Quinn stared down in wonder at the infant swaddled tightly in a pale pink blanket. He didn’t dwell on the fact that he’d misread the sonogram and pronounced his future daughter was a son. He didn’t ponder the life-or-death predicament they were still in or the challenges which would come from Alex’s pride in the future. The only thing he could think about was how she was Aubrey’s mirror image and more beautiful than the moon and all the stars in the sky.

“What are you doing awake?” Aubrey murmured softly, drawing his attention across the tiny bundle between them.

“Admiring her. I can’t help it. It’s like God dropped an angel on earth for me to call my daughter.” Quinn stroked the tiny swatch of pale blonde hair which adorned the baby’s head.

“I know. She’s perfect,” Aubrey beamed, her eyes warm with love and pride.

“So, what are we going to call this little cherub?”

“What? You don’t think Peanut will work?” Aubrey giggled, and the baby made a noise of displeasure as the bed rippled under her. “I don’t know yet. I was expecting a boy, so I had put all the girl names from my mind.”

“Oh, come now. Surely you had time in all those long months to think of thousands of names for both sexes,” Quinn chided, grinning when his finger was clasped tightly in a tiny fist.

“Sure,” Aubrey shrugged, “but nothing spoke to me. I guess I was hoping when I saw the baby, the name would pop into my head immediately.”

“I’m not sure calling your child ‘Thank God’ or ‘It’s finally over’ is appropriate, but if you really want to go with the first thing that popped into your head—”

“Stop it.” Aubrey slapped his shoulder as she laughed. “What do you suggest? You’re as much as part of her life now as I am.”

“You’d let me help name her?” Quinn was shocked to his core as he stared across his new daughter into the eyes of his future wife.

“Of course, you’re her father.”

“I’m her father,” he repeated absently, reverently watching as Aubrey scooped up their daughter and lifted her to her breast. “I’m her father. I’m her father.”

“Are you okay?” Aubrey frowned at him. “You seem a little rattled all of a sudden. I would have expected that right after delivery, not hours later.”

“I think the enormity of the situation just hit me. I’m trying to get my head to stop spinning,” he admitted.

Grinning at him, Aubrey nodded, “Welcome to my world.”

“Angel, that’s all I want,” he agreed. “To be welcomed into your world. You’ve given me a greater gift than any—”

His words were interrupted by a soft knock on the bedroom door, and they both turned to see his sister, Elise, peering in.

“Sorry to interrupt. Mama has breakfast ready, and she asked me to find out what Aubrey would like so we can fix her a plate. Looks like someone already heard the dinner bell,” Elise nodded toward the nursing infant.

“Yeah, Quinn woke her up staring at her too hard,” Aubrey explained.

“Hey! I did not. I mean, I was staring at her, but I didn’t wake her up. You did by laughing.” He rolled off the bed and stretched. “I’m going to go for a run and work the kinks out of my back while Elise takes care of you girls. Do you need anything before I go?”

Aubrey shook her head, and then immediately lifted her face for a kiss. Quinn was only too happy to oblige. It was as he was stripping his clothes off and shifting into his polar bear that he allowed himself to absorb his change in situation. He was a father now. It was his duty to protect Aubrey and their child from any danger, and that included Alex and his pride.

More determined than ever to shield his loved ones from the evil of the world, he lumbered into the woods, his mind racing as he worked out a plan of attack.

* * *

Alex and his Second waited downwind of the large house as the mammoth polar bear disappeared into the tree line. A few moments later, a second bear followed suit and by his count, that meant there were only females left in the house. They’d been watching and tracking the movements of the Jameson clan for the last day and a half via scouts and drone. They knew the lay of the land and the risk they were taking attempting this kidnapping.

Not that it mattered. His son was inside Aubrey, and that meant Aubrey belonged to him. He’d waited too long for this momentous occasion. Hellfire wouldn’t stop him at this point.

Signaling his Second, he crept forward toward his goal.

* * *

“You stupid son-of-a-bitch! How dare you think you can come in here with your pack of cats and steal my granddaughter. I’ll have you know, I could kick your scrawny ass with my hands tied behind my back and my eyes blindfolded.”

“Mom, chill. They get the point.” Elise rolled her eyes, and Aubrey watched in horrified fascination as Alex and three of his pride lions cowered on the floor back to back. Their hands were tied with shoelaces because that had been the only thing available, and they all looked somewhat the worse for wear.

Ruth spun toward Aubrey, who clutched the baby to her chest. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“We’re fine. Perfect. You guys took care of everything before we even knew it had begun.” Aubrey responded, her eyes meeting Alex’s angry gaze. “Why did you come here, Alex? Quinn told you—”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what that—”

Ruth’s hand flew through the air and landed with a resounding crack against the man’s jaw. “Watch your language. There are children present.”

The astonishment and fury on Alex’s face would have been hilarious if Aubrey didn’t know what the man was truly capable of. He’d see this as a personal challenge and never give up now.

“I’ve killed men for less than that,” Alex snarled, his face shifting slightly. His feline attributes were clear the higher his anger climbed.

Ruth planted her hands on her hips and growled, “I’d love to see you try, pussy-cat.”

“Ruth, stop. Just… let’s calm down and figure out what happens next,” Aubrey said, doing her best to ease the tension in the room. She’d come out of the bedroom when she’d heard shouting and hissing followed by multiple loud bangs. Part of her had expected to see Alex standing over the bodies of Ruth and her daughter, but instead she’d found quite the opposite.

“I’ll tell you what happens next,” Quinn’s voice rumbled into the room, and Aubrey felt her belly do a tiny flip-flop at the sound. She loved hearing his tone get all throaty when his bear still inhabited part of his physical body. “Next, I’m going to rip that asshole’s head from his shoulders and feed it to his pride.”

“And I’m going to help.” Sebastian stood behind Quinn, and another step behind that, Aubrey could see more of the Jameson clan filing into the room.

It was the moment she realized they’d won. Alex’s face drained of blood, and his Second whimpered beside him. The scent of urine filled the air and curses rang out.

“Fuck, that kid just pissed himself.”

“Good lord, I hate cats.”

“That’s it, I’m going to have to get new carpet.”

Quinn’s eyes met Aubrey’s across the room and then bounced down to the bundle in her arms. She gave him a quick nod to allay his concern and then straightened her shoulders.

“Alex, you’re wrong about my child. She is not a he, and she is not yours,” Aubrey said firmly.

“What?” The lion’s roar rattled the windows, and his hands snapped the shoelace tied around his wrists as his cat pushed forward. “It’s a girl? After all the hell you put me through, you had a goddamn girl? Stupid tiger. I should have known you’d screw this up.”

Aubrey wanted to give him a lesson on biology, but she never got the chance. Alex lunged her direction, and the next few moments were a frenzy of cat screams, bear growls, and fur flying. In the same breath she’d taken to lay into him, she realized Alex was dead. Quinn had kept to his word and ripped the lions head plumb off his shoulders.

Quinn still held the bleeding head in his snout, red staining his white fur as he looked for Aubrey to ensure her safety.

Her knees crumpled, and she might have hit the floor if Elise hadn’t had quick reflexes and caught her. Elise waved at Quinn, “I’ve got her. You clean up.”

With Ruth’s assistance, Elise helped Aubrey out of the family room and back down the hall to the bedroom where hours before she’d delivered her daughter. Joyous memories now warred with the horror of what had just occurred in the same house.

“He killed him,” she muttered, as much to herself as to the two women.

Ruth made a sound of agreement, “He had no choice.”

“Mama’s right. Even if Alex would have agreed to leave, it’s likely he’d have returned over and over again in the years to come to make your lives hell,” Elise added. “That wouldn’t be fair to you and Peanut.”

Staring down into her daughter’s dark blue eyes, Aubrey knew in her heart what they were saying was true, but accepting she was the cause of someone’s death was harder to swallow. Alex might have been rotten in many ways, but he was still a person. He had family who relied on him. What would they do now?

* * *

Quinn couldn’t believe he’d literally torn a lion’s head off. It wasn’t exactly like he’d planned it. Oh, sure, he’d threatened it, but those were just words. Doing the actual deed was a bit more gore and shock than he’d wanted in his mother’s family room.

Shifting, he spat the metallic blood from his mouth and turned the exterior water spigot on to wash himself. Goosebumps appeared on his skin and water droplets turned to ice in the cold air. He was still scrubbing at his hands several minutes later when Sebastian finally shut the water off for him.

“You’re going to scrub the skin off, man,” Sebastian scolded, “or freeze your fingers off. Either way, I’m not facing down Aunt Ruth to tell her.”

“I didn’t mean to kill him,” Quinn responded solemnly.

“I know, so does everyone else. He went after your mate. You were protecting her. There’s no shame in that.”

“But I wanted to kill him,” Quinn said punching his fist into the side of the house. “Until the moment it happened, I craved his blood on my hands.”

Sebastian just watched him through narrowed eyes as he beat himself up emotionally. Quinn couldn’t blame anyone but himself for the loss of control. When he’d caught the scent of lion on the air while running through the snowy forest, he’d seen red fury. All the way back to the house, he’d thought murderous thoughts and not even the sight of four lions tied up on the floor had eased his hatred. If he could murder a man so easily, was he really ready to be a husband and father?

“You know, you’re not the first man to be put in this situation.” His father’s hand rested on his shoulder, warmth seeping into his skin. Quinn soaked it up, focusing on what August was saying. “Your Uncle Michael had to fight for the right to be the Alpha and claim his mate, Delia. When the fighting was done, multiple bodies lay at his feet. The pain in his eyes… damn. I never thought he’d get past it. But just like Michael, you’ll move on, Quinn. You did what you had to do to keep your family safe.”

“What will my daughter think of me in twenty years when she finds out I killed her biological father?” Quinn asked, following August and Sebastian around the house to the porch.

“She’ll think she’s lucky to have you instead of him. What girl wants a weak pussy for a daddy when she can have a polar bear?” Sebastian’s humor eased some of Quinn’s pain, and he gave his cousin a small smile.

“Is everything cleaned up?” he asked, directing the question to his father.

“To the best of our abilities,” August nodded. “Your mother’s definitely going to get those new carpets now. Damn my luck.”

“If I recall, you’d already promised her new carpets before Christmas,” Quinn teased.

“Yeah, and it’s a damn good thing I drug my feet because we’d be replacing them twice in a matter of months!” August said with a loud laugh. “Come on, you need to find some clothes before you freeze your nuts off. Your mate needs to see you’re okay.”

Together they went into the house, but August didn’t follow Quinn down the hallway. He did that alone, and thankfully, he found Aubrey alone, cradling their daughter as she watched tiny snowflakes begin to fall through the bedroom window.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured before he could speak.

Quinn hurried to her, pressing his front to her back and wrapping his arms around her. “Sorry for what, angel? You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“I’m not.” She turned, so she could meet his eyes, her long hair dancing across his chest with her movements. “I mean, I’m sorry a man died. Alex wasn’t one-hundred percent bad. He was just, uh, misguided. But I’m not sorry I was there to see it. I needed that closure. We needed that closure.”

Quinn nodded his understanding. He was in awe of the woman fate had brought into his life. His mate was stronger than he’d even imagined. She’d make a fantastic mother for their children.

“Now perhaps, we can have a fresh start?” Quinn asked, stroking her cheek before cupping her jaw and kissing her gently. “This whole relationship has been a whirlwind, and I think it would be nice to just sit on a sofa, watching a movie, and eating popcorn with you.”

“I don’t like popcorn,” Aubrey answered, wrinkling her nose.

“What?” Quinn feigned a heart attack. “Dear God, woman, that’s sacrilege. I can’t marry a woman who dislikes popcorn.”

“Well, then, I guess we’ll just have to live in sin for the rest of our lives because after all of this, you’re not walking away from me, buster,” Aubrey joked, rising up on her toes to kiss him again. “I think I’ve come up with a name for her.”

“Please tell me it’s not Alex.” Quinn’s heart fluttered anxiously in his chest.

“No. I wouldn’t do that to her or you. Alex was never her father. I believe she was put on earth to be your daughter, just like I believe it was my destiny to find you when I most needed help,” Aubrey explained, her glorious golden eyes shiny and damp with emotion. “I want to name her Samantha Ruth.”

“Samantha?”

“I want to honor her grandmothers. My mom, Samantha, saved my life, time and time again with her sacrifices as a single mother, and your mom, Ruth, saved both of our lives today.”

Quinn’s emotions cracked the surface for a brief second and he had to clear his throat. “I think that’s a beautiful tribute, and I know my mother will be elated.” He reached out and took his daughter into his arms. “Welcome to the world, Samantha. I’m your Daddy.”