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He snaps his jaws at my side, trying to reopen the gash he gave me on my flank, but I twist, catching his foreleg between my jaws and yanking it sideways. Pop. His shoulder dislocates with a satisfying crunch. He screams, high and desperate, and I don’t stop.

The bloodlust humming in my ears and his last-ditch attempt at trying to save himself won’t stop me from tearing him apart.

I slam my paw into his muzzle, again and again, until blood pools from his nose, coating the ground in red.

“You touched my Mate,” I snarl on the inside, my voice coming out as a guttural growl even in my wolf form. “You threatened my little princess.”

Julian tries to crawl away, but with a busted foreleg, he can’t go far. He’s done. His wolf is done. His white fur is stained crimson, indication enough that he's losing blood faster than he can breathe.

I stalk forward, circling him.

“You should’ve stayed away,” I growl, baring my fangs. “You should’ve listened when I told you she was mine.”

Wounded dogs stay down, but Julian still thinks he has a chance, because with a final snarl, he lunges at me again, his claws out. I sidestep easily, knocking him back down and pinning him by the throat with my mouth.

Then…I clamp down hard.

His neck snaps beneath my jaws with a brutal crack, the sound echoing through the trees like it’s announcing how I’ve just gotten rid of vermin who never belonged in this world to begin with.

Julian’s dead.

It’s done.

I take a breath, letting the weight of what I’ve done and the way his body falls still beneath me settle on my shoulders.

Then I step back.

My breath is ragged.

My fur is drenched in blood. His blood.

Slowly, painfully, I shift back, my bones snapping into place, my claws retracting and flesh reforming. My knees hit the ground as my human form returns, soaked and streaked with mud and blood.

“It’s over,” I rasp, more to me than to the woman sitting a few feet behind me. “He won’t hurt you again.”

He won’t ever take them away from me again

Footsteps pound through the trees behind me, and I’m ready to fight the next challenge, when Ethan bursts through the bush, his clothes stained crimson. Three of our warriors from the Delta unit appear behind him, all armed and bloodied but alive.

He takes one look at the scene, at me standing over Julian’s corpse, and exhales.

“Boss,” he says, chest heaving, “we took care of the guards.”

I nod once, my throat tight.

“Alaric?” Small, calming, and like a cool balm soothing my muddied soul, Lila’s voice beckons from behind me.

I should be happy to hear her voice when I thought I’d lost her to Julian, but the moment I turn around, I start to understand why Lila’s voice is more frightened than ever.

“Alaric…s–she’s not breathing. Lina is not breathing!”

Lina lies limp in her mother’s arms, pale, barely there. I open my mouth to say something, but Lila beats me to it.

“Save her. You…have to save our daughter, Alaric. She needs you. She is yours. Julian forged the paternity test, Lina is your daughter, so please…help me. We need you. She needs you.”

“Place your hands on her forehead”, the healer urges us with a smile, “Just like that, you are both doing great.”

My hand rests on Lila, and Lila’s hand rests on our daughter’s forehead.

Her dark curls sprawl over the pillow, her face showing more color than she had when we brought her in. Her tiny snores fill the room, and I would tell Lila that, but she gets upset every time I say our daughter snores like her.

“H–how is she?” Lila stirs in my lap, one of my hands cups her ass, careful not to let her fall on Lina’s small bed. I’m not complaining about touching her ass, though.

Learning my little princess is our daughter and having Lila sit on my lap for the last half hour has turned out to be a dream come true.

“The cure is working like it should in managing the illness. She’s lucky you both got her here just in time.

The reason we need you both to touch her, is because the bond between you makes her feel safe.

It makes her body heal faster, too. Excuse me.

I'll leave you two to have a moment with your daughter.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much, doctor,” Lila almost sobs.

A minute later, we both watch as the healer walks out the door.

Then it's just me, my woman, and my kid. Lila sinks her face into my chest and cries, “I remember. I’m Irene. I’m the one…

you’ve been looking for, for all those years.

I wanted to tell you when I found out, but you were not home, and instead, what I found in your office were documents about your contract to marry Irene and get all the assets that belonged to my father’s pack. ”

I grab her chin with my free hand. I move closer to her cheek, kissing away her salty tears. “I never gave a shit about the assets. Not after I met you, not after I fell for you, baby.”

“I–I know. I know that now. I just…for a moment I was confused. I thought the only reason you wanted me back in your life was because you knew I was Irene, and then the test results came in and Julian called to meet up and everything was all over the place so…I fell for his schemes.”

“You thought Julian could save our daughter, Lila. I would have done the same thing for Lina.”

“I betrayed you, though. I–I left you.”

I grin, kissing her nose. Her eyes might be swollen from crying but damn do they rile up some dirty thoughts inside my mind.

“And you are sitting in my lap right now with our daughter safe and sound. A win is a win, baby.”

She smiles, slapping my chest lightly, “I’m being serious right now, Alaric.”

“And so am I, baby. I’ve dreamed of a lot of things, and you and Lina were more than I ever prayed for.

Julian’s the past. Whatever happened a few hours ago is in the past. I want to live in the now, baby.

Where it’s just my fucking woman sitting on my lap, giving me the sexiest eyes I’ve ever seen and our daughter snoring peacefully next to us because she knows her daddy is here to protect her.

I love you, wild one, and I'm a tiny bit hurt you’ve been talking about Julian more than me. ”

“I’m sorry,” her voice rasps. Her eyes fall on my torso, which is bandaged. One of her fingers trails up my skin, and my heart soars.

I love this woman. I’ve loved her since I saw her at that club. I’ve loved her since she came into my office with an attitude stern enough to freeze the entire city and loved her the minute I saw the little girl she called her daughter. No, our daughter. Lina is our daughter.

“Does it hurt?” she asks.

It doesn’t hurt as much as before, but I nod.

Lila grins, then she leans down and drops a soft kiss on my ribs.

“You know what hurts, too?” I tease when she sits straight up on my lap, our eyes locked. I tap my lips. “It hurts right here.”

Lila shakes her head with a chuckle, and right before she seals her mouth with mine, she utters five words that leave my chest pounding.

“I love you too, Alaric.”

Our kiss is searing. Her lips are soft and plush, and she tastes like everything I’ll want forever.

Unfortunately, our kiss doesn’t last as long as I’d like, because a tiny voice breaks the spell.

“Mommy, why are you kissing Alaric?”

I can’t even stop the grin that breaks out on my face as Lila squeals in surprise and hugs Lina while my little girl looks at me with a suspicious gaze.

“Baby, remember when I said your daddy went to heaven and he watches over us from there?”

“Mhm.” Lina nods disappointedly.

“Well, the Goddess sent him back from heaven so he could bake you cookies, make your favorite strawberry milk, read you bedtime stories, and tell you how much he loves you every day and night. Your daddy’s right here, baby. Alaric is your father.”