7

IRIS’S POV

The screams started high and sharp, then turned into ragged snarls.

The security guard on the intercom had barely finished his sentence about the perimeter breach before Darius was gone. He didn’t run; he simply moved, his speed tearing the air out of the office.

I stood there, file still in hand, listening to the destruction. Glass shattered somewhere far away. The frantic thudding of my heart matched the heavy sounds of bodies hitting the ground outside.

Alpha Ronan’s order was clear: Stay hidden.

But I couldn't. I couldn't just stand in the silent office while the pack house turned into a war zone. I wasn't brave, but I wasn't a coward either. I was an Alpha’s daughter. I knew how to bandage a wound.

I grabbed the first aid kit from the cabinet and ran.

The guest wing opened into the back hall, and the smell hit me first: blood, fear, and the aggressive musk of strange wolves mixed with the powerful, familiar scent of Darius.

The courtyard was a nightmare. Our guards were fighting hard, but the rogues were wild, their eyes burning with a hunger that wasn't just about territory. It was pure rage.

I stumbled over a broken branch and quickly knelt beside a guard who was clutching his bleeding side. His face was gray.

"Don't move," I told him, my voice shaking but firm. I ripped open the kit and pressed a thick gauze pad onto his wound.

The fight was a blur of dark bodies and snapping jaws nearby. I focused on the blood running through my fingers.

A huge rogue, covered in thick, matted fur, broke free from the main chaos. It saw me, an easy target—small, kneeling, and unarmed. It let out a triumphant roar and lunged.

I froze, knowing I had made a terrible mistake. This was not a friendly sparring match. This was death.

Then, a massive force slammed into me.

I hit the ground hard, tumbling behind a stone garden statue. The air was knocked out of my lungs, and for a terrifying second, I thought the rogue had caught me.

But when I gasped for breath, I looked up.

It wasn't the rogue. It was Darius.

His wolf was barely contained. He was snarling, his teeth bared, his body coiled tight. He was standing over me, shielding me completely. His back was to the fight. His eyes, now blazing gold, were locked on my face.

He had prioritized me. He had ignored the entire line of battle to make sure I was safe.

In that single, raw moment, I saw the truth of his wolf: it considered me the most important thing in the courtyard.

The rogue he had blocked me from saw his chance. It lunged at Darius's exposed side.

Darius roared, a sound of fury and pain that seemed to shake the very foundations of the house. He turned instantly, shifting his focus, and tore the rogue apart with brutal speed.

But the seed of doubt was already planted.

I heard the shout from across the yard. Conrick.

Darius’s Beta had seen the whole thing. He had seen the Alpha of the Wolfe Pack drop his guard and turn his back on the enemy to protect the quiet, timid daughter of the Calder Alpha.

Darius finished the rogue quickly, then stood over the mess, breathing hard, his chest rising and falling violently. His golden eyes flickered to Conrick, and the acknowledgment that his Beta saw his lapse in control was clear and sharp.

"Iris!"

My father, Alpha Ronan, rushed over, his face lined with panic. "What are you doing? Get back inside! You are not a warrior!"

"I was helping the guard, Father," I said weakly, pointing to the man I had stopped bleeding.

Ronan looked from the defeated rogues to Darius, then back to me. He didn't understand the tension, but he understood the sight.

Darius straightened, his eyes clicking back to the professional, cold blue. The shift was instant, like throwing a switch.

"The attack is over, Alpha Calder," Darius said, his voice flat and controlled. "They were not coordinated. Just scavengers."

Conrick walked up, his face set in a look of ice. "We captured one, Alpha. Barely alive. We need to question him now."

"Do it," Darius commanded. "Find out who sent them. We need to know who is against this merger."

Conrick nodded, but his eyes drilled into me before he turned away. They said everything: You are the weakness. You are the risk.

Alpha Ronan put a firm hand on my shoulder. "Iris, you did well, but your duty is indoors. Tend to anyone who needs it, then go back to the office. The audit is more important than ever. We must not look distracted."

I nodded, feeling numb. The audit. The close proximity. The man who was supposed to marry my sister had just claimed me in front of the whole pack, even if no one but Conrick understood the meaning.

I followed my father's order, but as I walked back toward the house, my eyes kept finding Darius. He was covered in blood, terrifying, and yet all I could think about was the protective roar he had let out when he shielded me.

Our forced proximity was no longer a secret. It was a visible, deadly reality.

 (Later that night)

The office was stifling. I had washed away the blood, but I couldn’t wash away the adrenaline. I had also scrubbed myself clean of the sickly-sweet perfume mix and was just wearing a clean, floral powder.

I was trying to follow Darius’s earlier command: stop trying to hide his scent so aggressively, but oh well, I was falling miserably.

Darius walked into the room without knocking. He had changed into fresh clothes, but the sheer force of his Alpha scent—musk, dominance, and a hint of the lingering danger from the fight—filled the small space completely.

He didn't look at me, but picked up a file. "Conrick’s report is in. The rogue was paid by a shell company. It points straight to Jerome."

I nodded, feeling my throat tighten. "He's trying to make us look weak for the council."

"He is," Darius agreed, his voice low. "And every single thing we do now will be scrutinized. That attack was a test. It was a warning."

He finally looked at me, his blue eyes sharp and assessing. "You took off the perfume."

"You told me to," I whispered, clutching my own file tight.

"Good." He walked closer to the desk, leaning his heavy weight onto the polished wood. "Your constant masking was drawing attention. Now, you smell natural. Floral, but..."

He trailed off, his eyes darkening as he took a deep, deliberate breath.

"...underneath, you smell like mine."

My heart jumped into my throat. The audacity. The sheer recklessness of this.. this mouth running sexy ass Alpha.

"I need you to work, Alpha Wolfe, or shall I call you my alpha in law now?," I said, forcing my voice to stay level, though it trembled on his name. "Work, sir, not make threats."

"It's not a threat, Iris. It's the truth," he countered, pushing the file he had been holding away. "My wolf claimed you today. It chose you over duty, over the risk of being hurt, over the pack alliance."

I swallowed, and he moved, circling the desk so he was standing right behind my chair. I stiffened, unable to breathe.

"You need to stop fighting it," he murmured, his voice a low growl against my ear. "You need to act like this proximity is normal. Like you belong here, near me, working with me."

His large hand settled on the back of my chair, his thumb gently pressing the fabric where my neck met my spine. The electric contact sent a shiver through my body, making my fingers cramp.

"Venus is watching us," I pleaded, the name barely a breath. "She's already suspicious."

"Let her watch," Darius said, his voice dropping lower, darker. "We are working. We are clearing her father's books. We are saving the merger. This is our duty."

He leaned closer, his warm breath fanning over my neck. "And if she sees you flinch every time I touch you, she knows the truth. But if she sees you calm, focused, and used to my touch..."

His thumb pressed down harder, the gentle pressure threatening to snap my control.

"...then she just sees a dutiful sister assisting her future brother-in-law."

He was twisting the political necessity into a terrifying game of sexual submission. He was forcing me to wear his mark proudly, masking our lust under the guise of work.

"I can't," I choked out, almost inaudible to my own self.

"You can," he insisted, pulling the chair back slightly so that my shoulders were pressed against his chest. "You already did, in the courtyard. Your job is to make the world believe that I look at you and only see a subordinate. My job is to make sure that world is wrong."

He didn't kiss me. He didn't touch me anywhere else. He just held me trapped between his powerful body and the desk, his scent flooding my senses, forcing me to get used to the nearness.

"Start with the red file," he commanded, his Alpha tone returning, but his body still pressed tight against mine. "We work until dawn."

I slowly nodded, without think. All I could do was stare at the words on the asset portfolio, trying to ignore the dangerous, dominant man who was using my duty to claim me. The audit was beginning, but the risk of exposure had never been higher.