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Ree’s heart pounded when she realized the girl and two boys were Dark Ones It was obvious the parents were aware that there was a group behind the over his shoulder while the mother pushed the double stroller next to him at a faster speed than noroing to kill the fa in the stroller Power flooded into her, but this time she pulled fro over her shoulder, the blond girl said sorowl ripped from Paden’s chest In unison the two irl made a beeline for the family They were fast – so fast she could barely see the colors of their clothes as they blurred forward Instead of fear, though, Ree was filled with anger Dropping to one knee, she thrust the power into the ground and it rippled ahead of her, throwing one of the guys on his side in surprise There was a whoosh of air next to her as someone rushed forward to ht in front of hi, he caht while Sophie’s dagger glinted silver

Ree didn’t have tiained his feet and wasdrew Ree’s attention toward the family and her stomach clenched The father had shoved the mother and stroller behind hi hi, causing dust and gravel to rain down on the street He wasn’t , and Ree feared he was dead She launched herself forward, throwing a ball of energy at the blonde, Weylin and Jules keeping pace with her as she ran forward At the last moment the Dark One rolled out of the way and rose to her feet in thein derision, the fe away

"Go!" Weylin and Juliette responded to Sophie immediately and took off after the Dark One

Ree’s attention was turned back to the fa The wo next to her husband, the stroller tucked as close to her as possible

"Wake up, John Please wake up Don’t do this, please don’t do this" She was brushing the hair away fro Ree moved closer slowly and held out her hands to show she meant no harm Tears ran down the woman’s heart-shaped face when she met Ree’s eyes "She wanted Caleb and Cole He told her no God, please help me Don’t let him be dead"

Ree knelt next to her and felt Sophie and Paden join the was shallow Still holding the power Ree could tell he was barely holding on to life There was no ti at Paden she felt tears fill her eyes He dropped to his knees next to thefast, his breathing al brighter and brighter in Ree’swith frustration under his breath, Paden was checking John for more injuries Sophie had taken one of the babies out of the stroller and handed him to hiswords in his ear The young wo the baby, but her eyes never left her husband

Paden’s fingers stopped just above the gaping wound on the low ean to close Ree felt her hter to her chest As the skin knitted closed the asped in shock and relief, her tear-filled eyes wide in astonishment She threw herself into confusedbetween the position and ran a hand across his forehead, then stopped and looked at it incredulously Without warning, the woman launched herself at Paden and wrapped her arround with a loud thwack

"Thank you, thank you!"

Paden shoved her dark brown hair out of his mouth and aardly patted her on the back He looked at Ree helplessly, and she pressed her hand to herat the the baby that was now in his arerly and looked at the blood on his hand "Hush, Caleb Everything’s going to be just fine I’ve got you" He rubbed the infant’s back gently "Anyone want to tell ether in confusion

"So the corner they gave it up" Her voice was kind as Sophie helped the woman to her feet and handed her the other little boy

"Shh, Cole Everything is all right," The young entle pattern as she settled the s at them curiously and that hen Ree felt the simmer just underneath the surface of his skin Ree looked at Sophie in curiosity, because she suspected this stranger had an immortal ancestor somewhere down his fah; she was looking at Weylin and Juliette who had just made it back

Weylin shook his head in answer to the question in Sophie’s eyes Apparently the female Dark One had escaped Three people rounded the corner, and Ree was relieved to see it was the rest of their group When they got a little closer, Ree could see that there was blood on Melanie’s shirt, and Bryce had a rip in the knee of his jeans

"Everyone okay?" Sophie asked

Roland nodded and looked at the little faainst the wall "We ran into a little trouble, but we’re all fine"

"Is there soirl pick ood sixty pounds more than her" John handed the baby back to his wife and stepped forward

"Probably drugs," Weylin offered "They showed a video of a guy on PCP in our health class He was crazy and did all sorts of things that shouldn’t have been possible"

John looked at each of them, obviously not corateful for your ti Thank you"

Loud cracks of thunder and explosions of color split the night sky, signaling the beginning of the new year The young couple ducked their heads in shock and the babies began to wail again Car horns honked while people sang in the distance For the first tied to save this faood to know she had helped keep soht for the new year

Chapter 33

They continued walking the streets for another hour, but they didn’t encounter any ht up with them by the time they had reached the City Market Sophie checked her cell phone and stopped their little group near the pub owned by Paden’s fauys head in there for a bit while and I try to reach Roland?"

Ree’s stomach dropped as she looked around the Market Goose bu her ar atching them She looked at Sophie to see if she had felt it as well, but the Immortal wouldn’t meet her eyes "If Roland and I don’t show up then you keep yourself in that pub until daybreak Is that understood?"

"But – " Ree started, but Sophie interrupted her

"I doubt anything is wrong It’s just a precaution, okay?" She watched theone by the tilass

An ear-splitting squeal made Ree wince, and she turned around just in tihed loudly and spun her around