After a hard day on the farm, a shower was exactly what I needed. It would have been great to share it with Percy, but there would be plenty of time for that later, especially now that we had our own room together.

Work on the addition had been hard, but speedy. I’d learned a lot from Preston, and we’d both learned even more along the way. The results were even better than I’d anticipated. We’d added on four more rooms and another bathroom, and Percy and my room was the one at the end of the hall with a beautiful mitered glass window overlooking the tomatoes. It even had a nook for a crib for when the baby came.

I can’t wait, I thought as I shut the water off and grabbed my towel. Percy was due any day now. He’d been so self-conscious about his body changing, but I loved it. Seeing him grow just meant my cub was growing too, and that meant we were getting closer to being fathers. After seeing the other families in the pack, and how happy they were, I was more confident than ever that we’d made the right decision.

I wrapped my towel around my waist and made my way to our bedroom, but Percy wasn’t there. Frowning, I headed to the living room where Kenneth was lounging on the couch.

“Hey, have you seen Percy?” I asked him.

“Yeah, he went to the bar just a minute ago to meet with a potential buyer,” he replied. I nodded. “He said he didn’t want to disturb you even though I told him he should bring you.”

“Yeah, he’s headstrong sometimes,” I smiled. “But what can I do?”

“Said it was some guy named Alfonzo,” he chuckled. “Sounds like a real uptight bastard.”

I froze in place. “What—what did you say?”

“A real uptight bastard,” Kenneth repeated with a laugh. I whirled around.

“No! His name!”

“Alfonzo?” Kenneth asked, obviously perplexed. My hands balled into iron fists at my side.

“You’re sure he said that!?”

“Pretty sure…” Kenneth replied, looking concerned. “Why?”

“Rally the alphas!” I shouted as I tore back into my room, threw my towel aside and slid into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt as fast as I could. There was no time for shoes, and as I raced back into the living room, I saw Preston coming out of the back.

“Trouble!?” he asked.

“Trouble,” I nodded as he tossed me the keys to the one of the trucks. “Juan! Terry!”

I almost tore the front door off its hinges as I raced outside and leapt off the porch with Preston right behind me. Juan leapt out the window of his bedroom and ran over to us.

“Where’s Juan!?” I shouted as we piled into the truck.

“In the fields!” Terry pointed as I gunned the truck to life and hit the gas. The tires spun out as I threw the truck down the driveway towards the road. I saw Juan sprinting towards us and slowed slightly as he tossed himself into the back.

“What’s up?” he called out through the back window.

“Percy’s in trouble!” I roared as I wheeled the truck onto the road and sped for the highway, my heart ready to explode out of my chest.

Alfonzo…

As soon as I heard the name, I knew. Alfonzo was Killoran’s alias he used when he was running scams on people. It was a bold move for him to use it on Percy, but I guess he figured Percy wouldn’t mention the whole thing to me. He was always good at reading people. And now, he’d finally laid a trap for my mate. My pregnant mate.

The truck was a rocket ship hurtling down the freeway as I passed every single car I saw in front of me. If I’d have seen a police cruiser, I would have passed it too. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to that bar. Nothing.

I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the horrible things those bastards would try to do to him if I didn’t stop them. After what they’d tried last time, I knew nothing was off the table.

Sick fucks…

I thundered down the highway, my knuckles white on the wheel, barely slowing down when I saw the exit.

“Gabriel,” Preston said quietly as I yanked the truck into a hard turn. “Gabriel!”

The wheels skidded as the truck slid out. I threw it into a drift, maintaining as much a speed as possible as I took the exit and swerved onto the road towards Bottoms Up. Nothing was going to stop me. Nothing.

As we approached, I saw the bikes parked out front. Three of them.

“They’re still there!” I roared as I barreled into the parking lot and slammed straight into Killoran’s bike, knocking it over and crushing the forks under the weight of the truck. I left it there, threw the truck into park and leapt out. I didn’t even bother to take my clothes off before shifting. Licking my fangs, I hit the door running and shattered it straight off its hinges.

Killoran was standing behind the bar, and he and his two goons spun around to face me as I entered. I recognized Trey, but there was some other long-haired son of a bitch standing beside him I’d never seen before. Killoran looked surprised to see me, but I gave him no time to react.

I leapt at him, my teeth seeking the flesh of his neck. But the son of a bitch was quick and dodged my attack and lashed out with his claw, striking me in the shoulder. My blood hit the wall like a swatch of red paint.

I hit hard as I fell, slamming into the wall behind the bar as Killoran leapt on my exposed back. I spun and threw my claws forward, slamming into his chest and deflecting him to the side. Someone snarled. The sounds of battle rang out through the bar as my pack and Killoran’s club went head to head. I heard a cry and looked to see Percy, my beautiful mate, his face twisted in agony, clutching his stomach.

The baby’s coming! I realized with panic as Killoran slammed into me. I hit hard, braced my legs against the floor, knowing a bite was coming down at me, and kicked with all my strength. We both went crashing back into a set of chairs, smashing them beneath us. I saw Preston sink his teeth into Trey’s neck, causing blood to fountain out like a geyser. Juan ripped his stomach open with a precisely aimed claw.

The other bastard was doing well, facing off against Terry, who was bleeding from his back left leg. I righted myself, scrambled over the splintered wood beneath me and found myself face to face with Killoran, who was snarling with a righteous hatred.

To Hell with you! I thought as I saw my mate writhing in agony behind the bar. My mate will not give birth in a place like this!

My shoulder was killing me. Blood poured down my arm to the floor as I stared at my enemy. My instincts had taken me over. I wasn’t just Gabriel anymore. I was Gabriel the mate, the father, the protector. And I had to act to make things right.

I feinted forward, pretending to lunge at Killoran’s left hind, which caused him to dodge predictably to the right. He swung out with a claw, and I ducked, letting it pass easily over my head. Then I made my move.

My teeth cut through the air towards their mark with perfect execution and I saw the look of terror in his eyes when he realized I’d gotten the best of him. My jaw closed with all my strength around his neck and I tore my head to the side and felt his spine snap. With a defeated groan, Killoran died. I opened my mouth and dropped his lifeless body to the floor of the bar, shifted and raced over to my mate.