Page 46 of Bad Wolf's Nanny

But Felix’s gaze was iron. And Dane knew that look. He wasn’t just being cautious.

He was being tactical.

“Fine,” Dane said at last, “but I want command on the patrols.”

Felix nodded. “You’ve got it.”

“Give me three units. I’ll take the eastern perimeter.”

Felix leaned forward. “Keep it tight, Dane. If this really is the start of something bigger, I need you alive long enough to fight it.”

Dane nodded once.

But as he turned to leave, his thoughts weren’t of Red Teeth.

They were of the woman curled up on his couch this morning, blinking sleep from her eyes.

And the baby sleeping beside her, who already had his whole heart.

Because now there was more than a territory line at stake.

There washome.

And Dane would raze the earth before he let anything threaten that.

***

The wind coming off the ridge stung sharp with the bite of early winter, carrying the scent of damp soil and pine needles. Dane stood at the eastern line of the Iron Walker territory, staring into the trees like he expected them to blink first.

Behind him, six enforcers moved in near silence—young, well-trained, but tense. Word of the Briarglen killings had already circulated. No one said it aloud, but they were all thinking the same thing.

It’s started.

Dane crouched near a fresh scrape in the earth, wolf prints. Small. Likely a scout. But they were on the right side of the border.

His jaw tightened.

So far, nothing overt had crossed into their territory. But something was out there. Watching. Testing.

Red Teeth always circled before he pounced.

Dane stood, exhaling slowly through his nose. He scanned the line again, half-listening to the radio clicks behind him. The forest ahead looked quiet. Too quiet. Nature knew when predators were near. Even the birds had gone silent.

He turned to Marcus, one of the enforcers at his flank. “Double loop around the hollow. Take Grady with you. If you catch a scent, you call it in, don’t engage. Clear?”

Marcus nodded and jogged off, low and fast through the trees, Grady on his trail.

Dane watched them go, then leaned a hand against the nearest tree trunk, grounding himself. The bark scraped against his palm, rough and real.

A few months ago, this stretch of forest had been just another checkpoint. A job. A duty.

Now?

Now it was a wall between the people he loved and something hungry waiting in the dark.

He hated that word.

Loved.