The Birth of an Alpha (Rise of the Pride, Book 4)

by Theresa Hissong

  “Are you training her to fight?” Kye asked, not looking up from the gloves that he held tenderly in his hands. Ranger’s chest ached as he watched the young panther’s head hanging in defeat.

  “Kye,” Ranger started, but silenced himself when the alpha’s youngest brother looked up with glowing amber eyes.

  “I asked you if you were training her to fight,” he snarled, his canines thick in his mouth.

  “Yes,” Ranger replied, taking a wide stance. “She came to me and asked me to teach her how to defend herself.”

  “It’s my job to defend her!” Kye burst from his seat, slinging the gloves to the ground. Before Ranger could take a step back, the young male punched him square in the jaw, sending him back a few steps. “How could you raise a hand against a female? My female!”

  “I know that I have broken the rules of this pride,” Ranger said in defeat. “But I agree with Evie. The females should learn to defend themselves.”

  “Did you hit her?” Kye asked. The skin of his face quivered with his partial shift. Black fur sprouted around his nose as it recessed in his face. Ranger understood his anger, and he knew he would have to pay for the things he’d done by going against the rules and fighting with a female of his race.

  “Yes,” Ranger answered.

  And that was when the young male released a cry of agony, launching himself at Ranger’s throat. He let Kye get two good shots into his ribs before his panther demanded he defend himself. Kye fell to his back when Ranger swept his foot out, knocking him to the ground.

  “Kye, stop,” Ranger warned as they regained their footing, spitting blood from his split lip. He was better trained than the young male and knew he could possibly hurt him if they really got going.

  “Fuck you, Ranger,” Kye snarled, circling as he waited for the perfect time to pounce. Any other time, Ranger would comment on how Kye would make an excellent Guardian, but now just wasn’t the time. “Shift!”

  “No,” Ranger said, making another round over the mats. “We are not going to fight like this.”

  “My panther is owed blood,” Kye demanded, reminding him of their laws. If a male purposely harmed a female, the mate was entitled to take blood in their human and panther form.

  “You and Evie are not mated,” Ranger announced. “You are owed nothing.”

  Kye lunged for Ranger again, taking him down to the mats in a hard thump. Voices sounded around them and, within seconds, Kye was being pulled away. Dane had Kye backed up to the wall, his fists tight in his shirt. Booth was standing in front of Ranger, his eyes sparking amber and his jaw set in a hard scowl as he placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

  “What the fuck is going on in here?” Talon bellowed, using his powers to calm the two males. Ranger’s shoulders slumped as Booth released him and took a step back.

  “He’s been teaching Evie to fight,” Kye snapped. “He hit her, Talon.”

  “Is this true?” Talon asked, turning his full power on Ranger.

  “Yes, alpha,” Ranger replied, knowing he was skirting the edge of being stripped of his Guardian status.

  “Why?” Talon pushed, his eyes sparking amber. All of the Guardians had entered the training room. Each one of them were on edge, their eyes flickering between the two males.

  “She came to me the day that Mary Grace was turning,” he started to explain, pausing when Kye let out a vicious curse. Talon held his hand up for Kye to stand down, then nodded for Ranger to continue. “She was desperate for help. I tried to warn her away, but she needed to take back her sense of self. I told her that I would train her, but I would not go easy on her.”

  “You do realize that you have broken a rule of our pride?” Talon raised his hand toward the other males as they all leaned forward, calming them. Ranger knew that if Talon found him guilty, the other Guardians would render his punishment. That punishment would be life threatening if they all were allowed to attack him.

  “Yes,” Ranger said, lowering his eyes in respect to his alpha. “I will accept the punishment I am due. I took it upon myself to make the decision and not come to you when she approached me.”

  “Tell me why you agreed to allow Evie to learn to fight,” Talon urged.

  “Alpha,” Ranger paused, straightening his shoulders, “the female is strong willed. Evie has changed over the weeks of training with me. She is stronger, not only in body, but in mind as well. She’s more confident. All she wanted was to know that she had the ability to fight off an attacker if it ever happened again.”

  All eyes swung to the door when it was jerked open wide. Evie and Liberty stood on the threshold. “Liberty, you need to leave.”

  “No,” the alpha’s mate replied, taking a step inside. The alpha growled low in his throat and looked at all of the males, telling them that if any of them touched his mate, he would kill them himself. “Release Ranger.”

  “What?” Kye snarled and pushed away from the wall, marching over to stand in front of Evie. “Why? Tell me why?”

  “Because I asked him,” she said confidently, holding her head high. Ranger felt a sense of pride swell in his chest when she didn’t cower or back down from Kye’s anger.

  “You put a Guardian in a position that could get him…terminated,” Talon replied. Ranger swallowed hard, knowing that they could put him down for his actions.

  “No!” Evie cried, rushing toward the middle of the room. The young female fell at Talon’s feet, tears streaming from her eyes. “Please, do not punish him. This is all my fault, alpha. Please…don’t.”

  “Evie!” Kye blurted, trying to move toward his female, but the other Guardians held him back.

  “Talon,” Liberty growled, her eyes sparking amber.

  “Liberty, this is not your concern,” Talon warned. Ranger could feel the tension his alpha was letting off when his mate moved in front of him. No one missed the protective hand she placed on Evie’s bowed head.

  “Females should know how to defend themselves,” Liberty announced, her eyes swinging to each and every Guardian in the room before returning to her mate’s angry gaze. “I will not allow you to punish Evie or Ranger for this.”

  “But our laws…” Talon began, but Liberty’s hard gaze stopped him in his tracks.

  “I may not have been born into this life, but I do know what it’s like to want to be able to defend myself. My human father made sure that my sister and I knew how to protect ourselves in the event that we were harmed. There is no reason a woman should lay down and wait for a male to save her. Evie wanted this, and I am telling all of you right now…no female in my pride will be denied the right to learn how to protect herself.”

  “I second that,” Nova announced from the doorway. She stood there with her mate, Winter. Talon’s second in command nodded toward his alpha.

  “I was human once, too. Our mates have a point, alpha. Females are to be protected,” Winter agreed. “But that doesn’t mean we should leave them defenseless. All Nova and Liberty are saying is that, in the event that one of them are taken, they can protect themselves from harm.”

  “The males will not stand for this,” Kye growled.

  “Oh, Kye,” Evie snarled, her own eyes sparking amber. “Get over yourself and your old ways. I have more confidence than I had even before I was abducted and used as a fucking punching bag for those wolves. I need to know that I have the ability to defend myself.”

  “You cannot defend yourself,” Kye replied. “That is my job as your male.”

  “Really?” she scoffed, raising a brow. Evie stood slowly from her perch at the alpha’s feet. Ranger noticed a small smile reach the corner of the alpha’s lip when she looked at him for approval to step away.

  “You are female and cannot fight,” Kye replied, his voice pleading for her to understand. “End of discussion.”

  “Wanna bet?” she asked, punching him square in the jaw.

  The room erupted in laughter as Evie shook her fist and turned on her heel, leaving the room as if she’d b
een dismissed by the alpha himself.

  “Ranger, in my office,” Talon announced, although his voice did not hold anger any longer. “The rest of you are dismissed for the evening.”

  Ranger followed the alpha back to the office in his home. The pride had all but vanished from the house as if the dinner had never happened. Apparently, word had gotten back that there had been a disagreement within the ranks and everyone fled to their individual homes.

  “My mate is right,” Talon agreed after closing the door to the office. Ranger took a seat in front of the desk when the alpha pointed to the spot. “I’m not going to punish you for what you’ve done.”

  “I should be punished,” Ranger admitted. One thing he wouldn’t do was lie to cover up what he’d done any more. “I disobeyed a direct order and rule of our pride.”

  “Times are changing, Ranger,” Talon sighed, rubbing his eyes. “My mate has made me see that our rules are old and outdated. Women are not like they were hundreds of years ago. In fact, there are several females in our pride who are as strong as our males.”

  “Evie included,” Ranger offered. “Alpha, she is strong.”

  “I’ve always known this,” Talon agreed. “But my brother will want his vengeance on you.”

  “I will accept any punishment he wants to deliver,” Ranger said, lifting his head.

  “They are not mates,” Talon reminded him. “He has no right to punish you, and I will remind him of that.”

  “Evie knows that I will not be able to train her after she comes of age,” Ranger replied, his fingers steepling in front of his face as he rested his elbows on the armrest of the chair. “I wouldn’t touch her and risk causing her pain. I’m not that type of male.”

  “I know this, Ranger.” Talon cursed under his breath. “I just wish you would have come to me instead of doing this behind the pride’s back.”

  “It was imperative for Evie to do this on her own,” Ranger replied, standing up to pace the office. “That child has been through more than she is telling any of us.”

  “What?” Talon growled, pushing his alpha power toward Ranger.

  “She hasn’t told me anything, but I can sense it,” Ranger said, grimacing. “I let her train because she needed to overcome whatever those fucking wolves did to her.”

  “Do you think your training has helped her mentally?” Talon asked.

  “More than it helped her physically,” Ranger replied honestly.

  Chapter Four

  “Ow,” Liberty moaned as she wrapped an arm around her belly. The tension around her baby increased and she let out a whooshing breath.

  “Liberty,” Evie squealed, rushing to her side. The poor girl looked scared out of her mind. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m not sure,” she frowned. “Just some uncomfortable tightness.”

  “Let’s get you inside.” Evie spoke softly as her face shifted slightly. Liberty knew she was calling out for her alpha. That was backed up when her mate appeared at the backdoor to the house, taking up the entire entrance.

  “Liberty,” he gasped, rushing forward and scooping her up into his arms. “What’s going on?”

  “I think it was a contraction, but I shouldn’t be having them this soon.” She moaned again, hoping she wasn’t right.

  “Call the healer,” Talon ordered over his shoulder as he dropped to his knees and placed Liberty on the mound of pillows and blankets on the living room floor. His hands rested on her stomach, his eyes closing as he concentrated on their child.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. The males could sense things…things she wasn’t completely aware of yet. Savage was able to hear their cub’s heartbeat early on. Could Talon?

  “He is strong,” Talon said proudly, but there was still a hard set of worry on his brow. “Our cub is fine.”

  Harold rushed into the room, his black bag clutched in one hand. He asked Liberty to tell him everything that had happened. When she told him of the tightness and ache in her belly, he smiled. “Your body is preparing for the birth. I’m sure that’s all it is, but I will check you over just to be sure.”

  “Do we need to move her to your office?” Talon asked, pacing beside her makeshift bed.

  “If you could give me about fifteen minutes to set up, I would like for you to carry her over,” Harold ordered, pinning Liberty with a hard stare. “No walking until we know for sure.”

  “That’s a long way to carry me,” Liberty worried. “I’m not the lightest load.”

  “You’re perfect,” Talon said, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

  The healer left them alone, promising to call when he had the sonogram machine ready. Talon curled his body around hers, lifting her head gently so it pillowed on his massive bicep. When Liberty started to talk, Talon shushed her with his lips pressed to hers. “Our cub is going to be okay.”

  Liberty closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing. It worried her that her panther wasn’t even prowling in her mind. It was too quiet in the house as well, but when she looked over Talon’s shoulder, she realized they were not alone. All of the Guardians were there; some were sitting on the couch and others were standing at attention in all of the doorways. She gave them a soft smile and closed her eyes again.

  “Harold is ready,” Talon whispered, pushing a strand of hair off her cheek. She started to protest when he lifted her from the floor, but his hard stare silenced her.

  Liberty snuggled against her mate’s chest as he carried her out the back door and across the yard. He never complained about her weight or the fact that he was carrying her for such a long distance to the healer’s home and office.

  “Set her here,” Harold ordered as he took a seat in front of the machine. “Let’s have a look.”

  The healer squeezed the warm gel across her extended belly, using the wand to spread it out. As soon as the black and white image of their child came into view, all three of them let out a sigh of relief. The cub’s heartbeat sounded through the speakers, and Talon squeezed her hand as if to reassure her. Liberty needed that connection to him even more than she thought he knew.

  “Your cub is healthy,” Harold announced. “Your body is just preparing for the big day. I want you to take it easy for the next week. If you start having pains that take your breath away, I want you to call me immediately.”

  Liberty’s head jerked to the right when she saw a flash of light out the window. “Did you see that?”

  “No,” Talon frowned. “What is it?”

  “Is it going to storm tonight?” she asked.

  “No,” Talon growled, going on instant alert. “What did you see?”

  “A flash of light.” She scowled in concern. “It’s the second time I’ve seen that.”

  “Are you sure?” Harold asked, removing the wand so he could look out the window as well. There was no one there. No cars had driven by the house, either.

  “Maybe it’s my pregnancy brain,” Liberty said, rolling her eyes. “Lord knows I’ve been kind of scatterbrained over the past few weeks.”

  “I’ll have my Guardians make rounds.” Talon smiled, but it was forced. He removed his phone from his pocket and shot off a message to one of them. His focus returned to her and the image on the screen. “Do you know what we are having?”

  “I thought you didn’t want to know,” Harold teased.

  “We don’t,” Liberty scoffed, narrowing her eyes on her mate. “You promised.”

  “I just wanted to know if he knows,” Talon teased.

  “Oh, I know,” Harold said, then winked at the both of them.

  Talon sat in the high back chair next to the fireplace, watching his mate as she slept peacefully on the makeshift bed in the living room. Most females with young enjoyed the comfort of sleeping that way. It was the nature of their kind. Just like their animal cousins, the females wanted to snuggle down into a warm place they felt safe.

  Liberty had taken to her new life with incredible ease. She’d stepped up to help him run the p
ride and had not complained once about her role. He loved her more than anything else, and he always would. Fate had a funny way of doing that to their kind. There was no way to explain just how deep his feelings were for his mate.

  He fumbled in his pocket when his phone rumbled with an incoming call. Ranger had been sent to his post at the gate as soon as the meeting in his office was finished. The male was worthy of his status, and Liberty was right…Ranger had done the right thing with Evie. He wouldn’t fault the male for helping the female regain herself by learning to fight.

  “Sheriff’s here to see you,” Ranger announced as soon as Talon picked up the phone.

  “Send him up to the house, but keep an eye on him,” Talon ordered. Talon hoped that Sheriff Lynch found something out on the people claiming to be a part of this Community. The same people who had something to do with the fake lab that had held Mary Grace captive while trying to study shifters.

  “Sheriff.” Talon nodded for the lawman to follow him into the office. Talon took a seat in front of the desk as Garrett closed the door. “Any news?”

  “It seems the Community is a private group who are opposed to your kind.” Sheriff Lynch cleared his throat and took a seat next to Talon. When Talon looked up, he noticed Garrett was acting nervous, running his hand over the back of his neck.

  “Everything okay?” Talon asked, drawing in a deep breath. Sheriff Lynch did not put off any scents that would make Talon wary, but his behavior was still questionable. Whenever an enemy was nervous, the panther inside would always be uneasy.

  “How’s Liberty?” Garrett asked.

  “She’s fine,” Talon bit out. This human was too observant of his mate, and Talon was tired of reminding him of the fact that she was taken care of now that she’d been changed into a panther. “So, what did you come over here for? To tell me what you found on the Community? Or to ask about my mate?”