“We have a situation, Valerius,” he said sternly. “A group of Daimons are after a Katagaria pack and they have women in labor-”

“Where do you need me?”

Ash smiled. The Roman had his moments. Good and bad. Luckily, this was a good one.

“I’ll be right there.” Ash hung up the phone. He dashed into a nearby doorway where no one could see him and flashed to Val’s side in his mansion.

Valerius did a double take at seeing Ash in his living room before the Roman could even return his cordless phone to its pedestal. Dressed in a black Armani suit and black silk shirt, and with his shoulder-length dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, Valerius was the epitome of a privileged, well-bred man.

Patrician to the end.

The only hint of shock Valerius showed was a slight arching of his right brow.

“We don’t have time for conventional means of transportation,” Ash explained.

Before Val could ask him what he meant, Acheron grabbed him and they materialized close to the Katagaria den.

Val scowled at him. “How did you do that? Are you some odd Were-Hunter hybrid like Ravyn?”

Ash gave a dark half-laugh. None of the Dark-Hunters knew he was a god and he really wanted to keep it that way. The less they knew about him and his sordid past the better. “Long story. The pertinent part is that I have to be careful using my powers around the pregnant Katagaria. If the pregnant wolves are forced into human form by my powers, it’ll kill them and their babies instantly. So, I’m fighting strictly hands-on as a human just to be safe. Your powers aren’t ionically charged so you should be safe to fight as always.”

Val nodded in understanding.

Acheron manifested his warrior’s staff, then led Val toward the den.

The camp was in total chaos as the males, mostly in human form, tried to gather up the pregnant wolves and pups and move them without using their magic.

Vane and Fang stood over a pregnant wolf in labor while another male, who bore a striking resemblance to Vane, knelt by her side. The man was quite a bit older than the brothers.

It was Markus.

Ash remembered him well. The ruthless Katagari ruler hated everyone outside the pack.

Then again, Ash amended, as he looked at Vane and Fang, their father hated many who were in the pack as well. Including his own sons.

“Do us proud, Anya,” Markus said sternly. “Know I will raise your pups under my full protection.”

The wolfswan whined.

Their father stood up and raked a sneer over Vane and Fang. “This is your fault. I curse the day I ever had werewolf sons.”

Fang growled at the insult that implied they were more human than animals, and started for his father, but Vane caught him.

Markus curled his lips. “You’d best protect her young. The gods better help you both if something happens to them.” He stalked off toward the others.

Acheron and Val headed toward the brothers.

“What are you doing here?” Vane demanded as soon as he saw them. “I told you we can handle this.”

Acheron planted the end of his staff in the ground and eyed him with a patience he didn’t really possess. “Don’t play hero, Vane. The last thing you need is to fight Daimons off your back while Anya labors.”

Vane narrowed his eyes at them. “Do you know anything about delivering a baby?”

Ash nodded. “I do indeed. I’ve helped deliver more than my fair share of them over the last eleven thousand years. Human and otherwise.”

In spite of his earlier words, Vane appeared relieved by Ash’s answer.

Vane looked at Val. “What about you?”

Val’s answer was as out of character for him as his presence here. “I don’t know nothing about birthing puppies, Miss Scarlett, but I can cleave the head off a Daimon without breaking a sweat.”

“All right, you can both stay.” Vane crouched down beside his sister and nuzzled her snout with his face while the she-wolf panted and whined. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m not going to leave you.”

Ash sat down by her side and held his hand out for her to sniff him. “I’m a friend, Anya,” he said gently. “I know you’re in pain, but we’re going to stay with you and help you deliver your young.”

She looked up at Vane who made wolf noises back to her.

A loud curse sounded.

“Vane!” Fang shouted. “We got gators moving in all over the place.”

Ash smiled. “It’s okay. They’re with me. They won’t attack you unless you hit them.”

Fang cocked his head in doubt. “You sure? They don’t look friendly to me.”

“Positive.”

The last of the Katagaria pack moved out, except for two. Ash had seen them both before, but he didn’t know them…

No, not entirely true. Since he could see into their minds and hearts, he knew instantly that the blond one was Vane and Fang’s brother. A brother neither of them knew they had.

The dark-haired wolf was a friend. Liam.

Fang narrowed his gaze at them as they joined the brothers. “What are you doing?”

Fury shrugged. “Wolves don’t fight alone.”

“Since when do you give a shit?”

Fury glanced quickly to Anya and Ash felt not only his pain, but his longing to be counted among their siblings. It was so raw and deep that it brought an ache to his own chest.

It was also a pain he could more than relate to.

“You two need a level head to help fight.” Fury indicated him and Liam. “That’s us.”

Vane looked up. “Leave them alone, Fang. If they want to stay, let them. The more we have to help protect Anya, the better.”

Fang stepped back while the other two wolves gave them distance. They went to stand off to the side with Val and the gators while Ash, Fang, and Vane were huddled over Anya.

The quiet stillness of the swamp was broken only by Anya’s pants and whines.

As they waited, Ash felt the grief in Vane’s eyes. He remembered a time when he’d listened to his own sister’s screams as she birthed her baby. There was nothing more disturbing.

But all that faded when the first cries of the baby were heard. Then the focus became one of joy at the new life that had been created.

“She’ll be fine,” Val assured the brothers as he noticed their discomfort as well. “We’ll get her through this.”

“No,” Vane said, shaking his head. “All we can hope for is to save her puppies. As soon as the last one leaves her body, she’ll die.”

Val frowned at him. “Don’t be so fatalistic.”

A muscle worked in Vane’s jaw. “I’m not, Dark-Hunter. She was claimed by her mate. They bonded their life forces. Had she not been pregnant and carrying new life when he died, she’d have died with him. As soon as the puppies are born, she’ll be off to join him on the other side.”

Ash’s stomach drew tight in sympathetic grief as he heard the pain in Vane’s voice. He knew how much Anya meant to both of her brothers. He also knew what was about to happen and though he wanted to change it, he knew he couldn’t. Fate was what it was and in trying to avert it, he could worsen the outcome for all of them. “I’m sorry, Vane.”

“Thanks.” Vane brushed his hand through his sister’s white coat.

Fang sat off to the side, his gaze haunted as he remained silent. How rare for him not to be making offhand and even asinine comments. That told Ash more than anything just how upset Fang was.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a horde of Daimons attacked.

Vane shot to his feet to confront them. “I don’t know how to birth the cubs,” he told Ash. “You stay with her and I’ll fight.”

Ash nodded and remained crouched by Anya as she snapped and whined.

Fang transformed into a wolf, his stronger form, to fight, as did Liam and Fury, but Vane remained human.

Ash heard the Daimons scream as they found the alligators lying in wait for them.

Anya began thrashing as the fight broke out. Ash kept his attention focused on the she-wolf and only looked up to make sure the Daimons weren’t making their way any closer to Anya.