by Amy Star
“I agree,” Kalia said with a muffled giggle so as not to wake the baby.
“Where is Luke? You two haven't been out of each other’s sight since I got here,” Mali observed, a coy smile on her face.
“He's out with the warriors now. He needs to be out there to lead them. It's not what he wants and it's definitely not what I want but it's what is best for us all,” she said, thinking how lonely her days would be until the battle was over and won.
“Well, at least you have me to keep you company,” Mali said with a genuine smile. Kalia was amazed by the wonderful woman that her sister was growing to be.
“Thank goodness for you,” she said to her with a smile.
“Why don’t you sleep in here with the baby and I tonight? I know you must be anxious about his safety. You should not be alone and you and I are very used to sharing a room and even a bed,” Mali offered with a gentle smile.
When they were very young girls, they'd shared a bed and had both hated it. The happiest day of their young lives had been when they each got their own bed. Now, though, nothing sounded better to her than curling up next to her sister. In fact, knowing that her sister was by her side might be the only way she was going to get any sleep.
“You're an angel,” she said, hugging her sister and laying down on the cot. Mali lay down beside her and wrapped her arms around her, making her feel safe as she drifted off to sleep. Though her thoughts were still filled with thoughts of Luke and the dangers that he was about to face, the closeness of her sister calmed her.
***
The next morning, Kalia and Mali were in the kitchen of the cabin with Benji happily lying on a blanket near the fireplace when they heard shouting from a distance. Kalia looked out the window to see the warriors surrounding their home falling into formation. She could see smoke rising in the distance and she could smell the sweat and blood of the battle filling the air.
"What do you see?" Mali asked her.
"The battle has come," she whispered, shaken to her core by fear for Luke's safety.
"What do we do?" her sister asked, looking as scared as Kalia felt.
"For now, we wait. We need to be vigilant. If they break through the line, we'll need to react. For the moment though, we're as safe as we've ever been. They have always been a threat but now they are a threat that we can see," she said, crossing the room and lifting Benji from the floor and into her arms.
"Fair enough. Do you want the front or the back?" Mali asked, doing her best to keep her fears at bay.
"I'll take the front. You watch out the back. We can take turns holding the baby. I want him to be in one of our arms at all times," she said, knowing that she needed to be the strong older sister to get them through this.
"We'll keep him safe," Mali promised.
"I know," Kalia said, looking down at the oblivious baby in her arms, cooing as though there was nothing in the world that could hurt him.
For hours they kept watch. Every half hour or so, they traded turns holding Benji. During those hours, they could see the distant signs of battle but there was no immediate threat. As the day wore into evening though, the battle grew closer. Soon enough, they could see the warriors who were their last line of defense engaging in hand to hand combat with the enemy. She could hear Mali gasp each time she witnessed a particularly brutal blow, but they didn't speak. Neither was willing to divert the attention needed for a conversation from their efforts to watch for threats to the baby.
It was because of that vigilance that Kalia instantly spotted a tall warrior with dark hair break through the line and rush towards the cottage. She knew that they only had a matter of seconds to react before he was inside. She rushed across the cabin to Mali. She kissed the baby swiftly before putting him in her sister's arms.
"Take the baby and go hide upstairs. There should be enough room under the crib. Pull a blanket in front of the two of you and don't make a sound," she ordered, trying to keep the thought of being away from Benji for even a second during such a dangerous time out of her mind.
"What are you going to do?" Mali demanded, terrified for her sister.
“I need to stay down here and hold them off until help can come,” she said without hesitation.
“What about Luke? He'll be here soon,” Mali said with no doubt.
“We don't have time to wait. Go upstairs with the baby now and keep his eyes covered. I don't want one of his first memories to be of the carnage,” she said, hugging her sister tight before nudging her toward the stairs.
“I promise you he'll be safe,” she said, before running off as Kalia asked.
Kalia braced herself then, knowing her enemy was about to break down the door. In a fraction of a second, the door Luke had worked so hard to build was laying on the floor as the stranger entered their home. He didn't speak. With a predatory look on his face, he approached her slowly, preparing to savor the fear he expected to find. Instead, he found a warrior as fierce as any he had come across in battle before.
Kalia braced herself for his attack. As he prepared to lunge for her, she caught Luke’s scent and heard footsteps running towards the cabin. Her would be attacker heard it too and turned behind him to see Luke rushing at him. Relief washed over Kalia when she saw him rush through the doorway and tackle the stranger who had defiled their home. They rolled around on the ground, tearing and slashing at each other. Kalia’s relief was short-lived, though. She heard a loud thump and then saw her mate, the love of her life, lying unconscious on the floor.
The stranger rose and approached her once again, clearly thinking all obstacles between him and tasting her blood had been removed. If he had not been so focused on her, he would've killed Luke right then and there and Kalia thanked God he wasn't smart enough to realize it.
She did her best to look scared and fragile, lulling him into a false sense of superiority. His lecherous smirk made her skin crawl. All she really wanted to do was snap his neck to get him out of her home and away from her child, but her instincts told her to wait and let him come to her. She needed him in just the right position when she attacked. She knew she would only have one chance to attack him where surprise was on her side. Once he realized she had the skill and soul of a warrior, it'd be nearly impossible to get close enough to make sure Luke and Benji were safe. She knew in her heart that, it she failed, they would both likely die, not to mention her sweet sister who was in danger only because she'd been willing to come and help her.
When he finally did decide to make his move, she was ready. She attacked him with as much fire and determination as any warrior could have and she was able to dispatch him quickly. Then and only then, did she rush to Luke. She put her fingers to his throat and felt such deep relief to feel his pulse beating steadily beneath her touch.
A few seconds later, he began to regain consciousness. As soon as he did, he shot to his feet, his hands out in front of him, preparing to strike out at his enemy.
“Where is he?” he demanded, still groggy from his head injury.
“I took care of him. You don't need to worry about that,” she said, trying to steady him as he was still quite wobbly on his feet.
“I let you down. You had to face him yourself,” he moaned, looking as though the fact caused him physical pain.
“You didn't fail me,” she said, comforting him. “You were my strength. Our love was the reason I could defeat him.”
“Where's the baby?” he asked, looking around for their son and finding no evidence of him.
“I sent my sister upstairs to hide with him,” she answered.
“That was a smart move. I have to get back out there,” he said, gesturing to the door.
“Be careful. You're hurt,” she warned, looking as though she might knock him unconscious again just to keep him safely in the house.
Still, there was no keeping a warrior from battle and she'd no choice but to move out of his way and let him rejoin his men. She didn't go and get Mali and the baby, though. She left them ups
tairs in relative safety and prepared herself for the next warrior to break through the line but that attack never came. She could see their men beating back the enemy and she could hear the cries of victory as they pushed them back, winning a resounding victory.
It was only then, when their enemies were banished, that Luke returned to them. He held her tight and whispered sweetly in her ear, “Now Benji can have the safe and peaceful life you and I dreamed of for him.”
“Yes, thank you so much for making that a possibility for him,” she said as tears of joy ran down her face.
“There's no need to thank me. It was you who saved our son today, just as you saved me when you gave me your love,” he said, crushing her against his chest.
“My love, I am now and will forever be yours,” she replied, inhaling his scent and imagining their long and happy future together.
THE END
AUTHORS MESSAGE:
Hii
I really hope you enjoyed my book and if you did You can check out all my other BEAR books at on my Amazon Page here << ;-)
Thanks in advance, you are a star
Amy Star* :-)
*
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