Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



The kick to my ribs sent me flying into the cage as I tried to catch my breath. "Don't worry, Sweetness, you won't be in there long," said the Alpha as he crouched down to look at me. I said crouched down because this enclosure was maybe big enough to fit a medium to large size dog. 

Unlike the larger ones for the men. I was only able to be on my hands and knees or curled up into a ball. There was no room to sit, to stand, or even to move. But that was fine. I wouldn't be in here that long. 

I lay on my side, refusing to give the asshole even a molecule of a reaction. It hurt to breath, it hurt to move, and fuck it… it just hurts. The Alpha, after getting what he wanted from me, rose to his feet and walked away, whistling a tune through the hole in his cheek. 

"Are you okay?" came the softest, sweetest voice I had ever heard in this lifetime or the past. "Turn around if you can and hold out your hand. I can make it all better," she continued, and I fought to hold back my tears. Rolling over carefully, I looked into the cage a foot away from me and saw the most beautiful woman in the world. 

Her long, black hair was nothing more than a tangled mess, probably requiring at least three to four hours to comb through… or a sharp pair of scissors. Her light brown eyes stared back at me, the concern in them shattering the rest of my resolve, and I could no longer hold back. 

I let out the loudest wail, the tears coming so fast that if this were a cartoon, I would be quickly drowning in a river of them. But it wasn't. She was there, in front of me. 

"Shh," she said softly, laying down on her side and using a hand as a cushion. The other one reached out through the bars, trying to touch me. "Everything is going to be okay," she continued, talking softly to me like I was a scared bunny and not a badass bitch. "I was a doctor before all this happened. Here, give me your hand. I will heal you."

I slowly extended my hand through the bar and grasped hers. I couldn't count the number of times I had fallen asleep just like this, my hand reaching out for hers. And just like before, I could feel the healing magic of her gift flowing into me, setting the broken rib and the bruised lungs. 

She gasped for a moment before the magic continued. I hadn't felt this good since we were living in the cabin. I chuckled, clinging to her hand as if it was my only lifeline. 

"Don't worry about a thing. The babies are okay now," she whispered to me, her voice so full of compassion that, at first, I couldn't make out what she was saying. 

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"Babies?" I asked in a horrified whisper. I know that the guys suspected something, but besides missing my period, I had no other symptoms. There was no morning sickness, no headaches, fainting, or dizziness. Sure, I slept a lot, but that was pretty on par with how I was before. But babies… 

"You didn't know?" she asked, her voice sounding horrified. "I thought you knew."

"If I knew, beyond a doubt, that I was pregnant, I can tell you right now that there is no way I would be here," I assured her, cringing as Wang Chao's voice echoed through my mind. 

I was in deep shit now, that's for sure.

"Well, if it is any consolation, they are absolutely perfect. Not a thing wrong with them at all," she continued in a voice that I could only assume was her doctor's voice. "They don't feed us much here, but I have an in with someone. He can bring you more food if I ask him."

"An in?" I asked, bemused. She didn't have an in last time we found ourselves in this predicament.  I heard the roaring of all four of my men as Wang Chao must have shared the good news. I almost felt sorry for whoever they were tossed into the ring with tonight. They would be ready to rip anyone to shreds. 

"Yes, Rip," she answered with a nod, and I nodded back. Yes, the guys were going to rip this place to pieces… wait.

"You know Rip?" I asked, gripping her hand harder but not so hard that I hurt her. She was so tiny and skinny that it practically killed me. 

"Yes," she said with a giant smile on her face. I could see the happiness shining through the streaks of dirt on her face. "He is the one that makes life worth living right now."

I let out a sigh of relief. As much as I was hoping and praying that he would be here, I also couldn't guarantee it. But if he was here, could the others be close by, too?  I sent out a quick message to my guys, asking them to keep their eyes open for any military people, especially ones that belonged to Bai Long Qiang. 

I shut down the bond as soon as I could, not wanting to listen to them freaking out over the good news.

"It is always important to have someone that makes life worth living," I responded with a smile. Maybe that was why she looked so much better in this life than the last. Rip was here to protect her.

"And now, with your twins, you will have something to keep you going, too."

"TWINS!" I screeched, not bothering to keep my voice down. I know she said babies… but I didn't think she meant twins!! I could feel Wang Chao frantically beating on the wall that I had erected between the two of us, needing to know what set me off.

'I'm fine,' I answered him with shaky breath. 'But we're expecting twins… so I'm not sure… maybe… congratulations are in order?' I continued, my head no longer working. All that I could see was the word twin lit up in bright lights in my mind as horrible, tiny clowns circled around the word on their horrible, tiny bikes. 

'Then we put an end to this right now,' growled Wang Chao. I could feel his rage from here. 'Not only did I let you get taken by that fucker of an Alpha, but you were pregnant too?!? How could I not have known?'

'Well, you guys did know before me, so I guess there is that,' I said sheepishly. I squeezed the Healer's hand in mine, not wanting to let go for a single moment. I couldn't believe that the guys had figured it out before me. 

'I will rain war down on their armies and destroy their world. They hold my pregnant wife in a cage like she is some sort of animal while they drink and make merry,' growled Wang Chao, and I could hear the exact moment that shit hit the fan, and War appeared. 'You want to fight, fight! You want to bathe in the blood of others, bathe! May you never have a moment's rest until you cross the Phlegethon River, the river of blood and fire. May your blood feed into the river so you never know peace or happiness for all of eternity!'

'Okay, Sweetheart,' I said, cringing at his rant. 'Let's dial it back a bit, okay? War can go back for a while, and you can be less creepy, okay?' I begged. It wasn't like I was opposed to that notion. In fact, it was a bit of a turn-on that my husband loved me so much that he was going to rain Hellfire down on this camp. The problem was that he couldn't do it while the Healer was in it. 

That would defeat the whole point of us coming to rescue her. 

I heard Liu Wei muttering to himself in the background, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. 'Um… what is Liu Wei doing?' I asked, more than a bit worried about the mental well-being of my husbands. I guess that this is technically not the best time to get hit with the news that not only are they going to be a father, but fathers to twins.

Meh, at least with five of us, we will outnumber the kids. 

"Death has taken out a piece of paper and is starting to write down all the names of the people he will take today. Liu Wei, on another sheet of paper, has started a list of supplies that we will need for the babies,' answered Wang Chao, sounding much more like himself. 

However, now I was worried about Liu Wei. 'And Chen Zi Han?' I asked, closing my eyes. I could feel the Healer rubbing my hand. She was no longer healing me, but sometimes, simply holding hands with someone is a type of magic in and of itself. 

There was a long pause before Wang Chao came back. 'Sorry, little one, I wasn't paying attention,' he said in a cheerful voice, and I couldn't help but cringe. A happy Wang Chao was an unstable, unpredictable one.