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“Fuck,” I cuss under my breath, feeling my cock harden. She does it so effortlessly. She’s easily the sexiest woman I've ever seen. Everybody here must be after her.

My wolf growls at the thought. Yeah, no one better have touched her. I walk in her direction, but I notice she’s been talking to someone else. A man. I suppress my growl and keep moving, but she leaves before I make it to the counter.

Is she hiding from me? Is she Mated to him? Red flashes in my vision. It better not be that.

The bartender who replaces Hazel, welcomes me. But he sees my distracted gaze, trained on the path Hazel took. Then the man she was talking to goes outside as well. I'm trying to suppress my rage. “That’s Eldon’s girl. From Nightclaw, they say.”

The words hit me like a blow, my wolf growling low in my chest. Eldon’s girl?

A surge of fury courses through me, but it’s quickly swallowed by something colder. Betrayal.

I shove the feeling aside, locking it down as I step out of the bar into the alley. Whatever it is, she has some explaining to do.

My head reels. What if she is the reason Eldon had been in Broadstone all this time?

She betrayed our bond. She let another male touch her.

Why was I even going out after her? It’s clear she doesn’t care about me or our connection anymore.

The nights spent awake looking for her, she must have been in Eldon’s arms, whispering sweet nothings to him.

The image of her in his arms, like she had once been in mine, flashes in my mind, and my wolf snarls, low and ugly.

I scan the dark alley to the side of the bar, my senses sharp as I catch movement near the far wall. My eyes narrow as I make out the figures—a group of rogue bear shifters and a pair of vampires, their predatory laughter echoing off the brick.

In the middle of them is a woman. I don’t need to see her face to know it’s Hazel. My entire body reacts to her presence, the bond thrumming like a live wire.

“Come on, sweetheart,” one of the bear shifters growls, his voice low and menacing. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“I said no,” Hazel snaps, her voice steady despite the tension in her posture.

The vampire closest to her chuckles, baring his fangs in a cruel grin. “We’re just following orders, little bird. No need to get hostile.”

I only hear a fragment of their words, but rage ignites in my chest, white-hot and unrelenting.

How dare they touch her, put their hands on her?

My wolf roars, demanding I tear them apart, but I force myself to stay focused.

I shouldn’t be saving her. But then I remember why I’m here.

If she belongs to Eldon, then she must know his plans.

I have to take her back to Moonfang. She has information that our security teams need.

“Back off,” I warn, my voice low and even as I approach them. My boots crunch against the gravel, drawing their attention.

The bears turn first, their eyes narrowing as they size me up. The vampires follow, their movements fluid and predatory.

“This isn’t your business,” one of the bears growls, his tone edged with a challenge.

I step closer, my gaze locking onto Hazel’s.

Her storm-gray eyes widen as she recognizes me, a flicker of shock flashing across her face before she schools her expression.

I can see her desire for me, I feel it through our bond.

I want her just as much. The guilt of how much she suffered weighs down on me.

She must have blamed me for a long time.

But she's gotten together with another male.

How could she? She should be with me! She hid from me, evading my efforts to find her.

I should be maiming her for having the audacity to do that, but my instincts are only to protect her right now.

“I’ll only say this once.” The feelings raging through me propel me. “Let her go. ”

The vampire sneers, his fangs glinting in the dim light. “And who are you to give orders?”

I meet his gaze, letting my Alpha aura roll off me in waves. The weight of it presses against the air, heavy and suffocating, and the rogues falter.

“That’s who,” Hazel says, her voice laced with dry amusement despite the tension in her stance.

The bears exchange glances, their earlier confidence wavering. But the vampire steps forward, his grin widening. The arrogant prick.

“Alpha or not, you’re outnumbered,” he says, his tone smug.

I don’t bother replying. Instead, I lunge, my claws flashing as I grab him by the throat and slam him against the wall.

The sound of his head cracking against the brick is satisfying, but I don’t stop there.

My claws sink into his skin, and he hisses in pain, his fangs snapping uselessly.

The bloodlust bubbles beneath my veins. At least I can let out all that anger on these fuckers.

The bears move to attack, but Hazel is faster. She shifts partially, her claws slashing out in a blur of motion. One of the bears stumbles back, clutching his arm, and she steps into the gap, her movements precise and fluid.

For a moment, I’m struck by how much she’s changed.

She’s always been a warrior, but now there’s a sharpness to her, a fierceness that wasn’t there before.

Her wolf still doesn’t offer as strong a presence as it did that night two years ago.

It’s like it hasn't grown since then. But I can feel her wolf, and something else.

There's something holding her wolf back from fully shifting.

We make quick work of the rogues, their snarls and curses fading into the night as they retreat. The vampire in my grip struggles weakly, and I throw him to the ground, my claws retracting as I turn to Hazel.

She’s breathing hard, her eyes glowing faintly as she watches me warily. There is blood all over her, and I can’t be sure if she is injured or if it is the rogues' blood.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, her voice sharp.

“I could ask you the same,” I reply with a cold tone.

Her jaw tightens, but she doesn’t answer. Instead, she brushes past me, heading for the bar. The wind carries her scent, wild berries mixed with the tang of fresh cider from the bar. Familiarity settles in my chest. I can't let her get away.

I grab her arm, stopping her in her tracks. She stumbles back into me, but she tries to yank her arm free and turns to look at me with a growl. The contact sends a jolt through me. I want to keep her against my skin, but I feel my grip tighten instead, not wanting to let her go.

“Let go,” she snaps, her voice low and dangerous, but her breathing is labored. She glares at me, her storm-gray eyes flashing with anger. “I don’t owe you anything, Kieran.”

Her words cut deeper than I expected, but I don’t let it show. She's right. She owes me nothing after I chose to act on half-assed information rather than believe her. But still, she had no right to disrespect our bond that way.

“The bartender called you Eldon’s mate,” I say, the accusation sharp on my tongue, hating the very sound of it.

Hazel stiffens, her gaze hardening. “That’s none of your business.”

My wolf growls, his fury and jealousy bubbling to the surface, mixing with the pull of our bond, the need to mark her so no one else dares come near her. She’s ours.

“It is my business,” I say, yanking her closer. “If you’re working with him—”

“I’m not,” she snaps, cutting me off. “But I guess it’s easier for you to assume the worst, isn’t it?

Typical,” she spits. Her words hit their mark, and I release her arm, my jaw tightening.

Her spitfire attitude spreads a warmth across my chest. Her fire draws me to her like a moth to flame.

And like the moth is bound to be destroyed, I will not let her be used by Eldon as the flame that vanquishes me and my pack.

“I’m taking you with me,” I say, my voice leaving no room for argument.

Her eyes widen, and she lets out a bitter laugh.

“You think you can just order me around like I’m part of your pack?

You lost that chance, buster.” I wish she were part of my pack.

But now, she's made sure she's not worthy of it.

No matter how I want to shut her up by crashing my lips against hers, no matter much I want to extinguish that fire by touching her body in the way I know she likes, that she needs.

But I have to focus on why I'm here. Eldon’s attack is looming.

And she is the key to diffusing the threat.

“This isn’t a choice,” I say, my tone cold. “You’re coming back to Moonfang.”

“Why?” she demands, her voice rising. “So you can accuse me of treason again? Or maybe just lock me away this time to avoid the hassle?”

I step closer now so that there is barely any space between us.

She is back against the wall. My eyes trail down her slender neck where her pulse races, to the rise and fall of her chest. I lean in closer, catching the scent in the crook of her neck, resisting the urge to nuzzle against her, like down to her cleavage.

Instead, I say in her ear, lowering my voice.

“Because Eldon is a threat to my pack. And if you’re tied to him in any way, you are also a threat.

” I don't need to explain all of this to her.

But before I can say anything more, I see her go pale.

“Hazel?”

I catch her before she falls to the ground. She isn’t healing. I see the mark on her shoulder where the rogues tore her top. Realization dawns on me as to why I could sense the weakness of her wolf. The mark is a wolf seal. Her wolf is sealed away.

Holding her in my arms makes her feel like she’s mine again.

Like we could continue from where we left off.

But she can’t be mine anymore. Not after fucking around with Eldon.

My desire for her clashes with the betrayal that I feel.

I hold back the dark urges creeping up inside me, my mouth still tainted with blood lust. And with a dangerous need.

But for the sake of my pack, Hazel is just a means to an end. She only has to come back with me.