by Grey, Aspen
I heard his tone. By “we” he meant “you and Alexander,” and he wasn’t afraid to hide it either.
“Are we really going there again, Eric?” Clarice asked angrily. “Blue is a part of this pack now. I won’t have you continually trying to blame him for our problems with the Kurrens. We had problems with them before, and we’re going to have problems with them in the future. There’s no changing that.”
“Be quiet, Clarice,” he snapped.
“Excuse me?”
“This doesn’t concern you,” he replied. “It won’t be either of you that does the fighting when it comes down to that.”
“Maybe it won’t,” I replied.
“It will. You don’t have to like me, Blue. But if you don’t think we’re going to clash with the Kurrens because of what you and Alexander did, you’re wrong. Obviously they’ve been recruiting and now they’re scouting out our territory to see if we’re weak. It’s only a matter of time before they do something.”
“You don’t know that,” I said as I got to my feet and took the stairs to the second floor.
“Yes, I do, Blue!” Eric called after me. I slammed the bedroom door behind me and collapsed down onto my bed, doing my best to keep calm. He’d struck a nerve, a soft spot that was still there despite my best attempts to get it to go away. He knew it was still there, and he wasn’t letting it go.
But to be honest, I don’t think it was the threat of the Kurrens that had Eric upset; I think it was the fact that from the moment Alexander had saved my life back at the bar, he’d felt disrespected—disobeyed. He’d proclaimed himself leader of the pack and it wasn’t Alexander’s decision to do what he’d done, and he’d only run with it since then, rescuing Charlie, Stewart and Francis from Larcon’s harem and bringing them back here, then refusing to give them back to Larcon when he showed up at our door.
Alexander didn’t back down from what he thought was right, and I loved him for that.
But despite Eric’s dickish behavior and refusal to truly accept me as part of the pack, I couldn’t help but feel that he was right.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Alexander
Everything was going as I’d envisioned. Blue was pregnant, a part of the pack and we were happy. His father had more than accepted our relationship, Blue was doing well in school and the peace with the Kurrens had lasted the last four months without incident. I’d just finished off a successful day of trading and was ready to head home to my beautiful mate.
“See ya, Natalie,” I said to the cheery new girl behind the counter as I slid my laptop into my bag.
“Bye, Alexander!” she waved, a huge smile on her face.
She has a crush on you, I thought as I smiled back and stepped out the front door into the parking lot. If she only knew what you were.
Not only was I gay, I was also a shifter. Imagine that working out! Even those gay guys that occasionally tried girls, of which I was not one, she was a human. I’d never been with a human and I never would. The attraction simply wasn’t there. But of course, to top it all off, I was mated.
I’d taken the Ferrari out again. I tossed my bag onto the passenger seat and hopped in, gunned the engine and peeled out of the parking lot. My mind was elsewhere as I drove, thinking of what my baby boy was going to look like—if Blue was right about our cub’s gender—and possible names for him.
I really liked Stephen or Stefan, and Blue had suggested Thomas and Howard. We’d even joked about naming him something absurdly masculine like Maximus or Thor.
“Little baby Thor,” Blue had giggled. “I kind of like it!”
Despite my daydreaming, I was aware enough to slow down for Officer Brady, who was at his usual spot after the tracks hoping to make some more money off of tickets. I waved to him as I passed, going exactly the speed limit. He didn’t respond.
Being January, the sun was basically almost down, and as I turned up the first bit of hill towards the house, I saw something out of the corner of my eye up in the woods. It was just a flicker, a shadow, but it was enough to set my senses on high alert.
I slammed on the brakes. The Ferrari slid to a quick halt and I pulled to the side of the road and leapt out, my eyes scanning the tree line that was lit by the soft evening glow of the pale blue sky.
I sniffed the air, searching for scents. Hopefully it was one of ours—Tyrese out on a run or Jasper and Eric doing a scout. But I was wrong. My nose exploded with the scent of the Kurrens. Larcon and Tony and two others I didn’t recognize—betas.
“Shit!” I cursed under my breath, crouching down and preparing to shift.
Was it a full-blown attack? Had Larcon finally decided to act on his anger towards us? Or were they just on a scouting mission to check in on us?
Maybe they just forgot the territory line? I thought. No, of course they didn’t. Don’t be stupid!
It was a hopeful thought but not a realistic one. Everyone knew the boundaries—we had half the side of the mountain and they had the other. The borderlines were clear and no one crossed them without knowing what they were doing. If the Kurrens were on our side it was because they meant to be.
But if there were four of them, I was outnumbered. No matter how tough I was, I couldn’t take on two alphas with two betas backing them up. I’d need help. Besides, maybe they weren’t here to fight.
Wishful thinking!
I threw myself back into the Ferrari and gunned it, ignoring the speed limit completely as I sped towards the house. I drifted around the corner and onto our private driveway, my tires kicking up dust and rocks as I screamed up the peak.
My eyes scanned the property as I skidded to a halt in front of the door. I leapt out and raced up the stairs and inside where Tyrese was sitting with Clarice. Eric and Jasper were leaning against the wall, naked like they’d just been out for a run, with grim looks on their faces.
“What happened?” I asked. Tyrese was wounded. Had I missed a skirmish?
“Just a trap,” he replied, knowing what my conclusion might be from the situation. “Maybe a human hunter—”
“Yeah, maybe not,” Eric replied.
“I smelled them,” I said. “Larcon and Tony for sure, and maybe two betas with them.”
“Yeah, we smelled them too,” Jasper nodded. “And on our side of the mountain too.”
“Where is Blue?” I asked quickly.
“He went upstairs,” Tyrese replied. “After Eric started in on him.”
“How many times have I told you to stop that?” I bellowed, striding up to Eric and getting right in his face. “Blue is my mate! He is a part of this pack and you need to stop treating him like an outsider or a guest!”
“He’s the reason we’re in this mess in the first place!”
“Fuck you!” I spat. “It’s over and done with. You have no say in it anymore.”
“I’m the pack leader!” he roared.
“Yeah? Well, maybe you shouldn’t be.”
Eric looked shocked, as though I’d finally said something he’d been waiting for me to say for a long time but never actually believed I would. But I wasn’t interested in a big conversation. I wanted to get upstairs to my mate and make sure he was all right. If the upstairs had been breached by the Kurrens, one of us would have picked up their scents from down here, but I still had to see him and make sure. So I took the steps two at a time and raced into the bedroom to find Blue lying back on the bed—alone.
“You’re all right,” I said thankfully.
“Not really,” Blue wheezed.
“What? What’s the matter—?” But I didn’t need to ask the question to know. His scent told the whole story.
Blue was in labor!
Chapter Thirty
Blue
My insides felt like they were being whipped enthusiastically by a chef making his own homemade whipped cream. It had started moments before Alexander entered the room, and I’d started to panic that he wouldn’t be here for my labor, but as always, Alexander showed up
right when he was needed.
“Is it—is the baby coming?” he asked, instantly rushing to my side. I nodded and clasped my belly with a hand.
“Oh, it’s coming!”
“Let me get Clarice,” he said. He raced from the room, but not before planting a huge wet kiss on my face. “Be right back.”
He raced from the room and called to Clarice. “The baby’s coming!”
“Oh!” she cried out with excitement. “The baby’s coming, the baby’s coming!”
I heard her rush to her room to grab whatever things she was going to bring, and closed my eyes and focused on my breathing like she’d told me to do. Alexander was back in the room immediately and by my side.
“What do you need?” he asked me. “Clarice is coming, but can I get you anything?”
“Just some ice water?” I asked him.
“Ice water coming up!”
He dashed from the room and was downstairs in a heartbeat. I heard the fridge in the kitchen groan as it spat out ice and the sound of the water being turned on. He and Clarice arrived back in the room at the same time and raced over to me. I felt like the most important person in the world.
“How far apart are the contractions?” she asked. “Or have you just had one?”
“Just one so far,” I groaned, but was cut off as another invisible hand began to squish my guts. “Gah, make that two!”
“Okay, we’ve got a bit of time,” Clarice said as she set down a tub of water and wet a rag in it. She squeezed it out and placed it on my forehead, which did a lot to relax me.
“Here, babe,” Alexander said, handing me the glass of water. I gulped down half of it, wishing that it would actually numb my insides so I wouldn’t feel the pains of labor.
“Where’s my dad?” I asked.
“Oh! I’ll call him,” Alexander replied. He grabbed his phone from the table and dialed. My dad answered in two rings. “Mr. Mitchell? It’s Alexander. Yes, hi. Listen, Blue’s in labor! Yes, right now. Yes. Okay, see you soon.”
He hung up. “He’s on his way.”
“Can you believe it?” I asked my mate as I let my hand fall into his. He grasped it tightly, reminding me of his incredible strength. It wasn’t just physical either—Alexander was a force of nature, strong-willed and filled with moral courage. He was exactly the man I wanted by my side while I took this enormous step into the rest of my life.
“I can,” he smiled.
Clarice lifted my shirt off my belly and placed both of her hands against my skin and closed her eyes. I felt the warmth of her healer energy as it rippled through me like waves of sonar. Alexander and I watched as she used her unique abilities on me. She was determining the health of the fetus without any sort of technology the humans had to use.
“Well?” I asked as she opened her eyes. But I knew before she said a thing.
“He is fine,” she smiled.
“He?!” I exclaimed, turning to Alexander. “You see? I told you!”
Clarice would have been able to tell us the sex of the baby whenever we’d wanted, but I liked the anticipation and finding out now was so much more exciting. It was like going to see a movie you knew you were going to like without watching a trailer full of spoilers first.
“Well, when you’re right, you’re right,” Alexander smiled.
“An alpha too,” Clarice said with approval. “And a strong one at that.”
“Like his father,” I replied happily. “What should we call him?”
“I thought you wanted to call him Thor?” Alexander joked.
I laughed, but was cut off by another contraction that crunched my insides like a pasta machine squeezing dough into noodles.
“Gah, I don’t know!” I grimaced.
“Focus on your breathing,” Clarice reminded me. I pursed my lips like I was going to blow out a candle and took a deep breath, instantly feeling more calm and relaxed, despite the fact that a cub was about to come out of me.
“Your dad will be here soon,” Alexander told me, holding my hand like he would never let go. And sure enough, he was right. A few minutes later I heard my father’s truck scream to a halt outside and moments later he was racing into the room to join us.
“Is it really happening?” he asked.
Obviously! That’s what I wanted to yell at him, but I didn’t. He just didn’t know what else to say.
“It is,” I replied, forcing a smile as my insides twisted again. “This baby boy wants out!”
“It’s a boy?” he asked happily. I knew he’d wanted a boy—we all had—and the universe had given us one.
I nodded. “Clarice just told us!”
Alexander nuzzled against me and whispered into my ear. “Do you need anything else? Tell me what I can do?”
I nuzzled back. “Can you maybe open the balcony door? Fresh air would help.”
“Of course.”
Alexander kissed my jaw and stood up. He released my hand and moved to the door and tugged it open. The fresh air would have been a blessing, I knew that, but that’s not what I got. Instead, I got a nose full of Kurren scent—Tony’s and Larcon’s for sure, as well as others that swept in from the woods of the peak.
“Alexander!” I cried out.
“WEBBERS!” he bellowed, slamming the door shut and locking it. “PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”
No! No, not now!
Had the Kurrens somehow known about my pregnancy and timed their attack to coincide with it?
No, that was impossible. I’d been inside for so long that they couldn’t have picked up my scent unless they had been hiding outside and picked up a whiff when the front door opened. Maybe if they’d been pheromone-blocked…
Alexander leapt to my side and stared intently into my eyes.
“I don’t want to do this,” he told me. “But I have to leave your side. The Kurrens are out there.”
“I know,” I cried. “I smelled them.”
“But don’t worry. I’ll be coming back. Nothing in the world could keep me away from the birth of my son!”
“Come back to me,” I pleaded with him.
“Of course I will,” he replied. “Mr. Mitchell, Clarice, stay here with him.”
“Not on your life,” my father said as he got to his feet and stripped out of his shirt.
“Dad, no!”
“I’m sorry, Blue, but I have to,” he said as he pulled down his jeans and set them aside. “I smelled some betas out there too. The Kurrens have been recruiting help. I have to go.”
“No!” I cried, tears streaming down my face as another contraction slammed into me.
“Easy, dear,” Clarice said, rubbing my thigh to comfort me.
“We’re ready,” I heard Tyrese growl and looked up as the rest of the pack appeared in the doorway, stripped down and ready to shift. Finally, the war had arrived at our doorstep.
“Come back to me!” I said to Alexander and my father. “Or I won’t be able to go on.”
“We will,” Alexander replied. “Don’t worry, Blue.”
That was completely impossible, but I did my best to force a smile. I nodded as the pack raced from the room, down the stairs and outside.
“Okay,” I muttered to myself. “I’ll try…”
Chapter Thirty-One
Alexander
Now, now! I raged inside as I tore out the door of the house, flanked by my back. I’ll kill you for this, Larcon!
“Wolf form!” I shouted as we leapt off the steps and shifted midair. Tyrese, Jasper, Eric and Terrence, Blue’s father, by my side. We landed in the driveway and scoured the trees with our eyes. The scents of the Kurrens were strong. I picked up Larcon and Tony and Marco, the three alphas, as well as two betas I didn’t recognize. They must have recruited them from out of town.
Jasper snarled from beside me and indicated with his head. I looked in that direction and saw all five of them standing at the peak of the mountain, silhouetted by the silvery light of the moon. One thing was for sure: the peace was
over.
Eric hesitated, but I did not. Taking the lead, I sprinted up the mountain towards the Kurrens, threading my way through the trees and scrub like a heat-seeking missile. My pack took off after me, Jasper on my heels, Tyrese by my side and Eric, ironically, picking up the rear.
I was filled with rage and determination, a cauldron of bubbling fury that was about to boil over. But I had to remain focused. A warrior had to remain as calm as possible in the face of danger. If I lost control and threw myself into battle without thinking, I’d never find my way back to Blue again.
We were outnumbered and not mentally prepared for an attack. Half of my mind was back in the bedroom with Blue as he lay on the bed in labor, ready to bring our son into the world.
I forced that thought away, back into the darkness so my fierce side could fully take over and lead. Right now, thoughts of Blue were a weakness, something so pure and incredible that it brought out my softer side, and that was not what I needed now in what would surely be a fight to the death. No—until this battle was over I was simply Alexander, wolf shifter and future leader of the Webbers pack. I had no mate. I had no son on the way and there was nothing soft about me. I was a freshly forged piece of hot titanium, an iron cannonball hurtling towards the battlefield, and nothing would stop me.
I skidded to a halt a few yards in front of the Kurrens. Larcon was in the lead, of course, his mangy fur blowing in the night’s breeze. Foamy saliva clung to the edges of his lips. He snarled and bared his teeth, worn and yellow as though infected by the rot and decay of his soul.
I hesitated for a moment and eyed his betas, who were flanking the pack on either side. One black and one brown, they weren’t big and definitely wouldn’t be a problem in a one-on-one battle, but they looked shifty, like they would stab you in the back just as soon as look at you. They would wait until we engaged the alphas and then come at us from the side or behind. They were both dark, which would make them harder to see at this hour.