

Ravi, silent until now, murmured, "Because something is wrong."

And then Haelyn screamed.

It was a sound that sent chills down their spines....a cry of raw, gut-wrenching pain. Her hands flew to her stomach as her body doubled over.

"Haelyn!" Artemis rushed forward.

"No!" Cerius tried to pull him back, but Artemis was already at Haelyn’s side, gripping her shoulders.

Haelyn whimpered, her legs giving out. Artemis caught her before she hit the floor.

"She’s burning up," Artemis gasped.

Cerius exchanged a look with Archer. If Keres were still inside her, they’d all be dead by now.

"Then where the hell is Keres?" Xander muttered.

Haelyn clutched Artemis’s wrist with weak fingers. "Please... help me."

Marlyil moved in, pressing her hand against Haelyn’s forehead. Her expression turned grim. "She’s in labor."

Archer cursed. "We need to get her to the hospital. Now."

Xander and Ravi moved instantly, lifting Haelyn between them. She cried out again, her body convulsing with another wave of pain.

"Hold on, Haelyn," Ravi muttered, his grip firm but careful.

Cerius stormed ahead, barking orders. "Get the car ready! And summon Seraphis....she’s going to need all the strength she can get."

Marlyil’s face was pale as she followed. "She’s too weak. If they don’t combine their powers, she won’t make it through this."

"Then let’s pray Seraphis gets there in time," Archer said grimly.

As they rushed toward the exit, a shadow flickered at the edge of their vision.

Cerius halted, eyes narrowing at the darkened hallway.

For a split second, he swore he saw something....something watching.

Not Haelyn.

Something else.

"Where is Keres?"

The question hung in the air, heavy and foreboding.

And somewhere in the darkness, something shifted.

"She’s losing too much blood!"

Marlyil’s voice cut through the chaos as the car sped through the streets. Haelyn lay slumped against Archer, her breaths shallow, her skin clammy and pale. Sweat drenched her as another violent contraction wracked through her body.

"Haelyn, stay with me!" Archer’s voice was raw with desperation, his arms tightening around her trembling form.

Her lips parted, a weak breath escaping.

"Drive faster, damn it!" he barked at Cerius, who was already pushing the engine to its limits.

"We’re almost there!" Cerius growled, eyes locked on the road ahead.

In the backseat, Xander pressed his hands against Haelyn’s stomach, his magic sparking to life. "I can slow the bleeding, but she’s too weak!"

"Do it!" Archer snapped.

Ravi placed a hand on Haelyn’s forehead, his energy surging. "Her life force is flickering....she won’t last unless we...."

A sharp gasp cut him off.

Haelyn’s eyes flew open....gold burning into black.

A sinister chill filled the car.

"No...." Archer barely had time to react before a violent force exploded from her body, slamming into them all.

The car veered wildly as Cerius fought for control.

"What the hell was that?!"

Marlyil coughed, shaking off the impact. "That wasn’t Haelyn... that was...."

Haelyn’s body arched, her fingers clawing at the seat. Her mouth opened, but the sound that escaped wasn’t human.

It was a sound of death.

The windshield cracked. The streetlights flickered. A thick black mist curled from her skin like living shadows.

Artemis stiffened. "Keres....?"

Haelyn spasmed violently. Her eyes flickered between her own and something far darker.

"Where... is... she?" Her voice twisted, layered—hers, but not hers.

Xander’s breath hitched. "Keres isn’t inside her... but she’s still connected to her."

Marlyil’s hands trembled. "That’s impossible."

"Then explain this!" Archer shouted, gripping Haelyn’s face. "Haelyn, look at me! Stay with me!"

Her head snapped toward him, but it wasn’t her staring back.

"She’s watching," came the rasping whisper.

The temperature plummeted.

A sinister chuckle spilled from Haelyn’s lips—one that did not belong to her.

"And she’s coming."

The car jerked violently as something massive struck the side, sending them careening off the road.

Glass shattered. Metal twisted.

Archer lunged for Haelyn...

But she was ripped from his grasp.

The world flipped upside down.

And then....darkness.

"Help... please, don’t let her take my child."

Haelyn’s voice was barely a whisper, but it shattered the silence like a scream.

Archer staggered to his feet, heart pounding as he turned toward her.

She stood in the middle of the road, her hair wild, her gown torn, but her golden eyes were her own again. No darkness. No Keres. Just raw, desperate fear.

"Haelyn...." He took a step forward, hands reaching out.

"She’s gone," she whispered. Her whole body trembled, her hands clutching her stomach. "Keres... she’s gone."

A sharp gust of wind howled through the trees, but it carried no malice, no lingering presence of the entity that had tormented them. It was just the night, cold and indifferent.

Artemis pushed himself up from the wreckage, his shoulder bleeding. "What the hell just happened? One second she was possessed, the next...."

"It doesn’t matter right now," Marlyil cut in, rushing to Haelyn’s side. "She needs help. We need to get to the hospital...."

Cerius groaned, inspecting the totaled car. "Yeah? And how the hell do we do that? This thing isn’t going anywhere."

Xander swore under his breath. "We’re in the middle of nowhere. We won’t make it in time on foot."

Haelyn swayed dangerously. Archer caught her just as her legs gave out, cradling her against him. Her body burned against his skin, her breathing ragged.

"She’s getting weaker," Ravi muttered, his hands hovering over her stomach. "The baby....he’s still strong, but she’s..."

"She’s fading."

Archer clenched his jaw, his grip tightening. "No. No, she’s not." He pressed his forehead against hers. "Stay with me, Haelyn."

Her fingers curled into his shirt. "I... I don’t want to die..."

Headlights cut through the darkness.

The distant roar of an approaching car.

Archer’s head snapped up.

"Someone’s coming!" Xander called out.

The black SUV screeched to a stop. The doors flew open.

Seraphis and Rowena.

Seraphis took one look at Haelyn and cursed under her breath. "Get her in the car.....now!"

There was no hesitation.

Archer lifted Haelyn into his arms and rushed toward the vehicle. Marlyil and Ravi climbed in after them.

"Go!" Artemis barked, slamming the door shut as Cerius and Xander scrambled in.

The moment the car shot forward, Haelyn clutched Archer’s wrist.

"You’ll protect him, right?" Her voice was faint, her golden eyes pleading.

Archer’s throat tightened. "With my life."

She smiled weakly, eyes fluttering shut.

"Haelyn....."

"She’s just unconscious," Seraphis reassured him, though her gaze was grim.

The hospital came into view. They barely waited for the car to stop before they were rushing her inside.

Doctors. Nurses. A blur of voices and movement.

Archer refused to let go until they forced him to.

Then... the wait.

Minutes felt like hours. The silence was unbearable.

Then,

A cry.

A baby’s first wail. Loud. Healthy. Alive.

Archer exhaled, a weight lifting from his chest. "A boy..."

But Seraphis wasn’t smiling.

Marlyil’s fingers tightened around Archer’s wrist.

The doctor stepped out, eyes somber.

"The baby is safe."

Archer’s heart stopped. "And Haelyn?"

A beat of silence.

"She hasn’t woken up."

Archer’s world cracked.

He pushed past them, shoving open the door.

There she was. Pale. Motionless.

Breathing... but barely.

"No, no, no." He dropped to his knees beside her, grasping her hand. "Haelyn, wake up. You did it. Our son is here. You have to wake up."

Nothing.

He felt something inside him break.

"Haelyn!"

No response.

Only the beeping of the monitors. The sound of their newborn crying in the next room.

And the crushing silence of the woman he loved slipping further away.