Klimt’s hot breath fogged the air, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. He was close. If he leapt, he would reach me.
But I couldn’t move. All I could think about was my father. How Klimt murdered him.
A tidal wave crashed onto the grass as Nero erupted from the water. His jaws widened to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. He slammed into Klimt, who let out a startled yelp. Klimt had been so focused on me that he forgot about Nero. The yelp pitched into a scream as Nero bit down. The scent of blood exploded in my nose.
The two alphas tangled in a chaos of sandpaper scales and scraggly fur. Nero’s heavy bulk made it difficult for Klimt to maneuver, but he wasn’t as graceful on land as he was in the water. Nero thrashed viciously with Klimt in his jaws. For a moment it looked like Nero was winning, but then his body suddenly jerked.
“Argh!” Nero cried out.
Klimt had bitten down hard on his snout, making blood pour from it.
My heart leapt into my throat.
He was hurting my mate.
Out of the water, Nero couldn’t fight back. He couldn’t reach his opponent. His gills flared and a second later he ran out of air—he shifted back into human form with a gasp. Blood trickled down his face. My fury surged.
Still in wolf form, Klimt circled Nero with a cruel glint in his eyes. All his fangs were bared in a threat he intended to follow through with.
But I wouldn’t let him.
Klimt was never going to change. I’d shown him mercy too many times, without even knowing the extent of the horrible things he’d done to me. Not anymore. He had already taken one important person from me—I’d be damned if I let him Nero, too.
“Once I kill you,” Klimt said, licking his bloody lips, “Remington will be all mine. As soon as I get rid of that half-breed baby of his.”
Blood pounded in my ears. The ice in my veins melted, replaced by the white-hot fire of rage.
My emotions cranked up to a hundred. Fury, anguish, vengeance, terror—I felt them all. As Klimt encroached on Nero with a diabolical growl, the only thing on my mind was stopping him from hurting my mate and my baby.
Klimt leapt.
With my fangs and claws out, I slammed into Klimt’s side with all my might. I was smaller but the sneak attack gave me the advantage. Klimt staggered and fell over with a startled grunt. Rage burned in my veins as I pinned him to the ground.
“You killed my father and now you’re trying to kill my mate and my child!” I snarled. “I won’t let you take anyone else away from me!”
He didn’t even get a chance to respond. I sank my fangs into his throat and twisted.
Unlike Klimt, I wasn’t a cruel hunter. It was quick. I doubted he even felt anything. Maybe he deserved to feel more pain, but I didn’t care. Klimt would never threaten my family ever again.
I backed away with a gasp. The shock of it pulled me back into my human form as I collapsed on the ground. Nero ran to my side immediately.
“Remington, are you okay?” he asked. He held my face in his hands, examining it carefully.
I exhaled shakily. “Yeah. He didn’t hurt me.”
Nero’s eyes flooded with relief and love. He hugged me tight, wrapping his arms around me. I clutched him in return. Both of us were shaking.
A water droplet fell on my face. It might’ve been Nero crying or it might have been rain. I wasn’t sure.
“I’m so sorry it had to come to this,” Nero said. “I’m sorry for what he did to you.”
Another drop fell, then it began to rain in earnest, like the sky itself was relieved. The sudden downpour washed the blood off Nero’s face.
Despite everything, I smiled. “It’s over now.”
Nero kissed me. It was chaste but passionate, a promise that he would always be there for me. That he would always care.
He helped me to my feet and I leaned on him for support. Thunder rumbled in the sky. We were both naked and drenched by the rain, but neither of us cared. As long as we had each other, everything would always be all right in the end.
