CHAPTER 214: KEEP MOVING

[ Old World – The unknown Woods Beyond the Cave ]

Orion’s arms locked around Autumn’s trembling body, lifting her with a grunt.

She was slick with blood, too hot against his chest, too fragile in his arms for someone who had always been a wildfire.

Her head lolled against his shoulder. Her voice shattered him, "My baby... I left her there... I left my baby there, Orion...I am a horrible mother...I..."

His jaw clenched so hard he thought his teeth might snap. "Stop it. Don’t say that shit. You didn’t leave her..."

"I did!" Autumn’s voice cracked. Her claws dug into his arm, weak but desperate. "I let her go. She needed me...but I gave up..." She broke into a sob so violent her whole body jerked. "I chose to leave her..."

Orion snarled, his own throat tight as hell. How was he going to tell her that the baby she left behind was probably already cold...and was never coming back. "You didn’t fucking choose anything! The heavens chose for you. Fate chose to take her away...and...You are bleeding out, Autumn, and you have got another pup fighting like hell inside you. That’s the choice. Survive this one or lose them both...Or face the mate whose hands are bloodied with your father’s blood..."

A pause... " You didn’t have any choice, Princess! Don’t be so hard on yourself... " Orion added.

Her head shook weakly, blood slick hair sticking to her damp face. "No mother should have to...to walk away from her child like that. Goddess...what kind of misfortune did you write in my share?Why? Am I that worthless?!"

"Don’t you dare." Orion’s voice was breaking apart at the edges. "Don’t you dare call yourself worthless when you are ripping yourself here in half to get them out alive."

Her sob hitched, body convulsing as another contraction slammed through her. She screamed, her nails clawing at his shoulder, ripping skin, her legs kicking uselessly in his arms.

"Fuck, Orion...it’s tearing me apart...I feel...I feel too hot...I am burning..."

"I know, I know, hold on," he muttered, more to himself than to her, stumbling through the uneven terrain. His boots slipped on the wet moss, his muscles shrieking with the weight, but he didn’t stop.

He dropped to one knee just for a second, clutching her tighter. He pressed his hand against her stomach, feeling the brutal force of the pup pushing downward.

Her voice cracked through another scream. "Put me down! Leave me here...I can’t..."

" Ah! Autumn! We can’t do that!" His own tears stung his eyes, but he refused to let his voice break.

Her eyes rolled, unfocused, lips trembling. "Orion... I am so tired...my insides are on fire..." She whimpered, another contraction buckling her body. Her claws tore down his chest as she arched. "It hurts so much...Orion, it hurts!"

"I know, Princess, I know," he rasped, his teeth gritted so hard his jaw popped. He shifted her weight, fumbling with his belt pouch. His fingers shook as he uncorked one of the last vials the witches had given him, a faint green glow spilling out.

Her bleary eyes barely focused on it. "What...what is that?"

"Something that will buy us some time," he muttered, tilting the liquid against her lips. She coughed, spat blood, but swallowed most of it. He muttered a harsh chant under his breath...his tongue fumbling over syllables that weren’t his but had been beaten into him in those cursed training halls.

The woods around them shivered, the air distorting as faint threads of smoke curled off their footprints and claw marks...masking their scent, erasing their trail.

It cost him.

His head rang, his vision swam, blood seeped from his nose.

Autumn noticed.

Even half delirious, she clawed at his chest, her voice breaking. "Stop... stop using it, Orion. You are...it’s burning you out..."

" You focus on the baby, Autumn," he snapped, his own body trembling. He staggered forward again, every step heavier than the last. " This is how this thing works. I... I will be fine... "

She sobbed, her face burying into his neck, as he patted her head with his big, bulky hands.

His throat closed. He couldn’t talk anymore.

Autumn’s ragged breaths came out in sharper. Her body trembled violently.

"Orion..." her voice cracked, hoarse and broken, "they...are coming closer. I can hear Kieran’s men...they are very close..."

Orion’s shoulders were squared, though Autumn could see how his hands shook as he pressed his palm to the stone floor, erasing the claw marks and smears of blood she had left behind. His back glistened with sweat, every movement measured, strained.

"Go," he said firmly, without turning.

His tone had finality, though his voice was low. "Autumn, hide deeper. I will cover the tracks. If you stay...they will catch you."

Her throat closed at the weight of his words. "No...I can’t just leave you here like..."

"You need to," Orion snapped, his tone sharp but lined with exhaustion. He stumbled briefly as his knees buckled, catching himself with his hand against the wall. His breaths came harsh and uneven. "I will catch up, don’t worry."

Her eyes filled with tears, spilling down her blood streaked cheeks. "You are already weakening. Orion, don’t push yourself past..."

"Don’t stand there arguing with me," he cut her off, his jaw clenched tight. His hand pressed against the stone again, sweeping the remnants of her struggle from sight. " We don’t have much time... neither do we have much strength left... you take care of the baby... I will take care of Kieran’s men... "

The pain in her belly flared so violently that she nearly collapsed.

She grabbed the trees, the stones, nails clawing against their rough surfaces as she tried to hold herself upright...she pushed forward, her legs dragging... because Orion was right... she didn’t have much strength left...

"Please..." Autumn whispered, her voice cracking under the pressure of her tears as she walked away from him. "Be careful."

Orion finally turned his head, and for a fleeting moment his hardened features softened at the sight of her. "I have survived worse. I will survive this. Just... keep moving, Autumn.Besides,I made a promise to my Alpha. You bet I will keep it..."

Her lips trembled. She wanted to say more...but instead she bit back a scream, clutching her belly, dragging herself deeper into the unknown.

Her steps faltered again, nearly sending her sprawling, but she forced herself up, blind with tears and pain now...flaring like crazy... it had crossed all thresholds.