Zhuang wrapped his arms around Xias and rolled him off the cot. He held his finger up to his lips before gesturing for Xias to get the cubs. Xias raced over and grabbed the box, then carried it back. Zhuang helped Xias slide the box under the cot, then pushed Xias under it. He pulled the blanket down to hang over the edge of the cot, hopefully hiding all view of them.
Drawing in a deep breath, Zhuang moved between his mate and cubs and whoever was stupid enough to come into the ranger’s shack. He shifted and then crouched, ready to defend his family against any intruder.
He didn’t understand how Xias’s former alpha could have found them so quickly. The man should have still been healing. Of course, he could have sent enforcers to track them down. That was always a possibility.
A dark shadow filled the doorway. “Zhuang, man, it’s me.”
Zhuang waited until the shadowy form took shape before shifting. “Tao?”
“Hey, man.” The guy grinned as he pulled his stocking cap off and then gestured over his shoulder. “I brought the CAT. Wasn’t sure if you were still here or not, but I figured if you were, you’d appreciate a ride out.”
Fuck! A snow CAT.
Zhuang’s heart beat a little faster, a renewed hope springing to life. “What size CAT did you bring?”
Tao’s black eyebrows lifted. “Does it matter?”
“It matters.” Zhuang smiled as he turned toward the cot. “Come on out, Xias.”
For a moment, nothing happened, and then the blanket lifted and Xias scooted out. He wrapped the blanket around his waist as he stood. Zhuang noted that he didn’t bring the box of cubs out with him. He kept the smile on his face as he held out his hand to Xias.
“Xias, this is my friend Tao.” He tugged on Xias’s hand, pulling the man to his side. “Tao, this is Xias, my mate.”
“Seriously, man?”
Zhuang chuckled. “Seriously.”
Tao’s eyes rounded as they went to Xias. “Dude!”
“I need to get Xias and the cubs to the council.”
“Cubs?” Tao’s jaw dropped.
“Xias gave me three cubs,” Zhuang said, his smile brightening. It didn’t matter to him if they were his cubs or not. They were Xias’s and that was all that was important. “They won’t be safe until we get them to the council.”
Tao cocked his head to one side. “What’s going on?”
“Xias’s ex-alpha is after him.”
Xias’s snort was cute.
“The guy has some really fucked-up ideas about stuff. Xias is an omega, but the alpha didn’t register him with the council. Xias never even knew that there was a shifter representative. He’s never met one. Anytime a stranger came to their clan, he was locked up.”
“That’s fucked up, man.”
“Xias’s former alpha believes the cubs belong to him,” Zhuang explained.
“He just wants Bai,” Xias added in. “He wants to kill the other two.”
“Why?” Tao asked.
“Bai is a boy. Liang and Ying are girls. Osamu has no use for girls except to use them to create more cubs. Since he sired Liang and Ying, he can’t get cubs off of them, so they are useless to him.”
“Osamu?” Zhuang asked, realizing he had never heard the alpha’s name from Xias until now. “Osamu Ju?”
Xias paled. “How did you know?”
Zhuang tried to keep the bile out of his throat. “I’ve heard of him before.”
