by Sky Winters
“We’re standing,” said Rick, crossing his thick arms over his chest.
“Do I need to remind you both that I hold all the cards here?” said Stone. “Sit, now, or you’ll never see your precious omega again.”
Samuel hated to be told what to do –it went against every alpha instinct he had− but he knew he didn’t have a choice. He nodded to Rick, and the two of them took their seats across from Stone.
“First of all,” he said. “My congratulations on the children.”
“Save it,” said Samuel. “And get to the point.”
“Very well,” said Stone. “I’ll get to my deal – I want you to ensure that Manhattan is mine. Simple as that. I’m going to be making some major moves in the next few months, and I want to make sure that your little clan isn’t going to be giving me any trouble.”
“You kidnapped Jessie to make sure we weren’t going to do something we weren’t going to do anyway?” asked Rick.
“I had to get your attention somehow,” he said. “And I wanted you both to know that I can get to you whenever I want. But as long as you stay in Brooklyn, we’ll have no problems. Got it?”
Samuel wanted to make him pay for what he’d done. But more than that, he wanted Jessie to be safe. If letting Stone make his power plays in another part of the city is what it would take, he was ready to agree. Sure, they might have to tangle with him in the future, but that could wait until their clan was more consolidated.
“I want to see her,” said Samuel. “Before we agree to anything, I want to make sure you haven’t laid a goddamn hand on her.”
Stone looked away for a moment, as if considering the matter.
“Very well,” he said. “She’s here in the apartment, and I can bring her in for a moment. But there is to be no talking. She’ll have her eyes covered, and you’re both not to let her know you’re here. After you confirm she’s in good shape, we’ll put our agreement into writing. Understood?”
“Fine,” said Samuel. “Just bring her in here.”
“Very well,” said Stone. “One moment.”
He finished his drink and left the study. Samuel and Rick sat in silence for several long moments.
“I don’t like this,” said Rick.
“I don’t either,” said Samuel. “Stay frosty.”
Several moments passed. Then, a heavy click sounded from the door.
Samuel knew instantly that they’d been locked in.
“Shit!” he shouted, getting up.
The fire in the fireplace grew, changing to a deep, red color, the heat in the space growing by the second.
“Fuck!” shouted Rick. “That’s dragon fire! He’s trapped us in here and is gonna roast us alive!”
“Lying fucker,” hissed Samuel. “We need to move!”
They both rushed to the study doors and began slamming their bodies hard against them.
“Too thick!” said Rick. “We need to shift!”
Samuel nodded and they both shifted into their dragon forms. Once changed, they easily smashed through the study door and moved back into the entrance lobby. The two men who had led them into the study were there, both shifted into their beta dragon forms.
Rick nodded toward the dragons before turning his attention back to the study.
Samuel knew what this meant – I’ll take them, you get out and find Jessie.
Without waiting for a response, Rick stormed toward the dragons, fire shooting out from his mouth. Samuel took one last look at Rick, hoping that he’d be able to hold his own against the two betas.
Samuel ran back into the study, the dragon fire hot on his scales. The fire spread by the second, and he just as he began to wonder what the hell he was going to do, a familiar dragon appeared in front of the window outside.
It was Jonas.
They’d planned for Stone to commit some kind of underhanded business, and left Jonas in a watching position just to make sure that they had backup.
Jonas swooped into the study and shifted back into his human form.
“They’re on the rooftop!” he shouted, the fire roaring around him. “They’re taking Jessie!”
Samuel didn’t need to hear another word. Jonas shifted into his dragon form and the two of them burst through the study windows and into the night sky. They flew up, up, reaching the top of the skyscraper.
Once there, they spotted Stone along with three other men, one of whom Samuel could tell was a human by his scent. A helicopter with spinning blades sat in the center of the roof.
And Jessie was with them.
The three men climbed into the helicopter, the human shooting out his hand for Jessie.
Samuel nodded to Jonas, signifying for them to split up. Samuel rushed toward Stone, who shifted into his silver alpha form.
Samuel’s stomach tightened – an alpha like Stone wouldn’t go down easy. He knew the fight could easily take a turn for the worse.
He rushed in and grabbed onto Stone’s shoulders, trying to pin the dragon down on the helipad. But Stone was strong, and fought back against Samuel with all he had.
Stone opened his jaws and snapped hard, his razor-sharp teeth coming closer and closer to Samuel’s body. He knew he couldn’t hold Stone back for long.
Two of the betas had shifted, and Jonas was in the middle of combat with them both. Samuel glanced around frantically for Jessie, and spotted her hiding.
Stone’s jaw finally managed to bite down onto Samuel. His teeth sank into Samuel’s shoulder, pain shooting out through his body. He staggered backward and fell, crashing onto the helipad.
Stone stepped forward, looming over Samuel. A wicked smirk formed on Stone’s dragon lips as he prepared to move in for the kill.
With a roar, Stone lunged down. Samuel’s hand shot out, his claw wrapping around the helicopter. The cab crunched in his hand, killing whoever was inside. Then, with a swift motion, he drove the helicopter blades into Stone’s chest as he pounced.
The blades cut through Stone’s scales like it was paper.
Stone let out a howl of pain, an expression of shock and agony on his face. He stood back up straight, whipping his head around toward Jessie and began rearing his head back to blast a plume of fire at her.
But Samuel didn’t give him the chance. He shot to his feet and drove his claws into Stone’s chest, carving into him. Blood dripped from Stone’s mouth and he gave Samuel one more look of rage before collapsing in a heap.
Samuel shifted just in time to see Jonas had finished off the two betas with a blast of fire.
“Come on!” shouted Samuel to Jessie. “We need to go – now!”
He shifted back into his dragon form and she changed into hers, which was a gorgeous, pearl-white color. The three of them rose off of the roof, the wreckage from the fire smoldering beneath them.
To Samuel’s relief, Rick emerged from the shattered windows of the apartment and joined them in the air. Together, the four of them made their way to the roof of the next building over, not wanting to risk exposing themselves to anyone watching.
They landed and shifted back to their human forms, all of them rushing over to Jessie to embrace her.
“Are you okay?” asked Samuel.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Where are the girls?”
“They’re safe,” said Jonas. “I left them with an allied clan.”
Samuel turned his attention to the fire raging in Stone’s apartment. It was the deep red color of dragon fire, and grew by the second.
“That fire’s going to take down that building if we don’t do something,” said Rick.
Samuel stepped over to the edge of the roof and glanced down. Fire trucks, some from his station, were already gathered at street level, the reds and blues of their lights blaring.
“Think we could lend a hand?” said Samuel.
“Don’t see why not,” said Rick. “It is our job, after all.”
“I want to help,” said Jessie.
Samuel shot her a quizzical lo
ok.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
“Can’t stand on the sidelines forever,” she said with a smile.
Samuel smirked, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to talk her out of it.
“Then let’s not waste another second.”
EPILOGUE
JESSIE
Two months later...
Jessie woke up to the warmth of the sunlight streaming in through the bedroom windows. The summer sun was low in the sky, and a smile spread out across her face. She was rested and refreshed, ready for the day ahead.
“Morning, sweet thing,” came a gruff voice from the other side of the bed.
Jessie stretched out her arms and sat up. After this, she rubbed her eyes and turned her attention to the source of the voice. It was Rick, of course, the white blanket pulled up to his chest, covering the lower half of his gorgeous, tattoo-covered body.
“Morning,” she said, leaning over and planting a kiss on his lips, his red beard brushing against her face.
She let out a giggle, the sensation tickling her like it always did.
“You know,” he said. “One of these days, I’m going to think you’re laughing at me. I’m awful sensitive about things like that, you know.”
Jessie chuckled again at the idea of a tough guy like Rick being considered anything close to “sensitive.”
“You could always shave that beard of yours if you’re so upset about it,” she said with a teasing smile.
He grabbed a handful of his fire-red beard.
“You kidding?” he asked. “This beard’s the source of my power.”
“Is that right?” she asked.
“Yep,” he said, inching closer to her. “And I’m pretty sure after last night you’ve got a good idea of how much power I’m packing.”
She glanced down and saw that Rick’s cock was hard, tenting the fabric of the sheets. Jessie felt her pussy clench at the sight of it.
“Hey, now,” she said, knowing what he had in mind. “You had your few days with me. Now it’s Samuel’s turn.”
“He’s an understanding guy,” said Rick. “He won’t mind if my time with the sexiest girl in New York stretches into the morning.”
The offer was tempting. But before Jessie could give it too much thought, the sound of three babies crying cut through the air. Jessie and Rick shared a knowing look.
“Guess that means no morning fun,” said Rick.
Jessie leaned in and gave him another kiss.
“I’ll be sure to make it up to you the next time.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, you know,” said Rick with a grin. “I’m going to show – let me know if you need any help.”
The two of them hopped out of bed, Jessie throwing on a robe as she made her way to the bedroom door.
She opened the door to see Jonas hurrying down the hallway toward the direction of the nursery.
“Hey,” he said. “I can handle the kids if you want to sleep in.”
“Nah,” said Jessie. “I’m already up. Besides, it’s not like I don’t like seeing the little guys.
She stepped into the nursery with Samuel, Jonas following close behind.
“Morning,” said Jonas.
“Morning, sexy,” she said, leaning over and planting a kiss on his smooth cheek.
“Hey,” said Samuel with a smile. “What about me?”
“You’re sexy too,” said Jessie. “Don’t you worry.”
She kissed him next before hurrying over to the cribs.
Each one of the cribs contained a squirming, crying baby boy. There were three – Alexander, Clay, and William.
“Shh,” said Jessie, picking up Alexander. “It’s okay, baby.”
Samuel and Jonas took the other two boys, holding them close. Before too long, the crying stopped.
“Go team,” said Samuel.
“Yeah,” said Jonas. “Three kids is tough, but four parents sure helps.”
Jessie said nothing, holding her little boy close. As he calmed down in her arms, she reflected over the last couple of months since she’d become a mother.
The faster pregnancy time had shocked the hell out of her. Her mother had gone to such great lengths to keep Jessie away from her omega nature and the alphas that came with it that she hadn’t known the first thing about what it was like to be a shifter mom.
First thing was that pregnancy was much, much faster. When she’d finally come to terms with the news that she was pregnant, she’d mentally settled in for nine months to get ready. Her shock was severe, to say the least, when she learned that omegas, when impregnated by alphas, only needed a couple of months to carry the babies to term.
Everything during those months had seemed beyond crazy. Stone’s death had left a massive power vacuum in the city, and her three alphas did everything they could to secure their hold on Brooklyn. Once word had gotten out that they’d been the ones to take out Stone, no one wanted to risk getting on their bad sides.
So, Jessie and her alphas had become the de facto rulers of the Brooklyn shifters. They had dozens of dragons working underneath them, money and power flowing upward. Soon, they were worth billions, and as much as they’d hated to do it, they were forced to retire from their full-time firefighting jobs. However, their ample money made it very easy to make sure that they kept the FDNY rich in donations, and they even managed to squeeze in a few shifts here and there as volunteers.
Once the dust had settled from Stone’s death and the ascent of their clan, Jessie was ready to settle in with her alphas and enjoy her life as a mother.
And that’s just what she did.
“The babies are up!” shouted Lucy, her and her sisters peeking into the nursery and watching the scene.
“They sure are,” said Jessie. “You want to hold them?”
“Yeah!” said Sarah.
The girls rushed over, each of them taking one of the baby boys. The girls held the babies close, following Jessie and the men into the living room.
“I started breakfast,” said Jonas. “It’s a nice day outside, so I thought we could all go to Central Park and enjoy ourselves.”
“That sounds lovely,” said Jessie.
The girls placed the babies into their high chairs and they all sat down to eat.
Once Jessie had her plate in front of her, however, she found her mind drifting. She thought back to the life she’d left behind, back when she could pretend she was a human. Sure, she still spent time with her old friend Kelsey when she could, but there was a gulf between them. And the worst part was, she couldn’t even tell her about it. She couldn’t even mention the kids or risk her asking questions about how quickly they were born.
And then there was Boyd. He’d died back when Stone had kidnapped her, killed when the helicopter was destroyed. Sure, she knew he’d made his decision. But she couldn’t help but feel like when he died, any chance of a normal life died with him.
Everything Stone had told her about her blood disease had been a lie, of course. She’d gone in for multiple checkups when she’d been pregnant, and never once did she appear to have come down with anything like her mother had died from.
Her life seemed to be perfect.
“What’s up?” asked Samuel as the family ate their breakfast.
“Huh?” asked Jessie.
“You look like you’re a million miles away.”
Jessie shook her head.
“Just...thinking about what I want to do today.”
“Any suggestions?” asked Rick.
“Nope,” she said. “Just happy as long as I’m with all of you.”
Once done with breakfast, the five of them cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for their day out in the city. Being a billionaire had its perks, and one of them was that they were able to take multiple cars through the city whenever they wanted to go anywhere as a family.
Jessie and the guys loaded up the girls and the babies, and soon, they were off. Once settled in her seat, Jessie smiled
as Lucy crawled onto her lap and wrapped her little arms around Jessie.
“I love you, Mama Jessie,” she said.
“And I love you too, little lady,” said Jessie before planting a kiss on her forehead.
Lucy on her lap, Jessie watched the city pass them by. The sky was a perfect blue, and the sun was up high above them. They crossed over the Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan looking as amazing and majestic as ever.
After a brief drive through the city, the little convey ended up at Central Park. They piled out and made their way to the park, the kids eager to enjoy the beautiful day.
They arrived on a small bluff, each of the men holding a baby on his lap as the girls played with one another.
Then Jessie caught the scent of a shifter. It was a beta dragon – her senses had gotten sharp enough to be able to pick that out. She turned to see a man approach them.
A tinge of fear ran through her body as the man approached. She wondered if it was some up-and-coming dragon looking for a chance to make his mark by taking out the most powerful alphas in the city.
But instead, he simply leaned forward, spoke something to the men, and headed off.
The alphas regarded one another.
“What’s up?” asked Jessie.
“One of the bear clans in Brooklyn is getting rowdy,” said Jonas. “Looks like we might need to step in.”
“But it can wait,” said Samuel. “This city isn’t going to fall apart without us.”
“Right,” said Rick. “All that matters now is enjoying the afternoon with the ones we love.”
At that moment, Jessie’s heart filled with a deep, warm joy. She took in the sight of her girls playing and her men doting on their adorable little baby boys. Everything seemed perfect, like nothing could touch her.
“I love you guys,” she said, leaning in and giving her men a kiss on their cheeks, one by one.
“And we love you,” said Samuel with a smile.
“Yeah,” said Rick. “Couldn’t ask for a better woman.”
Then they all shared another knowing look.
“Uh oh,” said Jessie. “What is it now.”
“The guys and I got to talking,” said Samuel. “And we decided there was one thing we needed to do to make this all perfect.”