Chapter 13

DILLON

I walk through the empty office and glance out the big window. Glacier Pass stretches out, serene under the afternoon sun, and my inner bear grumbles his displeasure at missing Emilia while she's out having lunch with my mother and Gianna.

I'm in the midst of organizing the latest work schedules when my phone rings, the vibration rattling lightly against the desk. Seeing Gianna's name flash on the screen, I smile, wondering why she's calling me.

"Hey, Gianna," I answer, not expecting the panic that hits me with the force of a storm through the phone.

"Dillon, you need to get here. Harold's here and he's cornered Emilia at the restaurant. Momma is about to tear him a new butthole." Gianna's voice is strained, barely masking the urgency and fear crackling at the edges of her words. My heart drops into my stomach like a cold stone.

"What? Harold Helson?" I repeat, disbelief and anger igniting like a wildfire within me. Harold must've lost what's left of his goddamn mind when he made the decision to accost my mate. The fucker is begging me to rip his weaselly little ass to shreds.

"Yes!" she confirms, breathless. "He came out of nowhere. We tried to intervene, but he's… being a drunk pain in the rear. Dillon, you need to hurry before things get out of hand."

"I'm on my way," I assure her, already grabbing my keys, my inner bear demanding I kill the little fucker for daring to approach my mate. I'm out the door and into my SUV in a matter of seconds, the engine rumbling to life with a sense of urgency that matches the pounding of my heart.

As I drive through the winding roads of Glacier Pass, everything seems to blur into the background. My only focus is getting to Emilia and making sure she's safe from Harold's grasp.

The restaurant comes into view, and I barely take the time to park next to my mother's SUV before I'm out of the vehicle, striding toward the entrance. My eyes scan the room, adrenaline heightening every sense as I push through the door. The familiar scent of food lingers, but it's overshadowed by tension in the air, thick and suffocating.

I spot Gianna first, standing between Emilia and Harold with a fierce look on her face. My mate's standing near one of the booths, looking calm and composed despite the twisting in my gut that says she shouldn't have had to face this alone.

And there's Harold—short, dumpy, and hunched over. His oily brown combover barely covers his shiny bald head.

"Dillon! Thank goodness you got here!" Emilia's words flash through my mind, and I realize the mental connection between us is allowing us to communicate silently. When we didn't have this power right after mating, I thought maybe we would be one of the few couples without this ability.

"I'll never let anything hurt you." Her shocked bright blue eyes meet mine, and I almost smile at her expression.

"Are we really freaking talking to each other in our minds?" The humor in the moment calms some of the storm inside me. She's okay and not even really shaken. The universe handed me the perfect mate on a silver platter.

"I'll explain it to you later, little goddess." I wink at her as I place a protective arm around her to pull her sweet body close to mine. When I turn my gaze to Harold, there's no hiding the violence emanating from me and my bear. It's a stare-down that carries years of animosity.

"Have you lost your goddamn mind?" I roar the first thought echoing through my mind. "You're fucking lucky I didn't kill your sleazy ass when you tried to steal my business, but there's no way I'm going to let this shit slide. Accosting my pregnant mate was a motherfucking stupid move, dipshit."

"Pregnant?" my mate whispers in my mind.

"That's right, little goddess. Let me deal with the dumbass then we'll go home and celebrate."

"How do you know? Are you sure?" She snuggles closer to my side.

"I can smell it. I'm sure my mother and Gianna already know, too. In fact, every shifter in this restaurant can tell, so I'm going to kill this little shit for this stunt."

"Why don't you just maim him a little? I'd rather us go home and celebrate instead of you spending the night in jail." She has a point. Although I'm pretty sure the entire town would cheer me on if I got rid of the Harold problem.

Harold's already pale complexion turns nearly translucent. "Did… didn't mean anything by it," he drawls and takes a few steps back. "I just wanted to congratulate your mate."

"I should've ripped your sleazy ass to shreds when you went after my business." I let my inner bear's fury radiate from me.

His eyes widen, giving him an even derpier look. "I wasn't hurting anyone. Besides, this is a public place. Didn't know I needed an invitation."

"It's not about invitations," I say, my tone as cold as I can manage while suppressing the urge to shift right here, to let my bear remind him why he should keep his distance. "It's about knowing when you're not welcome."

The room is silent, the tension a live wire between us. Gianna and my mother step up beside Emilia, their presence a further shield. I can feel the support of my family, the silent communication that we stand together, that we protect our own.

Finally, the little idiot's self-preservation instincts must kick in because he backs down. "Fine," he grumbles after a beat, holding up his hands in surrender. "I hope you have a nice lunch." He turns on his heels, walking away with a nonchalance that only serves to heighten my hackles, his exit a slow, deliberate display. The idiot is too stupid to realize he finally pushed my bear past its limit.

I turn to my mate. "Enjoy your lunch, little goddess." I lean over and kiss her cheek.

"You're leaving?" Emilia frowns up at me.

"I'm going make sure this never happens again." I kiss her nose and rush out of the restaurant, using my nose to follow the badger as he scurries down the street.

My dad's SUV slams to a halt a little further down the block, and I realize my mother must've let him know about the disturbance. Dad and Gabe hop out. "What was that dipshit thinking?" my brother growls and follows me down the street.

"I have no idea, but I'm going to make sure he never has those thoughts again."

Of course, he heads straight to the sheriff's office. I wonder if he's stupid enough to think Sheriff Bolden will protect him. Oh well, I'm about to educate him on his erroneous thinking.

"Leave me alone," Harold whimpers over his shoulder at us and rushes through the front lobby, heading straight for the main desk. "I need help."

"I already heard what you did." Sheriff Bolden steps out of his office shaking his head. "And I have to say, you're even dumber than I'd originally thought." He crosses his arms over his chest and looks over at me. "Do you need a private room for your discussion with Harold?"

"No." I want everyone to see what I'm about to do to the fucking pain in my ass. "We can do this here."

I grab Harold around the neck, digging my nails into his slimy skin, and give him a hard shake as I slam his ass up against the hardwood door.

My inner polar bear takes over as I take out my intense rage on the fucking badger. I forget everyone else in the room until my dad puts his hand on my shoulder. "I think you've made your point." His words pull me out of my fury, and I glance down to see the battered badger.

Who knew a black eye and swollen lip would actually make him look better? "I went easy on you this time, but this is the last warning you're ever getting from me." I give him one last shake. "Next time, you won't survive it."

When I let him go, he slides down the door into a beaten lump. Sheriff Bolden steps over and leans down to add, "Since no one in this town will ever miss you, you need to take Dillon's warning and run with it. I'd suggest you look for somewhere warmer and far, far away from Glacier Pass."

"I second that idea," Gabe pipes in.

"Thank you," I tell Sheriff Bolden, and he gives me a chin lift before turning and walking back into his office.

As I walk away with my dad and Gabe, I hear the badger groaning while struggling to stand. I hope he finally learned his lesson. If not, I'll follow through on my threat because nothing is more important to me than my mate.

When we get back to the restaurant, I see my mother's SUV is gone and head straight for my vehicle. "I'm going home to make sure my mate is okay."

"Sounds great," my dad calls out. "Let's have a barbecue this weekend and celebrate your news." I should've known the entire town would've heard about my pregnant mate by now.