Chapter 5

Emerson POV

I woke to silence.

Not the hollow quiet of abandonment, but the kind that pressed gently against my senses—measured, restrained. The bed beneath me was warm, the sheets impossibly soft against my skin.

For a moment, I didn’t move.

Then memory returned in sharp fragments—the drink, the spinning lights, Ryder’s voice cutting through the noise, his arms around me as the world fell apart.

I pushed myself upright slowly, my head throbbing but clear enough to think.

This wasn’t my room.

Sunlight filtered through tall windows, catching on dark wooden beams and stone walls etched with subtle carvings. Everything about the space felt deliberate. Controlled.

Safe, my wolf murmured, surprisingly certain.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, grounding myself against the cool floor.

The door opened quietly.

Monaco stepped inside, his expression carefully neutral. He paused when he saw me awake.

“You’re up earlier than expected,” he said.

“What happened?” I asked immediately.

His jaw tightened. “You were drugged.”

I nodded once. Hearing it aloud twisted my stomach, but it also steadied something inside me.

“Who?”

“We’re handling it.”

That wasn’t an answer.

Before I could press further, the room shifted—subtly, unmistakably.

Ryder.

He didn’t rush. Didn’t hesitate. He simply entered, already commanding the space. His gaze swept over me slowly too slowly to be accidental assessing, sharp, before settling on my face.

“You should still be resting,” he said.

“I want the truth,” I replied. “All of it.”

For a moment, he just watched me. Then he nodded once.

“Monaco,” he said. “Leave us.”

Monaco hesitated, glanced at me, then obeyed.

The door closed.

The silence that followed felt different now—tight, aware.

“You were given a sedative designed for omegas,” Ryder said calmly. “Low dosage. Enough to disorient. Not enough to knock you out.”

My fingers curled into the sheets. “So it was intentional.”

“Yes.”

“Approved?”

“No.”

That single word came out sharper than the rest.

“No one in my territory has permission to touch what’s under my protection,” he continued, voice low. “Not even idiots who mistake defiance for desire.”

The way he said under my protection sent a strange warmth through my chest.

He means it, my wolf whispered.

I ignored her.

Ryder’s jaw flexed. “I can’t protect you when you insist on being stubborn. There are things you don’t understand yet.”

Something about the way he said yet made my pulse trip.

“My brother sent something,” I said quietly.

“Yes.”

He crossed the room and set a folded document on the table beside the bed.

“Read it.”

My hands shook as I unfolded the paper.

Nicholas’s seal stared back at me—cold, familiar.

Kill her if you want. Just make sure she never returns to Lafayette. If you’re not quick, I’ll do it myself.

The words blurred.

No contract.

No conditions.

Just permission.

“How…” My voice broke. “How does a brother grow into something like that?”

Ryder’s expression darkened. “He disowned you at dawn. He also sent the fool who laced your drink.”

I laughed once, sharp and empty. “So I really am nothing to them.”

“You are not nothing.”

The immediacy of his response startled me.

I looked up. “Then what am I to you?”

The air shifted again.

Ryder exhaled slowly. “A liability. A responsibility.” His gaze dropped briefly, deliberately before lifting again. “And a complication I didn’t anticipate.”

“I’m not a prize,” I snapped.

“No,” he agreed, stepping closer. “You’re worse.”

I frowned. “Worse?”

“You’re disruptive.” His eyes held mine. “Men start making stupid decisions when you’re involved.”

Heat crept up my neck. “You brought me here.”

“Yes.”

“And now people think they can drug me.”

“That will not happen again.” His voice lowered. “No one sneaks into my territory. And no one touches what’s mine.”

The word hit harder than it should have. Somehow, his possession at the mention of mine melted its way into my heart.

“You don’t get to decide everything,” I said, though my voice lacked its edge.

His mouth curved slightly. “In public? I do.”

“And in private?”

That slow, dangerous smile appeared again.

“In private,” he said, “you ask. Or you challenge me. Depends how brave you’re feeling.”

My wolf stirred, restless.

“And if I want to leave?” I asked.

“You can’t.”

The bluntness stole my breath.

“Because Nicholas would kill me?”

“Yes.”

“And because you won’t let me go?”

Ryder didn’t look away. “Also yes.”

Fear curled in my chest followed by something warmer, steadier. “I didn’t choose this,” I whispered.

“Neither did I,” he said quietly. “But here you are. And here you stay.”

He turned to leave, then paused at the door. “Rest today,” he added. “Tomorrow, we correct a few misconceptions.”

“What misconceptions?” I asked.

“That you’re weak,” he said. “And that you’re unclaimed.”

The door closed. I lay back, heart racing.

I had lost my brother.

My pack.

My home.

I would have died if Ryder hadn’t intervened.

But for the first time since my father’s death, someone had drawn a line around me and dared the world to cross it.

Whether that would save me…

or ruin me…

remained to be seen.