Another roar sounds, this one a heck of a lot closer. Then the front door explodes, and chunks of wood clatter all around us. Everyone ducks, but before I even know what’s happening, I’m in the air with strong arms around me as the cold of the outside hits me.

A strange feeling a déjà vu strikes me as Koda runs through the woods at a pace that clearly isn’t human with me wrapped in his arms. I don’t say anything. The look on his face is entirely savage. Part of his face has shifted, and his eyes are completely black.

It isn’t long before I start to hear the howls behind us, making my heart rate sky rocket. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Deep down I know Koda would never hurt me. He might not want me as a mate, but he wouldn’t hurt me. I wonder if that’s what’s driving him now. He knows he has to have me as a mate even if he hates me.

Maybe that’s why he’s so savage. He’s lost control. More howls sound behind us, and Koda picks up speed somehow as he runs through the wood, dodging trees and never missing a step.

“Please,” I whisper as I push my face into his neck. I don’t know what I’m begging for—for him to stop or for him to refrain from attacking my brothers, who I know are hot on our trail.

“Mine,” he growls. His arms tighten around me. Soon the house comes into sight, the door still standing wide open. Koda leaps over all the stairs and lands inside the house, kicking the door closed behind him he puts me down and starts flipping the locks.

I feel relief as I hear the locks click into place. I know now that a fight won’t break out between my brothers and Koda. I know Koda could take them one on one, no problem. That’s clear from his size alone. But I don’t know what he’d do with all three of them at once, and I couldn’t bear for any of them to get hurt.

Koda turns to look at me, and it’s then I see the dart sticking out of his shoulder. I gasp and rush over to him as he pulls it out.

“Tranq,” he growls, tossing the dart across the room. He shakes his head. “They don’t work on me anymore. I’m immune.”

Relief and sadness hit me. Relief because I know he’ll be okay, but sadness because I know he’s immune because he was probably shot up with hundreds of tranqs when he was held captive over the years.

He takes two steps towards me, dropping to his knees in front of me and catching me off guard. He leans his forehead against me, like he’s breathing me in. I run my fingers through his hair, wanting to calm him.

“Go away,” Koda growls a second before a bang hits the door.

“Snow, are you okay?” Flint yells through the door.

“Open the door, Koda.” A deep voice I don’t recognize says. “Is he out, Snow? I hit him with a dart.”

Koda doesn’t move. I just keep running my fingers through his dark hair, his breathing starting to calm and some of the tension leaving his body. I love that my touch can do that to him and that I have such power over this giant man.

“I’m fine, everyone. We just need a minute,” I try to reassure them.

“I said leave! She’s mine!” Koda growls against me, his possessive tone sending a sweet chill up my body.

No one responds, and I have no idea if they’ve left or not, but Koda doesn’t move from his position in front of me.

“Don’t leave me. I can’t stand it. When I came back,” his voice cracks, “and saw the door wide open and found you gone, it was the worst moment of my life. I never even felt that kind of panic when they took me. Never had a fear like that.”

He looks up at me, and I can see the plea in his eyes.

“I thought you wanted me gone, Koda, after I told you were I came from.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not why I left.” I can tell he needs to say something but doesn’t want to say it.

I run my hand from his hair down to the side of his face. He leans into my touch, turning to kiss the center of my palm.

“Say you won’t leave me.”

“I didn’t want to leave to begin with,” I admit. Each step I took from the cabin hurt more and more. It was like I was leaving the place that was meant to be my home.

“Say it,” he demands, making a smile pull at my lips.

“I won’t leave you.” I can still see the uncertainty in his face. “Ever,” I add. “As long as you want me here, I’ll stay.”

“I’ll always want you here,” he says instantly. I smile.

“I killed your father.” His hands tighten on my hips like I might try to pull away from him.

“Good.” I feel relief. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ll no longer have to look over my shoulder in fear of my father popping up at any moment. Koda just gave me a gift and he doesn’t even know it.

He looks at me with shock on his face.

“Did you expect me to be sad about that? I ran from him. Have been running from him. I’ve felt guilt for years about the people I’d left behind. Worse, when I got to safety, it took twelve hours for me to admit where I’d come from, and when they went back to try and save some of the shifters, the place was empty. Maybe if I had said something sooner, you could have been free sooner!”

A sob rips from my throat as I think about how I’d left him there.

“Snow.” He pulls me into his lap so I’m straddling him. “You were eleven.” I know. He isn’t telling me something my brothers haven’t been trying to say for years. I shouldn’t have any guilt, but it’s still there.

“Besides, I’d take every year in there if it meant it led me on the path to finding you.”

“Oh, my God.” I wrap myself around him, burying my face in his neck as the tears start to flow. I can’t believe he just said that. It’s bittersweet. He would have willingly stayed in that place just to be with me.

“I love you,” I sob into his neck. In one quick movement, I’m pinned to the floor.

“Say it again,” he demands.

“I love you.” His mouth comes down on mine. His kiss is soft and sweet but lined with possessiveness. Everything he does when it comes to me is possessive.

When he finally pulls back, I have to ask. “I know being mates makes you drawn to me no matter what, but do you think that maybe you could love me one day, even knowing who my father was?”

“I don’t care where you came from. You’re mine,” he growls, taking my mouth in another kiss and making my body come alive. It seems to do that every time he says the word mine. I love that I belong to someone, that I’m so important to him. I don’t care how needy that makes me.

I try to pull his shirt off, but he stops me, resting his forehead against mine.

“I love you, Snow. You brought me back to life. I was just moving through the motions each day, but now I feel like I have purpose. A reason to be here.”

“You say the sweetest stuff to me.”

“I’ll be so good to you,” he says, adding more sweetness. I’ll be shocked if I’m not a big pile of happy goo when he’s done talking.

“Like take me into town and let me open the shutters?” I tease, making him growl, but he nods.

“I’ll go with you every time. Someone might try and take you from me.”

“No one is going to snatch me.”

“Yes they would, because I would.” It’s adorable that he thinks everyone wants me. He thinks I’m so rare and special that no one could resist taking me.

“Did,” I correct him as I laugh. I don’t want to go anywhere without him anyway. I don’t know if some of my old fears still reside inside me, but I never like it when I’m alone, and I feel safe in Koda’s home with all the security.

I go to pull his shirt off, wanting to make love to him, but he stops me once again. I pout.

“They’ll hear.” He looks over his shoulder at the front door. “I don’t want them to hear me taking you. No one hears that.”

Suddenly, we hear the locks start to pop one by one. Koda is on his feet instantly, pulling me with him. He turns when the door flies open.

A short girl with brown hair and the same eyes as Koda stands in the doorway, her very pregnant belly in silhouette.

She has her hands on her hips, and I see a man standing behind her, a possessive hold on her shoulder.

A smile spreads across her face. “I knew something was going on!” She bounces into the room, the big tattooed man following her. He picks up the tranq dart off the floor.

The girl sees it, and her eyes narrow. “You shot my brother!” she yells at the man, and I now know she’s Winnie, Koda’s sister. He’s talked about her a little.

“Not that it did any good.” He tosses the dart onto the coffee table.

“It would take more than that then to stop me from losing my mate.”

My brothers all shuffle in, and I can feel the tension come in with them, making Koda growl. My brothers all growl back. I move in front of him. He locks his hands on my hips so I can’t leave his hold, but I’m still blocking him from my brothers.

“Everyone, cool it. My mate is pregnant, and there will not be a fight in the living room. One of the females could get hurt.”

“No one is going to fight.” I try to stay as calm as possible. “Koda would never hurt my brothers, would you, Koda?” I turn my head, looking up at him and giving him my pout.

“No,” he growls, clearly unhappy. “Unless they try to take you from me.”

“No one can take me from you,” I reassure him.

I turn to look back at my brothers. “Glad to see that doe-eyed look she does doesn’t just work on me.” Forest says.

“Her eyes are perfect.” Koda kisses me on the top of my head. “You don’t need to worry about her doe eyes. Only I get them now.”

“Ahh. That’s so sweet. See, I told you, Stone. He’s a marshmallow on the inside. No one believed me,” Winnie says, coming over to me and trying to pull me into a hug, but Koda won’t let me go.

“Let her go,” she huffs, and Koda reluctantly lets me go with a grunt.

She wraps her arms around me. “Thank you,” she whispers in my ear. “I already see the old Koda coming back.” Releasing me, she steps back. “How about a family dinner? All the families come together and really meet,” she says, clapping her hands together.

“No,” Koda says, making me laugh.

“Koda,” she says, sounding annoyed and looking over at who I’m guessing is her mate, making him the Alpha from what Koda had told me. She looks at him as if she expects him to demand we all have dinner together.

“I want to meet the man who’s going to be with my sister,” Flint says.

“No,” Koda says again.

“What Koda is trying to say,” I say, cutting in, “is that we’d love to have dinner.” Koda growls behind me, pulling me back into his grasp. “Maybe next weekend. We need some alone time. He’s still a little on edge. Then we’d love to have you over for dinner. I can even cook for everyone.”

Winnie and my brothers start to voice their complaints.

“Winnie, let them be for a little,” Stone tells her. Her eyebrows furrow a little, and she’s clearly not liking what he’s saying. “Maybe you’ll get yourself a little niece or nephew,” he adds, making me blush.

“Everyone out!” Winnie yells, trying to shuffle everyone out of the room, making Stone laugh.

We all say our goodbyes, and my brothers reluctantly leave after I assure them (four times) that I really want to stay. I promise them we’ll come by tomorrow or the next day. I also get them to move a little faster when I vow to make meals for them that they could just pop in the oven.

When the door finally closes and all the locks click back into place, I don’t even have a moment before Koda has me in his arms, striding towards the bedroom. He lays me on the bed and hovers above me. Reaching behind him, he grabs his collar and pulls off his shirt.

Slowly, he moves down my body, pushing my shirt up as he goes. His mouth lands on my stomach and he starts to place gentle kisses there.

“You want cubs?” he asks, and I can see the longing in his eyes.

“I want everything with you, Koda. The family I’ve always dreamed about. I’ve watched my brothers get mated one by one, and I never thought I’d get that, too. You’re like my prince. Not only did you rid me of my father, but you’re going to give me the life I’ve always wanted. A real-life happy ever after.”

“I’ll give you anything, Snow. Just tell me what you want.”

“Just you. Make love to me, Koda”