Liam knocked the gun from her hand as she brought it up to point in his direction. She hadn't even managed to click a new magazine in place so it wasn't like she would have been able to shoot him. Noticing she was cornered, Sonja made a desperate attempt and ran for it.
Corey, however, was faster and managed to grab a hold of her hair and yank her up short. Sonja screamed as she was stopped in her tracks, Ben's three Betas surrounding her. He made his way slowly towards them, his wolf snarling with every step that Ben took. He knew how large and dangerous he looked in his wolf form and saw the slight shake that ran through Sonja's body as he advanced on her. No sooner had her body betrayed her than she straightened her spine and looked him square in the eyes with so much hatred and loathing Ben was taken aback a little.
"You deserve to die for what you took from me," she spat at him.
Ben growled and Liam was the one to speak, seeing as how Ben couldn't at that point.
"Kegan Wallis was a murderous, drug smuggling, kidnapping asshole who got exactly what was coming to him. As will you, lady, for the attempted murder of the Panneath Alpha and his mate."
"It's not attempted if I actually succeed." She snapped as she reached behind her and pulled out a handgun. Everything happened at once. All three Betas shifted and lunged for her seconds after Ben did. The sound of the gun going off reverberated in his ears as Ben's large steely jaws clamped down around her neck. Ben shook her vigorously until he heard her neck snap and then he opened his mouth and dropped her like the piece of filth she was.
No one tried to kill his mate and got away with it. Ben sat back on his haunches, tilted his head to the sky, and howled out his triumph in quelling his enemy, the sounds of the others soon joined in with his own.
Ben shifted and looked around the clearing. "Is anyone hurt?" Ben asked, wanting to know if that last bullet had hit anyone.
The others shifted back to human as well and started to rummage through the scraps of cloth that used to be their clothing. Ben wasn't bothered by the nudity. Having grown up in the pack, it was second nature to be naked around other people since they were always shifting back and forth in large groups on full moon nights.
"Nope."
"Nah."
"She missed by a bloody mile," Corey said happily. What the man found so funny in all this Ben would never know. But if the man chose to look on the bright side, who the hell was he to deny him that?
Pointing to the dead body, Ben looked at his Betas. It wasn't every day that he had a dead body that he had to dispose of without anyone finding out about it. Ben had no qualms over what he had just done. He knew he would have no trouble sleeping at night either but trying to explain the entire situation to the human police might be a different story. Ben wasn't about to take any chances when it came to his mate and their happiness.
"Take her to Mount Hypipamee and throw her in." The crater was well known in those parts. At sixty-one meters in diameter and eighty-two meters deep, it made for the perfect dumping ground for an unwanted body. The surface of the water was covered with duck weed and when disturbed would fill in the affected area fast enough that no one could tell anything had happened. "Bradley, scout the area and see if she had any sort of transport nearby."
His Betas all nodded at him and quickly set about packing up her bag, gun, and empty ammo cartridges along with all the empty shells that littered the ground. Ben wondered idly where in the world Sonja had gotten the guns and so much ammunition from but put it aside for another day. Bradley shifted once more, and after sniffing around for several minutes, took off through the trees.
"We'll take care of this, Ben. Why don't you go check on Tommy?" Liam said to him. Ben nodded, not having to be told twice. He set off at a fast pace back through the trees and across the lawn to his house. The second he opened the back door Tommy was there, launching himself into Ben's arms. He barely had time to open them to receive his mate before he was attached to Ben like he would never let him go again.
Ben wound his arms around Tommy and held the man close.
"You okay, pup?" He needed to make sure.
"Just a few small cuts, nothing I won't heal by tomorrow."
"Good." Ben pulled Tommy's mouth down to his and kissed the man to within an inch of his life. His mate wiggled and started to thrust against his stomach and Ben knew exactly what he needed. Ben made his way through the house, ignoring the holes he could see here and there where the bullets had gone through walls as he headed in the direction of their room. He needed this mate now more than he needed his next breath, and by the way Tommy was acting, he was in complete agreement with Ben's idea to get naked. If he wasn't, Ben would have fun trying to convince him of the merits of his plan.
CHAPTER 9
Tommy lay on the couch, one hand resting on his small baby bump and the other holding up the Peter Rabbit book he was currently reading aloud. He had heard somewhere that as babies grow they can distinguish their parents' voices and Tommy really wanted his cub to recognise his voice. So every day Tommy took time out to lie in a quiet room and read to his child. Ben would sometimes join him if he wasn't too busy, and if not, then Ben would often come up to Tommy and kneel down to have entire conversations with his stomach before going back to work. They might be one-sided but Ben didn't seem to mind. The serene smile he sported while he did this made Tommy feel like the luckiest person alive.
They had announced Tommy's pregnancy at the last pack gathering to much joy and happiness from those assembled. It didn't seem to matter to everyone if their Alpha created a child with another man, just that that man was reproducing. Tommy had been a little overwhelmed with how many people came to congratulate him and Ben. His mate was well loved by his pack.
Declan was very happy for him and was looking forward to being an uncle who could spoil his niece or nephew rotten. Declan had also asked him all kind of questions in regards to his pregnancy and Tommy hoped one day soon his brother would be having cubs of his own with his mate. Tommy had explained all about the good and bad parts so far, he could happily go without the nausea and the lack of energy ever again, but the feelings he got when he ran his hand over the steadily growing bump in his abdomen or when they heard his baby's heartbeat for the first time would remain with him forever and made everything he had suffered through in the early weeks well worth it.
A knock at the door interrupted his reading and Tommy put the book down on the little side table before hauling himself to his feet. Everything seemed to be taking a little more effort these days, and Tommy knew it was just going to get worse as his pregnancy progressed.
Answering the door, he smiled wide when he saw his brother and his mate standing on the other side.
"Come on in, guys." Tommy stepped back to allow them entrance into the house.
"You're looking good, Tommy. Hell, I might almost say you're glowing," Declan said as he stepped in and wrapped Tommy in a hug, careful not to squash him too hard.
"Thanks, Dec. I feel great. This little one hasn't been giving me any more trouble." Tommy stepped back and patted his stomach affectionately.
"Where's the boss man?" Liam asked as he walked through into the lounge room and took a seat on the couch.
Tommy looked at his watch to check the time. "In his office. He's interviewing the last candidate for his assistant position. They've been in and out of here all day long. Hopefully, they shouldn't be too much longer as dinner should be ready in about fifteen minutes."
There had been an overwhelming response to Ben's enquiry about an assistant with applications coming in from all over the country. Ben had gone through every résumé diligently and had narrowed it down to a half dozen or so that he had contacted. He'd arranged for them to come in that day to interview. As it neared seven, the last one should be just about over.
"You guys want anything to drink?"
"Sit down and take a load of your feet, I know where everything is," Liam said as he made his way into the kitchen to get them drinks.
The sound of a door opening behind him had Tommy turning where he sat to watch his stunning Ben stride out of his office accompanied by the man he had been interviewing.
Ben's face broke out in a smile that lightened his piercing blue eyes and made them sparkle as soon as his gaze fell on Tommy. His mate motioned him over, so Tommy got up and walked to Ben's side. The larger man pulled him in close against him and wrapped his arm around Tommy's waist.
"Tommy, I'd like you to meet Ethan, he's agreed to be my assistant."
Tommy looked at the other man, medium height, maybe six feet, older than Tommy, mid-twenties probably if he had to guess, strawberry blond hair that hung to his shoulders and green eyes that sparkled like the richest pieces of jade. And dimples, the man had fucking dimples that just seemed to highlight how gorgeous he was when he smiled, like he was right then.
Gritting his teeth to stop some smart-ass remark from escaping, Tommy held out his hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Tommy," Ethan said in a voice that would have melted butter but only served to piss Tommy off more. Ben had to be kidding if he thought Tommy was going to be okay with this man being in close proximity to his mate five days a week. Why the hell couldn't Ben hire someone with a hunchback and a crocked nose and pimple scars and, and, and…
Ethan's throaty laughter brought Tommy's attention back to him and Tommy glared at the man, wondering what the hell he found so funny. "I bet you hate me right about now. Probably planning all the different ways you could kill me and replace me with someone else?"
"Something like that," Tommy admitted with a sheepish smile at his thoughts being so transparent. Ben's arm tightened around him as he heard his mate chuckle beside him.
"You don't have to worry; I don't have designs on your man. He's mated and that automatically takes him off my radar, so I'd appreciate you not trying to kill me in my sleep if possible." Tommy would just have to wait and see, he would continue to keep a close eye on Ethan though.
"We'll see."
"Fair enough."
Ben made introductions between Declan and Ethan, but Tommy had to bite back a growl when his mate invited Ethan to join them for diner. Ben must have known as he smiled then bent down and lightly kissed Tommy.
"Behave, pup."
"Do I have to?" he asked playfully.
"Yes."
"Fine."
Just then Liam walked back into the room carrying two beers and a large glass of iced water. He stopped dead in his tracks as his gaze met Ethan's.
All of a sudden he threw his head back and roared in laughter. Declan shot forward to relieve him of the drinks before the man could drop them. Once his hands were clear Liam leant down and rested them on his knees as he tried desperately to draw in another breath between laughs.
"What the hell is so funny?" Ethan asked.
"That's what I would like to know. Liam?" Ben asked. His voice was deep but Tommy could hear the hint of amusement that laced his words. Ben must have an idea about what Liam found so humorous.
"Man… Corey… is… going… to… shit… bricks," Liam managed to get out around gasping for breath.
All of a sudden it dawned on Tommy what Liam was talking about. He turned and looked at Ethan again, no longer worried about the man trying to steal his mate.
"Welcome to the family," he said before he too joined in the laughter now coming from all four of them. Tommy couldn't wait to watch what happened between Corey and Ethan. Hopefully they too could find their happily ever after just has he had with his mate. Tommy reached up and pulled Ben down into a scorching kiss, all traces of amusement dissipating in seconds. When they broke apart the lust and heat in his mate's gaze made Tommy want to tell their guests to serve themselves and take his mate to their room.
"What was that for?" Ben asked, his voice low and husky.
"Just 'cause I love you."
"I love you too, pup. For ever and always."
"I'm going to hold you to that," Tommy said.
"I look forward to it," Ben said as he kissed him again. So did Tommy.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Well, what can I say about me? I grew up in the north of Australia. I'm 30, recently single and a mother of one. I work full time and when I'm not spending time with my family and friends, you can find me either reading on my Kindle or writing. I would love to hear any feedback you have so please drop me a line at: [email protected]
Webpage:
www.tonigriffin.net
Blog:
www.tonigriffin.blogspot.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/toni.griffin.author#!/toni.griffin.author
Email:
ALSO BY TONI GRIFFIN
Available at
Silver Publishing
:
My Christmas Present
A Very Holland Christmas
THE HOLLAND BROTHERS
Unexpected Mate
Determined Mate
Protective Mate
Forbidden Mate
HOT ENCOUNTERS
Frankie's Vamp
Bryce's Cop
(Coming Soon)
THE THOMPSON AGENCY
Dealing with the Dead
Dealing with the Past
THE ATHERTON PACK
Liam
Ben