Chapter 3

Ruin’s POV

I feel it before the phone rings.

That slow, crawling unease under my skin. The wolf pacing. Nails dragging along the inside of my ribs like it’s testing the cage. I’m sitting in my office above the Rogue Legion garage, boots kicked up on the desk, paperwork ignored, staring at nothing.

Something is wrong.

The phone vibrates and I don’t even look at the name before answering.

“Fang.”

Silence stretches for half a second too long on the other end. I hear breathing it’s heavy, controlled, barely leashed.

“Ruin,” Fang says finally. “You got a minute?”

I swing my boots down and stand. “For you? Always.”

Another pause, longer this time.

“They showed up,” he says.

My wolf snaps to attention.

“Who.”

“Her parents.”

The word parents sounds like an insult coming out of his mouth.

I close my eyes and exhale slowly through my nose. “At the clubhouse?”

“Yes.”

“Did they touch her?”

“No,” Fang growls. “They didn’t even see her, I made damn sure of that.”

Good, because if they had I’d already be on my bike.

“What do they want?” I ask.

“You already know.”

Standing I lean my hip against the desk, fingers tightening around the phone. “Say it anyway.”

“They want to marry her off. Trade her. Use her omega status to buy themselves protection and power.”

The wolf inside me snarls, low and vicious.

“Fucking parasites,” I mutter.

“That’s not the worst of it,” Fang continues. “They’re desperate. Sloppy. Which tells me others know now too.”

My jaw tightens. “How much did you tell her?”

“Enough to keep her alert, but not enough to scare her.”

Smart. Fang’s always known how to protect without smothering.

I stare out the window at my men below where Reaper is tuning an engine, Asmodeus laughing with one of the prospects, Viking leaning against a pillar like an ancient god bored with mortals. My pack. My responsibility.

And suddenly, maybe more than that.

“Talk to me,” I say. “You don’t call me in the middle of the night just to vent.”

Another breath it’s heavy and final.

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” Fang says. “The kind I don’t ignore.”

My spine goes rigid.

“You think something’s coming.”

“I know something’s coming.”

The words land like a loaded gun on the table between us.

“They poked the wrong bear,” he continues. “Human law. Shifter politics. They’re mixing things that shouldn’t be mixed.”

“You think they’ll call the cops,” I say.

“I think they already have.”

The wolf in me bares its teeth.

“I want you ready,” Fang says. “Not tomorrow, not next week. Tonight.”

“I am,” I say without hesitation. “We always are.”

“Good.” His voice roughens. “Because if something happens to me…”

“Stop,” I snap.

“No,” Fang growls back. “You listen to me.”

I do, because Fang doesn’t scare easily, because the man sounds like he’s staring down fate and daring it to blink.

“If something happens,” he repeats, “you come get her.”

My hand tightens around the phone.

“You take Rebel and you don’t look back.”

“Fang.”

“You keep her safe,” he presses. “You don’t let anyone cage her. You don’t let anyone force a bond on her. You let her choose.”

The word choose hits harder than it should, I don’t know Rebel King. I’ve never seen her face, never heard her voice, but my wolf reacts to her name like it means something ancient and personal.

“I hear you,” I say carefully.

“That’s not enough,” Fang says. “I need your word.”

I don’t answer right away.

Because a promise like that isn’t just words. It’s blood. It’s war. It’s binding myself, and my pack, to a woman I’ve never met.

And still… my wolf is already leaning forward, eager.

“Tell me about her,” I say.

Fang exhales and some of the tension eases. “She’s stubborn. Sharp as hell. Doesn’t know her own strength yet. Spent most of her life being told she was too much or not enough.”

My chest tightens.

“She’s loyal,” he continues. “Fiercely so. And she’s omega, but not weak. Never has been.”

I smirk faintly. “No omega ever is.”

“She doesn’t trust easy,” Fang says. “Especially men.”

Fair.

“But once she gives it?” His voice softens. “She gives all of it.”

Silence stretches between us.

“She deserve better than what’s coming,” Fang says quietly.

“So do you,” I reply.

He chuckles darkly. “I made my choices a long time ago.”

“And you’d make them again.”

“Damn right.”

I straighten, decision settling heavy and solid in my chest. “You have my word.”

Fang doesn’t speak.

“I swear it,” I continue. “If anything happens to you, I’ll get her. I’ll protect her. And anyone who tries to take her will learn exactly how ugly the Rogue Legion can be.”

A low, satisfied sound leaves Fang’s throat.

“Good,” he says. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“I don’t make promises lightly,” I warn.

“Neither do I.”

Another pause.

“She feels it too,” Fang adds quietly.

“Feels what?”

“That something’s coming. She was distant tonight always watching the shadows.”

My wolf perks up.

“She’s stronger than she knows,” I say.

“She’ll have to be.”

The line crackles.

“Ruin,” Fang says, voice heavy with something that sounds a lot like trust. “If you do have to come for her… don’t just keep her alive.”

I frown. “Meaning?”

“Give her a pack,” he says. “A real one.”

I glance out the window again at my men, my family.

“I can do that.”

“I know,” Fang replies. “That’s why I called you.”

The call ends not long after that.

I lower the phone slowly, my reflection staring back at me in the dark glass of the window. The wolf beneath my skin is restless now, pacing hard, insistent.

Somewhere out there is a woman who doesn’t know her world is about to burn.

And if it does?

I’ll ride straight through the fire to reach her.

I grab my jacket and head for the stairs.

“Reaper,” I bark as I pass the garage floor. “Get the boys ready.”

He looks up instantly. “For what?”

I smile without humor.

“For a promise.”