“I have to because tearing this whole city apart looking for her will just get us killed and more than likely her too.”
“We don’t have to tear the whole city apart we just have to go after the Pantera part.”
“We don’t know that they have her.Willow continually spoke of the guardians.For some reason, Adam believes that’s where she would take El.”
“Of course, he believes that he doesn’t want to admit that his mate is a traitor,” Marcus replied incredulously.
“Marcus, I will not repeat myself; you will not speak about Willow that way.We don’t know anything.”
“No, Ryan, you need to open up your eyes.I get that her being Adam’s mate complicates things for you, but El isourmate, and I don’t care who I offend or piss off as long as I bring her home.We need to be looking at the Pantera.”
“Enough you two, we need to go.There have been reports called in about a roar coming from this area, and they’re searching every building,” Trip said as he approached them.
Trip looked back and forth between Marcus and Ryan, feeling the tension between the two.
“Now!”He shouted when neither of them moved.
Marcus reluctantly fell in step behind Ryan and Trip.He knew there was no changing Ryan’s perspective, so all there was for Marcus to do was go off on his own to ensure they got El back alive.
Chapter 23
El
El’s headwas throbbing when she finally started to come around.She didn’t dare open her eyes, not because of the low voices arguing close by but mostly because she had a feeling she was going to end up throwing up.Whatever they had used to knock her out hadn’t left her system yet.Even her lioness and panther weren’t rousing.
“You have reacted irrationally,” Willow hissed.
“No, you have waited too long.You were supposed to take her somewhere safe,” Persia argued.
“She was safe with her mates for the time being.They trusted me.No doubt now they assume I’m the one that has taken her.They’ll go to war with the Pantera.”
“Then, so be it.That gives us time to deal with bigger problems.Does she know that she’s pregnant?”Persia asked, making El’s whole body tense.
Her mind began moving at warp speed.There was no way she was pregnant.She hadn’t been touched by any of them in weeks, and Willow checked her every few days.Why would Willow lie to her?Had she really been so desperate for a friend that she had completely trusted a traitor?El wished desperately for her mates so that they could help her figure it all out.
“No, I’ve been ensuring the pregnancy is going along fine, and I’ve been telling them all she’s unable to get pregnant.
“How far along is she?”
“She’s almost twelve weeks.”
Twelve weeks meant that El had been pregnant longer than they had even known about that part of the prophecy, which meant Willow lied to her from the beginning.The pregnancy test she had taken with Shawn should have been positive, though.El took inventory of her body over the past twelve weeks.Her breasts had been sensitive, but she had chalked that up to the fact that her libido was in overdrive with little to no stimulation.Her stomach had hurt some, but with everything she had been through in the past months, it made sense that she would have some kind of ulcer or something.El never would have dreamed pregnancy to be the culprit.
Tears pricked her eyes, threatening to leak out and give up her ruse of being asleep.If she were pregnant, then that meant she wasn’t long for this world or her mates.She didn’t give a damn about the prophecy anymore, or why Persia had lied about who she was, nothing else mattered.She just wanted to be with her mates for as long as she could.
“Take me back to them,” she demanded opening her eyes.
Just as she thought, she was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea.
“El, you can’t go back to them right now,” Persia replied.
“Who are you?”El demanded.
She had known Persia for years, and the betrayal she felt from finding out that Persia knew more than she had ever let on burned deep inside El.Persia looked over at Willow who just continued to give Persia a firm glare pissed El off even more.
“No, don’t look at her.Look at me, and tell me who you are?”
Persia sighed and turned to El.
