“Have you thought about names?”Willow asked as if she were completely oblivious to El’s constant dismissal of their friendship.
El just rolled her eyes, but her mind did start to wonder to names.She hadn’t really thought about it since she had spent the entire time trying to convince herself she wasn’t pregnant.One thing about the prophecy was that it had told her she would have a girl.She didn’t really have any females in her life worth naming her daughter after, and that thought seemed so depressing to El.
If El did die, which the prophecy said she would, who would raise her daughter?Would she end up with some evil stepmom like El had?That was unacceptable.El would be damned if that would ever happen.El glanced over at Willow who was humming while she wiped down the counter.
Prior to the kidnapping, Willow would be the perfect candidate in El’s mind to help raise her daughter.Willow was kind, loving and loyal.She also had all the information necessary for helping guide El’s daughter through life as a shifter and as a prophecy.Willow had already betrayed El and kidnapped her, though.
“Couldn’t you have just left me with my mates, but bound my baby from harm?”El asked as the thought came to her.
Willow stopped wiping the table, and El could tell from her expression that Willow had argued for that very cause.
“I wish it could have been that easy, my Luna,” Willow replied as she started wiping the counter down again.
“Can I talk to them?”El asked tentatively.
Willow looked up, her eyes showing her surprise.It had never dawned on El to ask, and apparently, it had never dawned on them to allow it.El had no idea where she was, so it’s not as if she could tell them.
“I can ask,” Willow told her.
“You can’t give me permission?Who is in charge here?”
“Your mother, naturally.”
“Naturally,” El sighed the sarcasm dripping from her voice.
“I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be angry, but she truly did do what she felt was best.”
“I wish I could believe that.I wish I could trust you enough to believe anything you say or to confide in you,” El told her.
“I know you feel we all betrayed you, but we’re here to protect you and your child.”
“How is it protecting my child?I’m going to die bringing her into this world.I won’t get to know her or raise her.She’ll be left to live the same miserable life I did, without a mother.That is absolutelynotprotecting her.”
El was yelling by the time she was done.She could see the emotion play out across Willow’s face.
“Your mother and Leilani are doing everything they can to find a way to save you during your labor.”
“Leilani wouldn’t save me if her life depended on it, and you damn well know it.Furthermore, wouldn’t you be the best person to find a way to save me since you’re the healer?”
“Honestly, yes, but your mother thought you’d rather spend the day with me instead of either of them,” Willow answered with a shrug.
“Iwantto spend the day with my mates.I want to let them know I’m carrying their child.I think it’s kind of late to start worrying about what I want,” El scoffed.
Willow once again stopped what she was doing and looked at her.El could tell she was mulling something over, and El hoped it was her request to call her mates.Willow went to her room and came back with a cell phone.It wasn’t the one she had carried prior, so El assumed it must be some kind of burner.Willow tapped away on her phone for a few minutes, and then looked up.
“Okay, you can call them, but you can only talk for five minutes.I know the men probably have the ability to trace your phone, my magic will scramble it for a while, so make the conversation short.”
With that Willow handed El her phone.El stared at it for what felt like forever as she thought about whom to call.Marcus hardly ever kept his phone on him, so she crossed him off the list.Shawn always had his phone, but he would just start spouting off questions left and right.That left Ryan or Trip, both of whom she knew would probably answer, but she just wanted a light conversation.No amount of questions was going to help her magically know where she was being held, so she just wanted to talk, to hear their voices.
El decided on Trip, so she dialed his number and waited.The phone rang and rang, which made El nervous until finally, Trip’s voice came through.Tears filled El’s eyes.His voice caressed every inch of her body and soul, and El wanted to crawl through the line and into his arms.
“Hi,” she squeaked, trying to conceal her emotions.
“El?El!El!”Trip kept repeating her name, his voice getting louder and more emotional with each repetition.
“It’s me.I can’t talk long, and I don’t know where I am, so please don’t waste the little time I can talk asking.I was out cold the entire trip.I just need to hear your voice,” she told him.
“I…okay,” he said.
