7. Beta's Objection

Damon POV

“She’s out there again.”

I didn’t even look up from my report. “Out where?”

My beta, Caden, sounded bitter. Angry.

“The training grounds. East clearing.”

“She’s blind,” he added flatly. “But she’s out there, moving like she isn’t.”

I set the report down. “And?”

“She’s… fast. Too fast. You should see it for yourself.”

That piqued my interest. I stood, stretching the stiffness out of my shoulders. “Fine. Let’s go.”

He hesitated. “Alpha, I think you should be cautious. She’s unpredictable.”

I shot him a look. “Watch your place, Caden.”

His mouth snapped shut, jaw twitching. Good.

“She’s my mate,” I added, brushing past him. “Not a threat.”

Kalilah might want to deny it, but she was only delaying the inevitable. She was my mate. Her wolf knew it.

That was all that mattered.

Kalilah would come around. Eventually. Waiting for her to come around was admittedly going to get on my nerves.

I would like to see to it.

“You don’t know that yet.”

“I know enough.”

Together we walked out towards the estate grounds. When we reached the edge of the field, I stopped.

There she was.

Alone.

And training.

“She’s… relentless,” Caden muttered beside me.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.

She pivoted, launching into a spin kick that would’ve taken a man’s head off if he’d been stupid enough to stand in range.

Kalilah still needed practice. But no one could deny that she was skilled. The simple fact that she had adjusted her fighting skills because of her blindness was testimony to this.

“That doesn’t look like someone still adjusting,” I said quietly.

“No,” he admitted. “She’s something else.”

My jaw tensed. “She’s mine.”

He didn’t answer this time. Just stood there, watching her like a storm might break loose.

But it already had.

“She wasn’t like this last week,” Beta murmured. “Something’s changed.”

“She’s training harder.”

“No. It’s more than that.” His brow furrowed. “Like she’s remembering who she used to be. Or who she could’ve been.”

I crossed my arms, watching her strike again—perfect form, precise angles. “She doesn’t need to remember. She’s already enough.”

“She almost broke Theo’s wrist yesterday.”

One-on-one and in close combat, she was good, adjusting to her blindness, but until she learned to adjust properly, it was going to be a hindrance to her, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

I flicked a glance at him. “Did he deserve it?”

A beat. “Probably.”

I smirked. “Then maybe she’s doing us all a favor.”

He exhaled, something like frustration tightening his shoulders. “This isn’t a joke. The others are talking.”

“They always do.”

“Not like this. Some are afraid of her.”

“Good,” I said simply.

That shut him up.

Across the field she trained.

“She knew we were here,” Beta muttered.

“Of course she did.”

“She’s blind, and she knew.”

I took a step forward, my voice low. “You think blindness makes her weak? You think it makes her less?”

“No,” he said quickly. “I think it makes her terrifying.”

“I’ve had enough of this discussion,” I said to Caden, nodding towards the house. “Go on.”

“And what will you do?”

My gaze turned back to Kalilah.

“I’m going to offer her some assistance,”

He almost laughed, but clamped down on it after my eyes narrowed.

“You can’t be serious, Alpha. What makes you think she will even accept?”

I shrugged. “She likely will rebuff my attempts, but she’ll come to see my offer is the best thing for her.”

“She doesn’t need your protection,” Caden muttered, but he obeyed, stalking back toward the house with rigid shoulders and barely contained frustration.

I let him go.

I stepped into the clearing.

She huffed. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I’m not offering to babysit.”

“Then what are you offering?”

“To help you.”

Kalilah turned towards me, the blindfold clinging to her face like a second skin.

I had yet to see what lay beneath.

The temptation to reach behind her and untie that knot was strong, but I resisted.

“I don’t need your help.”

My wolf growled.

Can’t you smell her? Her scent has never been stronger.

I ignored it.

Claim her, you fool! What are you waiting for?

“Quiet,” I hissed.

Fool, you are a fool! Smell that sweat pouring off her, look at how her clothes cling, and the way her lips part. She is begging to be taken! To be marked as ours!

I turned around, my erection raging.

Under no circumstances would I lose control, and certainly not to my wolf.

With an awkward gait, I walked down the path back to the house. I locked eyes with Caden but glowered at him. He swallowed, taking off and giving me the space I wanted.

No, the space I needed.

I slammed the door behind me and leaned against it, sucking in a breath through gritted teeth. My claws itched beneath the skin, my canines pressing against my gums like they wanted out. My wolf was howling now, relentless, wild with need.

She’s ours. Ours. You’re wasting time!

I stormed into the bathroom.

“You will get your turn. Both of us will get our turn,” I muttered to my reflection.

My wolf flashes in the mirror, its golden eyes narrowed.

Fool!

“Is that all you can say?” I taunted.

Finally, it shut up.

***

Caden hovered in the doorway longer than necessary before finally stepping in.

I didn’t bother looking up. “You’ve got a reason for pacing like a damn bear?”

He exhaled. “North ridge. Tracks. Two men—Axel’s. Fresh within the last few hours.”

That got my attention.

“They’re scouting?” I asked.

Caden nodded. “We think so. They didn’t go deep. Stayed close to the edge, tested our lines. Just enough to let us know they were there.”

I stood, the chair groaning as I pushed away from the desk. “They’re looking for her.”

“Yeah,” he said. “That’s the most likely guess.”

He paused. I waited.

Then it came—hesitant, like he didn’t want to say it, but couldn’t help himself.

“Look, Damon… I know you want to protect her. I get it. I do. But this? Axel’s men? They're not going to stop.”

My eyes narrowed. “Say what you mean, Caden.”

He shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m just saying… maybe this isn’t the safest place for her. For any of us. If she stays, things escalate. You know that. Hell, she probably knows that.”

I stared at him. Let him squirm.

“She’s not baggage,” I said. “She’s not some volatile threat you can just dump outside the border and walk away from.”

“I didn’t say dump her,” he argued. “I just—Damon, think about it. We’ve worked too hard to keep things stable. If Axel’s tracking her, what happens next? What happens when he sends more than two?”

I stepped forward, slow and deliberate. “You think I don’t know what’s at stake?”

Caden didn’t back down. “I think you’re in too deep to see it.”

“I see it exactly as it is. She’s one wolf, running from a nightmare. One that he created. And if Axel thinks he can cross my border and take what’s under my protection, then he’s forgotten who the hell I am.”

Caden held up a hand, palms out. “I’m not saying she deserves any of this. I’m saying you’re making decisions with your heart, and that’s not the alpha I’ve known since we were pups.”

My jaw clenched. “Then maybe you should get to know the one standing in front of you now.”

He stared at me a moment longer before sighing, the fight leaking out of him. “So what do you want me to do?”

“Keep the patrols doubled. Tell no one she’s the reason they’re sniffing around. Not even Kiran. And especially not her.”

“You think she won’t notice?” Caden asked.

“She will,” I said. “But let her think it’s for training. She doesn’t need another weight on her back.”

Caden hesitated at the door. “And if Axel sends more?”

I met his eyes, dead calm. “Then we give them a message.”

“And what’s that?”

“That he can’t step into our territory. Think what you want about Kalilah and her brother, but Axel is going where he doesn’t belong.”

He didn’t say anything because he knew I was right.