March 18^th. The day held no real significance for the rest of the world so far as River knew. No battles had been fought or won, no anniversaries were celebrated, and no holidays were in sight. Yet, to him, it was an incredibly important day. Each day of this month in particular was incredibly damn important, in fact, because this was the month when Vinny would make his reappearance. Six months. Their deadline.

But no day had been decided for that deadline, only the month. River had seen Vinny’s goons watching himself and Ash, appearing infrequently throughout the months. They were good at hiding, he would give them that, but a wolf always noticed when he was being stalked. Other than that event with the dead dog, the watching had been relatively passive, with burly men just idling in the shadows of a street corner or down at the other end of a store aisle.

At any moment, that peace could be shattered. They were prepared for when that happened, but each day that passed uneventfully only caused River to feel more and more wound up. He was like a spring which would be sent rocketing away at the slightest touch.

They didn’t have enough money.

They were so, so close.

Well, he thought of this problem as “theirs” but Ashton refused to accept any of the money that River offered him. If he had, they wouldn’t have had to go through any of this in the first place.

But River understood. He had tried again and again to convince Ash that when you loved someone, there was no such thing as owing them anything. He was finally with someone with whom he could share all aspects of his life, and he so badly wanted to do so. Yet, Ash remained convinced that he had to put this final thing to rest under his own terms. There was nothing else River could do but admire his stubbornness and his integrity, and continue to support him.

So, really, Ash didn’t have enough money. Through sheer force of determination, combined with hard work and smart financial choices -guided by River- he had amassed a whopping total of $125,000.

Of course, Ash didn’t know that River had been quietly sneaking small amounts of money into his account at the end of every week. These handfuls of money had added up quite a bit over the past six months, accounting for at least $20,000. River had discreetly blended these figures in with the other money that Ash had actually made, and he intended to take this secret to his grave. He couldn’t bear to think about what might happen if Ash was taken away from him, and an alpha did everything he could to protect his mate.

So, even though they had fallen short of the ultimate end goal, River hoped that it would be enough to get the goons off Ash’s case for good. At the very least, it had to be enough to get an extended deadline.

He hoped, and he prayed even though he wasn’t a religious man, because Ash was five months pregnant with his baby and everything had been going rather smoothly for the two of them. There had been the usual complications that came with being a shifter and having a shortened pregnancy duration, such as more severe tiredness and increased morning sickness, but none of those had been caused by Ash’s age. In fact, their doctor said that Ash was in excellent health even for a wolf half his age.

River desperately hoped that there would be no complications at all. Ash could be due any day and the last thing he wanted was for something to harm his beloved mate.

He was driving home from work that evening of the 18^th, a stain on his shirt from a client lunch. The stain was all he was thinking about, because it had been annoying him all day. Tomato sauce stained, which wouldn’t be so bad for a dark suit like this, but then it turned orange-yellow when the color leeched out and that just wasn’t going to cut it.

And then he turned into the friendly little neighborhood, with its idyllic lifestyle, and a bolt of panic and fear shot through his entire body.

River let out a startled bark and slammed on the brakes, which squealed abominably in the thin cold air of late winter. The rear of his Genesis still stuck out in the middle of the busy street that he’d just left, making the other cars behind him also slam on their brakes. A few horns honked at him but for a long moment, all he could do was just sit there. A cold knot of terror formed at the base of his spine, making his fists clench on the wheel. Plastic cracked under his grip, shards jutting up to pierce his palms. It was the pain of his sliced skin which brought him back to himself, allowing him to ease up on the brake and inch forward so that he was no longer blocking traffic. By that point it didn’t really matter anymore, since the cars behind him had already given up on him and were swerving around him.

There was nothing he could do but start driving again, but his thoughts were scrambled from the terror. He had no reason to be afraid, which meant that this feeling could only be coming from Ash. It was exactly like when he’d sensed Ash’s distress over being pregnant, a barrage of emotions which originated without warning. The bond between them allowed for that, as well as the sharing of thoughts.

He felt no pain, which was a good sign, but it was about the only good thing that could come of this situation. Unless there had been some sort of freak accident, there was only one thing that could have caused such a reaction.

Gripping the wheel harder than ever, ignoring the pain this time, River stepped on the gas and sped up. He pushed his speed up faster and faster, knowing that if there was a cop around, he was sunk, but he couldn’t stop himself. Urgency pushed him on, while the fear continued to needle at his spine.

As long as I can feel his fear, I know he’s still alive. I have to get there before anything happens!

Then, just as he turned down their street, he slammed on the brakes again. Realization swamped over him. If there were people in their home who were bothering Ash, they would hear him as he drove up. And judging from the fact that there wasn’t a car parked outside of the house that he could see, that told him those bastards had had the same plan.

There was no one behind him this time to care if he was stopped. The neighborhood was usually quiet at this time of day anyway, with everyone having returned home for quality time with their family. Dinners were in the oven, or perhaps already on the table for those who liked to eat early.

He was alone in this.

A new wave of fear threatened to bog him down, and this time it was entirely his own. The casing of the steering wheel gave a final exhausted crack, exposing the metal framework beneath. He was alone. If he failed here, that was it. There would be nothing left to live for. The new life he had tried to build would crash down around him, and then he would be alone forever.

Another dull throb of fear, this time belonging to Ash, shook through him.

River wasn’t alone right now. He had a mate and a child on the way. He needed to be strong. He needed to be alpha.

Parking the car, he turned the engine off and stuck the keys into his pocket. As quietly as he could, he opened the car door and stepped out into the chill. A steady, cold wind tore at his suit, pressing it flat against his body like a second skin.

If only I was as comfortable with being a wolf as I am in this suit.

Pushing the thought away, knowing that he could have no doubts now or surely he would fuck up, he stepped up onto the sidewalk and started walking as casually as he could. If anyone saw him, he would have to hope that they didn’t think it was too odd that a man in an expensive suit was going for a walk in below-30 weather.

Just before he would have walked in front of his house, he swung up around to the side and into the grass. Keeping low, he padded quietly around to the back. There were plenty of windows that he had to avoid along the way but whenever he looked through them, he saw neither hide nor hair of Ash or anyone else.

Something told him they would be in the living room. He just knew it. There were those enormous windows up by the front door and ones that were equally as big in the back. He had avoided the windows up front but if he hadn’t, anyone inside would have seen him instantly. And this process of elimination as he went by the other rooms and saw nothing in them was only reinforcing his beliefs.

As he finally came around to the rear of the house, where the huge living room windows were, he heard something. It was a low murmur of a voice that easily could have been nothing at all, except that it was definitely something.

A male voice, incredibly deep. “Can’t wait much longer…”

“Gotta,” another voice replied. This one sounded as if it belonged to someone very thin and possibly very geeky. There was a nasally twang to it that River just couldn’t stand. “Need to exterminate both these freaks.”

After they get the money, of course. Going to guess they already got it. That was their first order of business. But they’ll want the rest of it. Or they’ll get their money’s worth through other means.

River huddled in the dead grass beside the wall. He strained his hearing but there was no further conversation. He hadn’t been able to pinpoint the location of the two men because of how muffled their voices were through the wall, which was unfortunate. He was going to have to go into this blind.

Pulling in a deep breath, he shifted.

Once he was fully in his wolf form, he dug his paws against the ground and leapt several bounds away from the window. Then, pivoting on his hind paws, he charged back as fast as he possibly could. At the last second, he jumped, tucking his head down to hide his face.

His shoulders struck glass and for a moment he was only aware of the impact. Then, the glass gave way and shards were raining down around him, cutting his skin and covering his pelt in a fine layer of crystalline white.

He sailed clear of the broken glass on the living room floor and landed hard, then spun around with a snarl. Having already noticed where the men were while jumping through the window, he faced them down and took a step towards them.

One of the men was big and burly, more of a bear than a human. He didn’t smell like a shifter though, so River wasn’t worried.

The other man was exactly as River had pictured him: small and squirrely with square glasses and a patchy scruff of a beard. The geek didn’t look to be too much of a threat, and that was exactly why River knew he should be wary of him. A guy like Vinny wouldn’t employ someone like this unless it was worth his while.

Unless it was some sort of game that he liked to play.

His pelt ruffled, spiking up. Little bits and pieces of glass fell from his fur onto the carpet as he walked. His jaws parted in a ferocious snarl, which deepened into a growl so loud it felt as if it encompassed his entire soul. His vision was covered in red, the color of rage. These men were going to die. He was going to kill them. He was going to rip them limb from limb, and they would regret ever being fucking born when he was done.

Bracing himself, claws tearing the carpet into shreds, River prepared to leap.

And a tiny voice behind him whispered, “River.”

He had been so angry that he forgot the reason he came here.

He turned his head, and there behind him was Ash. He looked unharmed, which was a hell of a relief, but his arms and legs had been bound with a length of thin rope. If he shifted into his wolf form, the strength of the transformation would shred the rope right off him. However, Ash couldn’t simply solve all his problems right now just by shifting, not when he was up against three men.

Yes, three.

The third crouched near Ash, holding a gun to his head.

River stared. He could feel his snarl waning from fear and disbelief. As powerful as a wolf might be, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do against a gun. Ash would be killed instantly, and the baby would die with him.

The third man could only be Vinny. He looked vaguely Italian, as if his heritage was slightly mixed. His hair was red-brown and rumpled beautifully, a few strands deliberately hanging down across one gorgeous hazel eye. The other eye was blue as Arctic ice, and River found that he couldn’t focus on both at once. His facial hair was extremely well-groomed, as were his eyebrows.

Yes, this man could be no one else but the boss behind it all.

“Well, well,” Vinny said. He had an accent but it was clearly at least a little bit fake, as if he was truly trying to fit into the role of an Italian mobster when he simply wasn’t pure enough. “I am delighted to finally meet you myself, River. You gave my men quite a hard time last time we came for Ashton here.”

River didn’t respond. He didn’t want to. Anger and fear were lumped together in the back of his throat, constricting his lungs. Anything he said would be hasty, serving only to give Vinny more openings against him.

“How unfortunate that we had to put Mick down, but that is what you do when an animal is lamed. I was impressed at your ferocity, once I finally believed the outrageous story my men had returned to tell me. To think of it. Men that turn into wolves! It was preposterous, and yet they insisted.”

Vinny moved the hand that held the gun. River flinched, but all the man did was gesture around vaguely before returning the muzzle to the side of Ash’s head. “Of course I had to do my own research on this matter. And what a fascinating phenomenon I have uncovered! Which brings me to our little visit today. I wouldn’t be here unless this was very important. You should feel grateful to me, to know that you are worthy of my time.”

I am going to kill you.

The other two men behind River were holding still, letting their boss speak. They must have discussed this on their way here, which was beyond sickening to River. How could anyone with a soul so casually discuss a situation like this where someone was going to be killed?

“I see you don’t understand,” Vinny said. “We have already counted the money that Ashton so thoughtfully put aside for us, pregnant freak that he is.”

River growled softly. His pelt rippled with his fury.

“The thing is, as I’m sure you know, he has fallen just short of the full amount of what he owes us. That is really quite unfortunate. At this point, I would normally have run out of patience and I would kill him. But then, there is the matter of this wolf thing. I could use someone like you on my side, River.”

He isn’t really suggesting what I think he is. Is he?

“If you would join me, I would forgive the rest of Ashton’s debt. He could have this monstrosity of a child and all three of you could continue to live the lives you want. And if not…” Vinny shrugged, then wiggled the gun around to finish his statement.

For a moment, only a moment, the proposition was tempting.

And then River regained his senses, because the proposition was downright bullshit. Vinny could make whatever promises he liked. It didn’t mean that he had to keep them. And even if he did, the sort of life that he was offering simply wasn’t one that River could live with. He had spent his life helping people with their money problems. To just turn around on all that and start persecuting them for being desperate was just obscene and downright impossible.

Vinny just watched him, apparently incapable of reading emotions on a wolf’s face. He seemed almost breathless, pathetically excited. Maybe business for him wasn’t going as smoothly as he would have liked, and he needed this meeting to go right for him.

River felt no sympathy.

The gun was no longer focused entirely on Ash’s head. It was angled between him and River now, as if Vinny was eagerly awaiting an opportunity to shoot and didn’t care who he aimed for.

Focusing his thoughts towards Ash, River said, I love you. I do this for you, my one true mate.

Snarling, River dropped down into a crouch and then flung himself towards Vinny, moving faster than a lightning bolt.

“No!” Ash cried out, horrified.

Vinny’s gun hand swiveled around, pointing towards River, and he fired. There was a flash, a small puff of smoke, and a powerful, burning jolt of pain that exploded through River’s shoulder. If he had been a man, it would have dropped him.

But he wasn’t a man.

His paws thudded hard against Vinny’s own shoulders, knocking him backwards. Snapping, his jaws connected with Vinny’s throat and he bit down as hard as he could. Flesh tore and the wretched taste of blood pumped into his mouth.

They hit the ground together. River sprang away from the man, holding his injured leg up off the ground. The pain was so fierce that he was light-headed, the living room wobbling around him, but he gritted his fangs together and forced himself to stay upright.

Only now did the gun hit the ground. Vinny didn’t reach for it. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Trembling, shaking, blood coating the carpet. Then, he was still.

River turned to face the other two men. The big one could only stare, apparently shell-shocked at how swiftly the life had been stolen from his boss. But the other one, the smaller man, was grinning.

“Holy fucking shit,” he said in that same nasally tone. Then, he reached into his pocket and brought out a knife.

Run! River commanded in his thoughts, aiming them at Ash. Shift and run! Get out of here!

He didn’t stop to check to see if Ash would obey him. He hoped so but there was no time to make sure, because the geek with the knife was lunging at him with a murderous grin.

River twisted around to the side, narrowly avoiding the silver blade. Forgetting about the agony in his shoulder for an instant, he put all four paws on the ground when he landed. His injured leg gave out underneath him, and then he was falling.

The knife descended for him, aiming not for anywhere vital that would kill him, but for his flank. Apparently this geek intended to torture him. River struggled but he couldn’t seem to get his paws underneath him again, and now the knife was buried in his fur, the point tunneling towards his flesh…

Pushing hard against the ground, his shoulder screaming, he just barely managed to twist away from the knife again. The geek grabbed for him to hold him still, then jerked backwards with a cry of pain as he grabbed a handful of glass-covered fur. Blood poured from his hand.

“You fucking…”

The geek swung his knife, and River knew that he wasn’t going to be able to dodge it this time. He was in a bad position, pressed up against the couch. He was so, so tired and it was very nearly the only thing supporting him. If he moved, he would fall. And that was if he could move at all, because he was stuck against the couch and there was no easy way for him to get out into the open again. And even if he could, the other man was there to catch him.

He couldn’t escape from this. It had all been for nothing.

But at least if he was going to die here, he was going to die with Ash at his side. That had to mean something.

Maybe Jeanine was right and there’s a Heaven. I hope I see him there. And our pup.

River closed his eyes, but just before he closed them he saw a flash of brown fur flying through the air. His eyes snapped open again and for a moment, he couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. Ash seemed to somehow be floating beside the attacking geek.

Then, River realized that he wasn’t floating. He was dangling, with his fangs buried deep in the man’s neck. The geek screamed and staggered, leaning fiercely under the weight of the wolf hanging from one of the most sensitive and important places on his entire body. Then, he crashed down. Ash ripped at him with his blunt wolf claws, his body whipping in a frenzy of pregnant rage and protection. More blood, puddles of it. Then, stillness.

River turned to look at the third man, who was no longer standing. He had sat down at some point, his hands dangling uselessly in his lap. He seemed incapable of comprehending the situation, and he damn sure wasn’t doing anything about it. His eyes were glazed, his mouth hanging open.

Which was a good thing as far as River was concerned, because Ash had turned back into a human as soon as the geek died. He moaned softly, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling. His blank expression so much mirrored Vinny’s death stare that River damn near had a heart attack; then, Ash’s still expression cracked like ice, showing the dark depths of pain underneath. His swollen, pregnant stomach quivered underneath his hands. Wetness appeared between his legs. Too much of it.

No! River cried inside his thoughts. Ash flinched as the yell echoed inside his mind but he didn’t say anything about it, and could only keep gripping at his stomach.

Gradually, River realized there was no smell of blood. Which meant that Ash wasn’t losing the baby. Which could only mean one thing.

“I think it’s coming,” Ash panted underneath his breath, confirming River’s suspicions.

And now there was a new type of fear inside him, but he shoved it away and stood up as a human. It should have been surprising to him that he was capable of fighting away the fear so easily, when everything just kept getting worse, but he didn’t question it. The man who had done them harm was dead. One of his cohorts was dead. The other looked as if he had lost his mind.

That part of their lives was over. It was time to get on with the rest of it.

Dropping down to his knees beside the third man, River grabbed his throat and shoved his head back hard against the wall. He could feel the man’s racing pulse, the movement of his throat as he swallowed hard.

“Listen to me,” River hissed. “Are you listening?”

The man’s mouth opened.

“Don’t fucking talk. Just nod. Yes or no.”

He nodded.

“Good.” There was so much pent-up anger inside him. He slammed the man’s head back against the wall again, and he had to restrain himself from doing it again and again until this bastard’s skull cracked like an egg. “I have to take my mate to the hospital. I am going to call the police when I get there. I am going to say that there was a break-in and that I fought back. I won’t mention Vinny. I won’t mention anything to do with money or loans. It’s as illegal for us as it is for you. Do you understand?”

The man nodded slowly. His disbelieving expression cracked slightly, allowing a glimpse of gratitude to shine through. He had clearly expected to die here.

River didn’t think he could handle any more bloodshed. It would take him the rest of his life to get over the fact that he had killed a man. He imagined Ash would deal with the same struggles. There was no need to add to their burdens, not when they were about to take the next step in their lives together.

“Get out of here. Take the gun. Take the two dead ones. I don’t care what you do with them. Just get the fuck out of here. Take the money with you. Touch nothing else. Do you understand?”

The man nodded again, quicker than before.

River growled, “Good,” and slammed his head against the wall hard enough to knock him unconscious.

It was incredibly difficult to help Ash stand up when River had a bullet hole in his shoulder, but he managed to do it through sheer stubbornness and determination. He had learned quite a lot about that from Ash in these past several months, and those lessons would be ones that he never forgot.

As he walked Ash out through the front door, he heard the unconscious man groaning, stirring around. It would take about an estimated twenty minutes for them to get to the hospital, where the police could be notified. After that, it would be only another few minutes before the cops arrived at the house.

If that wasn’t long enough for the man to escape with his prize, then he didn’t deserve to go free. Hell, he didn’t deserve it at all but River was so tired of conflict.

“Are you sure you can drive?” Ash gasped softly. He groaned while being helped into the passenger seat of the Genesis, and clutched at his stomach as a trembling contraction shook through him.

“Well, you can’t fit behind the wheel anymore,” River joked softly. He dug the keys out of his pocket and jammed them into the ignition, ignoring the bolts of agony that this simple movement caused. The drive to the hospital was going to be long and terrible, with every pothole and sudden stop causing him pain, but he plastered a smile to his lips so that Ashton wouldn’t worry for him.

Leaning over, he kissed his mate on the cheek.

“Let’s go meet our pup.”