Alpha Ian's The One and Only

Chapter 11

Natasha's P.O.V.

Ian was angry. Not just 'someone spilt their coffee on me' or 'why is the report not ready' angry. He is 'I can kill an entire army single-handedly' angry. He is silently sitting in the middle of the couch, his head down and eyes closed.

We were now sitting in the living room. Creed is hovering over Claire, while she coaxes Bri into talking. Bri was in the panic room surrounded by her toys and colouring books, but she was aware something had happened. Something has set everyone on edge, and this scared her. It's no surprise that Bane is there right next to her. Liam is making coffee; he said he needed something strong to drink, and alcohol was out of the question because he was underage.

The surprise was the Johnsons. Not only Slade but Callan and Ace had come to our aide and are now sitting in the available chairs. Soon after the fight, I asked Slade who was with their mates, and he assured me that the Warrens were standing guard. The other Taggart weres were handling the bodies and cleaning up the area.

I cautiously took a step toward a very angry alpha. "Ian." He looked up. His eyes were switching between amber and golden yellow. He didn't say anything, so I tried to explain our actions logically.

"We know you had things under control on the ground, but there were snipers in the trees. I thought if we could take out the snipers, it would be safer for you, Creed and Bane. We took all the precautions. The table I used as the shield has a bulletproof material, which dad had specially prepared for whatever reason, but his time in the army made him extra cautious. The shields Liam and Claire used are also army grade."

"You should have stayed in the room where I put you." He growled. "You endangered the children and yourself unnecessarily. Don't you care for them? How can you be so reckless?"

And there goes my logic and calm out of the window. I understand that when people are angry, they say things they don't mean, but this is uncalled. Everything I did was with the children's best interests in mind. I always put them forth. And Ian knows this. How dare he accuse me of being reckless? He has no right to talk to me like that.

Before I could say anything, Liam slammed the mug on the kitchen counter and said, "Don't talk to her like that. She wanted us to be safe, away from the fight, but we decided to help you three. Our father and granddad taught us how to shoot and fight back. We are not just going to hide when our home is under attack."

"Strong alone, Stronger together," Claire said, looking at Ian, "something our granddad used to say. Even though you three could fight the soldiers off, you still called for backup. Maybe as a precaution, but you did because you knew they have the advantage in numbers. We three were your backup for the time being."

"That's not the point. The women and children are to be protected and kept safe. And you put yourself in danger," Creed said, staring at Claire. Even he is angry.

"When the situation arises, they join the fight. There have been historical accounts of women participating in battles. Each one fought to defend their home and their country," Claire countered.

"Human females, not our women," Creed said, folding his arms across his chest.

"We are humans, not werewolves. And this is our home, not yours. We can do what we want," Liam said, mimicking Creed's stance.

This argument is going nowhere. No amount of explanation is going to calm Ian down. He is angry because I went against his order. Well, he can suck it up, because the Shaws don't stand in the background.

I left Ian to his brooding and went to the kitchen to make something for everyone to eat. We skipped lunch, so everyone must be hungry, especially Bri.

I scoped down to Bri's eye level and asked, "Spaghetti and chicken meatballs, monkey?" She nodded but remained snuggled in Claire's arms.