Xias glanced at Zian and chuckled.
“Narcissistic,” they both said.
Several things happened at the same time. Osamu pointed his gun at Zian and pulled the trigger. As soon as Zian was thrown back by the bullet and hit the ground, Zhuang pushed Xias down and then leapt at Osamu.
By the time Xias sat up, Zhuang and Osamu were in their shifted forms, fighting to the death. Xias stared for a moment, both proud and horrified at the same time. The fight was fierce. Both men were alphas, so that made sense.
A groan from the ground several feet away drew Xias’s attention. He crawled across the ground to Zian’s side. A quick glance showed a bullet wound in the man’s shoulder. “You need to shift.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’m not ruining these boots for anyone.”
“Seriously?”
Was the guy insane?
“These were custom made.”
Xias rolled his eyes as he scooted down the man’s body and pulled his boots off. “Anything else, princess?”
“Just help me loosen my clothes so I can get out of them after I shift.”
Xias did as Zian said, making sure not to reveal anything he shouldn’t be seeing, then scooted back so the man had room to shift. When he did, Xias gasped. He was a Siberian tiger just like Zhuang, but he was bigger. Much bigger.
“Jesus, you’re huge,” he whispered. Even though he knew it wasn’t possible, Xias would swear until his dying day that the big tiger winked at him.
A furious roar filled the air. Xias swung around and then gasped. Osamu had Zhuang pinned to the ground, and it looked as if he was going in for the killing blow.
“Zhuang!”
His mate’s name had barely left his mouth when he watched Zhuang do something Xias had never seen a shifter do before. He kicked up with his back feet, sending Osamu sailing over his head. The alpha landed with a thud.
Zhuang was back up and running at Osamu before he even got to his paws. Zhuang hit Osamu with such power the shifter was forced off his paws again. Osamu started scrambling to get free, snarling and snapping his teeth at Zhuang. He got in a few lucky bites, but not enough to stop Zhuang.
Xias gasped when Zhuang lunged, his teeth wrapping around Osamu’s throat. With one hard yank, blood gushed from the open wound and Osamu went limp. Xias held his breath when Zhuang froze. For a moment, it was as if the world stood still. Nothing moved. No sound was heard. It was all so poignant.
Zhuang finally moved, stepping back. Even an idiot would be able to tell Osamu was dead. Xias gave a little cry before sinking back onto his legs. It was over. It was finally over. His cubs were safe. Osamu would never be a threat to them again.
Xias tried to breathe as he watched Zhuang shift and walk over to him. He didn’t realize he was crying until the man squatted down and wiped a tear away from Xias’s cheek.
“I’m sorry, Xias. It was the only way.”
Xias blinked up at Zhuang, realizing the man thought he was grieving. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around Zhuang’s neck. He didn’t care that Zhuang was covered in blood or that his former alpha’s body lay just a few feet from him. All he cared about was the man he was hugging.
“It’s over. You did it,” he whispered against Zhuang’s lips. “You saved me, saved my cubs.”
Zhuang smiled as he wrapped his arms around Xias and pulled him close. “No, mate. I saved me, because without you and the cubs, I’d have nothing.”
There was no way to stop the tears that streamed down Xias’s face at that point. He was just glad to see the same tears in Zhuang’s eyes. “I love you, too, mate.”
* * * *
Xias breathed in a peaceful breath as he leaned back in Zhuang’s arms and watched their clan gathered on the front lawn of their farmhouse. His heart felt full. He didn’t know that was an actual thing until now. It was one of those moments in time where everything in the universe was perfect.
Osamu’s reign of terror was over. His clan had been disbanded, the clan members absorbed into other clans. Zhuang had taken in twenty new clan members, including the original ones Yao had talked to him about.
They didn’t have a big clan, but they were happy and safe. Over the last three months, Xias had watched those who had been abused by Osamu come out of their shells. People laughed now, and that was a huge thing. Xias didn’t remember hearing a lot of it growing up. People hadn’t had a lot to laugh about.
Zhuang had instituted a mandatory pack meeting once a week to make sure no one fell through the cracks. It was basically just an excuse to get together and pig out, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.
