Page 34 of The Billionaire Alpha's Surprise Baby

“I-I don’t know,” Ava stammers. Her face looks pale in the orange-y glow of the street lamps, and I dip my head down to press an ear to her belly.

Instantly, I hear the loud rush of blood, which sounds sort of like a washing machine. Her stomach gurgles as it digests her food, but then I hear something else — the rapid flutter of the baby’s heartbeat.

“She’s alive,” I breathe, awestruck at hearing my pup’s heartbeat for the very first time. My own blood is coursing through the young one’s veins as it grows inside my mate. It’s like looking through a keyhole and seeing the entire universe contained within.

“How do you —”

But Ava never gets a chance to finish her question. I catch a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye just as a huge silver wolf bounds over the wrecked car.

Robert.

I roll out of his path and land on my feet, ripping off my shirt as the change overtakes me. My wolf growls in delight as my nails lengthen into claws and my body transforms into a living weapon.

Ava’s scream rends the air a second before Robert tackles me mid-shift, sinking his fangs into my neck. A human cry rips from my throat as blood spurts from the wound, but my body is quickly being remade.

Fire laps at my flesh as I skid over gravel. It’s fucking agony on my newborn skin, but I know it will soon be over.

I slash at Robert, and he jerks back as claws rake across his muzzle. I feel my wound already beginning to heal as fur covers my body.

Bounding up on four legs, I throw myself at Robert. All the terror and rage I felt on the drive here rise to the surface, distilled into the animal impulse to rip this motherfucker’s throat out so he can never harm my mate again.

Blood coats the inside of my mouth as my fangs sink through Robert’s thick fur. I shake him as easily as a dog would shake a dead rabbit, tossing him to the side and sending him crashing into a metal lamp post.

There’s a nasty thung as his body makes contact, denting the steel post. I can still see his chest rising and falling, but I know he’s badly hurt.

A low growl rumbles up my throat as I stalk over to where he lays. The silver wolf whines and tries to move his legs, but his spine is broken.

In the animal world, there’s no such thing as mercy. There’s only kill or be killed.

If it had been anyone else, my human half might have been able to override my wolf and spare Robert’s life, but the bastard tried to kill my mate and my unborn child.

He doesn’t deserve to live.

In one swift motion, I clamp my jaws around his neck and rip his throat out with my teeth. I keep my furry body between Ava and the silver wolf, but I know she sees the spurt of blood as it splatters the nearby pavement.

Robert goes still as blood pours from the wound, staining the gravel red.

Once I’m finished, the killing energy drains out of me at once, leaving only concern for my mate.

I turn to face Ava, who’s cowering by the car, staring at me with terror in her eyes.

Chapter Twelve

Garrett

Slowly, I let the change overtake me, bone by bone, tooth by tooth. It’s agony to draw it out this way, but I want her to really see it. I want her to understand.

I hold back a groan as my spine reshapes itself, forcing me onto two legs. My joints pop as forelegs become arms, and I watch the fur recede from my body.

A moment later, I stand before her as a man, and Ava’s eyes go wide. I take a slow step in her direction and hear her heartbeat ratchet up a notch.

“You’re a . . .” She swallows, as if she can’t bring herself to say it.

“Wolf shifter,” I finish for her.

“Did you just . . .” Ava’s brows knit together, and she looks as though she might be sick. “Is he . . . dead?”

“Yes,” I growl, my tone devoid of any remorse. “He tried to kill you and our baby. He deserved to die.”

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