2 - MATTEO'S POV

The heavy oak doors splintered under the force of my combat boot. Pieces of shattered wood flew across the marble floor and clattered against the stone walls.

I stepped over the broken door frame and I walked directly into the Crescent Moon pack hall. The large room was terribly quiet and every single face turned to look at me.

I opened my mouth to demand answers from my uncle. A sudden and intense scent hit my nose before I could speak a single word.

It smelled exactly like fresh rain and deep cedar wood. The scent rushed straight down into my lungs and it felt like a solid blow to my chest.

My boots caught on the marble floor. I actually stumbled forward for a fraction of a second while my nervous system processed the overwhelming sensory input.

I caught my balance and I locked my knees. My wolf howled inside my mind with a fierce and possessive need. I had never experienced this feeling before in my life.

The mate bond snapped into place with a heavy thud in my chest. I knew my true mate was standing somewhere inside this crowded room.

I scanned the sea of faces rapidly to find her. The pack elders sat frozen at their long wooden table and they stared at my black tactical gear in pure shock.

Four armed guards stood in a loose half-circle near the center of the room. They held wooden batons and they looked unsure of what to do next.

My eyes bypassed the guards and landed on the two people standing directly in the middle of the circle. I saw my uncle Azriel first.

Azriel looked exactly the same as he did five years ago. He still carried himself with the same arrogant posture and he still wore expensive tailored suits.

Azriel reached out and he grabbed the wrist of the woman standing next to him. He squeezed her arm tightly and he pulled her forcefully toward his chest.

I looked at the woman. It was Naomi. The scent of rain and cedar poured directly off her skin. The smell confirmed she was my mate.

My eyes dropped to her trapped wrist. I saw dark and fresh bruises already forming under Azriel's thick fingers.

A massive wave of pure and violent rage flooded my veins. My muscles tightened under my kevlar vest and my jaw locked hard.

I remembered how Naomi smuggled food to me when Azriel locked me in the cellar. She saved my life. Now he was hurting her in front of everyone.

A woman with blonde curls stepped out from behind Azriel. I recognized her as Naomi's twin sister, Kailani.

Kailani wore a bright silk dress and she had a heavy silver ring on her finger. She looked at my dark military uniform and her eyes widened in absolute fear.

"What are you doing here?" Kailani stammered loudly. Her voice shook as she pointed a manicured finger at me. "You are banned from this territory."

I did not look at her face. I did not answer her question. I ignored her existence because she was not worth my time.

"I asked you a question, Matteo," Kailani demanded again. She tried to sound authoritative but she just sounded panicked. "Guards, tell him to leave right now."

The four guards did not move. They looked at my heavily armed frame and they kept their wooden batons lowered toward the floor.

"Matteo," Azriel said in a low and dangerous tone. "You are trespassing on my land. Turn around and walk out the door before I have you arrested."

"You do not have enough men to arrest me," I replied. My voice was rough and deep. I took a slow step forward into the room.

Elder Thomas stood up from his wooden chair. He wrung his hands together nervously and he cleared his throat.

"Please, Matteo," Thomas pleaded. "We are in the middle of a formal severing ceremony. This is official pack business."

"I do not care about your business," I told the elder. I took another step forward. My combat boots echoed loudly against the marble floor.

"We are sorting out a transition of power," Thomas tried to explain. He gestured toward Azriel and Kailani. "The Alpha made his choice."

"His choices are usually stupid," I said flatly. "I am not here to attend your party."

"He is right, Matteo," Azriel added. He tightened his grip on Naomi's wrist. "Naomi is leaving us tonight. You can follow her out if you want to leave so badly."

I kept my eyes focused on Naomi. She looked incredibly exhausted. Deep dark circles rested under her eyes and her skin was very pale.

She wore simple heavy denim jeans and a plain dark shirt. She did not look like a Luna who spent her days planning parties. She looked like a tired soldier.

Despite her obvious exhaustion, her spine remained perfectly straight. She kept her chin lifted high and she refused to look away from Azriel's face.

She had her free hand curled into a tight fist. She was actively preparing to fight the four armed guards to escape the room.

I felt a surge of deep respect for her resilience. She did not need anyone to rescue her, but I refused to let her fight alone.

"Let her go," I said to Azriel. I continued walking straight through the crowd of pack members.

The ordinary wolves scrambled out of my way. They pushed against each other to clear a wide path for me. They knew my reputation as the Bloodhand enforcer.

"She stole from the pack," Kailani lied quickly. She grabbed Azriel's other arm and leaned against him for support. "She is trying to steal the treasury laptop."

"I bought the laptop with my own money," Naomi stated clearly. She did not raise her voice but her tone was firm and unwavering.

"It holds my ledgers," Azriel argued. He gave Naomi's arm another harsh yank. "You are not leaving until you give me the passwords."

Naomi let out a short and frustrated breath. "I already told you no, Azriel. You can break my wrist but you cannot make me type the codes."

"I can lock you in a room until you cooperate," Azriel threatened her. He squeezed her wrist even harder to prove his point.

"Try it," Naomi dared him. "See how long that door actually holds me."

Azriel growled loudly in response. He raised his free hand and he formed a tight fist. He actually intended to strike her face right there in the hall.

I stopped walking and I broke into a fast sprint. I closed the distance between us in three long strides.

I reached the center of the hall before Azriel could swing his fist. I stepped directly between Naomi and my uncle.

I used my broad shoulders to block Azriel's view of her face. I grabbed his thick wrist with my left hand and I squeezed his bones hard.

Azriel gasped in sudden pain. His fingers sprang open and he released his tight grip on Naomi's bruised arm.

"Back away from her," I warned him. I shoved his arm backward and I forced him to take a clumsy step away from us.

Kailani screamed and she hid behind the wooden dining table. The elders shouted for the guards to intervene.

"Julian," Azriel commanded his lead guard. "Get him out of here right now. Use lethal force if you have to."

Julian swallowed hard. He took a hesitant step forward and he raised his wooden baton in the air.

"If you swing that stick, Julian, I will break your arms," I told the guard calmly. I did not even look at him. I kept my eyes locked on Azriel.

Julian froze in place. He slowly lowered the baton and he stepped backward into the crowd. He chose his own survival over his Alpha's orders.

Azriel realized his guards were useless against me. His chest heaved with heavy breaths and his face twisted with pure fury.

"She is my wife, Matteo," Azriel lied through his teeth. "This is a domestic dispute. You have no right to interfere."

"You severed the bond ten minutes ago," Naomi corrected him from behind me. "Do not pretend you care about the mating laws now."

I heard the steady rhythm of Naomi's heartbeat behind my back. The sound grounded me and it focused my mind on the immediate threat.

I took a deep breath of the rain and cedar scent surrounding us. The mate bond pulsed strongly in my veins and demanded that I protect what belonged to me.

Azriel pointed a shaking finger at my face. He tried to reclaim his authority in front of the watching elders.

"I am the Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack," Azriel shouted loudly. "You are a rogue enforcer. You will obey my commands on my soil."

"Your soil means nothing to me," I replied. I kept my stance wide and balanced. "You lost your right to give orders the second you put your hands on her."

"I can discipline my own pack members," Azriel sneered. He looked around my shoulder to glare at Naomi. "She defied me. She deserves to be punished."

I felt a dark growl vibrate deep inside my throat. I did not try to stop it.

"She does not belong to your pack anymore," I told him. "You threw her away. You gave her ring to that coward hiding behind the table."

Kailani peeked out from behind the heavy wooden table. She looked furious but she was too afraid to step closer to me.

"Azriel is right," Kailani yelled from her hiding spot. "She is a traitor. She refused to give us the bank passwords."

"Because you do not know how to read a basic ledger, Kailani," Naomi said dryly. She stood very close behind my back.

I felt the fabric of Naomi's shirt brush against my tactical vest. The light contact sent a rush of heat directly through my body.

"I will have my guards drag you to the holding cells," Azriel threatened Naomi. He ignored me and tried to speak directly to her. "You will stay in the dark until you cooperate."

"Your guards are terrified," Naomi pointed out. "Nobody is taking me to the holding cells tonight."

Azriel lost the last bit of his self-control. He lunged forward and he tried to push me out of the way so he could reach her.

He slammed his hands against my kevlar vest. It felt like a child trying to push a solid brick wall. I did not move an inch.

I grabbed the front of Azriel's expensive suit jacket. I twisted the fabric tightly in my fist and I shoved him backward again.

He stumbled over his own feet and he nearly fell onto the marble floor. He caught his balance at the last second and he bared his teeth at me.

"I will kill you for this," Azriel promised in a low whisper. His eyes flickered with a dangerous golden light.

"You can certainly try," I answered easily. I knew I was faster and stronger than he was.

I reached down to the thick leather sheath strapped to my right thigh. I wrapped my fingers around the textured handle of my silver combat blade.

I pulled the heavy knife free. The sharp metal made a quiet sliding noise against the leather.

I raised the blade and I pointed the sharp silver tip directly at Azriel's chest. I held the weapon perfectly steady under the bright chandelier lights.

The entire pack hall went dead silent again. Nobody dared to breathe loudly while the silver blade gleamed in the open air.

I stared directly into my uncle's eyes. I wanted him to understand that I was absolutely serious and I was ready to draw his blood.

"Take your fucking hands off my mate," I told him.