Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 61

There was a ringing in Ronnie’s ears; the explosion happened so suddenly she could hardly grasp the concept of what just happened. She just remembered Arina falling to the ground, and she screamed out Arina’s name in horror as b***d splattered across her face.

The smoke was dark and thick, making it difficult see-through and breathe. Ronnie got a glimpse of Erick’s panicked expression as he searched through the cloud of smoke for her. She tried to call his name out, but more smoke made its way through her lungs, stopping her words and making her cough.

Thankfully, he heard her coughing and his eyes found hers. They widened as she began falling to the ground herself. Before her body reached the ground, his arms were already around her in a protective hold. She had no idea how he was so calm and able to navigate so easily through the smoke, but he manages to pull her off to an area that was less intoxicated.

The dirt around her was hinged from the explosion and she still heard a deep ringing sound in her ears. She could feel herself about to blackout when Erick came back into view. He was holding Arina in his arms; Arina was completely passed out and was red from head to toe in b***d and heat from the explosion.

That was enough to keep Ronnie awake; she tried to stand up, but Erick motioned for her to keep seated. He laid Arina next to her; assessing her body, there was hardly any movement from her chest. She was hardly breathing.

He knelt to the ground beside her and pressed his ear against her chest, trying to hear for a heartbeat. After a moment, he lifted her head so she can gain more air into her lungs.

Ronnie’s body was trembling as she watched her sister fighting for her life. She looked around wildly, trying to figure out where the explosion came from. There didn’t seem to be anybody in the area, so either the explosion was planted there and timed to go off that exact moment, or it was thrown from a distance.

One different move and they all would have been dead. It was amazing they were alive as is. Tears flooded down Ronnie’s face as she thought about the fatal outcome; she was terrified.

“We need to get back to the house!” Erick yelled; Ronnie’s hearing was beginning to return to her; at least enough to where she was able to hear him.

She nodded as she scrambled to her feet. Her body was still trembling.

Erick lifted Arina and they walked back to the house, slowly and cautiously.

As they got further away from the smoke, it began getting easier to breathe. She was too afraid to look behind her and see what was going on.

Ronnie was relieved when they finally got back to the house; as she collapsed on the couch, breathless and exhausted, her adrenaline began coming down. Soon, her body began aching as she realized she did receive some damages from the explosion. The heat was rising in her body; her arms were scraped, and her legs were charred.

She had bruises on her ribcages, and she could feel dried b***d on her face as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand. Her fingers were dark and covered in soot; b***d blisters hidden behind her nails.

Erick went to place Arina in her bed; Ronnie could feel more tears escaping her eyes as she struggled to get off the couch. She needed to see Arina and make sure she was okay; she needed to make sure the baby was okay.

They all knew a war was a possibility, but they had no idea the extent of what Graham was willing to do to conquer the territories. An actual explosion could have wiped out all Sabrebite. However, this explosion was close to the house, so it almost seemed as though they were being targeted.

Erick came out of the bedroom a few moments later, frowning at Ronnie as she attempted to stand to her feet.

“You need to rest,” he told her, making his way over to her. Sitting down beside her, he wrapped his arms around her to keep her still.

“I need to see Arina,” she told him; her voice sounded raspy as she attempted to use her strong voice. Her throat still ached from the amount of smoke that she consumed.

“She’s fine,” he assured her. “She’s resting and she’s breathing. I’m anticipating her to wake up soon but for now, there’s nothing we can do except wait.”

She sighed.

“What the hell was that?” She croaked as she buried her face into his shirt; tears continued pouring from her eyes.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But Naomi channeled me right before the explosion.”

She looked up at him confused; she noticed that right before the explosion he had an expression she couldn’t quite read. She knew he was thinking about something and whatever it was, it worried him.

“She told me there was going to be an explosion and that I needed to you both out of there as quickly as I could. She told me that we would get injured during the explosion but if we take off at that moment, we will survive it. That’s how I know Arina will be okay because Naomi told me.”

“She knew about the explosion?” Ronnie whispered.

Erick nodded.

“It doesn’t surprise me. She’s the Witch of Perception. She has the sight,” Erick responded.

“So, she must know who caused it?” Ronnie asked, peering up at him.

“She didn’t say,” he answered. “But I’m sure she will tell us as soon as she arrives here.”

Before Ronnie could say anything else, they were interrupted by coughing coming from Arina’s bedroom. That was enough to spring Ronnie to her feet.

Arina was awake.

Arina sat up in bed, coughing up all the soot she’s consumed during the explosion. Her blonde girls were dark and crisp. Besides the b***d that covered her face, there were also dark smudges of soot lingering on her features. Her clothing was nearly burned to a crisp.

It was amazing she was even alive, to begin with, and that the baby survived as well.

She was trembling as she looked around her surroundings, confusion on her face for a long while. Ronnie gave her some time to process everything that had happened; sitting at her bedside she touched her fingers to Arina’s hand, trying to provide her with a comforting touch to soothe her.

Erick stood at the doorway, watching carefully as Arina continued to cough up her lungs. He disappeared only for a moment but returned with a clear glass of water. Handing it to her, she sipped it gradually.

She sighed out in relief as the coolness of the water washed away the rest of the soot and made it possible for her to breathe.

“Just breathe,” Ronnie told her gently; trying her best to seem as compassionate as she could and keep the fear out of her own voice.

Tears were forming in Arina’s eyes as she stared at both Erick and Ronnie. Eventually, her eyes landed on just Ronnie alone and she began sobbing. Without hesitation, Ronnie wrapped her in her arms and allowed her to cry into her shoulders. Her frail body still trembling.

“It’s okay…” Ronnie breathed to her, patting down her dried-out blonde curls. “It’ll be okay.”

She wasn’t even positive if Arina could hear her. Even Ronnie’s hearing was still a little funny. That explosion was so loud, it knocked out her eardrums.

“I saw her…” Arina whispered against Ronnie as she sniffled away some of her tears.

Ronnie pulled back only slightly so she could look at Arina’s face.

“Saw who?” Ronnie asked her.

“My mother,” Arina sobbed.

Ronnie’s mouth dropped open. Emlin, Arina’s mother, has been dead for over 17 years. It wasn’t possible that Arina could see her. Unless Emlin was the red moon goddess and she finally answered Arina’s prayers.

“She came to me while I was asleep,” Arina continued as she cried into her hands.

“What did she say?” Ronnie asked.

“She’s the white moon goddess,” Arina informed her.

The white moon goddess? As far as Ronnie knew, there was only one white moon goddess, and her name was Nyx. She’s been the goddess for centuries.

“Nyx retired,” Arina said, reading the confusion off Ronnie’s face.

“Retired?” Ronnie breathed; she didn’t even know Nyx could retire. Let alone appoint someone else to take over for her.

“My mother came to me to warn me about Rock,” Arina sobbed.

Ronnie frowned; she knew Rock was up to something; he was always up to something. But what could he have gotten into that Emlin felt the need to send a warning?

“What’s he going to do?” Ronnie asked, hesitantly.

“He wants my baby, Ronnie,” Arina cried, throwing her arms around a now from Ronnie. “He wants to take my baby and sell her to people who might either use her as a slave or eat her.”

“Eat her?” Ronnie asked, disgusted.

Arina nodded into Ronnie’s shoulder.

“He has this whole business going where he sells newborn babies. It’s disgusting. But he wants mine specifically because of the Davis bloodline. That makes my daughter more valuable.”

Ronnie’s frown deepened as she allowed that information to process. She knew there was a possibility that none of this was real and that it could have all been a dream. A lot has happened lately and she didn’t blame Arina for being overly exhausted and freaked out. But at the same time, this was Rock they were talking about, and it was incredibly plausible that he’d be planning something stupid.

She didn’t think Rock would have it in him to sell newborn children, but then again, she didn’t know him that well to begin with. He is never a father to her and the amount of shit she’s watched him do over the years, the way he treats women, the way he treats Melissa. It was plausible that he could be in the black market for selling infants.

If that was the case, it was disgusting and it turned Ronnie’s stomach just thinking about it.

“We can’t let him get to my baby,” Arina sobbed, tightening her hold around Ronnie.

“We won’t…” Ronnie said softly; she stared over at Erick who was still standing at the doorway, his mouth was propped open as he stared at the girls in shock at what he had just heard. “We won’t…” she repeated, her voice sounding stronger.