Clentine:
I had been walking in silence for a few minutes. Two faces kept flashing in my mind—Haiden’s, looking upset that I hadn’t told him about the plan before leaving, and Yorick’s, who seed to have been in deep pain. I wondered if running away last night had been the right choice.
"I’m just as much in pain as you are, Clentine," Mint said softly. "But let tell you, it wasn’t your fault. You had a baby with you. If you had stayed, you might have ended up in worse shape. While he managed to save himself and survive, he might not have if you were there, because all his attention would have been on keeping you safe." Mint’s words were bold enough to make stop in my tracks.
"Just because we felt the mate bond doesn’t an he’ll lose his mind over ," I replied.
"Co on, Clentine, how can soone be so clueless?" she shot back. "He told you last night that he has feelings for you, and that was before he even felt the mate bond. Stop convincing yourself you wouldn’t be his priority if sothing happened."
Her sharp tone left speechless. I kept walking down the road through the sa village, scanning my surroundings. The butcher knife rested in my belt, and I stayed alert. Then I heard strange noises coming from the woods.
I followed the sound of a woman groaning, my hand resting on the butcher knife’s handle. The mont I saw the people causing the commotion, I couldn’t help but rush forward and grab the man’s arm.
"Troy!" The instant I called his na, he turned, eyes wide.
"Clentine!" His big smile nearly knocked off my feet. He quickly set the baby down on the ground so he could wrap his arms around . His biceps squeezed so tightly it forced the breath from my lungs.
"Troy, the baby!" I reminded him sharply, hoping to be free so that I could breathe freely.
"Oh, right." He broke the hug and picked the baby back up.
"I’m so glad you’re safe."
He gave a quick glance from head to toe. "You don’t have a baby with you?"
I shook my head and waved my hand, letting him know I needed to understand what was going on before we could talk about .
"Oh, by the way, look who’s here," he whispered in excitent.
It felt like we hadn’t seen each other in years and had forgotten anyone else was around. And by ’anyone else,’ I ant the girl in pain. I looked past Troy and felt my heart flip again.
"This is Sadie?" I asked. He nodded, though the smile on his face didn’t suggest he was in pain or in a hurry to get ho. He still cradled the baby, and suddenly it made sense, he hadn’t boarded the train because he’d run into Sadie and decided to stay with her. I could see she couldn’t move.
"Sadie," I murmured, kneeling beside her and taking her hand. "Are you okay?"
Her skin was icy, almost blue, and her lips had turned purple. She looked even weaker than the last ti I’d seen her.
"How do you know ?" she whispered.
"I’m Clentine. I’m from—" I didn’t even finish before she started nodding.
"Oh, I know you. He’s— talked about you so— many tis. It’s like he always found a way to bring you up." Her words stunned , but my focus stayed on her condition.
"We need to carry her to the station. There’s food and other supplies there," I told Troy as I stood. "We can take her ho tomorrow when the train cos back."
But before I could move away, she gripped my hand and pulled back down beside her.
"I can’t walk, and going to the station won’t help . I’m in labor. I’ll have my baby any minute." She repeated herself through quiet sobs. "I can’t walk."
It broke my heart to think she’d been here all this ti, alone, while we had gone back to our packs and spent ti with our families. The thought just hurt.
"How did you survive here?" I asked. She tilted her head, as if deciding where to begin.
"You were with Haiden. Why did you leave?" Troy asked.
"I got up to grab so food. I didn’t want to wake Haiden for sothing so small, but I slipped, twisted my ankle, and passed out. By the ti I woke, he was gone. Everyone was gone." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and tears stread down her cheeks.
She bit her bottom lip, her eyes squeezing shut. She was having contractions. And now it all made sense why she hadn’t been there that day.
"Just so you know, Haiden didn’t want to leave you," I told her. "One of the crusaders lied, saying they saw you board the train. That’s how he ended up on it. He even sent lurkers back to find you."
Her eyes flew open at my words, sending goosebumps across my skin.
"Nobody ca, Clentine. I was right here. If anyone had arrived, they would have seen . I stayed at the station all week, until two days ago. Every ti I got hungry, I went into the woods, but the distance beca too much. I stayed there for a while. But nobody ca. At least– not for ," she whispered. I just stared at her, stunned. Then she shut her eyes and scread in pain.
"Oh my god, what do we do?" Troy blurted, hopping nervously in place, fear in his voice as he watched her labor.
"I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone give birth," I admitted, panic tightening my chest.
"Okay, you know what? We can do this if we just work together," I told Troy. He gave a quick nod, and we got ready to deliver the baby and take them both ho with us, the mother and her child.
Troy set the baby he was holding down on the ground, wrapping him in a blanket before running off to grab water. I stayed beside Sadie, holding her hand, trying to keep her from passing out.
"Stay with , Sadie," I said softly. "Do you have a na in mind for him? Do you rember who the father was?"
Her lips moved slowly, her voice weak as uttered. "I want his na to be Hardin." She took a shaky breath. "The father—he was soone none of council mbers would have ever approved of. He was a criminal, a young boy sent into the North for punishnt. I believe he died here." The broken smile on her lips crushed my heart.
I squeezed her hand, watching her face, trying to keep her here with . I held Sadie’s hand and told her to breathe while she pushed. Her cries grew weaker, but at last, the baby ca, a little boy.
"You did it, Sadie," I whispered, leaning close. "He’s beautiful." I waited for her to open her eyes, to smile at him, but she stayed still.
"Sadie?" My voice cracked as I shook her gently. She didn’t answer. Her lips were pale, her chest didn’t move. The truth hit hard, she was gone.
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