“Read it doc,” Jen growled.

Cynthia cleared her throat before starting, dread building in her stomach over the words she was about to force out. “Dr. Cynthia Steele, Once you see the hunting party in your line of site out of the mouth of the cave, you are to perform a Cesarean section on Jennifer, mate to Decebel. I have given you all of the necessary medical supplies to perform this safely, though perhaps not painlessly. You are to have Jennifer lie on the X marked on the ground. Once the child is born, you are to turn sixty degrees and take two steps with the child held out in front of you. You are to make sure your body is parallel with the wall so that Decebel has a clear view of his child.”

Jen stood speechless staring at Cynthia, unsure of what to say. She had just been told she was going to be gutted like a fish and have her child handed over to a mad man while she and Decebel watch helplessly.

“Can’t we try to escape?” Jen asked, suddenly very desperate. She pointed to the opening of the cave.

Cynthia shook her head, “If I were a betting doctor, I would say it’s spelled to look as though we can walk out or anyone can walk in. I’ll double check though, just so that we aren’t the idiots who trapped themselves because they didn’t bother to attempt to run away.”

“Please do, because of all the blonde idiots on T.V., I don’t want to be the one in the horror shows who gets killed first because she’s too stupid to run,” Jen told her as she tried to shake off the terror that was threatening to suffocate her. She wasn’t ready for her child to be born. It was too soon. They hadn’t found a way to save her and now she was going to be brought cruelly into the world only to be taken out of it before Decebel could even hold her.

“ARRRRRRGGGGHHH!” Jen screamed. “She’s just a baby! I just need to kill something! But there’s only you,” Jen pointed wildly at Cynthia, “and dammit I need you to deliver Cosmina.”

“Glad to know that I’m unavailable for your hit list based on my credentials,” Cynthia said as she returned back from her unsuccessful attempt to leave the cave.

“Yeah, well just be glad that I’m, for all intents and purposes, a nice person who usually doesn’t just kill people because she’s ticked off.”

“Oh believe me, I’m glad,” Cynthia pointed to her face. “See, this is me being glad.”

Jen flipped her off as she pulled up a box to sit on, lowering her aching pregnant body to it slowly. “I’m just saying.”

“I know Jen. I don’t like this any more than you do.”

“What if we don’t do what he says?” Jen asked.

“I don’t have a clue. He might start killing the males while we have to helplessly watch.”

“Damn thissucks.”

“Understatement.”

Chapter 21

“To be powerful and yet utterly helpless to save the one person in your life that you would do anything to protect is the worst kind of hell.” ~Fane

“We have bad news and we have worse news,” Peri said as she and Alston appeared back in the Romanian pack mansion.

“We only have thirty minutes left. At this point, the only bad news is no news,” Fane said.

“Good point,” Peri conceded. “We know where he is keeping the girls.”

“Where?” Decebel snapped as he stepped away from the wall where he had been silently brooding.

Peri’s eyes cut to where Vasile stood. Her heart broke for the Alpha knowing that what she was about to tell him would not mean anything for at least a few seconds and then the memories would all come rushing back and so would the guilt. She especially was to blame and she dreaded seeing the accusations and betrayal that she knew would stare out at her from his piercing blue eyes.

“The dark forest in the fae realm,” she blurted out not taking her eyes from Vasile’s.

“Where?” Costin asked obviously as confused as the rest of them.

Adam was the first to remember. “No,” he whispered in utter horror. “How does he even know if it? How did he remember it?” Adam realized then that Peri and Alston shouldn’t have remembered it either.

“Archives,” Alston answered Adam’s unasked question. “We made sure it was documented before we set the spell for everyone to forget. We should always be able to remember our past. We must learn from it or be doomed to repeat it.”

“Why on earth would you think it was your right to take away a memory from the rest of us?” Vasile asked as his own memories resurfaced along with anger. “Those memories, those painful times that happened to each of us are ours. You aren’t God to have the right to play with our free will.”

“We didn’t want anyone to be able to return to the dark forest, Vasile. That land is tainted with so much evil; the power left over is enough to cause some serious danger.” Alston said as he tried to justify what they had done.

“And how did that work out for you?"  Fane asked. “Did taking away the memory of that place make it cease to exist? Did it protect it from evil people using it?”

“For centuries, yes, it did,” Peri snarled.

“Stop!” Cypher yelled, “We don’t have time for your anger and explanations. We have twenty minutes to get to this dark forest and time is ticking. Peri can you flash us there?”

“Yes.”

“Now, who is with me?” Cypher glanced from person to person waiting.