The Night Everything Changed

Hillary's P O V

Aunt Sonya, Hailey, my little sister, and I are at our small dining table, eating the dinner I prepared, when thunder rumbles furiously, and the light flickers repeatedly before plunging the house into darkness. After countless times of power outages and zero attempts to fix it, we've learned to live with it. 

When Mom told me my aunt would come for Hailey and me, I realized for the first time I had one. Arriving at her home in the village and seeing the modest life she lived brought another painful realization.

I drop my fork and say, “I’ll get the candles.”

I push to my feet and slowly lower back to the chair when a sharp pain slices through my lower abdomen. I hiss, rubbing my stomach. I hate to admit it, but my mom's imprisonment gave me an edge to keep my unborn child. And honestly, I don't feel any guilt for keeping it. 

Keeping the baby is the only thing I've done right in nine months, the one reason I get to sleep some nights, and half the reason I keep fighting to survive; my parents are the other half. I have to release my parents, which is why I've applied for scholarships to go back to school.

“Hill,” Aunt Sonya calls through the dark, reaching for my hand. “Is it the baby?”

“I think…” I gasp, feeling warm water dripping down my legs as though I wet myself. Remembering the gynecologist's words about water breaking, I quickly say in a trembling voice, “I think my water just broke.”

“Oh goddess,” she says, her voice coated with worry. “Let me quickly call a taxi.”

Hailey acts impervious to my painful moans. When I writhe, causing the table to jerk, she walks off, leaving me to wallow in pain. Tears spill down my face, fueled by Hailey's resentment. She never stops hating me for being the reason our parents are imprisoned. I've labored day and night to earn her forgiveness, making sure she doesn't stop her education as I did, but it's never enough.

After the long wait for a taxi, one finally arrives, and Aunty Sonya takes me to the hospital. The urge to push vanishes when we arrive. After being admitted, the gynecologist injects me with a hot injection that stimulates labor.

Three hours later, I lie helpless in a hospital bed, my vision dim. Aunt Sonya is standing with the gynecologist, discussing, their voices indistinct. Her worried look says it all; something is wrong with the baby and me.

Aunt Sonya scurries to my side, gripping my hand. “Your blood pressure is dropping, Hill.  You're only 2 cm dilated,” she says quickly. “The doctor recommended surgery immediately. It’s going to be okay soon.”

She kisses my forehead.

I want to beg her to save my child if anything goes wrong, but I end up muttering nonsense instead. The gynecologist returns with a team of nurses. One holds IV fluids, another a tray of instruments.

Cold cotton brushes my skin, then a syringe pierces my vein.

“Be strong.” Aunt Sonya's voice echoes, distant and distorted.

The lights over me blur, stretching into glowing stars. Slowly, everything fades.

The next moment I'm in my dark room sleeping my tiredness away. I sense a presence behind me. I can tell from the petrichor scent that it's Lester. Even though it feels real, I know for a fact it's just another nightmare.

“Hey,” he says in his husky voice that makes my skin crawl.

I try to cover my ears to stop myself from hearing his false promises, but my hands won't obey. What's this weakness?

“I never stopped looking for you—”

“Stop,” I say weakly, interrupting.

“Hey.” The bed rustles as he closes the space between us. The next second, his warm palm was on my cheek, tilting my face upward. “Hey, look at me.”

I try to leave the bed and go far away from him, but the weakness deprives me of moving a muscle.

“I command you to open your eyes!” he orders, using his aura.

Instantly, despite the weakness that overshadowed me, I snap my eyes open and stare at his red eyes that glow in the dark. The red light in his eyes spreads and shifts to a white light. The light brightens the room.

Suddenly, a crushing pressure slams my chest. Someone is pressing down on me repeatedly; their grunts accompany the pitched sound in my ears.

“Hill,” Ben calls, breathing heavily. His hand palms a side of my face. “You made it.”

As my vision gets better, I see Benjamin in the operating room. A smile spread across his tired face. He has been the one giving me CPR. He didn't give up on me even though I'm not his real mate.

Ben has been my savior after my parents went to prison. He miraculously came to my rescue as he filled in as my baby's father and mate. Without him, everything would have ended because the rules governing all packs are strict. One of them is against having a child as a single mother unless in some unexpected instance.

“Hill!” Aunt Sonya calls, sobbing, and I tilt my head to face her.

A doctor and a team of nurses are standing next to her, their faces as white as snow.

She walks to me, doubles over, and hugs me. Sobbing, she says, “Thank you for fighting through.” She kisses my forehead and smiles. “Thank you for coming back to take care of your baby.”

The doctors insisted I rest before I'd be taken to see my baby, so I obeyed, eager to hold him for the first time.

Aunt Sonya keeps me busy with stories to ensure I rest, but I keep spacing out, thinking about the encounter I had with Lester. Did his order really bring me back to life? I shake my head, refusing to believe it. It must be a coincidence. 

A few seconds after Aunt Sonya leaves to use the restroom, the hospital room door swings open, and Benjamin walks in with my bundle of joy in his arms. My heart flutters in joy, my hands itch to feel him, and I drag myself to sit up, ignoring the pain in my lower abdomen.

“I know you can't wait to see him,” he says, gently placing Hayden in my arms.

Hayden coos, opening his eyes; he's staring directly at Mummy. His amber eyes melt my heart and reform it with fragile hope.

“Hi, Hayden,” I say softly, waving at little Hayden, tears streaking my face. “It's so nice to meet you, and I promise to be a loving, caring mom. Okay.”

“Hayden, huh,” Ben says playfully. “Such a nice name for such a cute boy like him.”

I chuckle faintly. “Thank you…for standing in as his father. It means a lot.”

“Wait until you see this,” he says in a guttural voice and unfolds a document, placing it in front of me. “I've been appointed as a resident doctor at Moon Pack teaching hospital, and I want you to come with me as my mate and as the father of my son.”

“Ben, I'm…” I trail off with a rough sigh, scared to say my mind. The offer is good, moving to a developed pack with him and probably getting a scholarship, but it's too early to have a relationship with another man. I need time to heal from the pain Lester inflicted on me.

But I can't tell him that. I'll be doomed if he leaves and never comes back, so I say, “I don't know how to say this, and I don't think words would be enough to express how grateful I am. Thank you so, so much for this opportunity.”

“Seriously,” he teases, thumbing my tears away. “I should have kept this to myself if I knew it was going to make you cry.”

His phone starts to ring, and he excuses himself to pick up the call.

Hayden coos the second time, and my attention shifts to my bundle of joy. My mood lightens just by looking at him. Instinctively, I lower my gown, guide him to my breast, and he latches eagerly. I laugh softly, amused by how gluttonous he is.

The sight fills me with purpose: to protect Hayden and free my parents from prison.

And with Benjamin acting as my mate and Hayden’s father, my goals suddenly feel achievable.