Chapter 00004

Uncoupled Strings

Phil's POV

The moment I stepped through the door, the smell hit me. It was not the usual flair from our Pack’s cook, though his dishes were always top-tier.

This was homier. Like something your mother made when you were too sick to shift.

I paused in the entryway, nostrils flaring slightly, trying to place the scent. My first instinct had been to ignore it—chalk it up to one of the Omegas experimenting in the kitchen again.

But this wasn’t Pack-standard. “Humans and their ways,” I muttered under my breath as I walked toward the kitchen.

And then I saw her—Vera—standing by the stove, barefoot, wearing one of my oversized T-shirts that swallowed her curves but did little to hide their allure.

Her back was to me, but she turned, startled, catching me watching her—bare chest still damp with post-transformation sweat, muscles tense from a morning that had been far more than just a run.

“Good morning… um…” she hesitated, eyes darting down, then back up to meet mine.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” I asked, my voice low and controlled, but with that edge that said she was walking into territory she didn’t yet understand.

This was new. All of it. Marriage. Domesticity. The scent of a woman cooking in my kitchen. I wasn’t used to softness. I’d built my life around solitude and survival.

She blinked. “I was going to ask what you prefer to be called. Husband or Phil.”

That threw me for a loop, and I chuckled—despite myself. “Well, anyone works, babe.”

I crossed the room slowly, my eyes drinking her in. The memories of yesterday—our wedding, the sudden bond, the ceremony that felt rushed and yet inevitable—all came rushing back.

She looked beautiful even in her sleepy dishevelment. “Good morning, Vera,” I said, sliding my arms around her waist, and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I see you’re already making breakfast.”

Her eyes softened. “Yeah. I didn’t see you by my side when I woke up, so I figured you’d gone for a workout.”

I scratched the back of my head. My wolf stirred inside me, restless. I didn’t want to tell her what happened—that I’d transformed again.

That my rage had pulled it from me like a magnet to steel. That I’d howled into the sky like I was born for war.

“Umm. Yeah. Morning workout,” I lied, awkwardly. “That’s why I’m all sweaty.”

She smiled, thankfully not pressing. “Okay. You go ahead and freshen up while I finish up here. I need my man strong. You know what they say about a healthy breakfast.”

My wolf howled in approval. It wanted her—desperately. Wanted to mark her, mate her, seal what had been started in ritual.

I could feel it pulsing in my veins. But I waited. I wanted it to be my choice—not just instinct.

After breakfast, that choice was made.

The mating happened.

And, damn, it was everything. Raw, powerful, and tender in ways I hadn’t expected.

My wolf marked her gently but deeply, sealing the bond with ease. She was mine now, fully. To protect, to lead with, to fight for.

And anyone—anything—that tried to come between us would find themselves on the wrong end of my claws.

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The high didn’t last.

Later that morning, I was called into an emergency meeting. The kind that needed no formal summons. The kind where the silence in the air told you everything before words were spoken.

“There was another attack on our border last night,” Lord Praxis said.

The entire Grand Committee was gathered in the Pavilion’s council chamber. You could taste the grief in the air.

We’d lost Bradd Justin.

Bradd had been more than just our security chief—he was a fighter, a loyal soldier, a father, a friend. He’d held the line when others would’ve crumbled.

And now he was gone.

“We lost a lot of good wolves last night,” Praxis continued, his voice faltering. “Bradd... he fought until the sun rose.”

No one spoke. Some bowed their heads. Others clenched their fists. But we all felt the same thing—loss, yes, but rage too. Pure, undiluted rage.

I wasn’t even supposed to be there—I was meant to be on my honeymoon. But duty didn’t care about rings or romance.

And I had felt the shift in the pack’s energy the moment the sun rose. My wolf had paced within me all morning.

We knew it was time.

My Range Rover screeched to a halt outside the Pavilion. I didn’t even shut the door before I was inside, boots echoing down the marble halls.

I walked into that room, letting the silence linger for a heartbeat longer, then shattered it.

“Brothers!” I began. “Our border wasn’t just crossed last night. It was desecrated. And one of us paid the ultimate price.”

I stepped closer to the half-moon table, letting my wolf surface partially. With my claws extended, ears sharpened, and voice echoing with the double tone of the Alpha.

“We’ve played defense for too long. Always waiting for them to bring the heat. And now this? Bradd Justin? Countless injured patrol members? We let this happen.”

The room stirred. I saw their eyes start to glow—saw the simmering fury ignite.

“I say we fight back,” Cassandra Alves declared, slamming her palm against the table. “Let’s show them why no one messes with Black Diamond.”

“Yes,” I said, locking eyes with every single council member. “We fight. We find this rogue pack. We take the battle to them. And we don’t stop until their name is nothing but dust and memory.”

A chorus of howls echoed in the chamber.

Ray Hammerstock would’ve stood with us, I knew. Even in his absence, his spirit ran through this pack. He’d raised me for this—for leadership, for protection.

I remembered the look on his face when I was younger, telling me that a true Alpha never backs down when his Pack bleeds.

The emergency council adjourned shortly after, our path clear.

The first move: Identify the rogue pack.

The last move: Their annihilation.