5

**Chapter 5: The Setup**

Victor’s bike tore through the mountain roads like it was chasing the moon itself. Wind whipped my hair into knots and stung my cheeks, but I didn’t care. I clung to his waist, my front pressed tight against the solid wall of his back, and for the first time in weeks I could breathe without feeling like I was drowning.

He didn’t tell me where we were going. I didn’t ask.

After maybe twenty minutes the engine slowed. We turned onto a narrow gravel drive that climbed higher into the pines. The air smelled sharp and clean, sap and cold earth and something wild that made my skin prickle again. The bike rolled to a stop in front of a huge timber lodge tucked against the hillside, windows glowing warm gold against the dark.

Victor cut the engine. Silence rushed in, broken only by crickets and the soft creak of trees.

He swung off the bike and held out a hand. I took it without thinking. His fingers closed around mine, warm and steady, and that electric thread between us hummed louder than ever.

“This is yours now,” he said quietly, nodding at the lodge. “Safe. Warded. No one gets in without my say-so.”

I stared up at the place, two stories, wraparound porch, smoke curling from a stone chimney. It looked like something out of a dream. “Victor… I can’t just.”

“You can.” He stepped closer, crowding me gently against the bike. “You’re carrying a pup, Elena. You’re exhausted, half-starved, and that bastard’s still trying to drag you back into his cage. I’m not asking you to stay forever. I’m telling you you’re staying tonight. Tomorrow we figure the rest out.”

My throat closed up. I wanted to argue, wanted to insist I could take care of myself, but the truth was I was shaking from cold and adrenaline and the fact that I hadn’t eaten anything except saltines in two days.

He saw it. Of course he did. His thumb brushed across my knuckles. “Come inside, little wolf. Let me feed you.”

I let him lead me up the porch steps.

The inside smelled like cedar and woodsmoke. A massive stone fireplace dominated the living room, flames already crackling. Someone had been expecting us. A woman with short silver hair and kind eyes appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.

“This her?” she asked Victor, soft smile.

Victor’s arm slid around my waist, possessive but gentle. “Elena. This is Mara. She keeps the pack from starving or killing each other. Usually both.”

Mara laughed and came straight for me, pulling me into a hug that smelled like cinnamon and safety. “Poor baby. You look like you’ve been through a war. Sit. I’ve got stew and fresh bread.”

I opened my mouth to say I wasn’t hungry, old habit, but my stomach growled loud enough to echo off the rafters. Mara just patted my cheek and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Victor steered me to the couch. I sank into soft leather and nearly moaned. He crouched in front of me, tugging off my sneakers like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“I can do that,” I started.

“Shh.” He peeled my socks away, frowning at how cold my feet were, and started rubbing warmth back into them with his big hands. “You don’t have to do anything alone anymore.”

I stared at him, throat tight. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

His eyes flicked up. Gold and serious. “Because the second I saw you in that white dress, crying under the moon, something in my chest snapped into place. You’re my mate, Elena. I knew it before I even knew your name.”

The word mate hit different coming from him. With Damien it had felt like ownership. With Victor it felt like gravity.

Mara came back with a huge bowl of beef stew and thick slices of bread slathered in butter. My hands shook as I took the first bite. It was so good I almost cried again.

Victor watched me eat like it was his new favorite hobby. When I finished he took the bowl, set it aside, and pulled me gently into his lap on the couch. I was too tired to protest. My head found the spot between his neck and shoulder like it had been carved for me.

“Sleep,” he murmured against my hair. “I’ve got you.”

I believed him.

I woke up hours later in a dark bedroom, tucked under a mountain of blankets that smelled like pine and Victor. He was gone, but the indent in the pillow beside me was still warm.

I padded barefoot down the hall, following low voices and the smell of coffee.

Victor stood at the kitchen island with three other guys, big, all of them, maps and laptops spread out in front of them. They went quiet the second I appeared in the doorway wearing one of Victor’s T-shirts that hung to my knees.

He turned, eyes softening. “Hey. You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“Couldn’t.” I hugged myself. “What’s going on?”

One of the guys, a redhead with a scar across his eyebrow, gave me a small nod. “Beta Jax,” he introduced himself. “We’re just making sure Damien doesn’t get any stupid ideas tonight.”

My stomach dropped. “He’s coming here?”

Victor’s jaw went hard. “He’s been sniffing around the border all evening. Thinks if he makes enough noise we’ll hand you over.” He crossed the room in two strides and cupped my face. “Not happening. Ever.”

I swallowed. “He said the baby is his pup. That I can’t keep it from the pack.”

Victor’s eyes flashed molten gold. “Listen to me.” His voice dropped to that alpha rumble that made my knees weak. “That pup is yours. If you decide you want me in its life, I will love it like my own blood. If you decide you don’t, I’ll still protect it with my life. But no one, no one, takes either of you from me unless you beg me to let you go. And even then I’ll fight like hell to change your mind.”

The room was dead silent. Every guy there looked ready to die for that promise.

I felt something crack open in my chest, something that had been frozen since the night of the party.

Before I could answer, Jax’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it and cursed.

“Speak of the devil,” he muttered. “Lisa just posted a live video. They’re at the south border with half the lacrosse team. Damien’s demanding a meeting. Says if we don’t let him see Elena he’ll petition the Council.”

Victor snarled, actually snarled, teeth sharpening for a split second before he got it under control.

“Let him petition,” he said. “Council can kiss my.”

A sudden, sharp pain stabbed through my belly. I gasped and doubled over, clutching the counter.

Victor was there in an instant, arms around me. “Elena? Talk to me.”

“Just… cramping,” I panted. “It’s fine, it happens.”

Mara pushed through the guys, took one look at my face, and started barking orders. “Bed. Now. Feet up. Water and prenatal vitamins.”

Victor scooped me up like I weighed nothing and carried me back to the bedroom. I tried to protest but another cramp hit and I whimpered into his chest.

He laid me down, panic in his eyes for the first time. “I’m calling the pack healer.”

“Victor, I’m okay, it’s probably stress.”

“No.” The word cracked like a gunshot. He knelt beside the bed, both my hands swallowed in his. “You are not doing this alone anymore. Not the cramps, not the fear, not the bastard at the gate. You hear me?”

Tears slipped free. I nodded.

He pressed his forehead to mine. “Good girl.”

Another cramp twisted through me, worse this time. I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood.

Victor’s nostrils flared, he smelled it instantly. His whole body went rigid.

“Elena,” he said slowly, voice suddenly too calm. “When was your last period?”

I blinked up at him, confused. “I… I don’t know. Before the engagement party. Why?”

He closed his eyes like he was praying for patience.

Mara burst in with a small medical bag. She took one look at Victor’s face and shooed him out, but he refused to leave, standing at the foot of the bed like a sentinel while she checked my pulse, blood pressure, then pressed gentle fingers to my stomach.

After what felt like forever, she met my eyes.

“Baby’s heartbeat is strong,” she said softly. “But you’re dehydrated and under too much stress. Bed rest for the next forty-eight hours minimum. And,” she glanced at Victor, “Alpha, you need to calm your energy or you’re going to push her wolf into early emergence. She’s not ready.”

My wolf. Like I already had one.

I opened my mouth to ask what the hell that meant, but another cramp hit and I curled into a ball.

Victor was on the bed in a heartbeat, pulling me into his arms, one huge hand splayed protectively over my belly. His chest vibrated with a low, continuous rumble, not a growl, something softer. Soothing. I felt it in my bones.

The pain eased almost instantly.

Mara smiled, packed up, and left us alone.

I lay there shaking, Victor’s heartbeat thundering under my ear.

“I’m scared,” I whispered into his shirt.

“I know.” He kissed my temple. “But you’re safe. Both of you.”

Outside, somewhere far off, a howl rose, lonely, furious, desperate.

Damien.

Victor’s arms tightened until there was no space left between us.

“Let him howl,” he murmured against my hair. “He lost the war the second you chose to leave with me.”

I closed my eyes and let the sound of his heartbeat drown out everything else.

But deep in my belly, something stirred, something that wasn’t just the baby.

Something that stretched and growled and opened golden eyes in the dark.

And it knew exactly who it belonged to.