Sinful Mates Chapter 165: One hundred and sixty-five

***Evelyn POV***

Each room empty, yet I could feel I was getting close, like a bond tethering me to her, drawing me closer. Opening the next door, I find some scientists, standing around some device. They jump as I burst through the door before leaping into action but the moment, I thought it, I was on them ripping them to pieces and draining them before moving onto the next door. I could hear Ryland staggering through the hallway as I went from room to room before being knocked to the ground when the wall suddenly explodes next to me.

Debris hitting my skin and slicing me, but my focus was on her, I could feel her and that pushed me to keep moving through the pain and shock. Reaching the end door, I look back to see a hole in the floor from where the wall blew away and crashed through to the floor below. Twisting the handle, I shove open the door to see a woman grabbing vials and shoving them in her pocket before snatching my baby from the table. My mind not even registering the other person in the room until it was too late, and I feel myself being knocked back.

My stomach feeling like it was smothered in acid, the wind being knocked out of me as I am flung backward out of the room. I see a man walking towards me, a shotgun pointed at me as the woman used him as a shield, hiding behind him. Her red hair sticking to her face as her head whipped around and saw me on the floor. Standing up, my stomach turns and I projectile vomit on the ground, slipping on my own blood as I reach for the woman, wanting my baby when I feel a hand touch me and I feel motion, like a stone thrown in a pond, a ripple effect, the room disintegrating around me.

“My baby” I scream, and I find myself outside. Gun fire ringing out everywhere and I have no idea how I got here. Jumping to my feet, I see Orion’s body next to me propped against a tree. I get to my feet running across the field of dead bodies and blown apart trees and cars when I feel hands wrap around my waist flinging me to the ground before I find myself tackled and pinned.

“Thaddeus is getting them” Imogen’s dirt covered face hovering above mine trying to reassure me when I hear a groan making me turn to see Orion come to, shaking his head. Imogen allows me to sit up, and I get to my feet. I can see a huge hole blown out the side of the brick building and a dark figure standing just inside the cavity. My eyes focusing when I see them bend down picking something up.

“Where is Amara?” Theo asks, looking around just as I feel the entire ground tremor like an earthquake before I am knocked backwards by a gust of wind, seeing black as my head bounces off the ground from the force. Sitting up, I rub my eyes that were filled with dirt to see the building had exploded, everything on fire and I hear the loudest screech as I start running toward the burning building as it starts collapses in on itself. When I feel nothing but soul shattering pain ripple over me. All consuming pain as I reach the building, Rylands agonised screams beneath the rubble, ripping my heart to pieces. The sounds of a baby’s cry echoing around me as I try and find her. Trying to see her through the clouds of smoke billowing out, my ears ringing when I see Thaddeus sit up. The cries getting louder, pulling at my heart when I feel air blast past me, clearing the smoke before I hear things crashing around.

“No no no” I hear her frantic screams before finding me feet through the shock, to see Orion ripping pieces of concrete from the pile and tossing it as he digs through the wreckage. Tobias and Theo scrabbling at the ground, channelling through it, while Imogen drops to her knees clutching her stomach. A heart-breaking hysterical scream tearing out of her as she howled. Running toward the remains, Thaddeus grabs my leg nearly tripping me and I look down to see my daughter cradled in his arms, covered in dirt and dust but unscathed. He pushes her toward me, and I grab her as he stands.

Thaddeus runs toward the crumpled structure before raising his hands, slabs of broken concrete, brick and rubble moving at rapid speed being hurled into the paddocks and trees. Watching as the dust settles and my vision clears and I gasp before the air gets lodged in my throat.

I see them drop, Tobias and Theo falling to their knees and Imogen’s screams get louder. I stare in shock not able to process what’s happening when I see Orion pull Ryland off the ground, his entire body white with dust as he sobbed, relief hitting me at seeing him when I feel a wave of air move through the trees as Thaddeus screams, clutching her limp body to his chest, she was unrecognisable by the dust and blood covering her body, but I had no doubt who it was by the sounds of the cries, the guttural cries of a parent losing their child. That soul crushing pain as I look to Imogen’s heartbroken face. Amara was gone, and I realise that was how I got outside, how Ryland was still alive, she sacrificed herself to save us.

Tears slipping down my face, as I watch Thaddeus clutching her body, her head falling limp over his arm and her arms hanging oddly as she lay limp. Tobias choking on his sobs as he takes her from him, brushing her hair from her face and hugging her close, like he couldn’t bear to let go. Imogen’s cries going silent as he walks toward us before laying her next to Imogen, she clutches her daughter rocking her back and forth sobbing before humming, her voice cracking and all noise dies out except the sounds of her hums, while she soothes her dead daughter, like she could sooth away the pain of losing her.

Theo stood silently staring off blankly, no emotion registering like he just shut down completely, I stared around waiting to wake up, wake up from the nightmare we were trapped in. Praying I wake up and all this be a dream my mind had conjured up.

“She saved me” Ryland says his voice breaking, Orion the only thing holding him upright as he staggers forward. Imogen looks up at him, tears rolling down her face in a steady stream leaving tracks on her skin as it washed away the dust from her cheeks.

“She saved us all” She whispers before looking back down at Amara, her thumb brushing her cheek. Tobias takes Amara from Imogen who clutches onto her not wanting to let go of her.

“Come on Hun, you need to let her go” He says trying to take Amara from her, but she refuses shaking her head. Thaddeus crouches down in front of his mother, grabbing her face forcing her to look up at him. His eyes watering as he fights against his own emotions which were tumultuous. He felt guilty, angry, every emotion rippling through him at war against the other.

“You need to give her to me ma, you need to let her go” He says but Imogen shakes her head.

“We need to take her home ma, we can’t stay here” He says, and I could feel him using his magic, see her eyes glaze over slightly before he nods to his father who bends down, taking his daughter from his wife’s arms. Imogen reluctantly lets go staring at her now empty arms.

Feeling movement in my arm my daughter sneezes before coughing her little lips making a little O shape. Her faint cries making everyone look to the bundle in my arms as her face turned searching for milk, searching something as her mouth opened, sucking at air.

“She is hungry” Imogen says, making me look at her. Theo out of his daze steps closer, looking down at the baby in my arms. She starts crying and I try to sooth her, her cries getting louder and filling the silence when Theo steps closer, his arms outstretched wanting to take her. I stand passing her to him and he dusts off his hands on his pants before cradling her in his arms.

“We should head home; she will be hungry, and you won’t have milk now that you’re no longer human” Theo says, making me remember I also died but came back. Looking at Amara I feel my heart palpitate, survivors guilt kicking in before I come to realize it wasn’t my guilt but Rylands as he to was staring at Amara in her fathers arms. Imogen turns before fleeing and I hear that she is running toward our house and away from the destruction.

“Can we run with her?” I ask, worried remembering how sick I always felt running while human. Theo nods.

“Yes, in short bursts, Bianca ran with Thaddeus when she kidnapped him” Theo says, and I look to my daughter suckling on his knuckle knowing that’s why she had gone quiet.

“Bianca did what?” I ask, confused by his words.

“It’s a long story, one for later” Thaddeus says before grabbing Amara from his father. I notice Theo look away like he couldn’t see his daughter like that, like he didn’t want to remember her that way. I hear bones snapping before seeing Tobias shift into a black wolf taking off after his wife.

“I will take Ryland” Theo says, passing me back my daughter and trading places with Orion who still had a tight grip one Ryland’s arms. Thaddeus takes off leaving only Orion, Ryland, Theo, and myself. I look down at our baby before passing her to Orion. “I am scared I will drop her” I tell him, and he takes her, his hand holding the back of her little head before he tucks her inside his shirt against his chest.

“Lets go home” Theo says looking at what’s left of the building and burning surroundings, I could hear sirens in the distance getting closer, see the flickering of the blue and red lights coming from the town.