Page 78 of The Reaper's Vow

She nods, understanding the strategy without me having to explain. The sheet falls away as she moves toward my closet, and I force myself to look away. If I watch her naked form any longer, we won't make it to my father's office, and Lockhart's people will be the least of our problems.

“Ten minutes,” I remind her. “I'll be back to escort you.”

I slip out before she can respond, closing the door firmly behind me. The hallway feels cold after the warmth of her presence. My wolf hates every step that takes me away from her.

The compound buzzes with activity as I make my way toward my father's study. Pack members move with purpose, weapons visible at their sides. My father's elite guard stands at attention near every entrance, their faces grim with anticipation. Word travels fast in wolf packs—everyone knows something is about to happen.

Gabriel waits outside my father's door, his expression carefully neutral as I approach. “He's been asking for you.”

I shove through the heavy oak doors without waiting for permission. My father sits behind his desk, maps spread across its surface like battle plans.

“Damien.” He doesn't look surprised by my entrance, though his jaw tightens at my lack of protocol. “I trust you've heard about our...visitors.”

“I've heard.” I don't sit, preferring to loom over his desk with my hands braced against the polished wood. “And I'm telling you now—Karina doesn't leave this compound.”

Hudson’s laugh is sharp, humorless. “You forget yourself, boy. This is still my territory. My pack. My decisions.”

“She’s mine. Decisions where she’s concerned are not yours to question.”

“Is she?” His stare pins me, heavy with challenge. “The full moon is still?—”

“It’s done.” The words drop like a blade. “Claimed and recognized by the Moon Goddess herself.”

The air tightens between us. I watch my father’s face shift—shock hardening into disbelief, then twisting into a hunger that sets my wolf on edge.

“Prove it.”

I tug the collar of my shirt down, exposing the raw symbol burning against my skin. It’s changed since yesterday—darker, more defined, alive with a faint glow that declares exactly what I’ve become. For the first time in my life, my father doesn’t look unshakable. He looks afraid.

I let the fabric fall back into place, hiding the evidence from his lingering stare. “Is that enough for you?” My voice comes out low, steady. “She’s under my protection now. Not yours. Not the pack’s. Mine.”

He circles his desk with deliberate steps. I can almost see the wheels turning—how this changes his plans, his ambitions, his schemes to use Karina to reclaim Rosewood territory. Always moving pieces into place. But that ends here.

“This is… unexpected,” he admits. “But it changes nothing about our current situation. Lockhart’s demanding to see her.”

“And you’re going to tell him to fuck off.”

His laugh cuts sharp as a whip. “You think it’s that simple?”

“Make it that simple or lose your only heir and everything that comes with him.”

“You insolent child,” he snarls.

“Threaten me again,” I growl, stepping closer, “and see what happens.”

“You forget who you’re speaking to.”

“No. You forget who you’re speaking to. I’m not the boy you sent away to be broken and rebuilt. I’m the Reaper. I’ve killed for less.”

His nostrils flare, catching the shift in my scent—the transformation from son to predator. For a heartbeat, he wavers. Then his Alpha nature rises, rigid and unyielding.

“You would challenge me? In my own territory?”

“If you come for her again, I won’t just challenge you. I’ll put you down and burn this legacy to the ground.”

The study door creaks open behind me, her scent rushing in before her words.

“That won’t be necessary.”