Eric growled playfully as Mikayla bounced around him. He batted his paws at her, making sure that he never actually made contact, or when he did it was just a gentle tap. She darted in and sunk her little needle-like teeth into the back of his leg, growling fiercely as she shook her whole body. Eric's eyes watered and he nipped gently at her. She let go and jumped up, grabbing at his ear while her little tail wagged.

He yelped exaggeratedly as his daughter got hold of his ear, then shook her off and started running. She chased after him, clearly giving it everything she had. Eric paced himself so he wasn't completely outrunning her. After a few moments, however, there was a sharp twinge in his lung, and he had to stop. He might be mostly recovered, but there had been damage to his lung. That would take a little longer to fully heal.

After a few more days he'd be right as rain, though.

Mikayla collapsed at his feet, panting. Eric smiled down at his little daughter. He had begun to lose hope that he'd ever find a mate and have children. But now that Kayla was back in his life, he was getting closer to Mikayla, and hoped to have more children in the future. It was everything he wanted, and even if it was a long time coming, he didn't really care. The important thing was that he had them both now.

There was still this vampire problem to deal with, though. Eric didn't know what to do about them. The level of hostility they had shown clearly indicated a need for action, but he wasn't sure what he could do to avoid inviting more violence. They were frightened, and there was that disturbing confession that the vampire that challenged him to a duel had come close to giving.

The leader of the vampire coven was clearly looking for violence. He had tried to assassinate Eric and had killed one of his own coven. Could there be any sort of reasoning with a man like that? And could Eric remove him without causing the rest of the vampires to attack?

Maybe Kayla would have some ideas.

Nearby giggling caught his attention. Quin and Donna were sitting on a blanket under a tree, playing a card game. Or at least, pretending to while they made goo-goo eyes at each other. He Shifted and reached for Mikayla.

"Go play with Uncle Quin for a bit, okay?"

She yipped and wriggled out of his grasp before charging towards Quin. Eric waited a moment to make sure his brother would accept the small, fuzzy intruder on his date. After a number of times Quin had interrupted the Alpha and his mate, it seemed appropriate. When Quin started throwing twigs up in the air for Mikayla to catch, Eric slipped away in search of Kayla.

He found her on the porch, squinting at the computer as she typed rapidly. Eric brushed up behind her and kissed her neck. Kayla let her head fall to the side and sighed.

"Working again?"

"Unfortunately. Where's Mikayla?"

"With Quin and Donna. I thought I might be able to distract you for a while."

"I would love that. But I'm almost done, and then I'd like to go for a walk with Mikayla before snack and nap time," she said, brow furrowing. "I'm glad you're here. I hate not being able to spend as much time with Mikayla as she'd like, but at least she can be with her father… Are you busy?"

"Not at the moment." Eric sat beside her. "What are you working on? I thought you just got all your currents projects done. Except for mine, but that's going to have to wait."

Kayla turned towards him with a grin. "My marketing specializes in information dispersal. I had an idea to use for the vampires – to get them to see you're not trying to attack them and they have no reason to try to kill you again. I was just typing up the proposal. I'm not quite finished, but as soon as I am, I'll let you take a look at it to see if it's at all viable."

Eric couldn't help but beam at her. Her neck wasn't good enough this time–he planted a deep kiss on her lips. She parted them with a moan, her eyes sliding shut.

"You're amazing," he whispered. "Utterly amazing."

He had help with his leadership. Quin and many others were always on hand to help him when need be. But there was something special about getting help from his mate. It helped ease the burden of being Alpha in a way that the others just couldn't.

He brushed his fingers against her cheek. "Kayla… Will you stay? After all this is over, I don't want to shuffle Mikayla between us. I want the three of us to be a family. You're my mate. I'm sorry if this is moving too fast—"

"Maybe a little. But I'm not sure there is a point to move slowly. I'm stronger than I was before, and we have three years to catch up on…" She ducked her head a moment before looking up and smiling gently. "I love you, too. I never stopped. So yes. I want to stay."

Eric grinned broadly. He leaned in for another kiss when a scream from outside made his head jerk round. He raced for the door and emerged in time to see the taillights of half a dozen motorbikes zipping away. The drivers were dressed head to toe in black leather, complete with helmets and heavily-tinted face shields.

"Stop!" Quin's heartbroken howl pierced the air. Eric glanced towards his brother to find him pinned to the tree by a javelin.

It was only then he realized Donna and Mikayla weren't with him. There was still a scream splitting the air, growing fainter with the roar of motorbike engines. He leaped off the porch, transforming at once. His clothes shred as he burst from them and chased after the motorbikes. His gaze darted among the black figures.

There! He could see the back of Donna's head. She was on one of the bikes, sitting in front of one of the bikers. That person only drove with one hand; holding Donna in place as she struggled. But where was Mikayla?

He pushed himself harder, the stitch in his lung screaming, yet he wasn't going to stop. The bikes were fast, but he was faster. Soon he could smell them: vampires. The strong stench of death churned his stomach. He leaped at them, howling a challenge.

"Daddy!" Mikayla screamed.

His head swung round to find her. But even as he did, one of the vampires turned their bike sharply. It swung around to its side, barreling right into Eric's path. There was no time to avoid the collision. Eric was hit hard, flipping over his head to land on his back. Pain shot through him. He flipped over, chest screaming with agony. He couldn’t breathe. By the time he got back to his feet, the vampires were too far away. A few stumbling steps nearly had him collapsing again. He threw back his head and howled mournfully as the bikes disappeared.

Eric whirled on the vampire that had collided with him. As it tried to push itself back to its feet, the Alpha pounced on it. A tremendous growl rose up his throat, but he stopped himself from doing what he wanted to do – tear the creature limb from limb. He needed information, and a dead vampire couldn't talk.

"Let go," the vampire gasped in a female voice muffled by her face shield.

He ignored both her cries and her struggles as he dragged her back to the houses. Kayla was helping Quin free himself from the tree, and Eric dragged the vampire to the hospital. They had rooms deep underground where Eric could interrogate this vampire without exposing her to sunlight. Not that a little sunlight would kill her instantly… Maybe it would even encourage her to talk.

Other Wolves gasped and crowded around until a growl from him dispersed them. Soon, he was in a dark room. He Shifted, tossing the vampire in. Grunts of pain made him look round. Quin staggered towards the cell, supported by Kayla.

"Quin—"

"They took Donna," he gasped, his face pale.

Eric hesitated a moment, then nodded. If what was between Quin and Donna was what the Alpha suspected, it would only waste time trying to argue with his brother. The Wolves faced the vampire again. She had taken off her helmet, revealing a pretty, delicately-boned face and wide hazel eyes. Her hands clenched as she looked between them.

"Where are they taking them?"

The vampire tossed her head, her eyes narrowing. "We aren't going to let you Wolves run us out of our home again."

"We have never—"

"We used to have a palace," she interrupted. "We would have such balls, such festivities. But then the Wolves came and slaughtered our people and burned our home to the ground. So we built a new home, out of brick so it couldn't be burnt. Not a grand palace, but comfortable enough for those few of us who survived. And the Wolves came again."

Eric ground his teeth together. He didn't need a history lesson! "We are not trying to drive you out! Yes, my people have treated yours terribly in the past, and your people have treated mine terribly. But that is the past, and I am trying to build a future where we can all live peacefully!"

The vampire stared at him stonily. "Why should we believe you? We've taken your mate and child to ensure that you won't try to take our home."

Kayla gasped. She clutched Eric's arm. "What are they going to do when they realize Donna isn't me?"

The vampire's brow furrowed, but Eric ushered Kayla out before the conversation could continue. She was shaking from head to foot. Beside her, Quin swayed on the spot, his face ashen. Eric reached to steady him. Blood still poured from his wound.

"Kayla, I promise I will get them back. Whatever it takes, I will get them back. But for right now, I need you to take Quin to an upper room for medical treatment. Don't argue with me, Quin. You're about to fall over. And you need to be in top condition if you are going to help me get Donna and Mikayla back."

Quin looked unhappy but nodded. Kayla's lip trembled. She pushed herself to her toes, kissing Eric hard before she returned to Quin and helped him down the corridor. Eric looked after them, his heart pounding shallowly. He turned to the door where the vampire was held.

If he didn't get his daughter back unharmed, he would burn them all to the ground.