Alpha’s War (Bad Boy Alphas Book 7)

Denali

A breeze blows through my kitchen, carrying the scent of wildflowers. They wave on the slope, thousands of them, multi-colored blooms that blossomed overnight, after the rains.

I stand barefoot at the counter, shifting my weight from side to side as I stir a batch of peanut butter cookies. The timer dings—the first batch is done. I set it out and give the dishcloth a little wave, sending the scent wafting out the screened door—a scent no man, or lion, can resist.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, two figures appear, striding back toward the house. Halfway down the slope, Nash stoops down and picks up our son. At four years old, Nolan’s gotten big, but his dad has broad shoulders. Broad enough to bear my mark. Broad enough to bear our son… and soon, our daughter.

I smile wider as Nash pauses, bending carefully to pick a handful of wildflowers.

“These are your mother’s favorite,” he tells Nolan, handing them up for our boy to carry. I lean too close to the counter and Nadia kicks in protest.

I drop my hands to my rounded belly.

“Not long now,” I whisper. Her father already calls her princess, just as he calls me his queen.

The pack calls Nolan the little prince, and they still call him king of the beasts—but only to tease him. He barely allows the pack calling him Alpha, though I think he likes it more than he lets on. But no, he insists he’s just Nash. Or Denali’s mate. Or, to Nolan, and soon Nadia, daddy.

He takes care of us all—his family and his pack.

We all continue to operate under the radar, just in case the government decides to come looking for any of us. But they’ve turned The Pit into something slightly more attractive—a biker bar style tavern called The Jungle—to serve as better cover for the fight club.

Nash fights, but only once a week. The rest of the time, he’s handyman to me, the tavern, and now much of the neighborhood.

He’s garnered fame as a fighter throughout all of North America and gets invited to all kinds of shifter games and events. Most of them he turns down. He won’t leave me and Nolan again, not even for a night or two.

He and Nolan bump into the cottage, and Nolan presents me with the wildflowers. Nash sweeps around behind me and puts his hands on my belly, his lips on my neck. I lean back into him.

It’s times like these I miss my family—my grandfather and aunt who raised me. I would’ve liked them to know how happy I am. How much of them I see in the way I parent. The way I view life. But I can’t dwell on my losses. Because my gains are too big.

I have Nash.

I have Nolan.

Soon, I’ll have Nadia.

And together, we’re our own pride.

No one will keep us down. Not ever again.