CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

JUSTIN

Justin knew he should feel anxious at the unknown future looming in front of him, but he didn't. Okay, maybe a little. But having a partner who loved and supported you made a huge difference. He'd been alone; now he wasn't. He had to leave his aunt's farm, but Richard would be with him.

He yawned as he reached the fence gate and pulled it open. This had been a long, completely world-changing day, and he couldn't help but feel exhausted. The walk might've been pushing it, even though he'd enjoyed the time with Richard.

The other dogs crowded the gate. Justin scolded them as he cleared a path for Pepper. He'd long ago grown used to getting whacked with wagging tails. He shut the gate again, glancing up the trail to the start of the woods. No sign of Richard yet. It must have been an important call.

Maybe he should've stayed behind with Richard for moral support, at the very least. If something was wrong, he wanted to help. He was tired of being a burden to everyone. Or was it that Richard was trying to shield him from something…?

He shook those thoughts away. He was not going to become paranoid and constantly second-guess himself after Richard had poured out his heart to make everything right again. When Richard returned, Justin would simply ask him. If there was bad news, they would deal with it together.

Aunt Katie was standing in the barn entrance across the clearing. She noticed him heading toward the farmhouse and called to him. "Did your handsome prince get lost?"

He cupped a hand around his mouth to make his voice carry. "Phone call. Probably political stuff that no normal person cares about."

She put her hands on her hips and looked amused. "Well, don't you look all flushed and happy? Did you two get to run as wolves, or is that still afterglow from between-the-sheets shenanigans?"

"Um." He started blushing. He felt completely stupid and childish for doing so, and yet, here he was, blushing even harder. "We kind of decided not to shift. We walked to the bench and sat for a while. I'm pretty worn out."

"I'll bet." She flapped a hand at him, grinning. "Go on. I have some work to finish up here and then I'll start cooking."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll get dinner going."

"Eager to cook for him, are you?"

He knew she was teasing, but he lifted his chin and tried to keep a dignified air. "I want to impress him. You said it yourself. I've gotten better at cooking. With your help, of course."

"That you have." She slapped hay dust off her jeans and frowned at him, her eyes narrowing. "It's good to see you happy."

He didn't know what to say to that. He only nodded, feeling the warmth of the happiness inside him, right in the center, as if a blazing coal had replaced his heart.

"All right," she continued gruffly. "Go start dinner. But if you get tired, lie down. It's been a hell of a day for you and the baby."

"Will do."

He headed inside with one last glance at the trail, hoping to see Richard coming down the path. Still no sign of him. Was that good or bad?

He flipped the switch in the kitchen, but the overhead light didn't come on. He frowned at it. The bulb must have burned out. He would ask Richard to change it when he got back to the house. Justin preferred not to balance on a chair to change a light bulb right now.

Besides, it wasn't dark outside, and he could see well enough to work. He paged through an old three-ring binder with cute chickens on the front. The worn binder held Aunt Katie's handwritten recipes. He wanted to make some kind of comfort food for dinner. Something with a lot of stick-to-your-ribs goodness. Justin's appetite varied these days, but Richard had always been able to pack it away.

He started paging through the hole-punched sheets and recipe cards, searching for one Richard might like. But after a moment, he realized he wasn't looking at anything in the binder. He was listening. He was standing at the kitchen counter, listening with his head cocked to the side as goosebumps rippled up and down his arms.

Something wasn't right…

Then he had it. A distant sound finally registered in his brain. An engine. The sound grew steadily louder, moving closer. The dogs started to bark.

At first, he told himself it was Richard moving the car he'd come in—Heath's Charger, which was covered in road dust and unfortunate bugs. But no, that wasn't it. The Charger was parked where Richard had left it after Aunt Katie unlocked the front gate for him to bring it in.

Justin's heart sank down into his stomach. Someone was coming.

He fought against the rising tide of panic threatening to drown him. He stood paralyzed with both hands cradling his belly, feeling very vulnerable. There was a phone on the wall, but he didn't know the number to Heath's phone, so he couldn't call Richard—

A big, dark, and intimidating SUV roared along the driveway toward the house. Justin didn't recognize it, but it had an ominous look. He kept out of sight, his heart pounding and his teeth aching because he was clenching his jaw so hard. Adrenaline crackled in his veins like short-circuiting wires, and his wolf let out a hopeless whine.

The SUV abruptly stopped. The doors swung open, almost in sync. Men climbed out. Only one of them wore a suit. The rest had the look of thugs and killers. It was something in their cold eyes and the way they scanned the farm like hunting predators. When the man in the suit glanced at the farmhouse, Justin had a good look at his face. He had to clutch the counter because all the strength seemed to drain out of him.

Mathias Irvena. The spymaster from Altaden. Justin recognized the man's goatee, the glasses, his erudite features, and the outdated suit with a black vest and a stark white cravat. All he was missing was a top hat.

Justin lunged toward the phone hanging on the wall. He was calling the police. These men weren't here to talk, and his aunt was in the barn and Richard was in the woods with no idea they were here.

He grabbed the receiver, almost dropped it, and brought it to his ear so fast that he smacked himself a good one. He ignored the pain and how stupid he looked because he had far worse problems.

There was no dial tone.

He rapidly pushed the disconnect button on the old phone cradle. Still no dial tone. The line was ominously silent.

Panic burst inside him, making it impossible to think. His wolf wanted to flee. Justin wanted to run and find Richard and cower behind him. His brain seemed to shake with an alarm screaming danger, danger, and he desperately wanted to get his baby somewhere safe. The need was so powerful that it almost paralyzed him. He managed to stumble back to the window, needing to see if the dangerous-looking strangers were heading for the house.

He'd learned his lesson about being seen when the reporter arrived. He peeked around the curtain on the backdoor window, careful to keep his body to the side of the door and make no silhouette.

The dogs had partially encircled the SUV. If the Altaden spymaster was here, Justin had no doubt the other three men were wolf shifters, even though he didn't recognize them and couldn't scent them from inside the house. They were younger than the spymaster, dressed in jeans, work boots, and heavy work jackets. They had a threatening sameness to them. It was the way they held themselves—predatory, with empty eyes used to doing anything they were told without question.

The strangers scanned the barking dogs with contempt. One of them reached into his jacket and drew out a pistol. The spymaster gestured curtly, and the guy reluctantly put the gun away.

A rifle shot whip-cracked through the air, shockingly loud, even inside. The guy who'd pulled the pistol went down with a scream of surprise and pain.

Justin stood frozen, staring. He felt rooted to the floor. His body wouldn't respond. All he could feel was the rush of blood in his ears and the rapid pounding of his heart as he struggled to believe this was happening. Minutes ago, he'd been walking with Richard. Now there was shooting.

The other two men ducked behind the SUV for cover, drawing pistols of their own. The spymaster didn't run or take cover. He turned to face the barn, raising his hands.

"Would you shoot an unarmed man?" Mathias called to her.

Justin could make out every word through the door with the aid of his shifter hearing. He remembered meeting the spymaster at a handful of royal functions, but they'd never conversed much. Those cold, measured, pale eyes had always made Justin uneasy, and they both had known it.

Oh, Goddess, we're in so much trouble…

A voice in his mind kept yelling at him to run, but he feared leaving the safety of the house. And where was Richard? His prince was unarmed and outnumbered.

Aunt Katie sauntered out of the barn. She held the rifle aimed at the spymaster and stood defiantly.

"You can't read?" she yelled back. "I put up a sign. Trespassers will be shot."

"You crazy bitch!" screamed the wounded guy that Justin could no longer see. He was on the other side of the SUV, out of Justin's line of sight. "You shot me in the fucking leg!"

"Well, shit. I was aiming for your head. Guess I gotta try again." She swung the barrel his way.

The spymaster stepped toward her, holding out his hands beseechingly. "If you shoot him, we'll be forced to kill you. We'll kill all these dogs too. And anything else we find. I detest making threats, but please, let's not be hasty."

She swung the rifle barrel back to the spymaster. "You fucking bastard, threatening my dogs. I oughta shoot you on general principle."

"Call them off and set aside that rifle. We'll talk like civilized wolves. I'll forget about you shooting one of my men."

"Hey!" the man barked in outrage. "That crazy bitch shot me and you're gonna forget about it?"

"I'm very aware that she shot you," the spymaster replied calmly. "Unless you wish to be shot again, I suggest you shut your mouth and let me handle this."

Justin was sick with worry for his aunt and nearly out of his mind with raw panic. He felt utterly helpless and vulnerable, even more so than usual because he was late-term pregnant.

"I don't intend to talk," Aunt Katie said coldly. "Get off my farm. Don't make me say it again."

"Call off your dogs," the spymaster insisted. "A man can't hear himself think much less negotiate in good faith."

Aunt Katie did nothing of the sort. The dogs continued to bark and snarl, slaver dripping from their muzzles. They were not fooled. They knew these strangers were dangerous.

Brin said that danger was coming, but I thought it was the reporter with the bad mustache…

Turned out there were many kinds of dangers. Maybe danger was like falling dominoes. Tip the first one and you could only stand back and watch everything fall.

"If you care about your beasts, do as I say," the spymaster warned. "I will not ask again. Enough violence has been done. Let us talk."

His aunt hesitated, then whistled. The dogs scrambled to her side, lining up protectively around her in a range of sizes but all with bared teeth.

The spymaster nodded curtly. "Thank you for seeing reason. It's a good sign."

"Reason? I see no reason to hold back from turning y'all into Swiss cheese."

"I warn you to think twice. You are not prepared to deal with us." The spymaster gave a languid shrug. The man seemed as cold as a dead fish and just as fearless, standing outside of cover while his men cowered behind the SUV. "We cut your power. We disabled your phone lines. Your gate didn't stop us. Nothing will."

"Who the hell are you clowns?"

"Mathias Irvena, Spymaster to the Royal Throne of Altaden." He swept into a bow. "These are my associates. You don't need their names, only to know they are loyal to the alpha king."

Richard's voice rang out, making Justin flinch. The prince's voice was loud and filled with steel command. "Stand down, Mathias! That's an order!"

Richard suddenly appeared in Justin's field of view. He was running but slowed to a stop a dozen feet from the front of the SUV. He stood with his shoulders back and fists clenched, a tall, imposing figure with every line of him revealing his fury and radiating danger.

The spymaster bowed. "Your Highness. A pleasure to see you again. Your father has instructed us to take you home."

"No. Now leave."

"I am bound by oath to the king and to our pack," Mathias replied, his voice one of regret. He adjusted his cuffs and eyed Richard without fear. "He is your father, your alpha, and your king. You owe him your allegiance, and he is quite wroth with you. Yet, this can still be mended."

Richard said nothing. He casually unzipped his jacket and shrugged out of it. He let the jacket drop to the ground. As he moved, he never took his eyes off the spymaster. Even from this far away, Justin could see the wolf shining in his mate's eyes.

Aunt Katie and the dogs remained at the edge of the open barn doors. She still had her rifle up and aimed. Meanwhile, Justin cowered behind the door, feeling sick to his stomach and too terrified to move. His one plan to call the police had been thwarted. Now he was useless.

"You are making a serious error here, Prince Hargreave," the spymaster warned, for the first time not sounding so effortlessly calm. Especially since, as he spoke, Richard nonchalantly pulled off his shoes and socks and followed them with his shirt.

It was clear that Richard intended to shift. Only a shifter could make stripping down menacing, but a threat it was. Once the wolves were out, the talking stopped and the muzzles got red.

"We know that lying reporter hack got to you, Your Highness." The spymaster turned to face Richard, ignoring Aunt Katie and her rifle. He began to unbutton his coat as well—a message of his own. "He's a servant of the Devil She-Wolf. His lies seek to destroy your family legacy. But we have him now, and he will be punished."

"How convenient for my father," Richard replied with a sneer, slowly unbuckling his belt. "Yet another critic of his rule just so happens to be an evil She-Devil worshiper. I suggest you find better lies."

"I'll take that under advisement. I would ask that you take something else under advisement yourself, Prince Hargreave. Even if your father doesn't keep you as heir to the throne, you can still have a life of fame and luxury. Don't toss a bright future in the bin to chase the tail of someone unworthy."

"Unworthy," Richard said flatly, but he radiated disgust and fury. "Justin is three times the man you are."

"Somehow I doubt that, Your Highness."

Justin had been praised and insulted in less than five seconds, but he only took Richard's words to heart. He started to feel hope that Richard would solve this. That he would scare these men off somehow. Then the two of them could leave and go…anywhere else. They'd go anywhere else and start over.

"So what about Justin Turner then?" Richard demanded, dressed only in his trousers now, his breath steaming in the cold air. "What are your orders for him?"

The spymaster said nothing. He only fastidiously removed his waistcoat and placed it on the hood of the SUV. Justin's intestines felt filled with ice chips at the spymaster's silence.

"Justin's already calling the police," Richard continued. "This isn't Altaden. You don't have diplomatic immunity, do you?"

The spymaster looked amused. "You are mistaken, Your Highness. You weren't here when I explained, but there won't be any help coming. We severed the power and the phone lines before setting foot on this quaint little farm. Perhaps you are thinking of using smartphones to call?" He chuckled darkly. "We have a cell phone jammer with range enough to cover the farm. You are alone, Prince Hargreave. No pack. No Royal Guard. Nothing."

"I see." Richard finished undressing, flinging his pants aside. Even naked, Richard was imposing. He looked like a Greek warrior in the nude, all tense muscle and barely contained violence.

The spymaster removed his tie and started on his dress shirt. A cold smile lingered on his narrow lips. "It's not too late, even now. Return with us to your father. It's you he's worried about, not a royal bastard in some commoner's belly. You have been raised to be a leader. You still have use to the pack. Come with us, and we'll leave them be."

"So the palace can become my prison? I refuse. I have everything I want with me now. I won't warn you again. Leave if you value your lives."

"I'm afraid I am a wolf bound by your father's command," said Mathias regretfully.

Justin watched as if mesmerized, his thoughts sluggish with dread. He felt helpless to stop this and powerless to look away.

"Justin," Richard said loudly, his voice echoing across the farm as he stared at the wolves arrayed against him. "Run!"

The lethargy gripping Justin's body fell away as new adrenaline rushed through him. He turned from the back door and lurched toward the front of the house, graceless but moving quickly.

On the way, he had the presence of mind to snatch a coat from the coat rack. It was cold outside. He had to keep the baby warm. He didn't have time to undress and shift to his wolf…and he couldn't change until he was outside anyway. Wolves and doorknobs did not mix.

He burst out the front door, crossed the porch, and pounded down the handful of steps, clutching the railing. The air bit at every exposed patch of his skin with icy teeth. He awkwardly shrugged into his coat as he started across the dormant grass. His movement was ungainly, lumbering, and if there had been people around, they probably would've been pointing and laughing. But even in his third trimester, he could run, damn it. An ugly run, more of a fast, inelegant jog, but it still counted.

Counted for what? If they turn into wolves, they'll easily hunt you down.

He shoved the disturbing thought out of his mind. Richard commanded him to run, and he would. He had to trust his mate, even if his fear that he would lose Richard again was so crushing that it nearly paralyzed him.

He ran for the fence and the woods, angling away from the farmhouse but keeping it between himself and the bad guys. He didn't want them to see him running away and give chase. The urge to glance over his shoulder as he ran was maddening, but he denied that too.

Gunfire rang out. A rifle shot. Rapid pop, pop, pops, followed by another crack of the rifle and savagely barking dogs. An anguished cry escaped Justin's lips, but he kept running. Tears streamed from his eyes as he finally reached the fence. He prayed Richard and Aunt Katie hadn't been hurt. And that the dogs were okay too. The fear that they weren't okay loomed so big in his mind that it blotted out every thought other than obeying Richard and running like the Devil She-Wolf herself was after him.

The woods had no trail where he entered. He wished it were spring, not just because it was damn cold. His hackles lifted at how ridiculously exposed he was in the barren trees, with much of the undergrowth winter-dead as well. He had a stitch in his side, his feet hurt, and his back ached from his swinging belly, but he kept pushing on.

Desperate prayers that Richard, Aunt Katie, and the dogs would be all right circled frantically through his mind. Surely the Goddess would take a hand in this, right? She'd done so much to intervene so far. She wouldn't let Justin and Richard be reunited only to have one or both of them die. This wasn't a Shakespearean tragedy, damn it. After everything he'd gone through, he deserved a break. Just a little one. Please, only a little luck breaking his way for once—

A howl sounded behind him. He didn't recognize the wolf song, and it sent chills down his spine. It was the howl of a hunting wolf, and it was terrifyingly close.

Then another howl echoed in the distance. This wolf song he did recognize. It was Richard's wolf. Justin's heart lifted so fast it might as well have been duct taped to a rocket. Goddess above, Richard was still alive. His howl was a defiant, furious challenge.

Justin didn't dare slow down, much less turn back. He had to protect his child. That meant running. He couldn't let the bad guys use him as a hostage. If they got their claws on Justin, they would use him against Richard, forcing him to surrender. That couldn't happen.

The fear spurred him into another burst of speed, but it didn't last. He was running up a gentle slope, but he was still fading fast. The endurance simply wasn't there, even prodded on by his terror. Even the fear he felt drained his strength. He desperately listened behind him for any sounds of pursuit. He could only hear his own footsteps crunching and crackling in the old leaves or his body breaking through the twigs and branches of undergrowth that scratched at him, snagging his coat.

He crested a small rise and barely managed not to lose his footing and tumble down the opposite slope. A tree trunk was close enough to grab. He used it to keep himself aloft. He gasped for breath, his leg muscles trembling. The baby girl inside him was very much awake and not pleased with the adrenaline and stress hormones in his bloodstream.

A sharply rising slope, almost a small cliff face, stood opposite him. Part of it had eroded away, leaving an overhang and a shallow, almost cave-like indentation. A bear was lying beneath the earthen overhang.

Justin believed he was too exhausted and wrung-out to feel any more fear. He was wrong. Plenty of fear capacity remained inside him, enough to have him feeling weak and hollowed out, making him want to hide behind the tree trunk and break down in hopeless tears.

The bear grumbled and lifted its head. It scented the air and looked his way. With a bellowing moan-roar, the bear hauled its bulk to its feet. It was the same bear Justin had faced off with before. He knew the sight and the scent. How could he ever forget?

Justin didn't move. He couldn't. He was still gasping for breath, clutching the tree trunk, his body strangely numb and not from the cold.

He knew he needed to shift into his wolf to get away. But he'd have to get undressed in order to shift. If he didn't, he'd end up tangled in his clothing. That might kill him if the bear attacked. But as big and ungainly as he was, he could no longer strip quickly. By the time he managed it, that bear would be on top of him anyway.

Frantically, he looked for a tree to climb. Could bears climb trees? He thought they probably could, but maybe he could climb higher. But the prospect of falling from a great height and what it would do to his baby absolutely unmanned him. There weren't any nearby branches low enough for him to grab—not ones big enough to support his weight.

The bear lumbered his way, sniffing the air and showing impressive teeth. Its ear was still a ripped-up mess thanks to Aunt Katie's wolf bite. The bear bellowed menacingly, also remembering the bite and unhappy enough to blame Justin for it.

Suddenly, he heard something running through the brush behind him. He caught the scent of wolf, but it wasn't Richard. It was the spymaster's scent.

A second later, a brown and gray wolf crested the rise and stopped a half dozen meters from him. The wolf's pale yellow eyes locked on him.

The bear roared a challenge, and the wolf flinched and wheeled in that direction.

Justin kept the tree trunk between him and the wolf and the bear as best he could, peeking out from behind it as if it were hiding him—which it definitely wasn't. His mind begged his body to start running again, but his legs didn't obey. He could only hold tight to the tree trunk like a drowning man clutching a life preserver.

The spymaster's wolf backed away as the bear veered toward him. Justin caught the metallic scent of fear in the air and was unsure if it came from him or the other wolf.

Richard's wolf sprinted over the top of the slope, a gray blur of motion. With a savage snarl, he slammed into the spymaster at full speed. Richard's wolf was both bigger and stronger. He hit hard enough to send the other wolf tumbling end over end down the loose soil and leaves toward the bear.

The bear charged up the slope, bellowing again. The spymaster's wolf scrambled to his feet, but he was caught between the bear and Richard's wolf. For a moment, the brown and gray wolf simply froze in place.

It was the wrong move. The bear swept a huge paw tipped with claws. The blow connected with the wolf's head, raking him with bear claws and sending him tumbling away.

Richard didn't attack the bear. Instead, he ran to Justin and nudged him with his head. Richard's wolf was urging him to move, herding him back the way they'd come. Back toward the farm.

Justin took it on faith, trusting his mate, and started into a staggering, exhausted jog-run. He was terrified of what he'd find when he returned, but he doggedly pressed on.

He managed one last glance behind before he crested the slope and descended again. Richard's huge wolf stood between Justin and the bear and the spymaster's wolf. His teeth were bared, but he stood there silently, a ferocious predator, fearless, powerful, and deadly.

Justin had one last glimpse before he was forced to return his attention to the ground in front of him. That glimpse was of the bear lunging for the spymaster's wolf with a furious roar. A sharp cry of pain filled the air. It sounded almost human.

He turned away from that echoing cry and ran. Leafless branches and bushes lashed him. He almost turned his ankle in some kind of rut hidden by leaves but caught himself on a tree trunk in time. He was numb, exhausted. His thoughts felt sluggish, scattered, almost drunk.

Please don't fight that bear, Richard. Please. You have a daughter. You have me.

Another shattering roar sounded far behind him. That bear sounded like half a ton of ursine anger. He heard another sharp, yipping cry of pain that was cut off abruptly.

All strength drained from him after that cry. He stopped, sagging against a tree, breathing so hard that his throat was raw and his mouth bone dry. He sobbed, staring back the way he'd come, terrified that the cry of pain had come from his mate.

Richard's big wolf burst through a stand of heavy brush. The wolf's golden eyes locked on him, and Richard immediately cut in his direction. No sign of the spymaster in pursuit. Justin didn't think he'd ever felt more relieved in his entire life. His eyes frantically scanned for wounds or blood, but his mate was unharmed.

Richard's wolf reached his side and bumped him with his head again, impatiently urging him onward. Justin gathered every last bit of strength he had and set off once more. That didn't stop him from bitterly wishing he had some kind of all-terrain mobility scooter he could use to haul his pregnant ass around.

Richard remained protectively by his side, guarding him. His ears were back, and he often turned to glance behind, listening for the bear.

The bear did not follow. Perhaps he'd vented all his rage upon the spymaster and didn't feel like giving chase. Justin mouthed a silent prayer of thanks for favors both small and bear-sized big.

The trip back to the farm seemed twice as long as when he'd first run in this direction. Maybe that was because he was so exhausted. When they finally left the woods behind, he spotted Aunt Katie standing in the clearing. She held her rifle, covering two of the spymaster's men. They were lying on the ground with their hands laced behind their heads. One of them was bleeding from a leg wound. The third shifter lay crumpled, unmoving, close to the back porch. Even from this far away, Justin could smell the metallic scent of blood.

Richard shifted back into his human form when they reached the fence. He immediately pulled Justin into his arms, hugging him tightly. Justin could feel the tension in his mate's body. He could feel his mate's relief and his love, and it felt like sunshine.

"I thought I'd lost you." Richard's voice was low and intense, ragged with emotion. "I meant to fight him, but he charged the house when all hell broke loose."

Justin clutched him back just as tightly. His body was trembling. Part of him wondered if it would ever stop shivering. "I heard gunshots. I was so afraid that you'd been shot. There were so many of them."

"Your aunt and the dogs saved me. They bought me enough time to shift." He looked down into Justin's eyes. "Did you lead him to that bear?"

"Are you crazy? I hate bears. I was fleeing blindly. It's more of my terrible luck."

"Or good luck. I thought I was in for a fight, but the bear killed Mathias." Richard glanced at the tree line, his face grim. "It lost interest in us when we ran."

"Good. Maybe the bear proved its point and we can call it even."

Richard stole a quick kiss and looked toward Aunt Katie. "Come on. I need to get some clothes on. Then we need to deal with this mess."

Aunt Katie waved nonchalantly as they approached. She seemed as calm as if this kind of thing happened weekly. All six dogs gathered around her, and they stood guard over the two wounded men on the ground like police suspects. One of them had made a tourniquet out of his shirt and wrapped it around his leg wound. The other man had multiple bite wounds, most of them on his arms. Had to be from the dogs. But thank the Goddess none of the pooches had so much as a nick.

"What happened to that wolf that ran off after Justin?" his aunt asked when they were close.

"Bear got him," Richard replied.

"Well, shit. Maybe bears are good for something after all." She looked them over critically. "You two okay?"

Justin gave her a sickly grin and a shaky thumbs up. He felt like he wanted to fall over and not get up for a while.

Richard looked at her solemnly. "This is your territory. How do you want to deal with this?"

"They cut the lines, so we can't call the cops from here. Grab what you need, get in that fancy sports car, and go. Take one of their phones and call the cops when you're out of range of their jammer or whatever it is. I'll deal with this righteous mess from there."

Justin started to shake his head. "We can't leave you alone with this—"

"Enough, Justin," she snapped. "Now isn't the time to be sentimental. I've got some cash stashed in the cabinet over the fridge. In an old flower vase. Ignore the cat if she's up there eating and take it. I mean the money, not the vase or the cat."

Richard nodded, a tight smile on his lips. "Thank you. Someday I'll repay you for all you've done for us."

"If you want to repay me, raise that kid to be a good person, love her, and keep making my nephew happy."

"I will. I swear it."

"But what if the king sends more men?" Justin protested. "Aunt Katie will be here alone."

"I've got the dogs and the rifle. But this is my land." She looked at Richard. "Besides, this is going to be a shitshow when the human cops show up. Not to mention what will happen after these two thugs tell the king you're gone and some of his lackeys are pushing up daisies. Would he waste time sending goons after a cranky bitch like me?"

"He might," Richard said. "I can't predict him. But I know about defending your pack, so I understand. We'll both sleep better if you add a couple more dogs. I hear wolf hound is a good breed."

"You might have a decent idea right there," Aunt Katie said. "Still, I think we had some divine intervention to waltz out of this without a scratch after all that shooting and biting." She turned her head and spat on the dirt, coming close to hitting one of the bad guys on the ground. "Might need to rethink my stance on religion."

Justin closed his eyes, torn between wanting to convince her to leave with them and respecting her decision. In the end, his aunt would do whatever she wanted. That was how she rolled. He didn't want to think about how close Richard or his aunt or the dogs had come to being hurt.

Instead, he went to hug her. She hugged him back one-handed, holding the rifle in the other, keeping it aimed at the wounded men.

The men glared daggers at them but kept their mouths shut except for an occasional grunt or groan of pain. But the fight had gone out of them. The absence of the spymaster's wolf was telling.

Richard headed into the house to get the cash she'd offered them. Justin simply stood close to his aunt, someone who meant so very much to him, knowing his time with her was running out.

She seemed to read his mind. Her smile was loving but sad. "Wanted to be there for you when you had that baby, but I guess Richard's good enough to stand in for me."

Justin blinked back tears. He tried to say something. Couldn't. And simply nodded.

"You know I love you, kid," his aunt continued, sounding a little choked up herself. "Someday this will all blow over. Storms don't last forever."

He felt a tear trickle down his cheek, hot and wet. "I don't want them to hurt you, Aunt Katie."

"Hey, hey. No waterworks. They tried and failed. I don't think they'll try again. Not if you two are gone. Like I said, they'll just find an ornery old woman with a bunch of dogs, cheese, and a rifle. Besides, this is gonna be a mess when the humans get involved. I doubt that king whatever-his-name-is will waste any more time or resources on me. He'll have other problems."

"I hope you're right." Screw it. He gave her another hug—the best hug he could manage. Then he turned to the dogs. "You mutts better take care of her or you'll answer to me."

The dogs didn't wag their tails or jump around like they often did when they had attention. Instead, they seemed very stalwart and serious, as if they understood the mission he'd given was an important one.

After that, there wasn't much more to do. Aunt Katie not only gave them the cash she'd squirreled away but insisted they take a bunch of non-perishables for the road. They loaded all they could in the Charger and said their goodbyes. Those goodbyes were too short by half, doing no justice to the fact that Justin wouldn't be seeing his aunt again for years. If then…

Richard started the engine. They drove down the driveway, past the open gate. The cut chain lay discarded on the ground like a dead metal snake. Once they were on the road, Justin used the cell phone they'd taken from one of the wolf shifters and dialed 911. He told them there had been an attack at the farm, lots of shooting, and two people were dead. He told them to bring an ambulance and all the cops they could find. Then he disconnected, wiped down the phone, and threw it out the window.

As they drove the rural road in the steadily deepening twilight, several sheriff cruisers shot past them in the opposite direction, their lights flashing and sirens wailing.

They traveled a few more miles in silence. Justin's body started to tremble again. He hugged himself, feeling cold despite the blasting heater. He was completely exhausted, but he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to relax enough to sleep again.

"What happens now?" he asked, staring out the windshield at the countryside blurring past.

Richard took one hand off the wheel and put it on Justin's thigh to give him a reassuring squeeze. "We keep going, and we don't look back. We keep putting our child first. We do what we need to do for her. That's what we have to focus on. Our baby is coming. Nothing else matters."

"Sometimes it scares me that she's coming and things are so…uncertain."

"I know. That's why we rely on each other. We're a family." Richard smiled. "Besides, we're going to have some more help."

"What do you mean?"

"We're meeting Heath and Sara in Anchorage."

"What?" he blurted. "Heath and Sara in Alaska?"

Richard nodded, amused. "The land of mountains and king crab. It's about as far from Boston as we can get without dog paddling in the Pacific."

"They're running from your father, too, aren't they? Because of me…"

"Because of us. But also because they are good people and they did what was right. It would be easy to feel guilty, but they made their choices. They believe in those choices, too. These are the kinds of friends you make your pack, Justin. The best in the world."

"The best in the world," Justin repeated with gentle wonder and more than a little gratitude.

He rested one hand on his belly, feeling the baby turn under his palm, and with the other, covered Richard's hand on his thigh. His daughter had been pretty mellow following the nightmare he'd survived. She was tough. Like her fathers. Like both of her fathers.

He looked at Richard again, and his heart swelled with love.

The best in the world.