Page 49 of Pregnant Kidnapped Mate

But nothing happened. Everything was silent as we moved through the house, and it seemed like we might just get out of here in one piece.

It wasn’t until we got out of the house that something went wrong.

A yell shattered the silence, and before I could react or do anything, Iris screamed as a sharp, stabbing pain pierced my shoulder.

I grunted, spinning around to see Jason. I took a step closer to him, fully intending to swipe at him, but then I staggered, falling to all fours.

“Have fun with that,” Jason jeered. “It has wolfsbane on it.”

I believed him. My body suddenly felt heavy, and it was hard to get up. It had taken long enough to fight off the effects from the bullet, and I was still recovering. A second dose now was close to a death sentence. The only reason it wasn’t was because there had been some time since I’d been shot.

“Jason, don’t—” Iris said, but Jason wasn’t listening. He already had another knife in his hand, ready to strike.

“Relax, sis,” Jason said. “I’ll deal with you in a minute. Just because this asshole killed Dad doesn’t mean anything’s changed. Just who’s in charge.” He gave a feral, predatory grin. “And that’s me.”

He jabbed downward. I rolled out of the way, the blade grazing my shoulder.

“Jason, stop!”

Jason shoved his sister away, and she stumbled backward.

“You and your kind should have stayed away from my sister,” Jason hissed at me. “We might have let you live for a bit longer. I’m going to enjoy this.”

“Don’t you hurt him,” Iris snarled, brandishing the kitchen knife we’d taken. Her hands trembled, and she was paler than normal, but the look in her eyes told me she meant business. She stared her brother down. “Don’t you hurt him, Jason, or I swear I’ll stab you myself.”

Her brother’s laugh boomed in the open air. “You haven’t been able to hurt a fly before, Iris. And I’ve seen you try,” he jeered. “You think you’ll be able to stab your own brother?”

She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t think I would do anything to protect Alek and my babies? Then try me.”

“Iris, don’t—” I began.

“I know what I’m doing,” she cut me off. But did she? If that second blade was poisoned with wolfsbane as well, a single scratch could kill her. It poisoned shifters, but it killed humans outright. Iris was putting her and our babies at risk. “Trust me on this.”

Jason snorted, rolling his eyes. He took one last glance at me before lunging toward his sister, knife outstretched. She darted out of the way, nimble despite the fact that she was showing. Jason stumbled past her, trying to get his footing. He lashed out with the knife again, but her arm was already there to block it. He stabbed again, and she dodged once more. Every thrust of his knife was blocked or dodged with ease as she danced gracefully, her own knife still clutched in her hand.

I watched in amazement as the poison pumped through me. She was incredible. It was as if—

As if she knew what her brother was going to do before he did it.

I started laughing. God, I loved this woman. She was fighting for herself, me, and our cubs.

Jason heard the laughter, and his head whipped toward me. His eyes widened a second too late as he realized what was really happening. He spun as if about to run, knowing he couldn’t win—

Iris’s blade slid into his back, straight where his heart was. Staggering briefly, Jason fell to his knees before collapsing face-first into the dirt and going still.

“Are you all right?” Iris ran over to me, lifting me up to a seated position.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Poison’ll run its course, and I’ll be good as new. Klyte keeps a couple of antidotes on hand for cases like this, so I’ll be able to get it taken care of once we get back. But, Iris…” I took her hand, squeezing it tight as I beamed up at her. “That was incredible! I can’t believe you just did that. You were using your powers in almost real time to make the perfect move. I didn’t realize your powers had developed that much.”

“I hadn’t, either,” Iris admitted, blushing. “But I guess the thought of him coming after you or the babies made it so I was able to do it.”

“It was incredible,” I said. Giving a breathless laugh, I shook my head and pulled her closer. “Come here, you.”

Her lips were warm and soft. If I had the time or the energy, I might have fucked her right there. But my body ached, and I could tell by the look in Iris’s eyes that she was exhausted, too.

“Before we go,” I said, “I need you to know how much I love you. You are, without a doubt, the best thing that’s happened to me. I’m not really great at these sorts of things, but I want you to know that I love you for you. And I will always be there for you.”

Iris beamed. Her eyes began to water, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. “I love you, too, Alek,” she said. “And I’m sorry I ever worried about you being a shifter or how this would work out between us. I should have trusted you and known you would never hurt me.”

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