Six(Damon’s POV)

The party was dying. The lanterns still glowed in the courtyard, but the music had thinned to a lazy buzz and the laughter was nothing more than tired chuckles. I should have been inside, mingling with Alphas and Elders, making sure our alliance stayed strong. Instead, I stood at the edge of the courtyard, eyes fixed on the shadows past the treeline.

Her scent pulled at me again, faint and drifting but sharp enough to hook straight into my chest. Ivy, I clenched my jaw, hating how her name even in my mind felt dangerous. I hadn't even wanted to know it, but somehow it has been whispered, and now it burned on my tongue and I find it hard to let it go off my head.

The bond was merciless, pulling me towards the darkness where she had vanished. I told myself I was following her because she was suspicious, not because my wolf growled every time she walked away. I slipped past the last group of remaining guests and into the night.

The trees swallowed the lights behind me, leaving only moonlight spilling across the forest mud. My wolf pushed forward in my mind, restless, mate hungry. The word mate came like a growl, serious and absolutely.

“Quiet,” I muttered under my breath, though the command was pointless. Wolves do not bend easily to lies. I tracked her scent through the forest pathway, sharper now without the perfumes and alcohols of the party to drown it out. It was clean, loamy like the treeline itself had claimed her.

The air around it felt strange, as if something cracked just beneath the surface. That bothered me the most. It wasn't just her, it was clung to her or something was bad.

I caught sight of her just beyond the next cluster of trees. Ivy was standing there, her shoulders rising and falling like she couldn't catch her breath. The moonlight spilled over her hair, catching streaks of bronze in the dark.

She turned slightly, as though she felt me even before I spoke. I stepped forward, letting my Alpha aura roll ahead of me. It wasn't international, but the forest shifted under the weight of it. “You shouldn't be out here.”

Her head blew towards me, eyes wide. I saw the touch of recognition, the same pull that burned through me. She felt it too. She opened her mouth, then shut it again, her fists tightening at her sides. I took another step closer. “ Why did you leave the gathering?”

She swallowed hard, her voice was unsteady but not weak. “Because I don't belong here.” The honesty in it nearly disarmed. Not with the dangerous spark I had sensed on her since the moment we collide in the hallway. I was about to demand more when a voice cut through the night.

“Alpha Damon!”

I froze, Ivy flinched like the sound had cracked her spine.

A guard crashed through the forest mud, bowing slightly when he caught sight of me. His chest heaved with urgency, his eyes scanning the shadows. “ We’ve caught the word of a hybrid, Alpha Damon. The Elders sent us to clean the area.”

The word slammed into the clearing like thunder, “Hybrid.” My wolf bristled immediately, hackles rising. My gaze flicked to Ivy, and I didn't ignore the way her skin drained of color, the way her eyes darted between me and the guard like a cornered animal.

The guard had not noticed her yet, too focused on his report. He straightened, catching his breath. “They said it might be nearby, orders are to capture and not to kill.”

My jaw tightened. Orders, captures. My gaze lingered on Ivy for one heartbeat too long. She must have realized it, because her lips parted, like she was about to beg, or confess, or run.

“Nothing here,” I said sharply, cutting across whatever sound she was about to make.

The guard blinked, confused. “But Alpha, the scent….”

“Do you think I wouldn't know if something was wrong in my own territory?” My voice was iron, dangerous, the kind that brooked no argument. I let a snarl curl at the edges, enough to make him pale.

“Do you doubt me?”

“No..no Alpha.” His head dropped instantly. The forest held stillness again, save for Ivy’s uneven breathing just behind me.

“Then return to the clean, check the northern ridge.” I commanded.

“Yes, Alpha.” He bowed low, then hurried back into trees, his footsteps fading until silence swallowed us again.

I exhaled slowly, but the tension didn't ease. My hand twitched at my side, torn between dragging Ivy closer and pushing her away.

“You covered for me.” she said softly, her voice trembling like a secret she hadn't meant to spill. I turned to her fully, meeting those wide, wary eyes. Her wolf was there hidden but restless, like mine.And under it, something else. Something that sparked in the air. Raising every instinct I had.

“Don’t mistake that for kindness.” I said, low and hard. “If I find out that you are what they are hurting..” I stepped closer until the space between us buzzed with heat and tension, “..I’ll be the one to bring you in.”

Her lips parted again, but no sound came out. She just stared, her breath unsteady, and for one dangerous moment, I hated myself for now badly I wanted to touch her. I tore my gaze away, forcing the bond back into its cage. “ Go home, before someone else finds you.”

Then I turned, leaving her frozen in the moonlight. Whatever she was hiding, it wasn’t ordinary. And I couldn’t shake the truth clawing at me, Ivy was dangerous. Not just to the pack. To me.