Chapter 6

Karen’s POV

Zaiden’s last words echoed in my head. “Don’t leave this room.”

At first, I thought it was just his Alpha possessiveness, his way of caging me. But then the howls began.

The first was distant, sharp a patrol signal. The second came closer. Louder. Then another, and another, until the night split with a chorus that made every hair on my body stand upright.

My wolf stirred restlessly inside me. Danger. Blood.

I rushed to the window, pressing trembling fingers against the cold glass. Below, the courtyard had erupted into chaos. Sunrise warriors shifted mid-run, their clothes shredding as fur ripped through their skin. Rogues dozens of them came crashing over the eastern wall, snarling, frothing, their eyes glowing with feral red light.

The clash was immediate. Wolves lunged at each other. Teeth tore. Bodies slammed into the ground with bone-cracking force. Screams and snarls tangled together until I couldn’t tell which belonged to Sunrise warriors and which belonged to rogues.

And then I saw Zaiden.

He was already in his wolf, a towering shadow of black fur and blazing golden eyes. His power was devastating, terrifying. Each swipe of his claws shredded rogues apart. His jaws crushed throats like they were nothing. He fought like a beast born only for war, and the rogues fell around him like flies.

My wolf whimpered, belly-deep and desperate. Mate. Ours.

My human side recoiled. My chest tightened, fear clawing at me. I wanted to run, to fight, to do something but his command held me down like iron shackles.

Don’t leave this room.

So I didn’t.

************

Zaiden’s POV

“Alpha!” Cole’s voice slammed through the mindlink, sharp and urgent. “The rogues are attacking. I’ve taken the pack to the safe house, but our men can’t hold them alone. We need you.”

The words had barely finished when the stench hit me.

Rot. Blood. Rogues.

I was already moving, my wolf clawing to the surface. Bones snapped, fur tore through skin, and in the next breath, I was on four paws, golden eyes burning.

The howls of alarm shook the grounds as shadows poured over the east wall dozens of rogues, snarling, foam dripping from their jaws.

Pathetic.

Did they think they could step onto my land and leave breathing?

I launched into the first wave. My claws ripped through flesh, hot blood spraying across the dirt. My jaws snapped shut around a throat, crunching bone in one brutal shake. The rogue dropped lifeless, and my wolf roared in triumph.

But even as I slaughtered, the bond thrummed at the back of my mind.

Karen.

I’d told her not to leave that room. She should be safe. But her fear bled through the bond, spiking sharp, her wolf restless, clawing to fight.

Stay there, I growled silently, tearing another rogue apart. You’re mine. You stay where I put you.

“Alpha!” Cole burst into view, his grey wolf ripping down a rogue at my flank. “They’re pouring in from the woods testing the borders!”

Good. Let them come.

I bared my teeth, eyes flashing molten gold. “Then we’ll remind them who owns this land.”

We surged forward. Blood painted the earth, bodies broke beneath our fury, and the rogues began to falter because it wasn’t just Sunrise wolves they were fighting. It was me.

Every kill was a vow, a warning: no one touched my pack. No one touched what was mine.

Not my land, not my wolves, not even my mate.

**********

The rogues scattered at last, broken bodies littering the courtyard. Their snarls faded into the forest as the survivors fled with tails tucked between their legs.

I stood among the carnage, chest heaving, black fur dripping with blood that wasn’t mine. The scent of iron and rot stung my nose, but beneath it all, one scent pulsed stronger hers.

Karen.

I forced my wolf back, bones snapping, skin knitting until I stood human once more. Warriors shifted around me, wounded but alive, clearing the grounds. I gave quick orders, my voice still edged with a growl.

“Clean this up. Burn the bodies outside the borders. Double patrols. No one rests until I say so.”

Cole padded to my side, his grey fur stained red, before shifting. He bowed his head, sweat dripping down his temple. “Alpha, the borders are secured for now.”

I nodded. “Good. Report to me in my office.”

I cast one last glance at the east wing. Her room. My chest tightened. I wanted to go to her, but if she’d obeyed, she was still inside safe. That had to be enough. For now.

I turned on my heel and stalked to the packhouse, the air thick with smoke and blood. Inside, silence pressed heavy, only broken by distant howls fading into nothingness.

By the time I reached my office, Cole was already there, bowing low.

“Alpha,” he said, his tone tight. “There’s… an urgent matter we need to address.”

My jaw flexed. Another proble

m.

I lowered myself into the chair behind my desk, golden eyes locking on him. “Speak.”