Chapter 4

The word echoed in my head, over and over again, like a curse I couldn’t outrun even when I tried hard to.

Killian Blackwood had just claimed me in front of his Beta, in front of his pack. He had spoken the words with conviction, with certainty, as if it was that simple.

But it wasn’t.

It never was.

I had spent years surviving in the shadows, knowing my place. Rogues weren’t claimed. We were discarded, hunted, erased from packs.

And yet, here I was.

Under his protection.

Under his name.

Under his rule.

A mistake.

It had to be.

“You’re insane,” Elara muttered to him, raking a hand through her hair.

The Council will rip you apart for this and you know.”

Killian’s expression remained cold and unyielding as she spoke.

“Let them try.”

Elara let out a bitter laugh. “You were always reckless, but this? Claiming a rogue as yours? She’ll bring nothing but war to your doorstep, Killian. You know that.”

Those words send tenses over me.

Not because he was mistaken.

Because he was right.

I was a problem, a liability. A stain on a pack like this.

I shouldn’t have been here.

I shouldn’t have let it get this far.

Likewise, I opened my mouth—to deny it, to refuse whatever game Killian was playing—but his eyes snapped to mine, stopping the words before they could form.

“She’s mine, and I am claiming her as mine” he said, the voice was like stone. “That’s the only explanation anyone needs.”

Mine?

The air was suffocating me, the weight of that single word he said was pressing into my chest.

She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “Then you’d better be ready to defend her because the second the pack hears about this, they’ll come for her, and you know what that means ”

A sharp pang of fear lanced through me, leaving me shaking.

Killian must have sensed it because his golden eyes flicked back to me, I shooed my head to refuse him from going further, but his response sent shivers down my spine.

“I’ll handle it.”

Handle it?

Like this was his problem. Like I was.

My fingers curled into fists, still trembling. I shone my head rejecting his offer.

“You do now,” he countered smoothly then flashed a smile at me.

This was wrong. All of it.

I had fought too hard to escape chains, to survive on my own, only to end up tied to another Alpha.

“I never asked for this,” I whispered under my breath, but he couldn't hear me.

Killian tilted his head, studying me like I was something he couldn’t quite figure out.

“No,” he murmured. “But I did.”

Before I could respond, a knock thundered against the door, the sound sharp and demanding at a time.

Elara was intense, her expression was hardening. “That didn’t take long.”

I barely had time to process her words before the door burst open.

A group of men stood in the doorway, all of them looked like soldiers of the pack. Their scents were thick with dominance, with blood.

My pulse pounded heavily, breaking through my ribs.

Pack enforcers?

They must be Killian’s wolves.

And from the look in their eyes, I was already condemned.

“You have a lot to explain, Alpha,” one of them growled, stepping forward. His hair was cut close to his scalp. He must be a warrior, through and through.

Killian’s expression didn’t change. “Then speak.”

The warrior’s gaze flicked to me, cold and sharp. “You brought a rogue into our home. And now you're telling us she's yours?”

The room went silent.

Killian exhaled slowly. “That’s precisely what I’m telling you.”

Murmurs erupted from the men, their disbelief thick enough to choke on.

“Alphas don’t claim rogues and from her look she is weak”

“It’s a weakness.”

“She could be a spy. A traitor.”

I knew this would happen. I knew how wolves worked, how packs protected their own. Not only that, but I had spent my entire life watching them hunt down outsiders like me.

Killian wasn’t just breaking the rules.

He was shattering them.

I braced myself for the backlash, for the moment they turned on me.

But then—

“Anyone who has a problem with my decision can challenge me for my place as Alpha,” Killian said coolly.

Silence slammed into the room.

My breath caught between.

He wasn’t just protecting me.

He was willing to fight for me.

A challenge against an Alpha wasn’t a simple disagreement. It was a battle to the death.

No one spoke. No one moved.

Because they all knew the truth.

Killian Blackwood wasn’t just an Alpha.

He was a monster in combat.

He had never lost a fight.

Likewise, he wouldn’t lose now.

The tension in the room shifted, anger giving way to something else. Something dangerous I could say.

“She doesn’t belong here,” one of the enforcers finally said, but his voice lacked the same fire as before.

Killian’s gaze snapped to him. “She does now.”

Another ripple of unease passed through the group, but no one dared to speak again.

One by one, they backed away.

Defeated.

Elara let out a sharp breath, muttering under her breath. “You truly put a target on both your backs.”

Killian’s jaw flexed. “Then I guess we’d better not miss when we strike first.”

His words sent a chill through me.

Because he wasn’t just saying them.

He meant them.

Killian Blackwood had just started a war.

And I was the reason.

One thing I am certain about was that the pack may have backed down for now, but the war had only begun. Would Killian really be able to protect me from his wolves? And why was he willing to risk everything for me?