Dakota looked over at William. His left hand was on the wheel and his right rested on top of Dakota's, and the lights of passing traffic moved across his face.

This was what a real relationship was supposed to feel like. Having the open comfort of knowing you didn't have to hide anything, of being accepted for who you were. Looking forward to a future together. He could dedicate his time to William, too. The restaurant was in good hands—and it always had been. He was ready to loosen his grip on it now. He had a reason to.

"Hey, William?" Dakota said.

"Dakota."

"Be my boyfriend."

William's lips slowly pulled into a smile. God, he really loved his smile. He could live on seeing that every day, it made him feel so damn good inside.

"Yeah, okay," he said, the smile widening into a broad grin. "I kinda assumed that's what was going on, but if you want it to be that official."

"Cut me a break," Dakota said, grinning back. "I don't really know how these things work."

William took a deep breath. "We're officially in a relationship."

"It's pretty crazy."

"Tell me about it, it came out of nowhere. But you have no idea how happy I am about it."

"I have some idea," Dakota said.

It filled him with an indescribably amazing feeling to know that William was his. No one else, just William. His gorgeous eyes, his delicious lips, his adorable personality, and the thought of all the memories they were going to make together. He was so amazing. He felt so close to him. And knowing that he was the special one who William had chosen, that what they shared was special enough for both of them to forget everything they'd worried about... It was visceral and consuming and so, so wonderful.

He was excited to get to know Nate, too. He wanted to show that little boy a life that he'd been deprived of. He wanted to make sure that Nate saw what an alpha could be and could live his life free of the terrible guilt, anger, and chaos that he'd dealt with as a boy. Having a loving family was all Dakota had ever wanted. He couldn't go back in time and save the lost little boy he'd once been, but he could possibly give that to Nate.

William pulled the car into the parking lot of his condo complex, and they walked with arms slung around each other and smiles on their faces. They turned down the pathway that led up to William's front door and stopped. There was somebody sitting on the steps in front of their door, his head resting on his knees. The man looked up at the sound of their footsteps. He had hollow cheeks scruffy with stubble and tired, distant eyes.

Dakota felt William tense up, and he immediately know who the man was.

"Damn," Eddie said, standing up. "You're finally home. I was about to give up. Who's Godzilla?" He gestured to Dakota.

Dakota's heart began to race, and he felt the adrenaline begin to surge through his body. "I'm William's boyfriend,” he said in a low, tense voice. “And I prefer ‘Chewbacca’."

"I told you to fucking stay away from us, Eddie," William said. He was shaking. "I'm going to call the police."

"Where's Nate?" Eddie asked, scratching his neck. "Where's my son?"

"That's none of your business," William said.

"He's mine."

Dakota felt a rushing in his ears, like an airplane taking off. Deep breaths. The feeling deep inside of him was building and he fought to stay in control. It was a primal feeling, fight or flight, but flight had never been an option for him. Deep breaths.

"He has your blood, but he's not your son," William growled.

"God fucking dammit, William. C'mon. Remember what we had? Remember what you gave up to be with me? Help me out here. You're the only one I can turn to right now."

"Listen, Eddie," Dakota said. "You need to get the hell off of William's property. Final warning."

"I'm not talking to you, you fucking son of a bitch. Who the fuck are you anyway?"

"You goddamn better believe you're talking to me." Dakota stepped forward, clenching his fists.

"Back the fuck up," Eddie said. There was a flash of silver as he whipped out a knife.

Dakota stopped. His eyes trained on the knife. He could feel the flames flickering inside of him. How dare you.

William gasped. "Eddie? Put that down. What do you want, Eddie? Just tell me what you want."

"Goddamn, William. I didn't want to fucking do it like this, but fuck, look what you made me fucking do. I was going to ask nicely. I just need some fucking cash, man. C'mon, get inside.”

"If that's all you want, then here, take my wallet. Jesus, Eddie. Seriously?" William pulled out his wallet and tossed it on the ground in front of Eddie. "Just put the knife away and get out of here."

Dakota could see that Eddie's eyes weren't red from lack of sleep. He was obviously fucked up on some drug. He wasn't in his right mind at all.

"Nah, nah, nah. It's come too far now for that small shit. I know you've gotta have a safe in there. I know your family is fucking rich."

William was shaking his head. "You know my family disowned me because of you."

"Yeah, and we're not together anymore. Hm. But I bet you miss this cock, don't you? You let me fuck you raw with this dick. I know you're fucking lying, you've got a fucking fortune locked away in this nice ass house of yours, you fucking omega whore."

Red.

Dakota roared and swung his fist, but the punch missed. William was yelling at the top of his lungs. Eddie raised the knife and charged towards them. Dakota thrust his arm out and pushed William so hard he flew into the bushes, far away from Eddie's reach. The knife flashed towards him. There was no dodging it. He swung his hand down and felt the cold bite of steel as the blade entered his palm. He closed his fist around Eddie's hand, the end of the blade sticking out of the back of his. Eddie tugged, but he held on tight, and looked up with wide eyes as Dakota swung his left fist square into his face, shattering his nose. Eddie fell backwards onto the pavement, the back of his head smacking the ground with a sickening crack.

"Dakota!" William shouted and hauled himself out of the bushes. "Oh my god! Oh, fuck, your hand."

Dakota gripped the wrist of his injured hand as blood streamed down over his fingers from the wound. "I'm fine," he grunted. "It's just the hand."

"I'm going to call the police," William said, pulling out his phone. "Oh my god, Dakota. Just hold on."

"Don't worry," Dakota said, steadily. "Really. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Your hand..."

He stared at the wound, not daring to try and move his fingers, too afraid to feel them unresponsive. But all that really mattered was that William was safe. The neighbors from the surrounding condos were starting to come outside to see what happened. Someone arrived with a first aid kit. William threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly, his eyes bleary with shock. "We're okay," Dakota said to him. The adrenaline was wearing off, and he was beginning to feel the pain now. Sirens wailed in the distance.