by Penny Bloom
"You're my mate, you could hiccup and we'll have a party over it. Now we have to go and plan a nursery, names, schools--"
"Calm down, Dirk," Adel chuckled, walking up to me. I held him in my arms and rocked him.
"You know I love you, right?"
"Yes," he said, tilting his head up to look at me.
He went from skin and bones to plump with my pups and kittens inside his belly.
I thanked the universe every day for giving him to me. Now that my life was coming together I had to start thinking of the day when my heir would take over as the head Alpha.
Adel and I could even travel while he ruled over the pack.
Life had begun to speed by. It was only earlier this year that I was single, no prospects for a mate nor an heir either.
Then in the rain, I saw him.
My mate.
To think that I almost lost him again made my stomach cringe.
I kissed Adel and scooped him up in my arms so I could place him in bed.
"But seriously," I continued. "I can't have you getting up early and working so long like you usually do."
"I enjoy it!"
"But I want you to rest!”
"I know," Adel sighed. "But I still have to be active for the babies so they're nice and healthy."
He wasn't backing down. Adel had that independent bite to him. Though he knew hew could rely on me, he still was able to keep his own footing.
"You could let me spoil you every so often, you know that, don't you?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.
Adel stroked my chest with his finger. "You spoil me every day, honey!"
"Not with just my dick either."
"You're horrible," Adel laughed, walking back to his food.
He clenched at his stomach and made a wild dash to the bathroom. Slamming the door shut before I could jump over here, I heard him empty out his food. Oh god, even though Alphas were so-called brave, I didn't think I had the guts to get pregnant.
"Babe, you okay in there?" I asked, leaning my ear against the door. He coughed and said, "I'm fine."
"Okay. Let me in!" I said, turning the knob. He locked it with his catty self.
"No. Don't feel like it," he said.
With the pregnancy, his hormones would be over the place. Mmm, that was going to be both good and bad.
On one hand the sex was going to be delicious, on the other hand? He was bound to become ten times as feisty.
I sat by the door and waited for him to come out. Eventually he did, and I stood up to scoop him in my arms.
"Ugh! Put me down, don't swing me!" he hissed. "My stomach is still upset."
There we go with the feistiness. But I should've known better, scooping him up like that while he was pregnant was bound to make him dizzy and more irritated.
"Oops, sorry. Here, I'll put you down."
He hugged onto my arm and I walked him down to the garden. Fresh air would be good for him.
My phone rang and vibrated in my pocket. I picked it up.
It was Loris, and he was in a panic.
"Loris!? What's wrong?! Are you okay?" I asked.
He was sobbing. "Someone came by and threw rocks into the cafe! Then they spray painted slut all over the front!" he cried.
"What?! I'm coming, I'll be right there."
"What's wrong?" Adel asked, pulling on my arm.
"The cafe has been vandalized. You're going back to the room."
Adel shook his head. "No, I'm coming with you!"
"Not with those babies you're not!"
Adel sneered. "Dirk, you know damn well arguing isn't healthy for me!" He smiled, knowing he won the argument.
Shit.
I took the bullet proof truck out that had a thousand and one safety features to it, that way I knew Adel was safe while we went over to the cafe.
When we arrived, I told him to stay in the truck. He saw the damage and didn't put up a fight.
Good.
I went inside and saw my crew of Omegas and Betas cleaning up the mess.
That was when I noticed someone was missing. "Where's Triela?" I asked Loris who was busy sweeping up glass.
"Triela? She was just here," he said, looking back and forth to see if he could find her.
I ran to the back and out the back door.
I caught her scent and heard her yell for help. It came from above.
"Brother!" she screamed, being thrown off the top of a neighboring building.
I ran and caught her before she could hit the ground.
"Bring him back or suffer more, Alpha Gunther," a voice said.
It was him.
Bartley.
The ass beating I fucking had planned for his ass.
I got up and carried Triela inside.
"Everyone on the bus, leave the cafe! We're going home. This is an emergency!"
Everyone gathered into the bus and I placed Triela in the back of my truck. There were scuff marks on Adel's window.
Fuck.
When I opened the door I heard him hyperventilating, tears spilling down his cheeks. I hugged him.
"It's okay," I hushed.
"He was here!" he cried. "Bartley tried to break the window open! Oh god, what if he tries to hurt our--"
"Never! He won't be alive that much longer," I growled.
I started the car, and the bus followed us back to the manor.
As soon as I stepped foot into the garage of the manor, I pressed an emergency button that would bring all members of the pack together.
Everyone assembled in the conference room.
I told everyone to be on the look out for Bartley Forshot and showed his ugly disgusting picture to the pack. They growled and shouted at it.
"This man tried to harm our pack, my mate and has vandalized our cafe! We must bring him to justice and show people that living in Gunner means safety and justice!" I yelled over the crowd of Gunthers.
"Yes, Alpha Gunther!" they all shouted with pride and confidence.
My chest puffed out with the thought of beating Bartley in to submission, or better yet, the grave. He had tried to break at the glass to get at my mate.
Adel was by my side, holding his belly while he gave me a worried look.
I stepped down from the podium and held his hands. "You will be safe, love."
Triela leaned her head on him and Adel patted the top of her her head.
"Triela, I'm so sorry he did that to you," Adel said.
"It's not your fault." She lifted her head off of his shoulder and looked at him with those famous confident Gunther eyes. "I'd rather it had been me than you any day!"
She furrowed her eyebrows and smiled. That was my sister, I was proud of her.
Still pissed that asshole threw her over the ledge of a building.
My fists shook, and I returned to the podium with more instructions.
I had the Alphas go out and search for him. The Omegas and Betas stayed at the manor until he was found and I had the security systems bolt down extra entrances and exits to the manor. We were lucky that our glass to the windows were already bullet proof.
I took Adel up to our room and made sure he was comfortable.
"I need to speak with him," Adel said.
"Hell no! Not happening!"
"But he won't stop."
Adel hung his head low and laid down, a pained expression on his face.
"That's fine, we'll stop him."
Adel opened his eyes and tried to smile, but it died off his face with a grimace.
"I'm going out to find him. Stay. I'm not going to have it any other way or argue with you!" I demanded.
"Dirk!"
I marched out of the bedroom, closed it, and charged out of the main entrance in my wolf form. I caught a whiff of his scent when he threw Triela off a building and he was still dumb enough to keep his ass in Gunner.
What did he think he was doing messing around in my land? I already couldn't stand the guy. But now?
; The only thing on my mind was pure murder.
The memories of Adel's bruises and scars flashed through my mind like fireworks, hitting me in the gut.
Each second made me thirst for his blood even more.
My Alphas swarmed the streets, sniffing around for his scent or any scent that had a rogue edge to it. Alphas weren't so good at hiding their scents when they were up to no good.
People were used to seeing me in a good mood. But now I stalked the streets and angry blood thirsty wolf, looking to exact my revenge.
We regrouped at the town center where we would find out if any of us caught his scent.
Gabriel brought his pack of wolves and his friends, which were a few dragons.
I shifted back into my human form since I spent so much energy on my shifted form. I needed to make sure I was in the condition to beat Bartley into an early grave.
My phone rang, it was Triela.
"Dirk! I can't find him anywhere!" she shrieked. "Adel's gone! I can't find him, no one's seen him!"
I dropped the phone and ran full force towards the manor. Gabriel got in his car and sped up alongside me.
I jumped onto the side of his truck as he sped me back. What the fuck, how did this happen?! I had the best damn security on the east coast!
Immediately I ran into the security camera area.
"We tried to stop him, but we couldn't run fast enough," the Betas watching the cameras said.
"What happened?!"
He saw Loris' bunny out in the garden. It was injured somehow and thrown there. We think it was a trap! He scaled the wall down to get to him and was snatched--by Bartley!" the Beta cried, curling up into a ball in their chair.
That was it.
I.
Declared.
War.
Chapter Nine
Adel
How was I this damn stupid to fall for that trick?
Loris loved that bunny so much, I couldn't just let it sit there injured.
But Bartley figured I had a soft side. Moron.
"How was your little adventure running away from me?" he snarled. His testosterones smelled like rotten meat.
He had me gagged, why on earth was he asking me questions, that psycho.
I squirmed in my seat, the cuffs around my wrists were tight and cutting into me. Being this close to Bartley again made me sick to the stomach, and what was worse was that my babies were inside me, along for the ride.
"Heh, you thought you could escape me? Well, that was amusing. Drugging me and running away. I thought I had you all sealed in," he laughed. "But it looks like that big body of water didn't scare you enough. It should've killed you."
I kept my focus out the window until he yanked me by the hair and dragged my face around.
"Mph!" I mumbled into the cloth tied around my mouth.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" he asked. "I have plans for you. You're going to enable me to have Gunner. I don't think for a second your Alpha wouldn't give up anything to save your life."
He threw my head back towards the window, but I caught myself from smashing into it.
Dirk… he was bound to find out soon. The only thing I had to do was wait for him to rescue me and then we could do something about Bartley for good.
We arrived back to his home, and a panic arose in me. Chains, abuse, pain. My past stared me in the eyes while holding me with a knife against my throat. There was more at stake now. It wasn't just me.
It was the babies inside me too.
Bartley dragged me inside by my hair and brought me upstairs.
"Your scent is different. I know a pregnant Omega when I see one. I can't wait to see what those adorable babies look like when I open you up!"
What? Was he insane? He was threatening to kill my babies.
A flood of anger washed over me and my body began to shake. Fuck no, he wasn't touching my babies!
I ripped away from him and tried to run, but he caught me by the arm and slammed me down onto a metal table that sat in the middle of the room.
This room always reminded me of some sick butcher's slaughter place. Looks like I wasn't too far off.
He strapped my hands down, and I struggled against him.
"Mmph! Mmmmpf!" I screamed.
Not my babies. No. Not my babies, please. Anything but that!
When he was done strapping me down, he went to a drawer and pulled out long metal knives and bandages.
"Let's see. Should I wait till after I speak to your Alpha? Or should I take them out and show him I mean business?" He turned around and grinned while he wiped a blade off.
"Of course he'll still have you alive. Just not the kids. You could always have more."
I flexed my hands. I was a cat shifter, but the last few months I hadn't had the ability to shift.
But there was one more thing I could try.
Bartley turned his back to look into his drawer full of blades again and my claws broke through the straps. I jumped up and slashed into his back.
I took my gag off and ran out of the room, holding my belly with one hand.
My babies were safe.
Bartley threw himself out into the hallway and chased after me.
"You're forgetting that I'm not malnourished you sick piece of shit!" I yelled, running for the stairs.
"Let's fix that!" he shouted, throwing something hard at me. It was some sort of piece of round hard material and it knocked into my shoulder.
I fell right before the steps and turned over to see Bartley lunge at me.
I rolled to the side, and he went over the steps.
I got up and ran but something sharp caught me in the back.
A heavy drowsiness started to weigh me down.
Bartley drugged me again.
How ironic.
My eyes grew heavy, and I fell to my knees.
*Babies, I love you, but your father is pathetic and couldn't keep you safe. I'm so sorry. I don't deserve you.*
Tears fell from my eyes as darkness consumed me.
Before I was all the way out cold, a heat emanated from my belly. It grew very hot, then a huge amount of energy shot through my body as if I never experienced a day of fatigue in my life.
This energy… it was from my babies! They were telling me to keep going, to fight. They loved me and I loved them too.
Bartley was hovering right over me when I kicked his ass in the chest and threw him over.
I got to my feet and ran to the front door. Screw the locks, I was getting through that door.
Before I could get to the door though, it exploded open and Dirk ran in.
"Dirk!" I cried, running to him with open arms.
He hugged me and stood in front of me.
"Bartley! Get down here you coward!" he thundered.
Bartley laughed and got up. He turned around and stared Dirk and I down. A few of the other Alphas from the Gunther pack were there too.
"You take my things and think you have the right to come into my house?"
"He was never yours!" Dirk shouted.
"Dirk! No!"
Dirk took out the gun I saw hidden in his belt too and shot. Bartley pulled out a gun from his belt behind him and shot at Dirk, hitting his shoulder. Blood splattered, and he stumbled backwards.
Bartley was shot multiple times. The first from Dirk then the rest from the other Alphas.
Bartley tumbled lifelessly down the steps.
I cradled Dirk's head in my lap when he sat down after being shot.
"Baby, it's a shoulder shot to the right. I'll be fine," he said, waving his hand nonchalantly.
"Shut up and don't move!" I sobbed.
He caressed my face, and I held his hand there.
It was over.
Bartley was gone.
Epilogue
Adel
Some very interesting things happened when Bartley was officially announced dead.
The town rejoiced.
Council members wept with joy and Omegas were sc
reaming freedom in the streets.
Then the inevitable happened.
Redgor had to pick a new Alpha.
And there was no one better to fit that role than Dirk himself. His shoulder was bandaged up and the town unanimously voted for him to rule over them.
Dirk took up the responsibility and Redgor was no longer the name.
It was now an extension of Gunner.
Bartley’s house was destroyed, burned to the ground. All my terror, fears, and pain were now permanently gone with it.
I got to press the button on the explosions that helped break it down. Dirk made sure I was involved in that process.
Days and weeks went by and my belly got rounder. Any piece of food in my sight was obliterated, and I was a walking case of hormones.
“Damn, you look good pregnant,” Dirk said while we were shopping for baby clothes.
“Yeah, well, how about feeling pregnant? Wanna try that on for size?”
“I pass!” Dirk said, raising his hands in the air.
We shared a good laugh and continued to shop until a pain shot through me. I doubled over onto the ground, then my water broke. Oh shit. They were coming. Two weeks early too.
Guess so, it must’ve been getting cramped in there for them.
“Dirk!” I cried, reaching for him. He scooped me up into his arms and hauled me to the truck. Though the hospital in what used to be Redgor was now a good hospital to go to, Dirk and I had a medical team right at the home with everything ready to go.
“Doctors, he’s ready to deliver!” Dirk yelled, getting their attention.
They soon flooded into the room and got me situated. The babies were begging to get out of my belly, which was fine. I was ready too.
Both Dirk and my babies were my heroes.
Because they both saved me when I thought there was no place for me on this earth…
I pushed and pushed, gripping onto the bars of the bed so I didn’t destroy Dirk’s hand.
With a final yell, I finished delivering seven babies. Four boys and three girls. I could almost bet that all the girls and one boy was a cat shifter in the making. We’d find out in a year or so.
Hours later when I was more well rested, the babies were all wheeled back in with Dirk right behind them. I held them one by one as I gave them their name.
Alana, Dustin, Barron, Enna, Fawna, Drake, and last but not least, Ethan.