It was Monday morning when Anton came.

Jax was having the time of his life, feeling like his life was finally complete with the woman he loved and the boy that put a constant smile on his face. He had a lightness to his step that he never had before.

It had always been so hard for Jax. There was a sadness that ran deep in his bones, a hardness to his heart that he wore on his face. He pushed people away, building up walls between him and the world to protect the scared little boy who was still hiding within.

But with Violet and Beast, that was all melting away. His walls had crumbled down and his heart had opened, finally ready to love.

And it was so much better. He couldn’t believe how beautiful the world looked now, how much happiness and love there could be in it. He was blind to it before, but his eyes were wide open and seeing it now.

Violet had I Want You Back by Jackson 5 blasting on the radio and was dancing around the living room with her little Benji while Jax was doing the dishes left over from breakfast. He stopped and turned, slapping the towel over his shoulder as he admired her fighting spirit. This was a woman who had been through untold horrors and was still finding the beauty in life, and giving it to her son.

He adored them both and wanted to keep them. Benjamin was a part of her, and he loved him to death. He wanted nothing more than to raise the kid as his own.

But his father was still out there, and Jax was sure he wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Jax clenched his jaw just thinking about it. I can’t wait for that.

He couldn’t wait to face the tiger shifter and make him pay for every slap, every punch, every kick, every tear that he made Violet shed. He was going to pay it all back with interest.

Jax took a deep breath and smiled as Violet spun Benjamin in a circle, making the little guy squeal like a piglet.

The time for violence would come soon enough. He just wanted to enjoy the little piece of heaven that Violet and Benjamin had brought into his life for a little longer.

“You’re going to make the poor kid throw up,” Jax said with a laugh as Violet bounced him up and down.

“He likes it,” Violet said, laughing. He definitely liked it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to throw up.

Zane and Gwen were returning later that day and Jax couldn’t wait to introduce them to his new family. He couldn’t wait to see Zane’s reaction when he saw the new and improved version of himself complete with a new mate and a cute little baby.

Violet spun around again, clutching Benjamin to her chest when she caught sight of something outside.

Her body froze and she gasped, holding her baby even tighter as she stared out the window while the music played on like nothing was out of the ordinary.

Jax’s pulse started racing as he rushed over, looking past her in the direction her eyes were focused on.

He didn’t need Violet to tell him that the huge man with the furious eyes and large frame was Anton. He knew it immediately. And so did his inner lion.

The animal within started raging—growling within and pacing around, begging to get out and take care of this threat to his mate.

You’ll have your chance, he told it. Real soon.

Violet looked up at him with terror in her eyes. Her face was white as she held Benjamin as tightly as she could. “It’s him,” she said in a scared little voice. “Oh, Jax. We should have left.”

The tears started pouring down her cheeks and the sight of them just made his blood boil even more. He was going to kill the man who put tears in her eyes.

“Take Benji upstairs,” he said, trying to remain calm, but even he could hear the shakiness in his voice. “Don’t come down no matter what you hear.”

She gave him a look that was a mix between I’m sorry and I love you before she turned and bolted up the stairs taking the precious little guy with her.

Furious heat was flushing through his body like an inferno as he puffed out his massive chest and stormed outside. He was already sweating as he marched up to the tiger shifter, glaring at him with cold hard eyes.

Anton clenched his jaw when he saw him approaching.

“Where’s the kid?” he asked when they met on the sidewalk.

“The kid is the least of your concerns,” Jax hissed, restraining himself. There were a couple of people walking on the other side of the road and he didn’t want to create a scene. Especially one that involved a tiger and a lion bursting out of their bodies. It was better to do that in private.

Anton was a little bigger than him, but Jax wasn’t intimidated in the least. His lion would be fighting for his mate and that would give him the edge over any opponent.

The tiger shifter lifted his nose an inch and sniffed the air. His eyes widened in recognition. “She’s here,” he whispered in disbelief. “I can’t believe she was stupid enough to stay here.”

“She’s with me now,” Jax said in a tight voice. He stepped forward with his arms flexed and his nostrils flaring. “Her and the kid.”

Anton’s thick lip curled up in amusement. “Oh, is that right?” he asked as he puffed out his massive chest. “You think a little bitch of a lion is going to stop me?”

Jax could smell the tiger within him. What he had expected was the case. The animal was taking over the man. That happened to a small minority of shifters who couldn’t control their inner predators. Over time they slowly became feral.

“There’s a patch of woods about five minutes away from here,” Jax said, pointing down the street. “How about we go there and settle this?”

He really didn’t want to make a scene and have to phase in the middle of the street. Both Draven and Zane would flay his ass if that happened.

Anton just laughed. “Out of my way, boy.”

He slammed his thick palm into Jax’s chest, pushing him out of the way as he thundered past. Jax’s body tensed as his hands squeezed into tight fists. The tiger shifter was stronger than he had anticipated, but the guy still didn’t stand a chance. Jax knew he was as tough as they came.

“Violet!” Anton hollered in a booming voice as he started sprinting toward the door of the firehouse. Jax took off after him, right on his heels as he exploded through the door.

Enough was enough. Anton was already too close to Jax’s mate for his comfort. He squeezed his body and let his lion come.

The furious cat ripped out of him in a flash and pounced on the man as he headed for the stairs. The enraged lion caught Anton by surprise, digging his long sharp teeth into his shoulder as he tackled him to the floor.

“Fuck!” Anton screamed out in pain as he landed on his face with a livid full grown lion on his back.

Jax’s lion was about to go in for the kill shot, a bite to the throat, when Anton quickly phased, letting his tiger explode out of him.

The phase caught Jax’s lion off guard and the huge tiger managed to roll away, facing him with a snarl as his shoulder quickly healed.

The two massive cats circled each other, hissing as they stared each other down. Jax had never fought a tiger before, and he was anxious to get started.

With a deep vicious growl, the lion pounced on the tiger, smashing into his striped body, slashing and biting at him as they rolled across the living room and crashed into the TV, smashing it to pieces.

Anton’s tiger howled in pain when Jax sank his teeth into his back, but the tiger got him back by slashing the sharp claws on his hind legs into the soft flesh of his lion’s stomach.

They were both bleeding as they separated for the second time, growling as they circled once again.

Anton’s tiger glanced at the staircase and the lion just reacted. Violet and Benjamin were up there, and he had to take this tiger out before he made it to the stairs. He leaped onto the tiger, crashing into his body as he tried to sink his teeth into Anton’s throat.

But the tiger was fast and strong, and the fight was a vicious one. They flew around the firehouse, smashing into the furniture, breaking the table, chairs, computer, and tipping over the fridge.

The firehouse wasn’t that big and the two massive wild cats had covered every foot of it in their fight. By the time they separated, Jax was hurt pretty bad. He could barely stand on his back leg and he was bleeding heavily from a gash on his shoulder.

Anton was hurt just as bad with his striped fur turned a crimson red. His right eye was closed and he was breathing heavily.

It was then that they heard Violet’s voice coming from upstairs. “Jax,” she said in a whimper. “Are you okay?”

The sound gave Anton a second wind and he whipped his body around and lunged toward the stairs, bounding up them.

Jax fought through the searing pain in his leg and chased after him with his heart pumping insanely fast. He caught up to the tiger at the top of the stairs and grabbed a hold of his hind leg in his powerful jaws.

The tiger hollered in pain as Jax yanked him back down the stairs, crashing down with him. It was a brutal fall as they fought on the way down, slashing and biting at each other as they tumbled down the metal stairs.

Enough of this. Jax urged his lion on, pushing him to go for the kill. He’ll never leave her alone. He’ll always be out there, hunting her, stalking her. You have to finish this now. For Violet. For Beast. For your future.

The two cats slammed into the floor, both exhausted and out of breath after the long grueling fight.

Do it, Jax pleaded. Take his life. Now!

The lion gritted his teeth as he struggled to get to his big paws. Anton wasn’t out just yet. He was a strong shifter and he climbed up onto his paws as well.

Jax’s lion was swaying from side to side as he gathered the last of his energy for one more try. One more chance to end this threat to his mate. One more chance to kill him.

Anton looked like he was thinking the same thing. They snarled and pounced at each other in the kitchen, both desperate to get the kill.

But Jax was fighting for his mate, and a shifter fighting for his mate always had the advantage. He swung his head, avoiding the tiger’s massive swinging paw and went in for the kill, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of the tiger’s neck.

The warm metallic taste of blood filled his lion’s mouth as he sunk his long fangs into the tiger’s jugular. The big cat lurched around for a moment before the energy drained from his body and he sank to the tiled floor as his wild eyes finally went calm.

Jax held him there with his teeth in his neck until he was sure he was dead. Eventually, he let go and phased back into his human form.

He was hurt all over with deep gashes that wept blood, but his shifter healing was starting to kick in and he would be okay.

“Violet,” he said with the last of his energy as he collapsed onto his ass, leaning against the kitchen drawers. “It’s all over.”