Chapter Thirteen



“Fuck, not now.” Liberty winced with the next contraction. She’d been having tightness in her belly for the past few days, but the last five minutes had changed everything. She’d kept it to herself at the end of her pregnancy with Ember, because Talon’s mother was dying and she didn’t want to take him away from those last moments with the woman who gave birth to him.

Liberty knew she was still two weeks out from her due date, but it didn’t matter. She was in labor. The timing worried her. Their cub shouldn’t be ready to come out just yet, but with the next contraction, she knew it wasn’t a drill.

The baby was coming tonight.

Talon and the other Guardians were away from the pride; except for Savage, who was at the gate. Hope and Evie were somewhere in the house, and she needed to get someone to find Harold. Ember was with the other children in the daycare room off the kitchen. June, the pride’s caregiver, had taken her daughter into the room to socialize with the other children and to give Liberty some downtime with the end of her pregnancy so close.

“I haven’t even picked out a name yet,” she whined to herself. “I don’t even know why they make the females name the cubs. Talon could’ve freaking helped me out this time.”

During her rant, she paced the floor of their bedroom, eyeing the door. Maybe she should just text the healer. Ow! Yeah, it was time to text someone.

She found her phone in her bag and shot off a text to Evie, asking her to come to the bedroom. While she waited, Liberty sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hands on her knees as she prepared for the next contraction.

Knock! Knock! “Liberty?”

“Come in,” she called out. When the young female entered the room, her eyes widened and she rushed to Liberty’s side.

“How far apart?”

“I haven’t timed them, but I’m guessing about seven to ten minutes,” Liberty answered. “Why do our babies come when shit has hit the fan?”

“I don’t know,” Evie laughed, easing Liberty’s fear of Talon not being there for the birth because he was searching for the cartel. “I’ll get Harold. You call Talon.”

Evie stepped out of the room as Liberty lifted the phone to her ear. It rang twice before her mate answered, “Liberty? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, um….well, no.” She paused when her mate growled. “Our baby is coming.”

“What?” he barked. “It’s too early.”

“Well, tell your cub that,” she snarled into the phone when the next contraction hit. The vice-like grip to her belly cut off any reply she could’ve tossed his way. Granted, she had a smartass comment on her tongue, though it was probably best if she didn’t speak it aloud. Talon would probably spank her ass for being disrespectful. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I’d roll my eyes where he couldn’t see.

“I’m on my way home,” he said in a rush. She could hear the panic in his voice, and any anger she had toward him fled for a moment. Liberty was sure she’d hate him again in the next few hours. “Get the healer.”

“Evie is getting him,” she replied, lowering her voice. “Hurry home.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, my queen,” Talon promised and disconnected the connection.





When Dane arrived at the pride, he was cut off by Talon’s truck and a frantic looking Savage, who was guarding the gate. He held back and allowed the other Guardians’ vehicles to rush up the driveway.

“What’s going on?” Olivia asked. He could feel her worry, and he glanced in the rearview mirror to see Cole wrap an arm around her shoulders

“I don’t know,” Dane replied, nodding at Ranger as he pulled into the driveway. “I’ll stop and ask Savage.”

As soon as the way was clear, he put his truck in gear and eased his way up to the gate. The gravel crunched under the truck’s tires as he approached. The male’s eyes were alight, and he had a rare smile on his face.

“What’s all the fuss about?” Dane asked as he rolled down the window.

“Liberty is in labor,” Savage replied.

“Yes!” Olivia giggled from the backseat. “Hurry up to the house! I want to help.”

Savage gave Dane a nod and stepped aside so he could head up to the house. When they arrived, Dane slid out of the truck and walked around to help Landon to his feet. “Things are usually quiet around here, but Talon’s mate is in labor. There will be a lot of activity in the house for the next twenty-four hours. I believe the women have a room for you upstairs. You are more than welcome to hide up there.”

“Hide?” Landon frowned as Cole and Olivia opened the extended cab doors and hurried out. Olivia left them to rush into the house.

“The pride will gather at the alpha’s home while Liberty is in labor at our healer’s clinic next door,” Dane replied, pointing to the cabin where Harold and his mate lived and worked. “Good news is…there will be a lot of food. Our females like to cook when we have a new arrival.”

“Right now, I think I’d like a nap,” Landon said, looking tired.

“I’ll take you up to your room,” Cole said, taking his brother’s duffle bag. Dane told them to ask for Marie when they went inside and promised to come by later. He needed to get over to the healer’s home to check on Olivia and the others.

Several of the Guardians were standing on the porch to the healer’s home. It was common for the men to guard the home the alpha’s mate was staying at while she gave birth. Any child born to their leaders was to be protected at all costs.

“How is she?” Dane asked Evie as he entered the yard. The young female was there with a gun strapped to her hip, and she wore a pair of gloves Ranger had ordered for the mated female warriors to wear in case they were ever in a position where they had to touch another male in combat.

“She’s just getting started,” Evie replied without any emotion on her face. “So far, Harold says she looks great and the cub is doing fine.”

“You okay?” Dane asked, lowering his voice. He knew Evie had admitted after her mating to Kye that she was unable to bear cubs due to the damage done to her when she’d been kidnapped by the wolves at such a young age.

“I’m happy for them,” she said through clenched teeth and turned on her heel. He didn’t need to worry long. Kye, her mate, intercepted her and took the warrior into his arms. Within a few minutes of whispered words, the Evie he knew was back. Her smile brightened when Kye pulled away.

The door to the healer’s home opened and Olivia took the steps down off the porch after the males moved out of her way, insuring she wouldn’t be touched by any of them. As she walked, he watched as her long, blonde hair bounced with each step. She wore a black tank top and a pair of denim shorts, along with black hiking boots. His mate was beautiful and didn’t need to wear expensive clothes to enhance her beauty. He actually liked the way she looked in her outdoor clothes.

“Hey,” she said, stepping into his outstretched arms. “This is exciting.”

“It’s only going to get crazier as the night progresses,” Dane explained. “The older females are probably cooking a feast as we speak.”

“Mmm, food,” Olivia hummed, rubbing her flat stomach. “That sounds good.”

“Let’s go back to the main house and see what they have,” he offered. “It’s going to be a while before the cub is here.”

“Where’s Landon and Cole?” she asked as they walked. He took her hand and held it tight as they crossed the alpha’s backyard, passing the fire pit.

“Cole is getting his brother set up in a guest room,” he answered. “I’ll make sure they eat as well.”

“No, let me do it,” she protested, stepping onto the back porch. He released her hand and let his mate walk ahead of him just so he could stare at her ass as the denim hugged it just right. He remembered the softness to her skin when they mated, and his beast roared from the memories.

As she opened the door, a wave of pain wove through the pride. Olivia cried out as she sank to her knees. Dane’s body froze as he lunged for his mate, and the women inside the house screamed.

“Dane, what’s happening to me?” Olivia cried, trying to crawl through the threshold to reach him. He couldn’t speak. Hell, he could barely breathe.

“Talon…distress,” he choked out as the feeling subsided. Dane rolled to his ass and leaned against the side of the house, reaching for Olivia. “Our alpha can push his powers out to the pride. Something’s wrong with Liberty.”

“Oh no!” she gasped, rolling to her knees.

Another push of power from his alpha froze them in their tracks. No matter how hard Dane tried to move, he was stuck in his spot. Olivia sat on the wooden deck with her eyes wide.

“What do we do?” she asked when the power subsided.

“We rally around our alpha,” Dane said in a rush, grabbing her hand. They took off across the yard, returning to the healer’s home. When they arrived, all of the Guardians were there, waiting for the door to open for an update. Every pair of eyes were glowing amber, and Evie was the first one to break loose and head for the door. She was stopped when Harold’s mate, Luna, stepped out. The look on her face told everyone what they feared.

“The cub is in distress, so we are going to have to move Liberty to a hospital to do an emergency delivery,” she announced. “The alpha asks that five Guardians gather and follow the ambulance when it arrives, to provide protection.”

Winter raised his hand in the air as the pride began to all talk at once. Being Talon’s second-in-command, he was in charge when the alpha was unable to make any decisions. Once everyone quieted, the faint sound of sirens reached their ears.

“Booth, Axel, Storm, Taze, and Lucky will go with our alpha,” Winter announced. “Take two trucks. Stay with the ambulance and report to me as soon as you can.”

The five Guardians ran toward the dorm to gather the vehicles. A bright flash of light off to the side of the healer’s home announced the arrival of the sheriff and resident angel who watched over the pride.

“She’s going to be fine,” he said as soon as the pride began to hurl questions his way. “The cub will be okay, too, but it’s going to be a rough delivery. I was told by the gods to give you the news because of Talon’s distress and how much it affected the pride. I’m sorry, but I need to talk to Talon.” He dipped inside the healer’s home and, a minute later, a sense of calm rolled through the pride, causing everyone to relax.

The ambulance arrived shortly after, and the remaining pride members moved away and made room for them to enter the clinic. Even with the sheriff’s words, the pride was uneasy. Liberty was well loved, made obvious by the tears in the eyes of the women in the crowd.

Liberty’s moans of pain from her labor echoed into the night as the human paramedics wheeled her out. Harold stopped at the door to his home and clinic to kiss his mate. He didn’t say anything else as he rushed toward the ambulance with Talon in tow. The alpha didn’t even look over his shoulder to address his pride. He only sent out another blast of calming magic as the doors on the ambulance closed and they left the land with two vehicles following them off into the night.