Stix swung his leg over his bike and turned it over. The bike roared to life as Satia grabbed the helmet off the back and shoved it on her head before climbing on behind him. He didn't waste time closing the garage door before he took off down the street. If someone wanted his junk so bad, they were welcome to it.

Stix rode recklessly through back alleys and up side streets to a posh estate area. Satia held tight as he took the curves at a dangerous rate. They slowed as he pulled into the subdivision were Andrea's family lived. The sound of another motorcycle drew his attention and Deacon pulled up alongside them. Satia.

He hadn't even thought of why she wanted his phone back at the house, but it must have been to call Deacon. Together they pulled up outside the gate of the mansion and turned off the engines to their bikes.

Stix pulled out his phone and dialed Andrea. It rang and rang.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"We're here. Come out with Andre."

"I'll be right there." The line went dead.

Stix's heart pounded. He paced back and forth in front of the gate. Deacon stopped him and put his hands on Stix's shoulders.

"He's going to be fine. We'll get him out of here, and he'll be fine."

A scream emanated from inside the mansion and Stix ran to the gate. The front door burst open, and Andrea ran out followed closely by her brother Ajax and several other members of her family. Ajax's short, stocky build seemed dwarfed by his bulkier cousins, but the malice that permeated his being was enough to keep even the most hardened of men away from him.

"Get back here!" Ajax bellowed.

Andrea ran for the gate.

"You aren't leaving with that kid until we find out for sure," Ajax yelled.

Stix's heart thundered as Andrea ran toward the gate, Andre clutched in her arms, his mouth open in a silent scream in half shifted form.

"Parala!" Ajax commanded.

The other males ran forward and grabbed Andrea.

"No!" Stix yelled. "Let them go!"

Ajax pointed at him. "Stay out of this, bear! It's your filthy seed that caused this mess in the first place."

Stix's bear roared to life as the men dragged Andrea back toward the house.

"Let go of her," Satia yelled.

"Mind your own business, puta."

Andrea slipped, and the men picked her up kicking and screaming and toted her toward the house.

"Stop," Satia said. "Stop! STOP!"

An ear-slipping roar sounded next to him as Satia shift into saber form in a split second. Her clothes dropped to the ground in shreds as her body lengthened and grew. She sat back on her hind legs and sprung over the gate in a single leap. Running into the compound, she headed straight for the men holding Andrea.

Terrified, the men dropped Andrea and Andre and backed up as Satia stood between them and Stix's son. She roared at Ajax, protecting Andrea and Andre.

Ajax pulled a gun from his waistband and aimed it at Satia. She roared again and swatted the gun away.

"This isn't your fight. Back off and you won't get hurt."

Ajax motioned to his men who took a step forward, and Satia caught one of them with a swipe of her mighty paw and knocked him clean off his feet.

Ajax growled and stripped off his shirt.

"Oh hell no," Stix yelled.

He stepped back and ran to the wall. Jumping he grabbed the top and pulled himself over. Deacon landed next to him, and the two sprinted up the lawn to join Satia. Stix jumped in front of her and pushed Ajax away as he began to shift. Deacon grabbed Andrea and pulled her and Andre out of the frey.

"Don't touch them," Stix commanded.

"What?" Ajax asked. "Now you're with a cat? Can't make up your mind with a single species?"

Venom pumped through Stix's veins as his ursa roared to be let out. "Satia is my mate, and if you touch her or my son, I'll kill you."

"Your mate?" Ajax scoffed. "Well look at that little sister, seems you were too late after all. Even though you gave him a son, he still wouldn't take you."

"Enough," Stix shot back. "You will leave them alone, or you'll deal with me."

Ajax laughed. "She didn't tell you did she? Andrea didn't tell you why she reached out to you after all this time."

Stix's blood chilled.

"Tell him. Tell him why you ran from your family to his side."

Andrea crouched just beyond Satia's large guarding form. She shook her head as tears coursed down her cheeks.

"Please, Ajax..."

"No? Well how about I tell him then? When she showed up here a year ago with your little bastard, she was given a choice. If the boy was a wolf, she could stay. If they boy was ursa, she would either have to give him up or be banished from us forever."

Andrea cried as Andre writhed in pain his little body breaking and shifting. Deacon knelt at her side and lent them both his strength.

"You really are an asshole," Stix said.

"We keep our line pure. No crossbreeding. I was willing to make an exception. One exception. For my mother's sake. But then it was found out that the boy was damaged. Deaf even. Now is the time we find out for sure. If he is wolf, we'll keep him as a lesser pack member. If he is bear, she makes her choice."

Stix lumbered over to Andrea. "Come with me. I'll take care of you both."

Andrea shook her head. "You have a mate. How would that work?"

"We'll make it work. Satia will agree. She loves Andre already and she is ready to protect you both, you can see that."

Andrea regarded Andre as his little eyes grew black and his body bulked out. Brown hair sprouted from his hands and feet.

"No," she whispered. "Gods above please. Let him be wolf. Let him be wolf."

There was no denying it. Stix knelt on the ground and placed his hands on Andre. Deacon followed suit and the scent of ursa filled the air. Together they let out a roar, and the roars were followed by the small growls of a tiny bear cub. Andrea sobbed into Andre's fur.

"Decide," said Ajax. "Are you leaving? Banished forever? Or will you give up the boy?"

Andrea continued to weep.

"Andrea, come with us. We will take care of you. You know we will."

She looked up at him. "And what? I'll never see my family or my clan again. I'll never find a mate of my own. Who will want me if I have been banished?"

"You'll find someone. I'll help you. You don't need these people. People who would treat you like this, they aren't family."

She shook her head. "I lied, Stix. I don't have a job. I don't have any money. I don't have any skills. I've been living here. Are you going to pay for my education? For me to be able to get a job to support myself? It's why I came back here. I couldn't make it on my own. I was homeless after Andre was born. I have nothing. I need them. I need my family. Could you do it? Could you leave your family forever? Your pack? Your clan?"

"We will be your family," Stix pled. "We'll form our own pack."

Andrea squeezed Andre tight as he squirmed in her arms, growling and snarling. She shook her head and then gently placed Andre into Stix's arms.

"He's better off with you. You can look after him. You can take care of him better than I ever could."

"Andrea, don't-"

"Tell him that I love him. Tell him... he saved my life."

Before Stix could do anything, Andrea jumped to her feet and fled for the house.

"Andrea! Andrea! Come back. Don't do this!"

Ajax and his men walked closer. "You got your mix breed. Now get off my property."

"You tell her to come back out here and get her son. You tell her to be the mother she said she would be!" Stix demanded.

Ajax's gaze leveled with Stix's. "Get off my property, or I'll tell my men to start shooting."

A large group of wolves poured out the front door of the mansion. Satia growled, and her ears flattened against her head. Andre struggled in his arms to be let down.

He couldn't risk either of them getting hurt.

"Come on, brother," said Deacon. "We'll deal with this another way."

"Yeah, listen to your cousin," said Ajax. "Before someone gets hurt."

Deacon stepped forward. "You know, if I weren't such a nice guy, I'd come over there and kick your ass up the street and burn this place to the ground you arrogant dick."

Ajax smiled. "Anytime you want. You know where I am, Deacon."

Stix stood a moment longer. "You tell Andrea any time she's ready to get out of this excuse for a family she is welcome with us," he called. "You tell her that her son will always be waiting for her."

Ajax raised a clicker, and the gate behind them swung open.

Stix waited, hoping Andrea would run back out.

"You have until the gate closes and then I let them start firing," said Ajax.

Satia walked to Stix, her eyes still on Ajax and she pushed her body into his making him back up. She continued to herd him toward the gate with Deacon at his side. With each step he took Stix still prayed Andrea would come out. Even after they were outside and the gate closed he stared through the bars.

Finally, Deacon laid his hand on Stix's shoulder. "Come on bro. We gotta figure out how to get them home."

One by one the wolves piled back into the mansion and closed the door. It was really happening. Andrea was giving up Andre.

Stix looked down at his son and then over to Satia. Deacon stripped off his leather jacket and tossed it by a tree. Then he walked over to his knapsack and pulled out a pair of shorts.

"Sorry Satia, it's all I have."

Satia stalked to the tree and her form shrunk behind it as she shifted back to human. She emerged a minute later wearing the jacket and Deacon's gym trunks.

She approached Stix and pressed her hand to his cheek. "She'll come around."

Stix stared at her wanting to believe her words, but in his heart, he knew they weren't true.