2

I chew my lip nervously, looking to drake who’s eyes are trained on her face. Nerves bubbling up inside him as he gauges her reaction.

“Your my real mummy and daddy now? Like for forever?”

She asks looking between us, I smile nodding my head

“Yeah, what do you think about that”

Her chin starts to wobble as she nods her head, grasping the page to her chest

“I really really love it”

She starts to sob, my heart dropping. I didn’t expect her reaction, happiness radiates from her as I pull her into my arms.

She climbs on my knee and she just hugs me, crying her little heart out. Drakes arms surround us, kissing our head as my own emotions hit me.

“I love you both so much”

Drake tells us, kissing us both on the head

“I love you to daddy, I love you mummy”

She cries out happily. We just sit there, enjoying the moment in each other’s arms.

————

Days pass in a blur, tonight we would be leaving for Baylees birthday trip to Aspen, she was so excited to go play in the snow and I had to admit her excitement was contagious.

She lets Dutch out to the bathroom before taking a seat at the table to eat breakfast. As Evelyn hands her her bowl her head snaps towards the door.

“What’s up?”

I ask her, handing her a spoon. She takes it shrugging

“I don’t know, I feel weird”

She tells me frowning at her food.

“Maybe your just over hungry, eat up and hopefully you will feel better after”

I tell her, she nods not saying anything, she takes a bite of food, chewing it slowly and swallowing. She squints as she lifts another spoonful but she gasps dropping it.

She grabs her chest, her heart starts to race as she jumps of the seat

“No no no no no”

She cries, flying out the door like a bat out of hell, I look to reggie, both of us confused as we get up and follow her.

As we get outside, drake stops training as he watches her sprint for the forest,

“Wait Baylee don’t go in there”

He shouts as we follow. We had been getting a lot of animal attacks over the last week.

“Shit it’s Dutch”

Layla cries pushing forward to sniff the air, then I hear her scream and my heart shatters. This isn’t a banshee scream this is a scream of pain and anxiety.

I round the corner and stop, gasping as we end up in a scene you could only imagine would happen in the movies.

Dutch wasn’t even outside that long, I don’t know how they had time to do it. Baylee screams, falling to her knees into a puddle of blood as she comes face to face with her best friend, ripped to tiny tiny pieces and thrown around the forest in chunks, her head lay by Baylees knees as she sobs.

Drake catches up with us gasping, I hadn’t moved an inch, unable to in shock.

“How is she going to get over this?”

Layla whimpers, Dutch was an amazing dog, she followed her around all day everyday, slept beside her in bed, played with her, protected her.

My own emotions hit me, tears spilling down my cheeks as I watch her little body shake in pain, her little heart ripping to pieces.

Drake goes to her side, lifting her little body and cradling her against him. His face was like stone as he turns to the shocked guards

“Get him, find the bastard and string him up! He will pay for this”

He barks at them, the tone of his voice kicking me from my shock as I rush to him, taking Baylee into my arms. Drake leads us back towards the house, stopping at the training field

“Practice is CANCELLED! I want Everyone in the forest looking for this bastard! NOW!!”

They immediately start running in all directions as Drake's angry aura smashes into them. I almost felt sorry for them but my own anger was beginning to brew inside me.

“Has she not been through enough!”

I ask layla. She whimpers, agreeing with me as I take off back towards the house, kissing Baylees little head.

“I’m so sorry baby, I’m so so sorry”

She doesn’t answer, she just cries, her little heart broken, she clings to me, her tiny body covered in blood.

I walk straight through the kitchen and up to our apartment to wash the blood off her, Sarah sobs as the news reaches her, I can’t even look in her direction or I’d end up sobbing too.

“Why didn’t I see it”

She cries to me as I place her on the bathroom counter. Turning on the shower I turn back to her

“Because he’s not a human”

“But either are we”

She whispers, I push her bloody hair from her face

“I know baby, but maybe it works differently? Come we need to wash this off”

I help her shower and redress, pulling on her bottoms and she climbs onto my knee, her tears hadn’t stopped the entire time. She was constantly crying, sometimes harder than other times.

I climb into bed with her, turning on the tv and I hold her. It takes a while before she finally falls asleep, exhausted.

Drake walks in sighing at the sight of her, he climbs in the other side, his eyes glassy as he looks at her.

“Anything?”

I ask, he shakes his head

“Not a peep.”

He tells me sadly, closing his eyes. We would be leaving in just a few short hours but I know she needed the sleep.

“How are we going to get her through this?”

He whispers, layla whimpers as I shrug

“I honestly have no idea, but we will do it together”

He smiles at me nodding his head, cuddling in and holding us both in his arms.

—————————

a week later…

It had been a week of tears, nightmares and very little sleep. Baylee was still devastated, her heart was broken. But today was her birthday and we did try to make the most of it.

A snowball slams into my face, the freezing cold ice shocking me from my ignorance as it drips of my jaw and down my chest. I gasp in shock, hearing both her and drakes giggles from my side. I hadn’t expected it.

“You little shitheads”

I snap shivering as a cold lump of ice runs down my chest as I glare at them. Baylee, thinking this was the funniest thing she's ever seen, howls in laughter.

I look to the ground, thinking about leaning down and grabbing a snowball for myself

“Dont do it, if we go down we ain’t getting back up again”

layla snaps with a snort, she was probably right, my belly was seriously in the way and I wasn’t even close to being at full term yet. Instead I glare at drake who’s watching to see what I decide.

“I can’t even fight back it’s not fair, I’m telling mum on you”

I snap childishly making him laugh harder, I wink at Baylee as she grabs another, lifting it and flinging it at drakes neck.

It smashes into him, falling down the back of his shirt and making him gasp and jump around

“Arghhhh you little turd”

He roars, jumping around to try and stop it running down his neck. Baylee giggles making a run for it as he starts to chase her. Running behind me for protection I snort

“Don't come running to me you little fart, take your punishment like a man”

“I’m no man! I don’t lay down and take no punishment, I am an independent Empowered woman, I rise above the punishment”

She scolds me as drake takes of towards her, with that she squeals taking off down and around the house as he chases her. I take the moment while I can, rushing to the car and I start rolling snowballs to have them ready.

“Arghhhhh nooo daddy noooo”

She squeals as drake laughs emerging from the other side with her hanging upside down in the air, her arms crossed over her chest as she glares at drake.

“This isn’t fair! I’m too little to lift you like a rag doll! It’s completely ridiculous daddy your cheating”

He smirks nodding his head as he walks to the pile of snow he had pushed from the path earlier.

“Mmmhmmm I think your right, let me put you down shall I?”

“Yes you bloody well shou…. No no no don’t you dare daddy! Arghhhhh”

She squeals as he dumps her head first into the mountain of snow laughing his ass off. I grab my snowballs and I start pelting him with them, getting him right in the mouth as he pauses from laughing, coughing the snow from his mouth.

Baylee pulls herself from the snow, glaring at drake as I continue to pelt him, he starts to walk towards me so I hit him harder

“I’m pregnant! You can’t drop me”