Alexander held the remains of the camera in his hand. Forming a fist, he crushed the remaining bits of the thing into pieces and tossed them aside. He didn't need to guess about who had done this. It was Marcus. It had him written all over it. Now the incident at the operation made sense: he realized that Marcus had likely hired a group of low-rent mercs to keep them distracted while he kidnapped Hannah and Grace. His heart pounded and anger ran through him. He wanted blood.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and pulling it out he saw that it was an unlisted number.
"Hey there, Alex," came the voice on the other end. "I think you know who this is."
Alexander held the phone hard against his ear and spoke in a tone of deadly seriousness.
"I swear to God if you don't return Grace and Hannah to me right fu—”
"Now, now,” Marcus said. "Calm that animal of yours down. You see, what we have here is a little business negotiation to make. And I think you can probably guess the terms."
"Enlighten me,” Alexander said.
"It's simple," Marcus said. "You come here, sign a legally-binding document that states you won't be getting involved with any more Langford contracts, and I'll give you the girls."
"And if I refuse?"
Marcus chuckled over the phone.
"I wouldn't think that you'd put money over the lives of your women, but let's just say that you wouldn't like what would happen if you decided to go that route. And don't try any funny business; you get cute with me and try to rescue these girls, and you won't like how that turns out either. You know where I live—that simply gorgeous estate in Sausalito that I bought last year. Come alone. That's all."
Then the line went dead.
Alexander pulled his hand and whipped the phone across the room as hard as he could. Hitting the wall, the phone shattered into a thousand pieces.
He didn't want to waste a second. And he'd be damned if he let himself get pulled into Marcus's sick game. Alexander found his business phone in his bag and dialed up Curt.
"Yeah, boss?"
"We got a situation. Meet me in thirty."
***
Hours later, Alexander pulled up in front of Marcus's massive estate. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but shake his head as he looked over the oversized, gaudy house and the expensive sports cars parked in front.
Just the type of flashy shit a little fuck like Marcus would spend his money on.
Alexander came to a stop in front of the house's large gate, and after a moment or two the gate opened slowly.
"Park right in front of the house and keep your hands on the steering wheel," came a voice through the gate's intercom. "No fucking around."
Alexander did as the voice commanded. Once he parked the car in front of the house, a handful of black-clad men that he recognized as Red Fangs swarmed the car and pulled him out, patting him down for weapons. Once they confirmed that he was unarmed, the men led him through the enormous front doors and into the house's living room where Marcus awaited him. And tied to a chair near Marcus was Hannah, fear in her eyes.
"Hannah!" he shouted.
"Alex!" she responded.
Marcus raised his palm.
"Very touching," he said, "but let's leave the tearful reunions for after the business is taken care of."
"Not until I see my daughter," demanded Alexander.
"Fine, fine,” Marcus said, rolling his eyes.
He pressed a button on a nearby tablet and brought onto the TV screen the room where Grace was being held. To Alexander's relief, he saw that she was unharmed.
"Now,” Marcus said, "are we ready to get to the business at hand?"
"Fine,” Alexander said. "Let's get this shit over with."
"Oh!” Marcus said as he turned around, "I almost forgot—just in case you're still on the fence about whether you're doing the right thing or not, Hannah, why don't you tell Alexander about the good news."
Alexander furrowed his brow in confusion.
"What's he talking about?" Alexander demanded.
"Go on,” Marcus said. "Don't be shy."
Alexander watched as Hannah took in a deep breath and spoke.
"I'm pregnant."
The words hit Alexander like bullets. His eyes went wide and he staggered back a step.
"Wonderful news, huh?” Marcus said, clasping his hands together. "And you'll be able to celebrate it as a family once you sign this fucking agreement! How about that?"
Marcus tapped on the large black table in front of him where a single piece of paper laid, a pen next to it.
"This is true?" asked Alexander to Hannah. "This isn't something he's making you say?"
"It's true,” Hannah said. "I found out today."
"But you said that you couldn't have kids?"
"I did,” Hannah said. "But then I got pregnant."
Alexander realized what this meant. If Hannah was infertile but able to get pregnant by him, then that meant…
"Then we're fated,” Alexander said.
Deep down he'd had a sense that this was the case—the bond between them was so strong, and grew so quickly. But fated couples were rare, and he never thought that he would be one of them.
"Yes, yes,” Marcus said, "all sorts of good news. Now, if you don't sign that thing then I'm going to have to end the life of another one of your girls. Got it?"
Alexander boiled with rage at the reminder of what Marcus had done to him. But he knew that he needed to stay calm. He approached the table and took the pen and placed the tip at the dotted line.
"Just think,” Marcus said, "once this is all done with, you can take the retirement that an old fuck like you should've gone into years ago."
Alexander flashed him a glower and turned his attention back to the sheet. But before he signed the document, he grabbed his collar and spoke into it.
"Now!" he shouted.
Then, he leapt through the air and landed on top of Hannah, bringing her to the ground.
"What the he—”
But before Marcus could finish his words, gunfire tore through the house. The windows shattered all around them as the bullet ripped through the living room, and Alexander clapped his hands over Hannah's ears to block the noise. Hannah cried out in fear, and Alexander watched around him as Marcus's merc crew dropped one by one, each of them taken down by gunfire before they even knew what hit them.
But Marcus dropped to the ground in time and avoided the attack. After nearly a minute of sustained gunfire, the sound stopped. Alexander watched as Marcus rose and surveyed the scene with wide eyes.
"What the…fuck, have you done?" he asked, looking over the bodies of his men.
But before Alexander had a chance to respond, the roars of several bears sounded. Alexander got up and rushed to the window to see the Elders emerge from their hiding spots in the woods and rush toward the house in bear form, ready to pounce on the few guards that remained.
"You backstabbing fucker!" shouted Marcus as he watched the scene unfold.
Marcus turned back to Alexander and Hannah.
"Fuck!" he shouted.
With that, he bolted from the living room and out the front doors.
"Get Grace!" shouted Alexander as he ripped Hannah free from her bindings.
Hannah nodded and hurried off down the hallway toward where Grace was being held.
Alexander rushed to the window and began following Marcus. Once he stepped outside, he could see his men, still in bear form, tear into the guards and take them out one by one. Alexander watched as Marcus, seemingly realizing how screwed he was, climbed into his sports car and gunned the engine.
Not so fucking fast.
He took off in a run toward the car and as he closed the distance, he shifted into his bear form and leaped through the air, landing on the hood of Marcus's car. The vehicle crumpled underneath his weight and the engine ground to a stop.
"You fucking asshole!" shouted Marcus.
He emerged from the car, a pistol in his hand. Taking aim, he fired a round at Alexander, the bullet winging him in the shoulder. Alexander let out a mighty roar and leaped off of the car. Right as he landed, Marcus shifted and the two bears stared each other down for a long moment. The rest of the Elders gathered around, ready to watch their leader and Marcus square off.
The fight was quick and deadly. Marcus started by swiping through the air with his razor-sharp claws. Alexander moved out of the way, the pain from the gunshot flesh wound throbbing. Alexander dodged more attacks from Marcus, and realized quickly that the younger bear had let his fear get the better of him. Alexander remained calm, and when Marcus lifted his body to come down on Alexander with a crushing blow, Alexander reached forward and swiped his paw across Marcus's stomach. Marcus howled in pain and collapsed to the ground, blood seeping from his wound. With a final strike, Alexander brought his paw down onto Marcus, ending the shifter's life.
Alexander quickly shifted back to his human form, and the rest of his crew followed suit.
"All good inside, boss?" asked Curt.
"All good," Alexander said. "Nice work, team."
He clasped Curt's hand and patted him on the back. And as he thanked the rest of his team, Hannah and Grace emerged from the house. Without thinking, Alexander rushed toward the women, taking them both into his arms.
"Daddy!" shouted Grace, overjoyed to see her father.
"Oh, baby," he said. "I'm so glad you're okay."
And then he turned his attention to Hannah, her eyes wet with tears of joy.
"So," Alexander said, "pregnant, huh?"
Hannah nodded eagerly, a broad smile on her face. Alexander didn't want to waste another second. He pulled her close, embraced her tight, and kissed her hard on the lips. The men in the yard cheered, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, Alexander felt pure, unrestrained joy. At that moment, he vowed to never let this woman get away.