The Arena novel Chapter 72

I wake, jolting up out of bed. I’m ready to fight, to get myself and my son away from these monsters.

"Shhh, I’m here. You’re safe. You’re at home, you and Liekki.”

I feel Cedric’s arms wrap around me. I turn, curling up against him, letting him comfort me. He kisses the top of my head, his hands running up and down my back.

“Is he okay? Liekki?”

“Yes. Jena and Palila have been wonderful.”

I have to smile at that. “They helped me a lot when I first had Kenna. I had no idea what to do with a human child. They taught me how to nurse, how to change a diaper, and how to be a good parent. Seriously, without them, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“How are you feeling?” he asks me.

I take inventory of my body. “Weak. Why am I weak?” I ask him.

“You lost a lot of blood, Tana. Both Kenna and I had to heal you. Plus, I have no idea what they have been injecting you with.” I hear him swallow hard. “I almost lost you.”

I wrap my arms around him more tightly. “Did you catch them?”

“Not all of them. Troy got away.”

“He’s not the mastermind like we thought he was,” I tell him.

He sits up and looks at me. “What do you mean?”

I tell him about the Chief. “He’s human, with a hatred of all things supernatural. He wants to kill us all and create his own army of mutants. He’s sick, Cedric. Sick in the head. Truly crazy.”

Cedric begins snarling, sitting up and turning away from me.

“Cedric,” I say, reaching out to touch him. “He has my DNA and not just mine, Liekki’s, too. He knows Liekki is a Lycan. He intends to create a mutant from both of our DNA.” I feel a tear slide down my face.

Cedric turns back, pulling me to him. “We’ll deal with that when and if the time comes.”

He and I both know what this could mean. If the Chief creates a mutant, even if it’s from mine and Liekki’s blood and DNA, we’ll have to kill it. Kill our family members because of what that horrible man created.

He strokes my hair and my back. “Do you know what you need?”

“Another week’s worth of sleep?” I ask jokingly.

“That, too. But I think I might have something that will make you feel a little bit better.” He gets up, pulling on some shorts. “Don’t go anywhere,” he says before rushing out of the room.

He’s back quickly, and in his arms is our son.

I sit up quickly, still feeling the soreness in my stomach. I don’t know if it’s from the delivery or the punctures, but I don’t care at the moment. Right now, I want to hold my son. I lean back against the headboard and hold out my hands. Cedric places him in my arms before coming around the bed and sitting beside us.

Liekki immediately begins looking for my breast, and I help him find it. It takes him a few seconds, but he finally latches on. Once he settles to nurse, I begin looking him over. I count his fingers and toes, I look over his body, and finally, I look at his stomach and back. They are clear. I look at Cedric.

“You healed him?”

“With Kaylani’s help,” he says, gently rubbing his hand over Liekki’s head and down his back. “I’ll admit, I was terrified. But Kaylani is kind and patient.”

Our two little birds of prey are both expecting their own children, so it’s a good thing that I can shift again. My first shift after being captured was painful, but after a couple of times, my body healed, and now it’s easy. Kenna and I have started guarding the pack lands and helping our pack members search for the arena.

On one of our flights, we had checked in with Avani. He had healed thanks to a ‘friend’ that has started to accompany him. He’s being tight-lipped about her, making me think he really likes her. I can’t wait until I get to meet her.

The three of us, Avani, Kenna, and I, are flying, searching for the arena, when I spot a Bengal tiger racing up a hill, trying to get our attention. I call out to the others, and all three of us land, shifting in flight as we meet up with Ishir.

“I found it!” he says excitedly. “It’s huge. Even bigger than the others, and they’ve already started fighting. We need Kaylani and Zephyr, and we need to make a plan to bring it down,” he tells us.

“Zephyr is out. She’s in the desert, having laid an egg,” Avani says.

My head snaps over to him. “You impregnated her?”

He raises his arrogant eyebrow. “She asked, and I obliged.”

“Was that before or after you met your new lady friend?” Kenna asks him slyly. Only my daughter could get away with asking Avani a question like that.

He grits his teeth. “Before.”

“Okay, so Zephyr is out. What about Kaylani?” Ishir asks, getting us back on track.

“We can call her. And Cedric and his pack will want in. Troy took some of our pack members. Their mates want them back.”

“They’re still alive?” Ishir asks me.

“For now. So, let’s keep it that way and bring them home.”