The Birth of an Alpha(2)

“I need to go…” Nova paused when she saw Talon narrowing his eyes. Liberty stifled a laugh at her sister obeying the alpha. Talon and her mate, Winter, were the only two people on the face of the planet that could order Nova Blue around and get away with it.

“Cole is taking care of things at The Deuce,” Talon promised. “Stay here and take the afternoon off.”

All three women nodded and tucked into their plates, finishing just about every drop of food that had been prepared for them. June, the children’s caregiver, came by and took their platters. Talon had moved to the high back chair on the other side of the fireplace to keep an eye on Liberty. He’d been doing that a lot more lately, but she wasn’t going to complain. Having him there was comforting. She smiled as she tucked her arm under a pillow.

The alpha was calming the women with his powers.

Liberty smiled as she fell into a deep sleep.





“Do you want to know what you are having?” Harold smiled as he ran the wand over Liberty’s swollen belly.

“No,” Talon and Liberty answered together. Liberty laughed as Talon rubbed her arm. They’d both made the decision to wait until the cub was born to find out what the sex would be.

“Okay then,” Harold chuckled, turning off the machine. He handed Liberty a towel to wipe the gel from her skin as he made some notes on her chart. “Well, mother and cub are doing just fine. Only a few more weeks and the little bugger will be here.”

“We have so much to do,” Liberty worried.

“You aren’t doing anything,” Talon ordered as he used his alpha powers to caress her as she struggled to sit up. She gave him a sideways glance when she realized he was calming her down. “Marie and Evie are there to help you, and you better let them help.”

“Okay, Talon.” She smiled the smile that told Talon his mate wasn’t going to listen to him. He swore she was immune to his alpha powers. Oh, she would let him think he was giving her orders, but he knew she agreed just to appease him. “I’ll call Evie to come over and help me finish the cub’s nursery.”

“Good,” he said, shaking his head at his mate.

“I have to get out of here,” Harold told them. “I need to check on Mary Grace and your sister. You three will have me running like mad when these cubs are coming within a few months of each other.”

“We will walk back over with you,” Talon offered, helping his mate stand.

They left the healer’s home, which was the first cabin up the gravel road from the alpha’s. Harold had never mated, but he kept a home alongside the others. It was easier for him to be close to the couples since most of his work consisted of delivering cubs or patching up Guardians who had been injured.

The healer and Liberty talked about the birth of the cub. She admitted she was nervous, but Harold had an amazing bedside manner. By the time they reached the back porch of their home, Liberty was smiling and appeared a little more relaxed.

“Come in and let me make you some tea,” Liberty offered, causing Talon to frown. He wanted her to rest, because her body was about to go through so much to bring life to his son or daughter.

“I would love some.” Harold grinned, casting his eyes toward Talon. He gave a little shake of his head, indicating that Liberty was fine and for Talon not to spoil her good mood.

June was in the playroom off the kitchen, getting all of the cubs in her care down for a nap. It was right after lunchtime, and Talon smiled at the woman who’d offered to take the job. They now had six cubs ranging in age from newborn to five years of age. It wouldn’t be long before their own cub would make number seven. Nova and Mary Grace were due on the same date but several months down the road. Harold had mentioned that he was hoping they wouldn’t go into labor simultaneously. Liberty had bet Talon that they would.

“I need to go to my office and do some work,” Talon said after accepting a glass of tea from his mate. “Call for me if you need anything.”

“I’m going to have a salad, then maybe lay down for a little while before Marie and Evie come over to help with the nursery.” Talon chuckled as he walked toward his office. His mate had some weird cravings.

His phone was full of emails and messages from various people. Ranger had called to inform him that some of the teenagers were getting out of hand with the fights for dominance. Four of them had to be detained until they settled down.

The Summer Solstice would be upon them on Saturday, and only on that night would he let them fight for a position within the ranks of the Guardians. Four of the six who’d turned twenty since the last Summer Solstice had shown interest and looked promising, but they were also the ones Ranger had named in his voicemail. Those boys needed a firm hand.

The fights on the Solstice were kept neutral. The Guardians were not allowed to train any of the males to fight. Talon wanted raw strength and power from his Guardians. The ones coming upon their full power were to train themselves and work with their opponents until they came to the circle.

He scrolled through the accounts for his construction company and security firm. Both businesses were booming, and even though he didn’t work at either one of them since taking over the pride, Talon liked to keep tabs on the numbers once a week and fill in when needed.

“Talon!” his mate called out.

He was out the door and down the hallway in a flash. His eyes sparked amber at the thought of his mate being hurt, but when he rounded the corner, he realized it wasn’t Liberty who was in distress. Harold was on his hands and knees over his mother. June was there, staying back with her hand over her mouth as a tear leaked from the corner of her eye. Liberty was on the floor, holding his mother’s hand.

“What the hell is going on?” Talon yelled. “Ma?”

“She collapsed,” Liberty whimpered. Talon reached for his mate as she struggled to get off her knees. He carefully moved Liberty into June’s awaiting arms.

“Ma?” he called out, touching the side of her face as soon as he took a knee where Liberty had been kneeling.

“I’m fine, son,” she promised.

“I need to check you over,” Harold said. The healer quickly slipped on some gloves and reached for his mother’s wrist. He closed his eyes as he took her pulse. He frowned and quickly checked her eyes with a pen light he kept in his shirt pocket. When his mother checked out, Harold looked up at her with a frown. “I think we should draw some blood, as well.”

“Can I get up?” she asked, looking around at the people that had gathered. Talon carefully helped his mother sit upright for a moment until she nodded. He waited another few seconds before guiding her over to a seat that Liberty had pulled away from the kitchen table.

“Sit in this chair,” Talon ordered. His mother’s hair was twisted up into a bun at the back of her head, only a few tendrils had escaped to hang loose around her face. Her stunning blue eyes were sparking amber, letting him know that her panther was on edge.

“I’d like to know what the hell is going on,” Talon snapped as he turned toward the healer, his fists clenched at his sides. Liberty stepped up and rested a hand on his forearm. He felt his panther relax at her touch.

“I was coming into the kitchen and I got dizzy,” she began. “I’ve been feeling run down and tired a lot, but I’m sure it’s nothing, Talon.”

“It is something, Ma,” he growled. “Passing out is not good.”

“You have been doing a lot around here, Victoria,” Liberty pointed out. “Maybe you should take a break. I can always have Marie help me out here.”

“No,” his mother answered. “I want to help you, Liberty.”

“Why don’t you spend some time with me and let Marie help out around the pride until the cub is born? That way, we can both rest.” Liberty smiled at Talon’s mother, and he saw his mother’s eyes soften at his mate’s words.

“I’d like that,” Victoria said with a grin. “I’d like that a lot.”

Talon stepped aside as Harold removed his gloves. He glanced over his shoulder and waited until his mother and mate were deep into conversation before he turned to the healer. “What do you think it is?”

Harold wiped his hands on a paper towel after washing them, tossing the waste into the trash bin at the end of the counter. He seemed to weigh his words carefully before he finally looked up into Talon’s eyes. What the alpha saw there was worry and uncertainty.

“I need to run some tests on her before I can be certain,” Harold replied, walking over toward Victoria Shaw. He leaned in and whispered a few words to the matriarch. She nodded and stood slowly from her seat.

“I’ll walk with you over to the healer’s home,” Talon offered, quickly moving to his mother’s side. “Then I’ll come back here.”

His mother wasn’t that old. She was barely into her sixties and should have several years left before her health started failing from age, but looking into his mother’s eyes, he had a feeling that whatever the healer found wasn’t going to be good news.





Chapter Two





“Your mother is going to be fine,” Liberty promised, hoping that she wasn’t wrong. The look on Talon’s face when he had rushed into the kitchen had scared even her. Seeing the matriarch of the Shaw pride collapse on the floor had sent fear through Liberty’s veins. Talon had already lost his father, so his mother was all he had left, besides his brothers.