After Ben showed up, everything seemed to go by in a blur. He held me until the police came, and refused to let go until they tugged him away in cuffs. They cuffed me, too, and walked us out of the building in front of hundreds of reporters, who all tried to ask me what had happened in that room. I was still covered in blood, but I just stared at them blankly, silently. I didn’t say a word.

As they pushed me into the back of a cop car, I saw Stefan, cuffed and already sitting in the back of another. I searched for Ben with my eyes, but we were all taken in separately. Cal’s dead body, a wolf still because he had died as a wolf, was wheeled into an ambulance on a stretcher.

I waited for hours as they processed me. They took swabs from my fingernails, the blood on my skin, even my teeth. Then they let me shower off and gave me clean, dry clothes to put on, and I sat in an empty room waiting for my lawyer to show up. I wouldn’t say anything until then.

I’d cooperate. I could have broken the cuffs, made things difficult for them. Part of me wondered what they would have done with me if I really did decide to fight. These police were human, every one of them, so far. There were no shifter police.

Finally, they let me speak to my lawyer.

“Well,” he said, settling next to me. “Do you want some coffee?”

“Please,” I begged.

He handed me a cup, and I sipped it, trembling.

“What’s going to happen to me?”

“You?” he said. “Nothing. I don’t think anything is going to happen to you. If you’d pulled this off next year, we might have different problems, but as it is now, there are no laws against shifter-on-shifter violence. You recorded the whole incident, which clearly reads as self-defense. They could charge you for trespassing, I imagine, but that wasn’t mentioned.”

I frowned.

“They’re not charging me? Then why am I being held?”

“Mainly so that they can get their story straight for the press. And because they want you to testify against your accomplices.”

“My accomplices?” I asked, outraged. “Ben and Stefan were coming to save me.”

My lawyer nodded, his tone gentle like he was trying to calm me, but I was pissed. I hadn’t imagined that Ben and Stefan would be the ones to get in trouble, when I had killed a mayoral candidate in his dressing room.

“Ben and Stefan broke in to the building and shot at security guards. One of them was human.”

I winced.

“Is he alive?”

My lawyer nodded.

“Alive and doing fine. The shot was to the knee, though, and they’re calling it assault.”

I growled.

“Well, I’m not testifying. Not against either of them. I didn’t ask them to show up and I didn’t know anything about what they were doing on their way to me, so there’s nothing I could say, anyway.”

“Ben is your lover, is that right?”

I felt sick. He was more than my lover. He was the father of my child, and I’d barely gotten a chance to thank him. Would he end up in jail for me?

“My boyfriend,” I said defensively.

“Do you know what his gun looks like?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“I didn’t even know he had a gun,” I said honestly. “I’m telling you, I don’t know anything about what they did, but I’ll bet it was self-defense, too.”

The lawyer seemed grim but nodded.

“I’ll get them to release you within the next few hours, and I’ll do my best for Ben and Stefan. The media, if it counts for anything, is on your side. You exposed Cal. Even the anti-seg faction is renouncing them. They don’t want to be associated with omega trafficking.”

I sighed in relief. That, at least, was good news. I nodded slowly.

“Let’s hope we all learned our lesson,” I whispered.

“I’ll be back,” my lawyer promised. “They might want to ask you some questions before you leave, but I’ll be here.”

“Thanks,” I said quietly, and watched as he left.

I was shaking. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if Ben or Stefan ended up in jail for me.

They did bring someone in to interview me, but I could honestly claim ignorance. I didn’t know anything that would incriminate either man. I didn’t even know which of them had shot the security guard.

Shortly after that, I was released. I waited in the lobby of the police station with my lawyer, and when Ben was released, too, I ran over to him, wrapped my arms around him tight, and hugged him, refusing to let go. He squeezed me firmly, and pulled back only to kiss me, our lips desperately seeking each other.

“Ben, what happened? They’ve barely told me anything, where’s Stefan?” I asked. “Did you shoot someone?”

Ben shook his head.

“No, it was Stefan who did the shooting, but it was self-defense, they’ll never…” He sighed, glancing at our lawyer. “Give me a second.”

He went to talk to the lawyer, and I followed him over, listening intently.

“The guard shot at Stefan first, that has to be self-defense.”

“Wrong guard,” the lawyer sighed. “The one who shot first was a shifter, and he isn’t hurt. The human with the busted knee cap… even if they drop the felony battery charges, he’s going to sue.”

“Let him sue,” I begged. “I have money. I can settle it out of court. Just don’t let this go to trial. They’ll burn him alive just for being a shifter, you know that,” I pleaded.

He sighed and looked between us both.

“I’ll see what I can do. You two should go home, I’ll call you and let you know.”

I shook my head.

“We’ll stay here. We’ll wait for him.”

“His husband will kill us if we come home without him,” Ben agreed.

The lawyer gave us both an understanding, but serious look.

“Neither of you have slept in over twenty-four hours, and this is going to take a while longer. Go home.”

When we arrived at our apartment, Tyler was pretty much waiting by the door, along with Julia.

“Good, you’re here,” he sighed in relief. “I need you two to watch Tommy.” He hugged me, kissing my cheek and ruffling my hair. “I’m glad you’re alive, kid. Just stay here, he’s asleep already. Julia and I have to go talk to the cops about Stefan.”

I winced.

“Tyler, I’m sorry, I…”

He laughed softly.

“Don’t be. Stefan has a knack for getting himself into trouble. We’ll figure it out.”

“Julia, why do you have to go with him?” Ben asked.

She laughed, too.

“They impounded my car.”

I shook my head as they left and collapsed against the hallway wall.

“What a mess,” I sighed. “I’m sorry, Ben. I had to, but I didn’t see it ending up like this.”

Ben stared at me, and he slowly reached out and touched my stomach, lightly caressing where it was still flat, but soon, would grow round and full with our unborn child.

“I’m sorry, too,” he said softly, and I shook my head.

He could apologize later, and we could talk about it, but suddenly, all I needed was to know we were both alive. We were there, and together, and the relief overwhelmed all of my senses. I could still taste Cal’s blood, and I wanted the taste off my lips forever, I wanted to burn him away from my memory with love and passion and Ben.

Ben pushed me gently against the wall, and kissed me, over and over again. I wrapped my legs around him as he started to pull off my clothes, and me his. All I could focus on was that kiss, and his warm body against mine. I prayed for Tommy to stay asleep.

"We have to be quiet," I whispered, and I had learned to do so right in his ear, so he could hear me.

He nodded, grinning at me.

"Should we go into the other room?" He was trying to keep his voice low, too.

I shook my head, gazing up at him.

"No. Here. Take me now, I need to feel it."

Ben growled, and held me, pushing roughly into me. It hurt, but I would heal quickly. I didn't care. All I needed was to know how much he loved me, to feel that connection that we'd only had while I was in heat. Then, we had used a condom, but now, I was pregnant. There was no point.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and felt him cling to me, too, holding me up as we started to move. His precum made me slicker, and soon I was thrusting down onto his thick alpha cock, dying for the knot I was at the wrong angle to take.

It was still far better than I could have imagined. I could feel the heat of him, the skin-to-skin contact was like magic, soothing my soul. Fate had brought us together, that much was clear.

That night when Ben had come home drunk and told me about the broken condom, I'd been in the wrong place to hear what else he told me--he loved me. He wanted to be a father. Maybe I was just testing that it was true, when I kissed him, and squeezed tight around him, and said clearly,

"I love you, too."

I meant it, though.