Enslaved By The Alpha
Chapter 77

~KANE~

It takes my body a while to catch up with everything happening all at once. I couldn't believe that she was finally in front of me. After weeks of wishing and hoping that she was alive, doubting myself, and fighting others that thought she was dead, I'd finally found her. I finally had my mate in my life again.

I couldn't begin to explain the relief I felt at seeing her. I wasn't expecting to replace her, not when I couldn't sense her. I can't seem to snap out of the shock, and because of this, Austin is the first one to get to her. He kneels and helps pick her up from the ground, wiping her tears away.

"We've got you," he whispers as he hugs her close to him. "You're safe now, Maya. We are never letting anyone take you from us again. I promise."

Maya's tears flow more as she hugs her brother. Happy to have him in front of her. I don't think she was even expecting us to replace her today. Did she lose hope in us? When we first saw her, she looked startled but relieved to know that it was us and no one that could bring harm to her instead. How much torture did my mate have to go through?

James hugs her next, and I can't wait any longer. I have to take her in my arms. And I do just that.

The moment I wrap my arms around her, her body relaxes against mine. I'm not sure what to say to her. I've known all along what I wanted to tell her, but now that she was in my arms, I can't seem to replace the words.

"I've finally found you," I whisper. "I can't believe you're here. I'm so sorry for everything. For hurting you. For not protecting you when you needed me to. For not being there for our unborn child."

She burst into more tears at the mention of our child, and my body turns to stone at her reaction. "What's wrong?" I demand, already on high alert.

"Our baby didn't survive," she cries. "The witch threw me down the stairs. I begged her not to hurt my baby, but she wouldn't listen to me. I couldn't save our baby, Kane. I couldn't!"

Her words are like sharp knives piercing through my heart. Our baby was killed? By that f*****g witch?

"Where the f**k is she?" I roar. "Where is that bloody witch?"

Austin tries to comfort her, but nothing is helping, "we need to replace her. We need to make her pay." He shouts.

I pick Maya up into my arms and walk with her out of the room with everyone following behind me.

"I don't know where she is, Kane," she cries. "Some one must have told her that you were coming to replace her. She left earlier today, and she didn't tell me where she was going. I tried escaping many times; that's how I lost our baby. While trying to escape from her. It's my fault. Everything is my fault. I'm to blame. My baby is gone because of me."

"Shh," I try to soothe her. "It's going to be okay. I promise. I will make the pain go away. I'll do everything I can to make it better. And we will replace her eventually. I'm not going to stop until I suck the life out of her body for hurting you and taking our baby away." I didn't think it was possible to hate myself more than I already did. I didn't get to her in time. Because of me, neither of us would ever be able to see our baby's face. I was happy to have Maya in my arms again, but it f*****g hurt to know that we'd lost our child. I was a horrible father. I couldn't protect my baby. I was a failure. I hurt Maya, and I wasn't there for either of them when they needed me the most.

How could I ever forgive myself after today?

~MAYA-

"Do you think they've found her?" Lucy asks as she looks around nervously. "Maya has been a sweetheart to me since the first day I met her. She always made me feel at home. I'd hate for anything to happen to her. Austin tries to stay strong in front of me, but I know her disappearance kills him inside. He hasn't been the same since we lost her."

Isabella hugs her sister, "she will be fine. They will replace her. I have faith that they will."

"It's rather quiet, don't you think?" Gabriella asks as she looks around us. "If they'd found the witch, wouldn't there be more noise by now? They aren't exactly quiet during any battle. No one is quiet during battle."

Eden nods, "it is tranquil. It sounds like they're returning, however. I'm hearing something like footsteps."

I held my breath and waited to see if they'd found anyone. Gabriella was right. I doubt they found the witch. If they did, there should be shouting amongst other noises. But there was none of that.

"I see someone!" Lucy says. "It looks like Kane. He has someone in his arms!"

I follow her gaze, and she's right. He is holding a woman with short hair, but I can hardly see her face.

"MAYA!" Lucy shouts. "It's Maya!"

"They've found her," Gabriella whispers in disbelief. "Kane was right. She was alive."

Lucy rushes to their side and gently pats Maya's head while tears flow down her cheeks. I couldn't believe how much everyone loved this woman. I don't think there was a single person that disliked her except Giselle and the witch who kidnapped her, of course. I watch as all the women take their turns to greet Maya and tell her how much they missed and loved her.

All I could do was stand at the back and watch the exchange. The love in Kane's eyes was killing me inside. He loved her. Just like he said, I could see it so clearly now. But something seemed to be wrong. He was holding onto her tightly, but there was a strained look on his face.

Something must have happened for him to look unhappy at a time like this. I studied him enough to know when he was sad or upset. I could safely say that he was both right now.

So what was wrong?

He's wanted this day for so long. The day when he could have her back again. And he'd gotten it with the help of all these people that also loved her. So why was he like this on such a special occasion? And he wasn't the only one.

It was clear to me that there was an edge to everyone that went inside to save her. What had they seen or heard?

I'm not the only one to notice it. Gabriella also seems to realize that something is off about the guys.

Arthur joins her next to me. "What's wrong with Kane?" She asks him. "Why is he so unhappy?"

He sighs, and it looks like whatever it was has affected everyone, "I don't think you want to know, Gabriella."

"Of course I do; I need to know why he's sad." She disagrees with him.

"Maya just told us that she lost the baby. The witch pushed her down the stairs. And we have no idea where to replace her. We searched the entire castle. She wasn't in any of the rooms. Which means that she's escaped before we could get a chance to get to her." Gabriella covers her mouth in horror, and so do I.

Maya had lost the baby? Both Gabriella and I protectively held our stomachs at his words. We were both pregnant and knew what it meant for someone to lose their unborn child. I couldn't imagine the pain either one of them was going through. Losing a baby would be painful for anyone that had to go through something so awful.

How could anyone do that? How could anyone try to harm a pregnant woman to the point that she loses her baby?

My heart aches for both Maya and Kane. She may have the heart of the man of my dreams, but I still wouldn't wish anything so horrible on her.

Kane's eyes somehow fall on me, and I feel my knees grow weak as our gazes lock. My lips part, and I try to remain calm. I couldn't be seen looking at him with longing when everyone was around. And he shouldn't be looking at me either. Not when the love of his life was in his arms.

I can see the hurt in his eyes, and it's killing me inside, knowing that I can't run to him. I want to hold him, to hug him. To assure him that everything would be okay. To tell him that they would both heal from this. But I don't.

It's not my place to do that. It never was. He belonged to the grieving woman in his arms. And I won't ever come in the way of that.