Austin took a step forward. “I’m Austin Cole. Former bounty hunter, Packmaster, and the man who will put you in the ground if you lay one finger on my mate.”
“Fair enough. Since we’re out of earshot, I can tell you that my men don’t know why I’m here. They don’t question my orders. Between us, I detest the idea of my only flesh and blood fighting on the losing side of a Shifter war. I would be very upset to find out her blood had been spilled or she’d been taken in as someone’s bitch—especially in her delicate condition.”
“I’m nobody’s bitch,” I spat out.
He gave a sardonic smile and slanted his gaze my way. “I’m giving you an opportunity to live. I’ll keep you protected.”
But his cold gaze belied his words.
“You’re crazy if you think we’re on the losing side.”
He reached up with his right hand and stroked his thick beard. “We’ve done the head count. There are more of us than there are you. We’re not counting local rogues since they’ll either join us or keep out of our business. It’s your land we want, not theirs.”
“There’s a For Sale sign up the road. Why don’t you put in a bid for it like everyone else?”
He shook his head. “You have your mother’s short temper.”
Lorenzo stepped forward and pointed at Judas. “Speak ill of my family again, and we’ll start this war now.”
I stood there, bewildered. Lately I’d been wondering about my father, and now the sheer horror of that truth was sinking in. I was the daughter of a man who wanted to slaughter my family in the name of greed. I’d always imagined him as a drifter who now probably ran a gas station or lived in the Canadian mountains. The shameful truth made me want to run as far as I could from my pack.
I lowered my eyes, unable to hold his gaze. “You can’t be my father.”
“You and I know this to be true,” he said, his voice unwavering. “Come with me if you want your baby to live, or stay here and die in the arms of your mate.” Then he lifted his eyes to Austin. “You should think about this carefully, Packmaster. Put your pride aside, and consider that I’m offering your mate protection. If you care for her, then you’ll see this offer for what it is—a gift.”
“Take one more step, and I’ll break your leg,” Austin began. “I don’t care if you’re the messiah; no one is taking Lexi anywhere. No one can protect her better than I can. Are you stupid enough to believe your men would keep her safe? No man will give up his life for another because he was ordered to. I’ll die for her.”
Judas stepped forward. “Promise?”
“A true Shifter doesn’t turn on his own kind—slaughtering them like cattle so he can have a little land.”
“Why should I give a man my loyalty because he is like me? I have brown hair, so does that mean I should defend all my brunette brethren? You’re a foolish dog if you think your packmates are worth dying for. Blood is thicker than water,” he said obliquely. “How will you feel about your choice when your baby dies in her belly? Do you even know if it’s yours?”
Ivy’s cane made a sharp whistle as she swung it. Inches before it struck Judas in the head, he caught it with his hand and jerked it forward. Lorenzo seized Judas by the wrist, and several men advanced toward our private huddle.
When Austin moved with fire in his eyes, I shouted, “Stop!”
I had to do the right thing—the only thing that would guarantee the safety of my child. This needed to end.
I reached out and lowered Ivy’s cane, coaxing everyone to step back. I met Judas’s eyes and released a heavy breath. “I’ll never go with you. The only man I trust to protect my child is Austin.”
“I have contemplated this for many months, and when word spread about the peace party, I knew it was fate that we finally meet. There are fewer eyes and ears around the city with so many here tonight, and it created the perfect opportunity. This is the only time I’ll make this offer, Talulah.”
“My name’s Alexia, and you’re not my father. If you have any delayed guilt, then you’re wasting your time. I’d always hoped you would be someone I could look up to, but I should have known that any man willing to abandon his unborn child—regardless of the circumstances—wasn’t a man I wanted to know.”
“Very well.”
“Why don’t you stop this war, and we’ll work something out?” I asked.
He smiled ruefully. “You can’t stop inevitability. These men thirst for blood, and even if I were to abandon them, they’ll come for you and strip your packs down to nothing. If you flee, we won’t chase you. That’s an option you should all consider in these last hours before war, but I can’t promise rogues in other states won’t be inspired to rise up against the packs.”
“Why should you care what happens to me? All you ever were was a cautionary tale of how not to be a father.”
“The only thing I knew about you was your name and that you existed. It wasn’t until I came here that I ran into a few members from your mother’s old pack, and maybe now I feel the need to protect what’s mine. Like it or not, you’re a part of me.”