💖 💖

***Remi's POV***

Dr. Gibson informed us that my mate could give birth in the next couple of weeks. It's exciting and completely terrifying. We have a huge dark cloud above our heads and I am not ready to face that, let alone two babies.

I walk to my office with Talon in my arms. I softly deposit him on my sofa and cover him with a blanket. I have a meeting this morning. Talon didn't want to wake up. There is no way I was leaving him in our suite all alone.

I take my seat at the head of our conference table and wait patiently as everyone begins filing in.

"Good morning Alpha." Lutz yawns largely before taking his seat.

"Sleep evading you?" I ask knowingly.

"Lloyd is getting restless. He shifted all night in his sleep. I didn't sleep well." Lutz yawns again, emphasizing his declaration.

"Hey Alpha, Beta." Lyle comes in practically skipping.

"Someone got laid." I chuckle out.

"Yep." Lyle sits down with a smirk and pops the p.

"Good. Now maybe we can have a productive morning." I high five my head warrior.

Jace slides into his chair and throws his arms out in front of him. He drops his head to the table and lets out a large groan.

"Well, Beta, you're looking chipper."

Jace looks over at me and grimaces.

"Fuck. I'm exhausted." Jace bangs his head dramatically on the table.

"We know the feeling." I reach over and pat Jace's head.

"Everyone is here. So let's start." I stand up and announce to my office full of people.

"We haven't heard anything from the Blood Moon Pack." Jace tiredly advises.

"No news is good news." Austin chuckles.

"Not necessarily. I have it on good authority that Hunter has approached three of our allies. He has offered them everything from cars to allegiance if they turn sides and join his crusade." Reid says. He stands up and hands me a file with the list of our allies and acknowledgements that they aren't switching sides.

"Good news is, none of them took the bait." Reid clarifies.

"How are we on training? Do we look good? What can we improve?" Jace asks Lyle.

"On our side we are good as gold. We have been practicing tactics. I have them ready for everything from ambushes to one on one. We have been going at it in pairs. We had a whole day where everyone broke into small groups and attacked a singular wolf. Our men are strong, well trained and prepared." Lyle nods his head and I am confident in his observations.

"The Luna is ready to pop at any given time. That puts us on high alert. I want the borders secured around the clock. There is no reason we can't come out of this unharmed." I explain.

"Ally and Lloyd are right behind him." Lutz reminds me.

"If there was ever a worse time for war, it's now." Austin groans.

"That's the point. Don't think that Hunter has not planned this well. He is skilled and he is devious. No doubt he is waiting until closer to Talon's due date." My Dad walks in and sits down beside me.

"One hair falls out of place on my mate and I will rip his fucking nuts out through his throat." I warn.

"We are well aware. The point is, let's not wait until the last minute to be ready. I want everything in place for us to be ambushed by afternoon. I refuse to have my son worrying about a sneak attack. Your mate is going to be your main priority." Dad speaks up, leaving no room for argument.

"I love my mate, but I love this pack too. I will not put any of you in jeopardy. We fight together the same as we thrive together." I promise the highest ranking wolves that sit in my midst.

A groan comes from across the office and I quickly shift my eyes. Talon is still asleep but he fidgets and rubs his tummy while resting.

"Has he been doing that a lot?" Dad asks. He makes his way over to my baby and starts rubbing his back.

"All night. We barely slept. That's why I didn't wake him for the meeting."

"Remi, I think he is in labor." Dad puts his head down on Talon's chest and starts massaging his belly.

"That's impossible. We saw Dr. Gibson just 24 hours ago." I shake my head at the absurdity.

"This late in the game, nothing is impossible. I'm telling you now. This boy is in labor." Dad picks my mate up and Kai let's out a distressed growl into the air.

Dad turns to me and cocks his brow. I give him a sheepish grin while trying to hold back my wolf.

The bitch was quiet seconds ago but, now he seems to be panicking.

"I will call Jenny." Lutz let's me know.

"We have to get him to the pack hospital." Dad says. He starts moving towards the door and I follow behind him. Kai is begging to take over but, I am repressing him.

As we walk, Talon starts making these tiny grunt noises and his little face becomes flushed.

"Ok. I'm not sure how I didn't notice it before." I admit. Clearly my mate is in pain.

"It's your first time. It's definitely understandable." Dad rocks Talon carefully while we make our way down the path to our medical unit.

When we get in the door we are greeted by my mom, Mr. and Mrs Williams, Ally, Lloyd and Spence.

"Lutz informed us." Mom carefully places her hands on my mates belly.

"I would say he is having a contraction, a small one but definitely." Mom runs her hands through Talon's damp hair.

"Bring him in." Jenny waves her hand and we walk through the double doors into the patient room.

Dad sets Talon down and I take my place beside him.

"It's amazing he is still asleep." Jenny starts hooking up monitors to my mate.

"Is everything okay?" I ask worriedly.

"It is and it will be. Dr. Gibson is on his way as we speak." Jenny talks over her shoulder and continues handling the medical supplies with ease.

"Hurts." A whimper fills the air and Talon rolls into a ball. He rocks side to side and let's out another whimper.

"I know baby. I'm sorry." I whisper. I would gladly take his place if it meant he didn't have to go through this.

Dr. Gibson slips in the door and starts changing into gloves and a mask. He has scrubs on and is pulling his seat up between my mate's legs.

"I'm going to check his birth opening for dilation, then I can give us a time frame."

I wait impatiently for the news.

"He's at a two. That's good progression. I would say a couple of hours and we will welcome the future heirs of our pack." Dr. Gibson scoots back and stands up. He writes down some notes in Talon's charts. Then he leaves the room.

"Where is he going?" I rush out. My mate is in labor. His presence seems pretty damn important.

"He will be in and out. Talon has to get fully dilated before he can push. Don't worry." Jenny pats my arm and continues with working Talon over.

"Remi." Talon huffs out.

"I'm here baby. I'm not going anywhere." I promise. I card my fingers through his hair and pull him close to my body.

"It's a lot of pressure." Talon whispers.

"It will be okay, baby. You were born for this." I coo.

"No, I mean down there. I have a lot of pressure. It hurts." Talon points between his legs.

"Your body is stretching and the pups are getting into position sweetheart. Your going to be uncomfortable." Jenny bends down kissing Talon's head and another growl rips through my chest.

"Sorry." Jenny whispers.

"Me too." I roll my eyes. Now is not the time to be possessive.

"Kai is going to be territorial. It's natural." Jenny assuages.

He can just chill.

"Dad, I need to speak with you, now." I wave my hand at my father and motion my head towards the door.

"Remi. Don't leave please." Talon grabs at me.

"Jenny, I'm sending in Mom."

"And my mom." Talon almost pleads.

I nod my head and lean down to kiss him. I grab Dad's hand and pull him out of the door.

I urge our mom's to take my place and hurry out of the hospital with my father quickly behind me.

Fuck.

"Son?" Dad stops me once we are outside of the hospital.

"Hunter." I grit out in exasperation.

"Doesn't surprise me. I suggest we shift." Dad undresses on the spot and I hear his bones crackling.

I throw my clothes to the side and do the same.

We make our way to where every warrior in our pack is standing.

Lyle starts to shift and suddenly a chorus of crackling limbs and joints fills the air.

My pack spreads out and I scan the area. Satisfied with our formation, I nod my large wolf head in acceptance.

No good leader would choose personal preference over the safety of his pack.

A strong wave of pain hits me out of fucking no where and I freeze where I stand. My muscles tighten and I feel the need to be sick. I tremble where I stand.

We turn to face the direction of the incoming wolves and brace for battle.

His timing is fucking impeccable.

I hear a howl thru the morning air and know that we are seconds away from the ensuing Alpha.

I pant heavily while running to the front of our territory. If that bastard wants a fight, he came to the right place.

It happens quick and thank goddess we are ready.

Hunter leads his pack into our lands and immediately lunges for my dad. His claws grasp for air as dad bites down on his hindquarter with a dissatisfied growl. Hunter's high pitched whimper breaks through the air and dad launches him over his head. Hunter lands on his back as Austen and Reid head straight for him.

I turn left and snap at the burly blue wolf coming straight at my side. I recognize The Blood Moon Beta, Carter Jenkins. Taking no time to process anything, I kick him in his head and throw my body over his.

Pain emanates through my abdomen and I can't tell if he landed an incredibly hard kick, or Talon is echoing his labor through our bond.

I shove my claws into the beta and push him forwards. His body clatters to the ground after sailing a couple feet through the air.

I whip my head left and right to scan the area. I see that we are holding our own and dare to take a deep inhalation of breath. Worry for my love pulses through my heart.

Lutz kicks the Gamma of Blood Moon and descends down on him, canines bared and snout dripping venom. Maxwell rolls over and sweeps Lutz paws out from underneath him in an attempt to get Lutz on his back. It works momentarily before my second beta uses his paws to flip Maxewell over and begins snapping into his hip ferociously.

I hear a yelp and start running west. My heart batters against my fur when I recognize Marley, our smallest female warrior. Her body is soaring over the ground and lands with an audible thud. She doesn't get up and I take off after the cream wolf that landed the debilitating blow.

I jump through the air and land on the wolf's back, tackling him to the ground. He snaps his jowls at my neck but, I use my larger paw to subdue his neck.

The kid is a fighter and it shows. He uses his hind legs to continuously thump my lower abdomen.

Jace comes flying to my side. He skids to a halt with a cocky grin before dragging the cream wolf from underneath me and tearing into his flesh with his sharp teeth.

All around me wolves are fighting. Copious amounts of fur and blood litter the ground while the drying grass and dirt begins to puff up into little twisters. The sand storms surround the multiple pairs of wolves that are fighting between one another.

I take small steps back, carefully watching my sides while getting closer to our pack house.

The women and children are in there and I don't want to leave an opening for anyone to put them at risk.

Two smaller wolves head towards me when I feel the claws of a third make purchase in my back. I quickly flip backwards, landing my elbow on the unseen wolf's ribs.

The other two jump in and I find myself tumbling with all three in the midst of the the field directly in front of our pack house porch.

My heart stops as I hear Ally, my female Beta, let out a blood curdling scream.