Protocol and Restraint

Zev's POV

The shift from wolf to human is agony. Not because of the physical change—I've been shifting since I was twelve—but because Fenris fights me every second. He wants to stay in wolf form, wants to be closer to her, wants to circle that car until she understands we're hers.

'Let me stay wolf,' he snarls as our bones crack and reshape. 'Better to protect her as wolf.'

'We're scaring them,' I argue, forcing the shift to complete. 'Look at Marcus. He's ready to grab his family and run.'

The morning air hits my naked skin, cold and sharp. I grab the emergency clothes Andrea left—basic black pants and shirt, standard Alpha attire. My hands shake slightly as I dress. The mate bond is wreaking havoc on my control.

Marcus stands by the driver's door, hands raised in the universal sign of peace. He's following every protocol perfectly. Former Beta, he knows exactly how to approach an unknown Alpha. Smart. But his eyes keep darting to his children in the car, ready to defend them if necessary.

"Alpha Crimson," he says formally. "I am Marcus Rivers, former Beta of Silver Creek Pack. I request sanctuary for my family under the ancient laws of pack protection."

I force my Alpha aura down, compressing it until it's barely a whisper of power. Usually, I let it flow freely—it keeps challengers at bay and reminds the pack of my strength. But if I let it loose now, with the mate bond amplifying everything, I might accidentally force them all to their knees.

Especially her. And the thought of Diane kneeling, not from choice but from my power forcing her down, makes me sick.

"State your reason for leaving Silver Creek," I say, keeping my voice level. Professional. Cold.

Marcus swallows. "Alpha Victor has become... unstable. He rules through fear. Kills anyone who questions him. And he..." His voice cracks slightly. "He targeted my daughter. Announced he would force a claiming on her eighteenth birthday."

The words hit like physical blows. Each one makes Fenris snarl louder, makes my control slip further. Victor tried to claim her. MY mate. The growl starts in my chest before I can stop it, low and threatening.

Marcus steps back, pulling his hands higher. "We mean no threat to Storm Ridge. We only seek safety."

I force the growl down, but I can feel my eyes glowing silver. "How old is your daughter?"

"Seventeen. She turns eighteen in two weeks."

Two weeks. The words echo in my head. Two weeks until her wolf awakens. Two weeks until she can feel what I feel. Two weeks of this torture.

"Please," Marcus continues, and now there's desperation in his voice. "I know we have no right to ask. Thomas and Elena—her grandparents—they cut ties with us years ago. But Diane doesn't deserve to suffer for our choices. Neither does my son."

I look at the car. Ryan is watching everything with sharp eyes, one hand on his sister's shoulder. Protective. Good. But it's Diane I can't look away from.

She's leaning forward slightly, staring at me through the windshield. Those green eyes are impossibly bright in the morning light. There's no fear in them now, just... assessment. Like she's trying to understand what I am.

'Go to her,' Fenris begs. 'Just closer. Need to smell her better. Need to see her better.'

My feet move without permission. One step. Two. I'm walking toward the car before I realize it, drawn like a magnet. Marcus tenses but doesn't move, recognizing that challenging me now would be suicide.

I stop five feet from the vehicle. Close enough to see the slight tremble in Diane's hands. Close enough to notice she has tiny freckles across her nose. Close enough that her scent wraps around me like chains.

"You're Thomas and Elena's granddaughter?" I ask, looking directly at her through the glass.

She nods, then seems to realize I'm waiting for verbal confirmation. She rolls down the window slightly—just a crack, but enough for her voice to carry clearly.

"Yes, Alpha. My mother was Rachel Torres before she mated." Her voice is soft but steady. "She died five years ago."

"I remember," I say, and my voice comes out gentler than intended. "Your grandparents mourned deeply."

Something flickers across her face. Surprise that I would know that, maybe. Or surprise that I would care.

"They're here?" she asks, and now there's hope in her voice. "They're alive?"

"Very much so. Elder Thomas serves as one of my advisors. Elena runs our healing center."

Tears fill her eyes, and she quickly wipes them away. The gesture is so purely vulnerable that Fenris whines in my mind, desperate to comfort her.

"Thank you," she whispers.

Those two words nearly break my control entirely. I want to tell her she never has to thank me for anything. That I would give her the world if she asked. That her happiness is suddenly the only thing that matters.

Instead, I force myself to step back, to rebuild the cold Alpha facade. "Storm Ridge offers provisional sanctuary while we verify your story. You'll be housed in the guest quarters under guard—"

"Guard?" Ryan interrupts, then immediately drops his eyes. "Sorry, Alpha. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"The guards are for your protection," I clarify, looking at him but really speaking to Diane. "Victor doesn't tolerate defection. He may send wolves after you."

Marcus pales. "You think he'll violate territory boundaries?"

"I think Victor does whatever he wants until someone stops him." I let a hint of my true power leak into my voice. "But he won't touch you here. No one will."

The last part comes out as a vow, and I'm looking at Diane when I say it. She meets my eyes, and for one perfect moment, the world stops. Just her and me, staring at each other through a car window, and somehow it feels like everything.

Then she looks down, breaking the connection, and I can breathe again.

"The guest quarters are ready," Andrea says, appearing at my side. She's dressed now, professional and efficient. "If you'll follow me—"

An alarm suddenly splits the air. Three long howls from the western border. My head snaps up, instantly recognizing the pattern. Intruders. Multiple. Fighting.

"Silver Creek?" Marcus asks, fear spiking in his scent.

I'm already shifting, clothes shredding as Fenris explodes out. The shift is instant, brutal, my wolf responding to the threat to our territory. To our mate.

'Protect her,' Fenris snarls. 'They came for her.'

I look back at Diane, and she's pressed against the window now, eyes wide. But she's not looking at where the alarm came from. She's looking at me. At the massive black wolf that stands nearly as tall as the car itself.

For one second, I let her see the real me. The predator. The monster that Melissa said was too dangerous to love. Then I throw back my head and howl—a sound that shakes the ground and promises death to any who threaten what's mine.

More howls answer. My pack, responding to their Alpha's call. James appears in wolf form, along with six warriors. I give rapid commands through the pack link.

'Western border under attack. Andrea, get the refugees to the safe house. Lock it down. No one gets near them.'

'Yes, Alpha.'

'James, with me. Warriors, defensive positions around the compound.'

I start to run toward the threat, then stop. Turn back. Diane is still watching me, and now there's something else in her eyes. Not fear. Something that looks almost like... awe?

I bow my head to her once, a promise that she's safe, then race toward the western border. But even as I run toward danger, even as the warrior in me prepares for battle, all I can think about is the girl in the car.

My mate. Who has no idea that I would tear apart the world to keep her safe.

The intruders are about to learn what happens when someone threatens an Alpha's mate. Even if she doesn't know she's mine yet.