THE TEXT

Alba's POV

I didn’t sleep.

The photo on my phone burned into my eyes.

Me in red. Ares’ hand on my back.

And that text: `She’s not yours, King. She’s mine. And I’m coming to collect.`

Zoomed in. Kieran in the background. Smiling.

Like he knew something I didn’t.

3:17am.

I was still sitting on the edge of my bed when there was a knock.

Soft.

“Ares?” I said.

The door opened.

Him. Black sweatpants. Bare chest. Hair messy like he’d been running his hands through it.

He took one look at me, and his expression went hard.

“What’s wrong?”

I held up my phone.

He crossed the room in two steps, took it from me, and read it.

His jaw ticked. Once. Twice.

Then he threw the phone on my bed. Not hard. Controlled.

“Fuck,” he said.

“Is it him?” I whispered. “Kieran?”

Ares ran a hand down his face. “Could be. Could be someone trying to frame him. Could be someone else entirely.”

He looked at me. “Don’t panic. I’ll have my tech team trace the number.”

“It’s 3am.”

“I don’t care.” He was already pulling out his own phone. “Marcus. I need a trace on an unknown number. Now. Priority one.”

He hung up and looked at me again.

“You’re shaking.”

“It’s cold.”

“Liar.” He sat next to me on the bed. Not touching. Close. “Talk to me.”

I hugged myself. The tank top wasn’t enough.

“I thought after tonight... I thought I was safe. That he couldn’t”

“He can’t,” Ares cut me off. “Not while you’re under my roof. Not while you’re mine.”

Mine.

That word again.

“Why would he send this?” I asked. “To scare me?”

“To scare me,” Ares said. “To see if I’d flinch. To see if I’d pull you back from public.”

He turned to me. “We’re not.”

I nodded. But my stomach was in knots.

He must’ve seen it. Because he cursed and pulled me into his side.

His arm came around my shoulders. Warm. Solid.

“You’re not alone in this,” he murmured. “I told you. I’ve got you.”

I leaned into him without thinking. He smelled like cedar and sleep.

We sat like that until my phone buzzed again.

Marcus: `Number is a burner. Bought 2 hours ago in Nightfang territory. Camera footage being pulled.`

Ares showed me the screen.

“Nightfang,” I whispered. “So it is him.”

“Or someone in his pack,” Ares said. “Don’t jump to conclusions yet.”

He stood. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“Training yard. 4am. You’re not sleeping anyway.”

---

The yard was dark. One light. Cold.

Ares was already there when I walked out. Shirtless. Punching bag.

He stopped when he saw me.

“You came.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

He tossed me gloves. “Good. We use them.”

For the next hour he ran me ragged.

Sprints. Burpees. Sparring.

Every time I thought I’d break, he said two words: “Again. Faster.”

At 5 a.m., I collapsed on the sand, breathing hard.

He sat next to me. Tossed me water.

“Better?” he asked.

“Angry,” I admitted.

“Good,” he said. “Anger is fuel. Use it.”

He was quiet for a minute. Then: “About the text.”

“What about it?”

“I won’t let anyone take you from me, Alba. Contract or not.”

My heart did something stupid.

“That wasn’t in the contract.”

“I know,” he said. He looked at me. Really looked. “Which is why I’m telling you.”

Before I could answer, his phone rang. Marcus.

“Got something,” Marcus said through the speaker. “Footage shows Veronica’s cousin. Lucas. He bought the burner phone.”

Veronica’s cousin.

Ares hung up. His expression was ice.

“Lucas has been in love with Veronica since they were kids,” he said. “He’s unstable. Obsessive.”

“So it’s not Kieran?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Ares said. “He’s acting for them. Either way, Nightfang is involved.”

He stood and held out his hand.

“Get up. We have a meeting with the council in 2 hours. And you’re coming.”

---

The council room was full. 12 alphas. Kieran. Veronica in the back, looking smug.

And Lucas. Sitting next to her. Early 20s. Blonde. Eyes too bright.

He looked at me and smiled.

Ares saw it. His hand on my back went rigid.

“Alpha King,” the head alpha said. “What’s this about?”

“Threats,” Ares said. He didn’t sit. He stood behind my chair. “Someone sent my Luna a threatening message last night. From Nightfang territory.”

Murmurs.

Kieran frowned. “We don’t tolerate that. Do you have proof?”

“I do,” Ares said. He nodded to Marcus, who played the audio of Lucas buying the phone.

Lucas didn’t even flinch. He just leaned back. “So what? I sent a text. She’s wolfless. She doesn’t belong in our world.”

The room went silent.

Ares moved so fast I barely saw it.

One second he was behind me. The next, he had Lucas by the collar, lifted halfway out of his chair.

“Apologize,” Ares said. Quiet.

“Or what?” Lucas sneered.

“Or I break your jaw, and Kieran can explain to the Crown why one of his wolves assaulted a royal Luna.”

Kieran stood. “Alpha King, that’s enough”

“It is enough,” Ares said. He dropped Lucas. “It’s enough that you let your pack harass her for 23 years. It’s enough that you rejected her. It’s enough.”

He turned to me. Held out his hand.

“Come.”

I took it.

We walked out. Behind us, the council was yelling.

In the hall, Ares stopped. He checked me over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“I’m angry,” I said. “Same as you said. Fuel.”

Something flickered in his eyes. Pride.

“Good,” he said. “Then let’s use it.”

---

That night there was another text.

Same unknown number.

A video.

Me, age 18. At my rejection ceremony. In my white dress. Crying.

Caption: `This is what you are. This is what you’ll always be.`

I stared at it until my vision blurred.

Until I felt 18 again. Small. Broken.

The door opened.

Ares.

He saw my face and the phone in my hand. He didn’t ask. He just crossed the room and took the phone.

Watched the video.

His knuckles went white.

“Don’t,” he said.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t let them put you back there.”

He sat on the floor in front of me. Right there on the rug.

“Alba. Look at me.”

I did.

“You’re not that girl anymore,” he said. “The girl in that video is gone. She died in the rain. And the woman sitting in front of me? She’s a Luna. She’s a fighter. And she’s mine.”

My throat closed.

“Why do you care so much?” I whispered. “It’s just a contract.”

Ares was quiet for a long time.

“Because no one should have to go through what you did. And because...” He stopped. Shook his head. “Because when I look at you, I don’t see wolfless trash. I see someone who survived hell and came out swinging.”

He stood. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“My room.”

I froze. “The contract said”

“No touching. No sleeping in the same bed. I know,” he said. “You’ll sleep in my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch. My room has better security. And I’m not leaving you alone tonight.”

I followed him.

His room was massive. Black sheets. Fireplace. Windows overlooking the estate.

He pointed to the bed. “You. Bed. Me. Couch.”

“What if I have another nightmare?”

“Then I’ll be right there,” he said. He sat on the couch. “Scream all you want. I’m not going anywhere.”

I climbed into his bed. It smelled like him.

For the first time in days, I slept without dreaming.

---

I woke up to sunlight and the smell of coffee.

Ares was already up. At the window, on the phone.

“...I don’t care what it takes. Find him.”

He hung up when he saw me awake.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

He handed me coffee. Black.

“Lucas was arrested last night,” he said. “For harassment. Royal charges.”

“What about Kieran?”

“Nothing yet. But we’re close.”

He looked at me. Really looked.

“You okay?”

“Better,” I said. And meant it.

His phone buzzed.

He looked at it and cursed.

“What?”

“Invitation,” he said. “From Kieran. Private dinner. Tomorrow night. Just us four. Him, Veronica, me, you.”

My stomach dropped.

“It’s a trap,” I said.

“Obviously,” Ares said. He crumpled the invitation. “Which is why we’re going.”

He held out his hand.

“Ready to walk into the lion’s den?”

I took his hand.

“Ready.”