Chapter 3 | The Chaos

~Nyla~

Most of the guests were in the banquet hall already, and breakfast was being served as I walked into the bedroom with Skylar and Maya. The pack doctor was on her way. 

My heart was hammering against my chest, thinking about Wyatt, dreading the words his mother was speaking.

"You will be the first one to know if anything happens to him. If the worst happens, you will feel the bond break, and the pain that comes with it."

All four of us paced the room anxiously. This was such a terrible time for the baby to come. Melanie, our pack doctor, told me only this Tuesday that I wasn't due at least until next week. My contractions were getting closer, and she was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you think the pack hospital is busy treating our wounded? What's taking Mel so long?" Skylar asked her mother.

"No idea what's going on. It's been a while, definitely not a false alarm."

"Why can't they just keep their mind links open to let us know what's happening there?" I asked. I would have felt a lot more at ease getting more frequent updates.

"It drains a lot of energy to keep it open. That's the last thing they can afford to do in the middle of a fight." Skylar replied.

"Would you be okay if a midwife delivers your baby?" The Queen asked me. 

I had no idea what a midwife was. Kylee went over a lot of things, but there was only so much about humans that I could remember. And I wasn't even sure if the midwife was a pack thing or a human thing, so I kept quiet."

"Will there be a problem if the midwife does it?" Maya asked.

"I don't think they have much experience. No one gets their help unless in extreme situations like this."

I was scared. But Mel and the nurses should be treating the warriors because she was needed more over there. Why the hell did the Storm Moon Pack have to turn rogue all of a sudden? Was it their plan all the way along, or did the news of coronation trigger it?

Whatever it was, they were a force to be reckoned with. The King's council took it somewhat lightly about this rogue pack because they were claiming some faraway lands close to their home until now.

Based on what Wyatt told me last night, they were anything but a rogue pack. They had a relatively peace-loving Alpha two years back until he died, and his brother Alpha Kian took over. 

When Wyatt had his Alpha ceremony two years back, a young Kian seems to have visited our Red Crescent Pack with his mate, Leah. Wyatt was looking for a mate for years and was about to take a chosen mate when he failed to find me. He said he was jealous of the bond that Alpha Kian shared with his soulmate.

It was one of the reasons why Wyatt didn't go ahead with his initial plan to mate with his chosen Luna. I felt that Alpha Kian was somehow responsible for making him wait for me. All those warm and fuzzy well wishes for him disappeared now. Recent rumors painted him in such a dreadful light. 

He never caused any trouble to us or our ally packs so far. If rumors were true about his ruthlessness or his battle skills, we were all in big trouble. 

With so many packs gathered at the palace, the amount of destruction could be heavy. There were always unhappy packs, plotting revenge packs, and traitor packs. They submitted to the Alpha King only because they had no other choice. If all the gathered guests took sides, it was only a matter of time before either Wyatt or Kian would die today.

My contractions got worse, and I had to lie down on the bed. The midwife showed up in no time after that.

"Shit!" Skylar gasped in a panic when she heard something on the mind link.

"What?" Maya and I looked at Skylar and the Queen. It wasn't Wyatt, but who?

"Beta Vance is down." Skylar's eyes were filled with tears. Vance was Wyatt and Skylar's cousin besides being the Beta.

"I will link Michael," Skylar decided to keep it from her husband until now so that the guests didn't go into a frenzy and start killing each other. Michael was the Alpha of the Silver Bow Pack, which was very loyal to the King.

"Yes, I think it's time to let all the packs here know so that they can help us fight," The Queen agreed. "We need to enforce our security first. We will be one of the first targets of the traitor packs."

"It will be their last day then," Maya said and walked to the door. I will keep watch until we get more reinforcement here.

The Queen linked the palace security.

"Send all our Ally packs to the border. We can hide in the tunnels." I told Skylar.

Maya and I were very familiar with the tunnels through which we entered and exited the palace on full moon nights without raising any suspicion. Wyatt told me about a soundproof one which wasn't very big, but most of our women could hide there.

"What about the rest of the women and children?" I asked the Queen.

"I will see to it that they are sent to one of the tunnels."

Skylar was late. The Night Walker Pack got the news of the attack before she could get the necessary arrangements made. Chaos erupted in less than two minutes of her leaving the bedroom.

"Maaayaaa!!!!" She came back running upstairs as men followed her.

Maya let Skylar come inside and locked us in the room as she went out. I could hear bones crunching, and howls and screams hit the roof.

All three of us had our eyes glued to the door. If it opens, it means Maya failed to fend them off. Within two minutes, the door opened, and I jumped out of the bed and the Queen and Skylar ran for cover. The midwife's hands shivered in fear as she clung to my arm. 

"Wyatt! Oh my God! You are hurt." I broke into tears when I saw his bleeding shoulder.

He squeezed me into a bone-crushing hug and wiped the tears off my face.

"I am fine. We need to get you out of here."

"The baby is coming, Wyatt. Will they kill our baby?" I sobbed loudly, unable to keep calm anymore. I saw the expression on his face and knew already that we were all going to die today.

"I won't let anything happen to you or the baby. Let's go. Skylar! Michael's Beta is looking for you. A chopper is on its way from your Silver Bow Pack to get you to safety. Ma, you follow Skylar too..."

Wyatt turned to us and led the way to the tunnels. The midwife carried all her tools and followed us. 

"Aaiee!!!" I screamed in horror when I stepped over Kylee's dead body. It was only minutes ago that I thanked her for working wonders with my hair. She lay in a pool of her own blood now.

"How did things go so out of control? It was supposed to be our special day..." I couldn't keep calm no matter how many deep breaths I took or what Wyatt told me. His face exuded sadness and helplessness.

“No, please! Don’t leave me. I feel terrified! I need you here. Our baby needs you here.” I implored him to change his mind, as he was going to leave me in the tunnel with Maya and the midwife.

A sharp contraction racked my body, and I felt acutely lightheaded. The pain of not seeing my husband again was a thousand times more excruciating than these incessant contractions. I screamed in agony one more time as the shooting pain got worse.

"I'm so sorry, baby!" His voice cracked. "We don't have much time left. He will be here anytime now."

"If he's going to kill us anyway, can we not die together? Please stay with me." I was shaking with sobs."

He rushed towards the makeshift bed and placed a finger on my lips.

"Don't say that! You are not going to die. I still have a few men left. I'll hold him off as long as I can."

I tried to stop him, but he talked in rapid succession, giving me instructions.

"The baby is almost here. Ralph is waiting on the other side of this trapdoor. He will take you to safety as soon as the baby comes out. Please listen to me for once."

He looked at the midwife and she nodded assuringly.

"Goodbye, Nyla. I'll always love you."

And just like that, he rushed out of the room without looking back. The midwife got up from her seat the next moment, preparing to leave.