REID POV I sit on the edge of the hospital mattress, holding the images of my Sour Patch in my hand, staring at them with a smile as Taryn finishes changing into the clothes Maddie brought to the hospital for her. “What are you smiling at?” she asks, climbing onto the bed next to me. “Sour Patch,” I say, holding the strip of ultrasound pictures out to her. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? Sour Patch?” “Don’t you think that’s what she looks like?” I ask, peering over the top of the strip as she examines them. “Like a little sour patch kid gummy?” “I thought she looked like a gummy bear the other day when they first showed her to me,” she says, chuckling. “Nah, she’s totally a sour patch kid,” I say, shaking my head at her. “See, she already has that little cheeky smirk.” I point at the image, at what I assume is the pup’s head, although I really have no clue what is the top and what is the bottom on the black-and-white picture. “Reid, I’m eight weeks pregnant. She’s the s

REID POV “Listen, Buddy,” Dad says as he pulls away from me. His nose is tipped with pink, his eyes are puffy, and his cheeks are stained with tears. He sets his hands on my shoulders and takes a deep breath. “You should go. Spend some time with your mate.” His eyes flick to Taryn over my shoulder, and he smiles at her. I shake my head, and Taryn rubs my back. “I don’t want to leave you. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone.” “I’ll be fine,” he says, squeezing my shoulders. “Bonding with your mate is more important than—” Another coughing fit hits him, and he lets go of me, covering his mouth and gripping onto the bedding again, his knuckles turning white. Taryn moves around me and rests her hand on his arm, pulsing more of her golden healing magic into him. “We don’t mind staying,” she says, her voice cracking. “I can help ease some of your pain, at the very least.” My arm wraps around her waist and I slide closer to her, my lips kissing her shoulder. Selfless. Brave. S

REID POV Faint light pokes at the edge of my consciousness. A lean but muscular body stretches along the length of mine, smooth skin beneath my hands and held within my arms. The scent of peaches, strawberries, and peonies fills my nostrils and I smile to myself, burying my nose into the base of Taryn’s neck, placing a tiny kiss there that sends a shudder through her still sleeping body. That’s my girl. Even in her sleep, her body responds to my touch. Even in sleep, she reacts to my possessiveness, to my claim on her heart. Our once tenuous bond is stronger than I’d ever thought it would be, ready to weather whatever life throws our way. My hand moves to her stomach, just below her belly button. Her belly is still flat, not yet showing even a hint of a curve, but I know our pup is in there, growing and thriving. A pup. Our pup. My pup. My daughter. If anyone asked me three weeks ago if I thought a pup would be in my future, I’d have laughed in their face. But now, she’s all I can

REID POV I react to Dominic’s presence on instinct, shoving my mate behind me and positioning my body between the threat and her. All around me, the others do the same with their mates, growls and snarls bouncing off the mountainside, claws extending and bodies getting into protective stances. King Malachi joins Wesley in guarding Haven, the only one of us incapable of defending herself, and Aunt Gigi stands with me, guarding Taryn and Sour Patch. But instead of attacking, he falls to his knees, his eyes closing. Blood drips down his arms, stomach, neck, and thighs, falling into the pure snow and marring it with its deep red stain, expanding and growing by the second. His clothing hangs off his body in tatters, soaked through with the blood from his unhealing wounds. “Oh, Goddess, he’s hurt,” Taryn says, pushing me out of the way and running towards him. “Taryn, no!” I take off after her and grab her hand, pulling her against my chest and wrapping my other arm around her to pin her

REID POV I lower my lips to Taryn’s as my hand slides to the waistband of her leggings, her body quivering in anticipation. But I don’t kiss her. I just hover there, right above her mouth, my breath tickling her lips. Her throat bobs, her pretty neck still stretched and exposed, a feast for my eyes. Her complete submission to me in this moment awakens the primal instinct in me, the one I held back for too long after I met her. It prowls beneath my skin, demanding I claim her again and again, to make up for denying and fighting it. She shrieks as I rip her leggings from her body and toss the ruined garment aside, then reach for her boots to pull them from her feet. My claws slice down the middle of her sweater, and I push the halves aside to reveal her bare breasts, nipples already peaked and pointing straight to the ceiling atop her round tits. “Where’s your bra?” I growl, my eyes darkening. I don’t mind if she wants to free the titties, but the thought of another male seeing her