[Carmen]Rock and I took a shower and ate dinner after we got home. I was a little shaken, but Rock saved me. He took care of me. I knew if I was with him I was safe.He wasn’t as calm as I was. Rock wasn’t climbing the walls, raging, or anything like that, but I could feel his tension, anger, fear, and frustration. I hoped that my love and calmness would soothe him.“Are you going to keep growling like that all night?” I asked as we lay in bed.Rock had taken me directly to bed and started cuddling with me after we finished dinner. He held me so tight I could feel the rumbles inside him, even though I could only barely hear them.I understood, though. I was scared, too. When those things attacked, I screamed. Two of them grabbed each of my arms. Then they were gone.Hearing what was going on, I used my magic to see. Rock was stomping on one attacker as hard as he could while Dennis and Sybil were tearing another apart. Austin, who had been in range of my magic before, wasn’t anymore. I worried about him, especially when I heard him fighting.Nothing had ever made me feel so useless. I could have changed into half-form, but it all seemed to happen so fast. Rock looked over where Austin had been, then went outside of my range of vision. I heard the sickening crack and the horrid scent got worse.Austin backed into the area where I could see him. I thanked the goddess that he was all right. Another one of those things must have attacked him. I shook as I worried about how many more there could be.“Wylder was supposed to help protect you. If he wasn’t there, that means something happened to him. Let me take you to the fae realm. You can stay with Haldor and Ilana. It isn’t safe for you here, Carmen,” Rock replied through gritted teeth.“Rock, if I go, when will it be safe for me to come back? When the cult is gone? When hunters don’t exist anymore? When there’s nothing left that can hurt me? And what will happen to you? You go feral without me. I don’t want to lose you because of something like that,” I told him.He sighed and growled again. “I can’t protect you. I wasn’t good enough. If it had just been me and you, I would have lost.”I put my hands on either side of his face. Rock often felt he was inadequate because he wasn’t a full troll. He hid it as much as he could, but I was around him a lot. I could hear the slight change in him. And our mate bond let me feel it in him as well.At least that went both ways, so he could feel how much I admired and adored him. Our connection tingled, and I felt a slight dampness at the corners of my eyes. He did protect me. He was so strong and so brave.“You wouldn’t have lost. You could focus on one at a time because you had support. I’m safe because you were there. If I’d been alone, I… I don’t know what would have happened.”“Those things could have hurt you or taken you away. I could have lost you and I wouldn’t know how to get you back.”I wiggled in his grasp and managed to get up to where I could kiss him. Rock wasn’t just scared. He was angry. As he thought about it, his anger and fear grew stronger. That was a dangerous combination.His lips didn’t move as I kissed him. So I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth and bit it. He rolled until he was on top of me and started kissing me aggressively.The anger and fear started giving way to desire. I smiled as I writhed against him and sighed against his lips. We were here. We were alive. We were safe.That was all I needed. If I let Rock send me away, I was afraid I would lose him. Rock didn’t need me as much as I needed him. He might see his being half-human as a weakness, but he was a hell of a lot more useful than a blind werewolf.Although we were both broken, he was still whole. Rock’s arms moved to hold me in a gentler, less possessive, way.“If something like that happens again, I want you to shift and run away. Run straight to the fae lands. Don’t stop until you find Forrest or Elbio. No matter what, I want you to run,” Rock whispered.“But I want to be there if something happens to you.”“I can fight better if I know you’ve gone for help. I’ll fight harder to make sure I’m still alive when they get to me. Promise me you’ll run away,” he insisted.I could feel the pain in him for having to ask that. Trolls didn’t ask for help if they could avoid it. They certainly wouldn’t ask if their mate’s safety was in question. They all knew they were strong.“Okay, I’ll run away, Rock. I promise I’ll run away and get help,” I replied.“You made a promise to a fae. You can never break it.”“I never will. I’ll always run away and get help.”He didn’t realize that I never made any promises about what I would do after I’d gotten help. After getting help, I’d half-shift and go with them. Now that I could, I would use that form to help my mate fight. He wouldn’t have to do it alone.Rock’s hands started exploring my body. He was happy I’d accepted with little argument. I moaned as his kisses started going lower. Rock took his time savoring my neck. I started massaging his ears as he nibbled on the mark he gave me.“Goddess, your soft little hands are so amazing on my ears, Carmen,” Rock murmured against my skin. I smiled. Whenever he praised me for anything, my heart swelled so much I thought I was going to choke on it. Nothing had ever felt so good as my mate saying nice things to me. Especially when we were in bed. He knew exactly how to make me feel good, inside and out. “Rock, you’re amazing. I love you. I love everything you do to me,” I whispered.Rock’s arms held me tighter. He was my universe, and I’d never loved anything more in my life. I’d always be there for him and I knew he’d always be there for me. His kisses went lower, to my collarbone. My head listed to the side, giving more room for his tusk. I loved the feeling of it against my skin. The solid smoothness of it against my jaw made me quiver deliciously. He kept going lower and lower until he finally reached my breasts. His hands caressed them as his lips moved up and down my cleavage. I could feel a delicious heat spreading all over my body. My nіpples hardened against his palms and it felt like electricity was running through me.Just then, the sound of my brother’s ringtone echoing through the room interrupted us. We both sighed and Rock rolled off of me. For a moment, I was upset about the call interrupting us. Then I remembered why we even stopped for it. I made Rock promise that if my brother called, no matter what we were doing, we would stop and answer the phone. I sat up in the bed and turned to where my phone was. Rock had already picked it up and put it into my hand. I put the phone up to my ear. “Mike? Is it the babies?” I asked. “Hey, Carmen, it’s Lily. Mike is having me call everyone because he’s on his way to the hospital with Beth. She’s been super uncomfortable, and it started getting worse in the last few hours, then her water broke. Now they’re in a panic because they expected labor to be more distinctive before it got to that point. Darla and Ben are staying home to rest so they can take over tomorrow, since Trent went to go meet with the other leaders in the alliance about an hour ago.” “Did you call him? You know Mike and Beth are going to want you both there,” I said. “I called, but it went to voicemail. So I sent a text letting him know. He’s been really busy lately. It’s like I never see him anymore...” she replied. “It’ll be over soon and you’ll have your husband back. I’m going to let you go. I was in bed, so I have to get dressed. Will I see you there?” “As soon as I finish making all the calls, I’m going to head out. I’ll meet you there.” With that, Luna Lily hung up on me. Just like Mike, Ben, and Trent were best friends, their wives had grown that close. They all supported each other. The Alpha was always one of the first people to meet the new ranked members of the pack. I hoped Trent made it there and didn’t get caught up in everything else. Mike really wanted him there. For Mike and Beth, the birth of their triplets was a dream come true. They wanted to share it with everyone. We never thought it would be possible for them. The pups were a blessing. I handed the phone back to Rock, who had finished dressing while I talked with Lily. He kissed my forehead as I sighed. I really wished that we could have taken a little more time to ourselves. It was important to get dressed and get over to the hospital, but I regretted not being able to enjoy a little bit of alone time with my mate.As quickly as I could, I went to grab something to wear. It didn’t take long to throw on some pants and a T-shirt. Rock was waiting for me by the front door when I finished. He had a bag he insisted on taking with us. It had a couple of books, some snacks, and a deck of braille playing cards. He said it could take a while, so he insisted on taking his bag to make sure I was taken care of. We went out to the truck, and he helped me in, as usual. I was practically buzzing with excitement. I was going to be an aunt! Buckling my seatbelt, I could barely contain myself. After we arrived at the hospital and he let me out of the truck, I was going to get to meet my nephews and niece. I couldn’t wait. Rock held me back, so I didn’t go rushing off ahead of him. The front desk staff directed us to the maternity ward. Once we arrived, my mom was already there with Luna Lily, looking as anxious as I felt. Everyone was concerned about Mike and Beth.My mom rushed over to us and hugged me, then I felt her move me aside. I used my magic to see her hugging Rock. He patted her back awkwardly. He was so cute when he didn’t know what to do. “Any news?” I asked. “No, not yet. They’re in the delivery room right now. I wanted to be in the room, but Beth and Mike asked me to wait out here,” my mom replied.“It’s nothing against you, Mom. They just need time to do this together. Having multiples can be difficult and they’re already late. Mike and Beth might be scared and worried. She sighed. “I know. I haven’t been the most reliable and emotionally stable parent in the world. That’s why they really don’t want me in there. I’m working on it, but it might take a long time to heal our family.” I hugged her again. “You’re here. They told you about the babies and they have you here, waiting to meet them. It’s going to be okay. And they might decide to have more after the triplets. Maybe you can be in with them for the next baby.” “Or I can be there for yours...” Mom suggested. “Sorry, troll tradition. The parents and the healer are the only ones allowed in the room. No one else. The child will be blessed and viewed one week after it is born,” Rock told her. I hadn’t been aware of that tradition. Though, I didn’t know all of their traditions yet. I smiled tightly at my mom and shrugged. She sighed again but didn’t sound happy. “Let’s sit down. This could take a while,” I said.