Chapter 11

Nadia

The guard rotation started the next morning. Two Ashford warriors trailed a careful distance behind me at school, blending in as older students, while Kade barely left my side between classes.

"This feels excessive," I said, glancing at the two warriors pretending to study a bulletin board near my locker.

"Six scouts breached a defended border two nights ago," Kade said. "Excessive is relative."

I couldn't argue with that, even though the constant watching made my skin itch. Priya noticed immediately, of course.

"Okay, either you have secret bodyguards now," she said at lunch, eyeing the warriors at a nearby table, "or those guys have a very specific interest in the salad bar."

"They're bodyguards," I admitted. "Long story."

"With you, it's always a long story." She didn't push further, just squeezed my hand once under the table, a small gesture of solidarity that meant more than she probably realized.

Days passed with no further incidents, though the tension never fully faded. My father's scouts worked constantly, trying to trace the six captured wolves back to any known pack, with little success. Whoever sent them had covered their tracks carefully.

Then, nine days after the breach, my father called me into his study, his face grim in a way that made my stomach drop before he even spoke.

"One of the scouts finally talked," he said. "Under careful, lawful questioning. He gave us a name."

"Whose?"

"A rogue Alpha named Draven. Former enforcer for a northern territory that collapsed almost a decade ago. Since then, he's been building something in the unclaimed lands beyond Row's border — recruiting displaced wolves, rogues, anyone loyal to power over pack tradition."

"What does he want with me?"

My father hesitated, which scared me more than if he'd simply answered. "The scout claimed Draven's been searching for years for a way to legitimize a claim to Alpha territory he lost. A female Alpha heir, especially one tied to two of the strongest packs in the region through a confirmed mate bond, would make an extremely valuable target. Whether he intends to force an alliance, a forced bonding, or simply remove you as a threat to whatever plans he's building, we don't know."

The word *forced bonding* sent ice through my veins. Kade, who'd been standing quietly near the door, stepped forward, jaw tight. "That's not happening."

"I don't intend to let it," my father said firmly. "But we need to move carefully. Draven's spent years building strength in territory no one properly patrols. If we move against him without full information, we risk pushing him into something reckless."

"So what do we do?" I asked. "Wait for him to try again?"

"We prepare," my father said. "All three packs, coordinated defenses, better patrols along every shared border, and eyes on any unclaimed territory bordering our lands. And you," he added, looking directly at me, "continue exactly as you have been. Visible, protected, but not hidden. Hiding is what let him search for you for years undetected. We don't go back to that now."

That night, Kade walked me home instead of leaving me at the border gate the way he usually did, staying close, quieter than usual.

"You're thinking loud," I said eventually.

"Forced bonding," he said. "That phrase is going to be stuck in my head for a while."

"Mine too."

He stopped walking, turning to face me fully, something fierce and steady in his expression. "That's not happening. Whatever Draven wants, whatever plan he's building, he doesn't get anywhere near you. I don't care how many rogues he's recruited."

"Kade"

"I mean it, Nadia." His voice was low, certain. "I've spent weeks being patient, giving you space, letting you set the pace on everything between us because that felt right. But this is different. If there's a real threat trying to take you by force, I'm not stepping back and being careful anymore. I'm not losing you to some rogue Alpha's ambition."

Something in his tone, fierce and protective without being controlling, settled warm in my chest despite the fear underneath it. "I'm not planning on being taken anywhere."

"Good." Some of the tension eased from his shoulders. "Because I meant every word I said about this bond. About us. Draven doesn't get to threaten that just because he lost his own territory a decade ago."

I reached for his hand, steadying myself as much as him. "We'll figure this out. Together, like you said."

"Together," he agreed, though the worry didn't fully leave his eyes.

Back home, I found my father still awake, staring at the map in his study, more red marks added since our earlier conversation.

"You should be resting," I said.

"So should you." He managed a tired smile, gesturing for me to sit. "I keep thinking about something the scout said. Draven lost his territory a decade ago. Before that, he served as an enforcer, meaning he was never meant to lead in the first place. He wasn't born an Alpha."

"Does that matter?"

"It might." My father tapped the map thoughtfully. "An Alpha by blood commands respect through legitimacy, through bloodline packs recognize and trust. An Alpha by force, without that legitimacy, always needs something more to secure loyalty. Territory. Power. Or—"

"A bonded mate with strong bloodline connections," I finished quietly, understanding dawning cold and clear. "He's not just after me because I'm powerful. He's after me because binding himself to Royal and Ashford bloodlines through force would give him exactly the legitimacy he's been missing for ten years."

My father nodded slowly, grim satisfaction at finally understanding the shape of the threat mixing with fresh worry over exactly how personal that threat now felt.

"Then we make sure," he said quietly, "that he never gets the chance to try."