“I’m so big, Diamond,” Bree sank into a chair at the table. “I’m so big and the dress is heavy and scratchy and…”
“What do you want to do?” Mum asked, sitting down in the chair next to her and opening a few jars of the caviar so that they were ready for her when she wanted them.
“Maybe we can do it differently than how they used to,” Bree said. “I like the idea of everyone getting together and the wholewedding ceremony and stuff. Sure, if people want to dress up, let them, but it’s hot and the kids are going to play in the water after the wedding – I’m going to have to be sprayed down between the ceremony and the reception.”
Mum’s eyes lit up and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not until she said, “We could just tell everyone to come ready for sun and water.”
“Really? That would mean changing so many things, though!” Bree said.
“Well, we can tell everyone to save their fancy clothes for when the baby is born. We’ll have a party then to celebrate or when they turn one or something,” Mum said.
“Or they could wear them to my and Jade’s mating feast if they wanted to,” I offered, because some people would bitch about the sudden change in the dress code. Though, most people in the GGB had clothes for all occasions already.
Mum bit her lip and looked at me.
“I’ll help spread the word. You don’t even have to ask,” I chuckled. “Just don’t make Bree cry. I’m going to cry.”
“That’s because you’re having sympathy emotions because of Jade,” Bree sniffled.
“Speaking of, I have to go meet him at the playroom so we can have a moment alone before we need to pick up Jondi,” I said and kissed both women on the cheek before heading out the backdoor.
I had just started up the Wing Mini when Jade’s voice played through my thoughts.
“Alpha, I think I’m about to have to eat somebody!”
Maybe I should’ve told someone else or shouted over the group link but all I could do was floor the gas and try to get to my mate.
Chapter 24
Jade
Guardians of Glitter Bomb Territory
As soon as the black pickup truck pulled up, I knew they were gonna be trouble. Their plates were from outside of the territory and they didn’t have any kids in the truck with them. Almost everyone who traveled from out of town to Flight School came with their kids to show support in the face of so much online chaos and so many threats. I smelled the alpha bears before the bell above the door even chimed. Zevna and I shared a look. She pushed a button under the front desk and started ushering kids into the back. Most of their parents were here too but glancing around I didn’t see anyone who was a guard or protector. Sure, Amorti was up on the roof with another guard whose name I could never remember.
I watched them round the corner and head down the alley. Nope. They weren’t getting in that way it was closer to where the kids were than the front door. It was their way out in a pinch. I yanked on my mating link with Beryl and then set off the general alarm for the pride. I was about to do something so fuckingstupid, but I had it up to my ears with people like this pushing me around and trying to take a safe place away from flying kids.
I brought my wings out as I stepped out of the front door and locked it behind me before following them around the corner. The biggest bear shifter was yanking on the door with one hand, a bat hanging from his other. He’d done that thing where he put a sock on one end to try to keep his grip on it. The bat was made of wood, though. So, yeah I’d need my fire. None of them noticed me watching them. I should’ve known that they were too cocky. I knew the moment something slammed into my wing, hard and cracking. I fell, rolled over and kicked out with both feet just like Canton taught us all when we were kids. The soles of my shoes connected with my attacker’s shins. He was a bear too, big and tall and smelling like he’d rolled in a pile of dead fish before coming here. I kicked again when he grunted but then the other bears were there. I breathed fire, hot and steady, despite my shaking hands. I was a pregnant omega surrounded by four bear alphas. Help had to get here soon. The one with the socked bat swung it at me and I rolled, but the bat never made contact. He roared as I rolled all the way against the walls, scratching someone’s leg as I did.
Beryl’s scent was close. I looked up but the man who wrenched the arm and the bat away from the bear wasn’t my mate. A geyser of blood spewed from the bear’s shoulder, but he still swung at the dragon with the other hand. The newcomer looked sort of like him and smelled even more closely related. Beryl didn’t have any brothers. One of the other bears charged at me in the chaos but was cut off by another alpha dragon as I forced myself upright. My wing and my shoulder ached like something had cracked or splintered. I breathed slowly trying to ignore the pain. I could have it all set right later as long as I stayed alive now.
The alpha dragon grabbed the bear’s head and twisted. The bear swung but I couldn’t watch because another bear charged me and my back was against the wall. So I went down and down and down some more until I realized another geyser of blood sprayed across the alley from the bear fighting the second dragon losing his head. Was he trained by Star? Then I realized I was no longer in control of my actions. My lion had forced his way out. He was one wing down but he didn’t need wings to rip into someone. The bear shifter charged again, starting to shift, but I was already down low. I nearly tumbled over inside my lion’s inner sanctum as he pounced into the bear, hitting him before he fully shifted and outweighed us. Blood and bone filled my senses. My lion ripped into the bear’s stomach, pulling out organs and flesh and going back for more as the bear tried and failed to punch at his head.
Then someone pulled him away from me and tore him in half where I had started the rip in his middle. I roared, ready to fight someone else, but it was Beryl standing in front of me. How had he gotten here? His thoughts came in quick images over our mating link. He left the Wing Mini on the side of the road and flew here.
Then the alleyway was full of people. Too many people. I roared and tried to squeeze past legs but couldn’t. For a moment, I thought I was having a panic attack. Then the world spun and I lost track of what was going on as blackness closed around the edges of my vision.
Chapter 25
Beryl
Guardians of Glitter Bomb Territory
The alleyway was chaos! I scooped up Jade and tried to shoulder my way out. Friends of the dead alleyway bears had made their way onto the roof where Amorti and others were fighting. Part of me knew they probably needed help, but until I got Jade somewhere safe they’d have to hold on without me. I almost flew away with him until I realized the closest emergency gathering place was Glitter Bomb. I started in that direction as a head tumbled off the roof and splattered in front of my feet. I stepped over it, ignoring a new nagging sensation. My brain wasn’t processing anything correctly, because I could swear my dad was here. Only that was impossible. He never wanted anything to do with me before and I’m sure one little attack wasn’t about to change that. I’d lent my strength to wars before and the fucker never showed up.
Then I caught a glimpse of a winged man flying high and dive bombing down onto the building to land on one of the invaders. I was stunned for a second. So stunned that I almost shot fire at Carmine when he tried to tug Jade out of my arms.
“I’ll take him,” Carmine said, shaking. I almost didn’t pass Jade off to his carrier, afraid I’d never see him again, but a big amber eye opened to look back and forth between us. I nodded and I let his dad have him. Turning to help I stopped dead in my tracks.
