Stop It

CHAPTER TWO

SHE’S MINE

Magnus’s POV

We had been tracking the rogue for hours, moving through the forest as quietly as possible while following the trail he had left behind. He had crossed too far into our territory again, even after my men had warned him several times to stay away, and this time I had decided that I would not allow him to escape before I found out exactly what he was doing so close to the settlement.

My men followed behind me, watching the trees and the ground for any sign that the rogue had changed direction. The forest was dark, and the moonlight barely reached the ground through the thick branches above us, but I knew these woods well enough to move through them without hesitation.

The trail was fresh.

Broken branches hung from the trees, leaves had been crushed under someone’s feet, and the smell of the rogue was getting stronger with every step.

He was close, I could feel it.

Unfortunately, there was something else I could feel too.

My wolf had been restless for the last several minutes, pacing inside my mind and refusing to settle. He had been unusually quiet throughout most of the hunt, but now he had become almost impossible to control.

Mate. I ignored him and continued walking.

A few seconds later, he repeated himself.

Mate.

I clenched my jaw. “Not now,” I muttered under my breath.

One of my men glanced at me with confusion. “Alpha, did you say something?”

I looked at him. “I said keep your eyes on the trail.”

He immediately turned away and continued searching.

I did not explain what was happening inside my head because I did not understand it myself.

My wolf had never behaved this way before, the word he kept repeating was impossible.

Mate.

I had heard the word all my life. Every Alpha knew what it meant, and every wolf understood the importance of the bond, but I had never believed that I would suddenly lose control of my own thoughts because my wolf decided someone was meant for me.

I had responsibilities, I had a pack, I had enemies.

So whatever my wolf thought he had discovered, I was not going to accept it simply because he kept repeating one word.

“Enough,” I whispered.

My wolf growled in response.

I ignored him.

We continued deeper into the forest until one of my men suddenly stopped.

“Alpha.”

I raised my hand, and everyone immediately became still.

“What did you find?”

He pointed toward the ground.

I stepped closer and studied the fresh footprints. “He came this way.”

I straightened. “Spread out.”

My men moved into position.

We continued forward, following the trail until the sound of something moving through the trees reached us.

Then I heard it.

A scream.

My entire body went still.

For a moment, I thought I had imagined it, but another scream followed, louder than the first.

My wolf suddenly roared inside my head.

Mate!

I turned sharply toward the sound. “Move!”

My men followed as I pushed through the trees, moving faster than before.

The screams continued, telling me that someone was in danger, and I pushed through the trees without slowing down until the scene ahead came into view.

The rogue was dragging a woman toward the deeper part of the forest, one hand locked around her while she fought desperately to free herself. She was clearly one of the athletes who had come into the settlement for the hockey match, but I had never spoken to her before and knew nothing about her.

I saw the fear on her face.

I saw the scratches on her arms and the dirt covering her clothes.

I saw the way she struggled against the rogue while he dragged her farther away from the settlement.

Something inside me snapped.

“STOP!”

The command exploded from my mouth with enough force to shake the silence around us.

The rogue froze.

Before he could even turn fully toward me, I was already moving.

I crossed the distance between us in a few powerful strides, grabbed the back of his shirt, and yanked him away from her so violently that he lost his grip on her completely. He stumbled backward, but I caught him again before he could regain his balance and slammed him against a tree.

“Did you hear me?”

My voice was low, but the warning in it was enough to make him stop fighting for a moment.

His eyes met mine.

Fear flashed across his face.

I tightened my grip on him.

“You were told to stay out of my territory, and now I find you dragging one of the humans toward the forest.”

The rogue turned toward me.

His eyes widened when he saw who had arrived.

He released the woman and immediately tried to run.

“Don’t let him escape.”

My men rushed forward.

The rogue barely made it a few steps before two of my men caught him and forced him to the ground.

He struggled violently, snarling and trying to break free, but my men held him down.

“You were warned,” one of them said angrily.

The rogue continued fighting.

Another man struck him across the face.

“How many times have we told you to stay away from the settlement?”

The rogue spat blood onto the ground and growled.

I barely paid attention to him.

My eyes had already returned to the woman.

She had fallen to the ground after the rogue released her, and she was now staring at me as if she could not understand what had just happened.

I walked toward her.

She immediately moved backward.

“Stay where you are.”

She stopped, her  eyes remained fixed on me.

I studied her carefully. There were scratches on her arms, but nothing looked serious. She was frightened, but she was conscious and able to move.

I didn’t know why my wolf was reacting so strongly to her.

I didn’t know whether she was truly my mate and  I wasn’t going to accept something like ghat simply because of wolf demanded it.

“Stand up,” I ordered.

She stared at me. “I can walk.”

“I didn’t ask whether you could walk.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “I said I can walk.”

“And I heard you.”

I stepped closer.

She immediately took another step backward.

“You’re coming with me.”

“Where?”

“The pack healer .”

“I need to go back to the guesthouse.”

“You can go there later.”

She looked at me in disbelief. “I don’t think you understand. My friends are waiting for me.”

“They can wait.”

She shook her head. “You can’t decide that for me.”

I looked at her for several seconds.

She had more courage than I expected.

Most humans would have been too frightened to argue after being dragged through the forest, but she was standing in front of me, clearly terrified and still trying to challenge me.

My wolf stirred again. Mate.

I ignored him.

I bent down and lifted her into my arms.

She gasped and immediately grabbed my shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you”

“You need to put me down.”

“No.”

Her eyes widened. “I said put me down.”

“And I said no.”

She struggled against me, trying to force herself out of my arms.

I carried her through the forest while my men remained behind with the rogue.

I could hear the rogue shouting in the distance, but I wasn’t interested in dealing with him yet.

There were more important questions.

The woman in my arms was one of them.

“Who are you?” she asked after several moments.

“Magnus.”

She waited.

When I said nothing else, she frowned. “That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

“For now.”

She looked irritated. “You people have been acting strange since we arrived.”

She seemed surprised by my answer.

I continued walking.

I was not interested in pretending to be something I wasn’t.

I was the Alpha of this territory, and I was accustomed to making decisions that other people followed without argument.

This woman had entered my life for reasons I did not understand, and my wolf was behaving strangely whenever she was near me.

Until I understood what was happening, she was staying where I could see her.

That was not because I had accepted the word my wolf kept shouting.

It was because I didn’t trust the situation.

The rogue had attacked her.

She was human.

She knew nothing about our territory.

And there was something about her that my instincts refused to ignore.

I needed answers.

When we finally reached the edge of the settlement, several people immediately noticed us.

Their conversations stopped.

Heads turned.

Some of them stared at the woman in my arms, while others looked at me with surprise.

I didn’t care what they thought.

I continued walking.

We entered the pack healer’s palace, and I carried her straight inside without slowing down.

The healer looked up immediately.

“Treat her now.”

I placed her on the examination bed and stepped aside.