[Rhett]After the Alpha left, Dolly sealed up the cave. I didn’t know why she hadn’t before, but then I realized I was thinking like an adult, not a child. She wouldn’t have thought anyone else would have come in here.“I should be out there helping if Carmen’s safe with you,” Austin said to me.“You’re an omega, Austin. They have warriors, vampires, witches, and fae fighting. All you would be is another target. Gemma needs you to come home. Don’t do something foolish because you think you should be the hero,” Carmen chided.She couldn’t see his face, but I saw a very familiar expression. It reminded me of myself. He didn’t like being told he wasn’t enough. It was especially hard to hear from someone who wasn’t exactly capable herself.“I don’t have to fight. I can help take care of people. Rock said not all roles on a battlefield require fighting. What if I could have been the difference between someone in the pack living or dying?” he asked.“Please, Austin. I’m scared and if I lose Rock, I’m going to need all the support I can get. You and Rhett are the only people in this place who supported me and Rock. Dolly is just a kid, and my dad was willing to seek out dangerous magic to get Rock away from me,” Carmen replied, gripping his hand tightly.“How did you know that?” Matt asked.“Because I saw it. The magic I got from the fae blessing lets me get brief glimpses of things. I’m better with the past, but I have seen a few things that wouldn’t take place until the future. The seers I saw said it was more of an intuition than a foretelling, but I think it’s a little of both.”“So you saw when he came to me?” I asked.“I did. You tricked him into thinking you were agreeing to what he wanted before taking the fae magic from him and making him blind. I also saw you dump him outside your woods with nothing and no sight,” she said.I chuckled about that. Matt didn’t get angry and Carmen didn’t sound upset. Usually, that would have upset someone, but she laughed dryly and smiled.“He deserved it. I might be forgiving, but you caused me a lot of pain, Dad. You hurt me when you didn’t need to. You tried to take me from my fated mate. I saw you getting your mind back. Everything you’ve been through and every revelation you had about your behavior and how it hurt me and the people around you. I witnessed it all. Otherwise, I don’t think I ever could have forgiven you,” Carmen admitted.Dolly left the stone she was sitting on and went to Matt. She pulled him over to Carmen and joined her free hand with one of his hands. It only took a few moments for Matt to break and start crying. Carmen let go of Austin and clung to her father, crying her own tears.I watched the emotional scene unfold before me, feeling a sense of detachment. I couldn’t connect with them, not in the way they connected with each other. Every moment they went on, it reminded me that I was an outsider, a loner.But then again, I wasn’t alone, not anymore. I had Dolly, a child who saw me as a protector and a friend. Having succeeded in her goal, Dolly came back to me and hugged me. I couldn’t love in the same way as everyone else, but what I felt for her went beyond love. I would never treat my daughter the appalling way Matt treated Carmen.We stayed huddled in the dim light I was able to create in the cave. Dolly might not have needed it, but I didn’t like the idea of creatures potentially creeping up on me. It was dim enough that it didn’t show outside the cave. I didn’t know how Trent had even found the opening, but he did, and that was unchangeable.“How long will we have air?” Austin asked as he examined the cave entrance, which was now sealed.“There are holes for air in the cave,” Dolly replied. “This way, no one can come in and we can breathe.”It was good to see her speaking so confidently to someone. I hadn’t realized how much she’d grown in the past few weeks. It was almost possible to see her as the proper age.After a while, Dolly started trembling and tried to hide under my coat. Carmen’s head came up, and she turned toward the sealed entrance. Soon after, I felt a light tremor in the ground.The demon was closer. I’d thought the supernaturals would keep it in one place. I should have known better. As long as we stayed in the cave, the demon wouldn’t be able to harm my daughter.But the tremors were rapidly growing stronger. That wasn’t a battle moving, it was a purposeful stride. The demon was coming straight for us. I looked over at the werewolves.It had to have followed them. We were fine until they showed up. My darkness wasn’t happy with them, but I knew it wasn’t Carmen’s fault. Trent carried her here and Austin was simply following his Alpha’s directions. If anything happened to Dolly, I would ensure that Trent paid the price for it.Carmen’s grip on her father tightened. Austin stood guard at the entrance as if he was ready to defend us if anything broke through. Dolly clung to me, her small body shaking with fear.This was the most useless I’d felt since I was last human. So much of my magic had been depleted that I could only power these tiny lights. I couldn’t take Dolly somewhere safer.A sudden impact above us caused dirt and small rocks to fall from the ceiling. I shielded Dolly with my body so she wouldn’t get hit.If I fed on Carmen’s fae magic, I could get us out of here. She has enough magic that I could transport all of you far away.My darkness whispered in my ear often, but this time, it startled me. Carmen wasn’t my child. I liked her and wanted to help her, but if I could save Dolly.... Maybe if it just fed on a little of her blessing....No, I couldn’t do that. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the thought. I couldn’t sacrifice Carmen’s well-being for Dolly’s. That wasn’t right. If I was going to be a parent, I had to show my child how to be considerate of others. There had to be another answer.The pounding stopped, and we all froze. Dolly didn’t let go. Instead, she recoiled from the entrance as if something was coming closer.“Come out here. I know where you are. A royal fae can find any other fae and the blind bіtch is just fae enough for me to track her. You’ll never be able to escape me. You have the half-goblin girl and I know you can hear me. Give me the werewolves and I’ll let the half-goblin live.”I looked at Carmen. Horror filled her face, then regret.“I’m sorry, Rhett. I didn’t know he could follow me. If I had, I wouldn’t have stayed here.”Austin wasn’t looking at Carmen. He was looking at the sealed entrance. I saw his hand clench into a fist. The fact that he was threatening a child didn’t seem to sit well with anyone, as I could hear Matt growling. Though, maybe it was because the demon called his daughter a blind bіtch.The demon’s attack on the place we were hiding resumed. I didn’t know how far away the cavalry was.“Dolly, can you make more tunnels? Maybe one that can lead us to the other side of this hill?” I asked quietly.She nodded slowly. I gave her one more hug before letting her go. Dolly turned to the solid wall behind us while I went to gather the wolves.“We’re not giving that bastard anything. He doesn’t get to threaten my daughter and get everything he wants. We’re getting out of here. Carmen, I know you can see in your half-wolf form. That would be best for this. If you’re able to escape in your full wolf form, you won’t have any clothing. Your clothing might tear, but it will still cover you if you shift back from your half-wolf form,” I said.“I didn’t think you’d be suggesting options that kept me clothed, Rhett,” Carmen chuckled nervously. She was obviously trying to cover her fear.“My dear lady, I treat all women precisely as they wish to be treated. And you want to be treated with respect. Shift now. You and Austin can help your father while I protect Dolly.”She nodded and shifted into her half-wolf form. Her clothing was made of a material that could stretch, and it did. She adjusted her pants so her tail could come out. Soon, she was ready.“You have a half-wolf form?” Matt asked.“I do. Rock helped me to see myself, so I could picture changing this way,” Carmen admitted.He reached out to her, and she took his hand, putting it on her face. Tears filled his eyes.“I was a fool. This was something I could never give you. Our mates are supposed to make us better, but I never saw how a troll could do that for you. I know I’ve apologized before, but I’ll keep apologizing. I’m sorry I didn’t trust in the goddess more. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. You were always wise beyond your years,” Matt told her.“This is all very nice and sweet, but my amazing child is saving us. Let’s get a move on,” I remarked as I turned back to Dolly and started following her, trailing my light above me.“Stay close to me,” Dolly whisper-yelled back to us. “I’m closing the room and tunnels behind us. If you get too far away, you could die.”That made everyone move faster. My pride in Dolly was swelling as she focused on getting us out of there. She was everything I hoped my child would be.We followed Dolly through the narrow tunnels she created the walls closing behind us as we moved along. We were getting closer to safety, away from the demon and his threats. But that sense of relief was short-lived as we heard a loud crash behind us. He seemed to be trying to get at us. He must have sensed that we were moving further away.Dolly didn’t look fazed by this. Instead, she pressed on. Getting out of there was our priority. Above anything else, we needed to get to the other side and run. I wouldn’t be staying with the werewolves once we were out, though.I wouldn’t sacrifice Carmen and Austin to the demon by sending them out to face him, but I wouldn’t risk my daughter by staying near them. They were his target, not us.The last bit of the rock wall gave way to the dark of night. Bright moonlight cast shadows all over the surrounding forest. The air was fresh and cool, making me feel less like I was suffocating.“Dolly and I are leaving. I can’t protect you three and I can’t risk her life,” I explained, picking Dolly up.“Run, Rhett. I don’t want that thing to get Dolly, either. We’ll go in the opposite direction. If we make it out of this, I want to be that girl’s godmother. Make sure she survives,” Carmen replied.“Consider it done. She’ll need someone to teach her about all that goddess stuff, anyway,” I said, smiling.“Go, get out of here.”Carmen shooed us away, and I started running in the direction my darkness said was most devoid of people. Getting away from others would be safest for us.As I ran, I heard a crash that was soon accompanied by such a tremendous shaking of the earth that I stumbled. I turned to see the demon looming over Carmen and Matt. Austin was getting up in the distance as if something had knocked him away.Carmen put herself in front of her father and Austin. The demon was practically salivating as it lowered itself to face Carmen. I covered Dolly’s eyes.“Thought you could get away from me?” the demon snarled. “You were foolish to think that I wouldn’t find you. You were foolish to think that I would let you live after what you did.”The demon growled and spat as he spoke, his face contorted with rage. Carmen stood her ground, her half-wolf form shielding Matt and Austin from the monster before them.“Oberon, you showed your weakness by making a deal with this demon, and you made the demon weaker by controlling it like this. Your thirst for vengeance will be your downfall. I might not be here to see it in real life, but I had a vision about it. I’ll be laughing at you from the goddess’ realm,” Carmen snarled.The demon laughed at her words and tried to strike at Carmen with his massive, clawed hand. But Matt pulled her back, making her fall to the ground at the same time Austin rushed over to save her. Both men were swatted so hard they flew into the trees.I looked over at Austin’s broken body which had landed only a few feet from me. He landed badly, and the impact had obviously been even more violent than it looked. His eyes rolled to me before they closed, and he let out a rattling breath. “No!” Carmen screamed, just as all hell broke loose.Holding my daughter close, I turned away and ran. There was nothing I could do to help any of them. Saving Dolly was my only purpose now.