30 Chapter 30:

〰 Proximo 〰

I twisted the towel in my hair, trying to dry it up when leaving the bathroom. After Hrudra and I has some alone time in the shower, she had left to get ready for tomorrow since it was going to be a long day for both of us.

I had desperately needed to take a shower since it'd been two days since the last one. So I had decided to shower up quickly to join her and Maia out in the room. I haven't heard anything from either one of the girls since Hrudra left the room.

Though it didn't surprise me since Maia was asleep and Hrudra adored the poor child with all her heart. It made me realize that she would be the perfect mother, but things had to settle down.

I did not want to have a child with Mira still wanting to kill us. Not even if I wished more than anything to have a son or daughter.

The small snores on the bed caught my attention as I noticed Hrudra curled up on the bed with Maia. Her arms cradled Maia with such care that it made me think of our future children.

I tossed the towel on the dresser, moving quietly to Hrudra's side and sliding into bed behind her. She shifted against me, opening her eyes and noticing me before a smile crawled onto her tired face.

"Mhm. If Maia wasn't here we wouldn't be going to sleep." She mumbles with a yawn, reaching her arm back and running it through my damp hair. I leaned my face onto her exposed shoulder, pressing a soft kiss on her.

"You're tired, mate. You'll need sleep for tomorrow." I remind her as she nodded and brought her hand down to grasp my hand.

"I have a bad feeling." She admits to me, brushing her fingertips against Maia's straight black hair. "It's like a never ending pit that has been building ever since we've been here." Hrudra tilted her head to look up at me with a concerning look.

"I know. I have been feeling the same way." I confess, watching as she frowned and thought about what the future may hold. "It'll be okay. I'll be there to protect you." I assure her making the smile return on her face.

"I trust you." She leaned up, kissing my chin before turning her face back to Maia and the pillow. "I'm about to pass out. So good night." She blatantly said, closing her eyes causing me to laugh softly and press my face into her shoulder.

"Good night, Love."

〰 Hrudra 〰

"I want to come!" Maia sniffled childishly as I knelt down to her and took her tiny hands in mine. Her teary red eyes tore up my heart, but there was no way in hell I was bringing her with me.

"It's too dangerous, love bug," I inform her when she sniffed again and hugged me tightly.

"I can handle myself!" She cries in my hear making me sigh and hold onto her tightly. I peered up at Proximo, Rogan, and Valrun, unsure of what to do with the young girl who only trusted Proximo and I.

"Hjala and the Princess will watch over you. I need someone to protect them." I remind her while pulling away from her tight hug and smiling down at her. Her rubbed her eyes with her palms and looked up at Proximo for reassurance.

"They need a strong protector." He tells her, kneeling down beside me and smiling at her. "Can we trust you keep this place secure?" Proximo questions her, knowing that she would fall victim to his words.

"Yes. I'll keep them all safe." She nods determination now in her eyes other than sadness. He grinned at her before collecting her off the ground and helping me stand up.

"I'll be back. Come, warrior, let us bring you to those you are protecting." We watched him carry her back inside when I turned to the others. The Alpha seemed irritated but didn't say a word about what happened since everyone had known I snapped at Valrun for cursing in Maia's presence.

She knew of my past and just because I am kinder than before doesn't mean I don't have that dark side still. I could slaughter her if I truly wished to, but I had no good reason so I don't need to exercise my power.

"Hrudra. I need to speak with you before we leave." The Alpha tells me, nodding to the woman on her side before the woman followed the Alpha as she walked away. I followed the Alpha and the woman as we walked away from everyone.

For some reason, I felt the pit in my stomach growing as we grew enough distance for not even the wolf shifters to hear us. The woman was wearing a long dark green dress with trinkets and pouches on her belt. She had a strange aura to her that almost felt like the insane Fiero that probably causing trouble in Kho and Dylan's kingdom.

I couldn't figure out whether that the Alpha had good or bad news since she was always the same irritated ass. It was as if she was a robot, though it didn't surprise me since many people tried kicking her off her throne of being Alpha of the pack.

Even so, she didn't have to be a stickup jackass.

"This is far enough, Ms. Zelina." The woman says, stopping as the Alpha nodded and stopped as well. The sudden stop had me stumble into the nearby fallen branch. I quickly readied myself, trying to play it off like I meant to trip.

"Thank you, Nylah." The Alpha nods and glances over at me with her piercing brown eyes. Her deep brown hair twisted in a messy braid with her eyes training on the woman beside her. "What we're about to say may be best to be said if you do not let your mate hear your thoughts. The news involves him." The Alpha informs me, the pit in my stomach dropping as I struggled to breathe for a second.

"What is it?" I ask, trusting the women and blocking Proximo from my mind. The deep hole within me enlarging within seconds of not feeling him apart of me only then making me realize how much he meant to me.

I just pray nothing bad happens to him.

"M'Lady. May I introduce myself." The woman says with a kind smile. "I am Nylah Hume. I am the pack's seer and I have foreseen a horrible future for you and your mate." She admits to me, my heart tightening even more.

"What is it?" I say in a tight voice, watching as her green eyes softened.

"I've foreseen your mate... dying." She confesses when I blinked at her conclusion and stumbled back a bit. The Alpha caught my arm before I could fall down, the pain of her words killing my entire being.

I couldn't lose him. I'd die if he died...

"What can I do to save him? Why tell me now?" I croak out, clinging onto the Alpha's arm as Nylah ran her finger through her hair over her shoulder.

"He cannot come and fight. If you wish, I can give you something that will enable him to move for a period of time." She tells me with a soft smile that somewhat reassured me. "I will be at the pack home watching over everyone. If I need his help, I have a cure to help him recover. He will be safe under my care." Nylah said when I bite my bottom lip, trying to control the emotions running through my mind.

"O-Okay. I knew something bad was going to happen but I never expected this..." I admit to the ladies, giving them a shaky smile. "Give me a few minutes alone with him and the poison. He won't come with us." I told them as Nylah nods and fished out the poison she told me about.

"Here. Once you're finished, just leave and I'll assign some guards to him. You won't have to worry about him." Nylah tells me when I stared down at the syringe of poison with tears collecting in my eyes.

I either betray him or let him die...

How could anyone make such a decision that may end everything?

〰〰〰

"Hrudra!" Proximo yelled as we made it back to camp, our connection still cut off as I smiled at him. He rushed over to me, grasping my face with his hands while his brown eyes watched me carefully.

"What's wrong, Proximo?" I asked him in a soft voice when he looked at the Alpha and Nylah. He let my face go, grabbing my hand before walking into the pack house and hurrying into our room.

I knew he was upset, I could feel it coming from him yet I could never tell him what Nylah told me. He'd go crazy and want to come with me despite his future. I would never allow him to risk his life just to protect me.

Call me selfish, but I was not going to allow him to die out in the battlefield.

"What happened? Why did you shut your mind out from me? Do you even know-"

"Sorry. Alpha and the seer was telling me important business that couldn't be told to anyone else." I apologize, leaning up and pressing a small kiss to his lips. "Don't worry. It won't hurt you." I said truthfully making him sigh and wrap his arms around my waist.

"Why haven't you let me back in yet then?" He asks me when I smiled sadly and pushed my face further into his chest.

"What they told me plagues my mind. I wish I could tell you, but I can't. I promised them I wouldn't say a word." I admit to him, not telling him the complete truth which was starting to kill me. I wasn't sure what was worse, the fact that it hurt lying or that I was still so good at it.

"If it causes this much trouble just tell me, let me in. I can help you, I hate seeing you like this." He says, running his palms down my arms in a comforting way. I tilted my head at him and smiled sadly.

"I can't. Do you trust me?" I ask him making him laugh carefreely.

"Of course I do. That's a silly question, mate." He says softly as I began to tear up watching his amusement turn into concern. "Hrudra. Love what's wrong? What happened? Please just tell me what to do to make this better?" Proximo quickly spoke trying to figure out what to do as I reached into my pocket to grasp the syringe.

"Just, please. Don't die." Before he could say anything else, I pushed the syringe in his shoulder and forced the poison in his system. His eyes widened, looking at the syringe as I opened my mind to him and carefully laid him in our bed. "I'm so so sorry. I can't risk losing you. So stay and sleep. Wait for me to come home." I pressed my lips on his forehead before leaving the room quickly.

I could help the tears running down my face at the traitorous thoughts roaming my mind. I could feel his hurt, sadness, and anger that only fueled my own fury and misery.

It only caused me to grow more pissed at the situation at hand. Which inevitably caused me to grow out of control and allow my beast to come out.