by Aspen Grey
“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Did we just decide on a name?”
“You bet your ass we did!” Preston laughed, pulling me close for a kiss. I closed my eyes as our lips pressed together and let myself just relish the moment.
Victory! I thought as Preston ran his hands through my hair. I put a hand on my pregnant belly and smiled.
Little baby Schuyler…
“Gosh, I’m so tired,” I groaned. Ever since a few weeks ago I’d been feeling lethargic and had taken at least two naps a day. I didn’t feel too bad about it. After all, my body was growing another life inside it – one I was dying to meet.
“Take a nap, baby,” Preston told me gently. He knew how I was feeling and had been extra accommodating picking up the chores around the house that I normally did. He was doing more than his fair share but didn’t seem to mind.
“Mmmm, okay…” I muttered with a smile, curling up underneath his arm and letting myself slip away into sleep.
I awoke to Preston leaping out of bed beside me and racing for the front door.
“Wha – what’s happening?” I muttered groggily.
“Stay inside!” he snapped. By the time I had my feet on the floor, the door was slamming shut behind him. I heard commotion in the rest of the house and staggered into the hallway as the adrenaline dump hit me.
Terry was sprinting for the door, Juan and Chuck right behind him.
“What’s going on!?” I shouted desperately as a muscle spasm ripped through my abdomen.
“Go back into your room!” Terry snapped before barging through the door.
Another wave of pain tore through my midsection. I cried out in pain and grabbed the doorframe to steady myself as Chuck and Juan raced after Terry.
“Ahhh!” I yelped. It was a contraction, I realized. I was going into labor.
“Sweetie, are you okay!?” It was Jamie’s voice. I looked up to see her coming out of the hallway from the addition.
“The baby!” I gasped. “The baby’s coming!”
Someone shouted outside as a car pulled up. Headlights beamed through the windows into the living room. I crawled on my hands and knees toward the door.
“What’s happening out there!?” I cried out as Jamie dropped down beside me.
“You need to get back in bed, Kenneth,” she said with concern. “Shit, I need to get Tasha here right away.”
“Preston!” I shouted. “What’s happening!?”
“Don’t worry about him,” Jamie said, trying to calm me down. “Your mate is fine. You need to focus on you right now.”
“What’s happening?!” I repeated, clenching my stomach. “What’s going on out there!?”
And then I smelled it. That scent that I would never forget for as long as I lived.
Jasper.
“Jasper’s out there!?” I cried out as I started to panic. I did my best to stagger to my feet when my water broke. My legs gave out and I toppled over. Jamie managed to catch me before I hit the floor. She was stronger than she looked.
“You have to get back into your room, Kenneth,” she said firmly, grabbing my face and forcing me to look into her eyes. “This baby is coming now! There’s nothing you can do for them right now. The boys are going to handle it. But you need to handle this!”
She put a strong hand on my belly as another contraction hit me like a punch to the guts. It was like gnomes crawling around in my stomach, squishing my insides with a hot vice. I was like a lemon being crushed over one of those hand juicers.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Jamie repeated, lifting me to my feet.
“Nooooo,” I protested. “His dad needs to be here!”
Another wave of pain rampaged through me like a freight train. I gasped and staggered back, but Jamie’s strong hands kept me standing.
“We’re not waiting,” she told me. “We are getting you into bed!”
I wanted to fight her, but I couldn’t. All I could do was try to keep my breath and fight through the pain as she led me back into my bedroom. She helped me into bed, quickly grabbed her phone and dialed.
“Tasha!?” she cried out. “Tasha, I need you to get out here right away. Can you come now!? Yes, he’s just gone into labor.”
“Preston…” I muttered. I was sweating. I should have been focused on the labor, the baby, but all I could think about was Preston and if he was okay. Jasper was out there, and that meant trouble.
“Okay, great. Come as fast as you can!” Tasha said before hanging up. She placed a comforting hand on my forehead. “Tasha’s on her way, dear. Just hang in there!”
26
Preston
My heart was doing its best to smash its way out of my chest as I burst out of the house and onto the porch. Jasper’s SUV was screaming down the driveway toward us as Terry, Juan and Chuck came out and took their positions beside me.
“Son of a bitch,” I cursed.
“What’s he doing here?” Chuck growled. Licking my fangs, I flexed the muscles in my arms as I prepared for what was surely next to come.
“Nothing good,” Juan replied.
“Well, we’ve got nothing good here for him,” I snarled. Honestly, I was shocked it had taken the bastard this long to show up after we bought the land out from under his father. I was sure he’d show up at some point looking to start some shit, and I guess this was the time.
The tires of the SUV kicked up dust as it sped toward us.
“How many you think he’s got with him?” Terry asked.
“Three,” Chuck muttered. “Maybe four.”
“We can take ‘em,” Juan said confidently. I nodded.
“Damn right.”
The SUV pulled up and parked, leaving the high beams blasting onto us. Four figures stepped out. I recognized Jasper immediately as he got out of the driver’s seat. The other three were alphas I’d never seen before. They were big tough bruisers, and looked more like hired muscle than anyone he’d pal around with.
“Get the Hell out of here, Jasper!” I shouted as he placed his hands on his hips. He stared out at our house, eyeing the addition we’d just finished, and scoffed.
“What a pile of shit,” he laughed. “I would have thought after all that trouble you boys went through to buy this place that you would have at least put some money into your house. Guess I was wrong.”
“Leave!” I shouted again, feeling my bear spirit rising within me. It was taking every ounce of strength I had not to shift and rush him. My pack was tense beside me. They had my backs, I knew that. But I didn’t want to have to put them in this position. It looked like I had no choice.
“What do you mean?” Jasper asked, sauntering forward as though completely unafraid. “My father wants this land. Gonna build a bunch of condos on it and make millions of dollars. All we have to do is get rid of you.”
From within the house, I heard Kenneth cry out. Jamie was shouting something and I realized what was happening. Kenneth was in labor!
The world shifted for me. Every thought in my mind was replaced with a single instinct: protection. My mate was about to give birth to our son, and nothing mattered more in the world than protecting him.
I glared at Jasper, hating him with every fiber of my being for interrupting the most joyous moment of my life.
“We’re not going anywhere,” I told him – and shifted.
My clothes tore around me as my bear body emerged. I felt the porch shake as the rest of my pack shifted beside me. I let out a roar from the depths of my soul. My pack answered with a battle cry that rang out across the vast flatlands of the farm.
My eyes were set on Jasper. If he went down, his hired muscle might lose heart, turn tail and run. Bought loyalty was nothing to rely on.
I lunged at the son of a bitch, my claws extended to tear his head off. He shifted as I flew toward him and leapt to the side at the last possible second. I slammed into his SUV, crushing the hood in under my weight.
Pain flared through my back as his claws ripped
through my flesh. Howling, I whipped around and snapped at him, but again, he was ahead of me and my teeth bit down on nothing but air.
One of his alphas slammed into my side, but Juan hit him hard and sent him sprawling away from me. Terry leapt on him, double-teaming the poor bastard, but before I could react, Jasper was coming at me again.
He went straight for the throat, his mouth wide, ready to rip me open. I could see his fangs, dripping with spit as he shot through the air toward me. I lowered my head and met his charge with my shoulder, slamming into his chest with everything I had.
I heard his breath escape his lungs as we collided. He spilled off me and landed hard in the dirt, leaving his belly open and vulnerable to attack. I leapt in, my claws fully extended to tear his abdomen to shreds, when one of his alphas crashed into me. He was completely out of control, as if he’d hurled himself with no real plan of attack.
He took me off my feet and we both were sent sprawling. As I scrambled to my feet, I realized he had been thrown at me by Terry, who was leaping at him from behind. He sank his teeth into the hind of Jasper’s alpha, who threw his head back and howled in pain, snapping at Terry, who was holding on tight.
I got to my feet and saw the opportunity. My teeth clamped down on the alpha’s throat. Blood spilled into my mouth as his jugular vein tore. I pulled back hard, tearing the flesh from his neck. I released him, and he hit the ground hard, bleeding out of control. He was dead – it was only a matter of time.
I whipped around to see Jasper was back on his feet. Juan and Chuck were fighting the other two of his alphas, but Chuck wasn’t doing so well. I snarled and nodded in his direction. Terry got the message and raced over to help him out.
Slowly, I began circling Jasper, looking for any opening I could find to make my attack. From inside the house, I heard Kenneth cry out.
My baby is coming! It was all I could think about. I glanced over at the house to see if I could see anything, but the blinds were drawn on our bedroom. Something moved in the corner of my vision and I looked back just as Jasper slammed into me.
I was barely able to slap his jaws out of the way, protecting my neck from a fatal attack. The pain flared in my back as I hit the ground, driving dirt and rocks into my open wounds.
I roared and thrashed around, kicking out to get Jasper off of me. My foot connected with his hip and sent him crashing away from me. He rolled through the dirt as I got up, trying to not think about the blood pouring out of me.
Someone howled behind me, but I was too focused to turn around. Jasper was getting up in front of me, staring me down, his eyes filled with pure hatred. My breath caught in my chest. I coughed and spit, feeling the blood dripping from my back. I was bleeding badly and didn’t have long left if I didn’t stop it. I had to finish this – now.
Jasper was waiting. His two remaining alphas were busy with the rest of my boys, which was not how he saw things going. He thought he’d pick one of us off easy and then use his superior numbers to win the battle. But now the tide had turned, and I could see him starting to second guess himself.
That’s all I need, I thought as I formulated my attack.
Lunging forward, I feinted to the left, making it appear like I was going for his right leg. As I expected, he leapt to his left and counterattacked, aiming for my throat. But that was exactly what I needed.
I was prepared.
I knew before it even happened – I had him.
Twisting to the side, I let Jasper’s attack pass completely by me, then struck back with one of my own.
My fangs slipped into the soft flesh of his throat. Blood spilled into my mouth. Jasper yelped as my jaws snapped down, crushing his jugular vein. But my hatred was more than I could handle. I was like the Hulk in a rage, every ounce of my strength being fueled by my hatred for Jasper.
He’d tried to drug me and rape me.
Then he’d tried it again on my mate.
Then he tried to ruin our lives. But no more.
Bracing my feet, I pulled hard, backwards and down, whipping Jasper against the ground as blood spilled out of him. I lunged forward, bending him at an awkward angle, and that was when I felt it.
Jasper’s spine snapping.
He went limp and I opened my mouth and released him. His body fell to the ground like a rag doll.
I let out a howl of victory and heard the sound of the battle cease behind me. Turning, I saw one of Jasper’s alphas still alive, surrounded by Chuck, Terry and Juan. Juan was bleeding from his right leg, but they looked okay.
From the house, I heard Kenneth’s cry and quickly shifted back to human form.
“Spare him,” I told them, pointing at Jasper’s goon who was practically cowering in fear. “Jasper’s dead,” I snarled at him. “Leave and don’t come back. Or we will find you.”
My heart pounding, my chest heaving and blood dripping from the open wounds on my back, I raced inside to be with my mate as he gave birth to our son.
27
Kenneth
“Ahhhhh!” I screamed as another contraction ripped through my stomach like an out-of-control weed whacker. Jamie was beside me, dabbing at my forehead with a wet rag.
“She should be here by now,” she said, shaking her head. Her nervous energy was doing nothing for my mood.
The boys were still fighting outside. Seconds ago, someone had howled in pain.
That wasn’t Preston! I’d told myself, but I wasn’t sure. I could smell at least three enemy alphas out there, and I’d never seen anyone other than Preston fight, so there was no way for me to know how the battle was going.
“I can’t lose him!” I shouted to Jamie, gripping her hand tightly.
“You won’t, honey,” she told me, dabbing at the sweat beads breaking out on my face. “Preston can handle himself.”
“But – but what if there’s too many of them!” I stammered. “What if they’re outnumbered? What will I do if I lose my mate? My son needs his father!”
“Shhhh,” Jamie told me, putting a firm hand on my shoulder. “Focus on your baby, Kenneth. Do you want to bring him into the world like this? Filled with negative energy?”
Her words stopped me for a moment. My heart was still racing, but a moment of calm came over me. I looked up at her.
“Or do you want him to come into the world surrounded by love?”
Tears spilled from my eyes. She was right. My son deserved better than a panicked father, petrified by fear, screaming and crying. He needed my love. Even if it was only subconsciously, he needed to know that I would always be there for him and would do everything I could to keep him safe and happy.
“Okay,” I said, more to myself than to Jamie. “You’re right, you’re right. I need to calm down.”
But as I closed my eyes and took a breath, another howl came from outside. It hit me right in the chest, causing me to jump. At the same time, another contraction hammered me. I gritted my teeth and tried not to let the pain overwhelm me. Clutching Jamie’s hand, I tried to breathe as she’d told me.
“That’s it,” she said as my chest rose. “In for three…”
One, two, three…
A crash from outside. Like metal being bent and smashed.
“And out for three…”
One, two, three…
I kept going, trying not to think about my mate out there fighting for his life – for our lives.
“In for three,” Jamie repeated. “And out for three. There you go. Good. Good.”
Slowly but surely, I felt my heart start to slow. Keeping my eyes closed, I focused on my body, my baby, and tried to put Jasper out of my mind.
Then, suddenly, a deep, powerful howl rang out through the night, and I knew at once – it was Preston. A victory howl.
“They won!” I cried out, completely losing any composure I’d just managed to regain.
“Sounds that way,” Jamie smiled, squeezing my shoulder.
“Preston!” I called out. Seconds later, the door slammed ope
n and I heard his footsteps coming down the hallway. I’d never heard anything so incredible.
“Kenneth!” he cried out as he rushed into the bedroom, naked, and absolutely covered in blood. He rushed to my side as I tried to sit up.
“You’re hurt!”
“I’m okay,” he told me, grabbing my other hand in his. He was doing his best to be sincere, but I could see he was lying. And so could Jamie.
“Ohh….” She said softly before rushing into the bathroom.
“What – what happened!?” I asked him, clenching my teeth as another contraction hit me.
“Are you okay!?” he asked me with concern.
“Are you okay!?” I replied. “There’s so much blood…”
“It’s mostly Jasper’s,” he said, forcing a smile. “He’s dead. I killed him. It’s over. We’re safe now.”
I breathed a huge sigh of relief and tried my best to smile. “You’re so strong,” I told him. He smiled back to me as Jamie rushed out of the bathroom, her arms overflowing with paper towels and gauze.
“Have to stop this bleeding…” she muttered as she pressed at least half a roll of the paper towels against Preston’s back.
“Is it bad…?” I asked, not wanting to know the answer. Jamie didn’t even have to respond. I could see by the look in her eyes that it was. Preston was just trying to be strong for me.
“I’ll be fine,” he said quickly. “How are you?”
“Hanging in there,” I said, forcing another smile. “Tasha’s supposed to be coming, but she’s not here yet.”
“Well, let’s hope she gets here soon—” Jamie said. Then, as if on cue, a second set of headlights flashed through the window.
“That must be her,” Preston said, moving to get to his feet.
“No, you say here,” Jamie said sternly. “I’ll go get her. Kenneth, hold these. Keep the pressure on until I get back.”
Jamie took my hands and placed them on the wad of paper towels she’d been holding against Preston’s back. They were absolutely soaked with blood, and I realized just how serious things were. She raced from the room to the front door. “Tasha!?”
