Page 63 of How to Rescue Your Surprise Baby

Telos glanced down at him in surprise. “You know that?”

Mav shrugged uncomfortably. “I did some research once.”

“Yesterday?”

“No, a few decades ago. I wanted to know if you were exaggerating the size of a pterodactyl.”

“Huh.” Delight swelled through their mental bond. “You were thinking about me.”

“You get under my skin,” Mav admitted. “I don’t know if you know that.”

Telos looked like he was smiling.

Mav tried not to focus on the view beneath them. It was one thing to fly himself, having control of his body and wings. But in his human shape, with his wings tucked inside and his feet dangling several yards above the ground, he felt horrifyingly vulnerable.

Telos’ grip was sturdy, though. He maneuvered Mav easily through the air, each beat of his great leathery wings covering more distance than Mav expected.

They were in front of the suite in moments, surveying the broken windows.

The background panic swelled into a tidal wave in Mav’s mind.

“Estie,” Telos gasped.

He dropped Mav in front of the door and shifted back into a man. Inside, sounds of fighting filled the place—crashes, thuds of flesh on flesh, creatures snarling.

Beneath all that, Mav heard the soft whimper of a baby, somewhere close. He opened the door quietly, cracking it for a visual into the room.

The alphas were engaged in fights with the invaders, four on their team against seven equally large men. The butlers were nowhere to be found.

“Let’s even out the odds first,” Mav muttered. “Keep an ear on Estie.”

Telos nodded tersely and barreled into the room after him.

The invaders were a mix of supernatural creatures. Two shadow men, one firewalker, and four silver-skinned men. Mav went immediately to the firewalker and the silver man ganging up on Crush—Crush had shifted into a large wolf, but he specialized in tracking and physical attacks. Not so much with magical defense.

The silver man melted into liquid metal when Mav threw a punch at him. Crush snapped at the man’s arm, nearly getting a mouthful of silvery liquid.

“Get away from him,” Mav snarled, knocking Crush back. That liquid metal would be fatal if it got into Crush’s body, because—

Something ripped wetly, and loudly.

From the corner of his eye, Mav glimpsed a large human body emerging from the torn throat of a shadow man. Telos landed on his feet with a grimace, blood streaking down his chest. “Ugh.”

The thing was, that exact same situation could happen to Crush, if the silver man had solidified inside Crush’s throat. Or any of their bodies.

Crush growled, refusing to back down. He didn’t have the upper hand here though. Mav would’ve felt bad, except he was too busy breathing the hottest blue flames on the silver man. Ace and Raptor were doing the same to two others.

Duke punched his fist through the other shadow person, only to have shadowy spikes shoot up his arm. The next thing Mav knew, Telos was ripping his way out of that shadow man’s chest, bloody but triumphant.

There was something inexplicably hot about him, tearing through villains so easily.

Mav’s silver man bubbled and screamed. Then the firewalker hooked his flaming arm around Mav’s throat, choking him with a headlock.

Crush snarled and leaped at the firewalker, sinking his fangs into the man’s arm even though it burned him. He tore away a large chunk of flesh, leaving the man screaming.

It was enough of an opening. Mav swung a punch at the man’s head, stunning him so his chokehold loosened. Crush leaped at the man again. This time, he tore out the firewalker’s throat.

Between the three of them, Ace, Raptor, and Duke took down the remaining silver men, leaving a melted puddle of metal on the carpeted floor.

---