Fury: Zane’s Perspective

I burst through the library doors, Nyx's desperate cry still echoing in my mind. The scene before me stops me cold for a fraction of a second, just long enough to process what I'm seeing, to let fury build to its breaking point. Lucian Redwood, a gamma border patrol wolf who has served this pack for decades, has my omega backed against a bookshelf. Her dress is torn, bruises forming on her pale skin, blood speckling her face, though from the state of his nose, most of it appears to be his.

My little wolf fought back.

Pride flickers briefly through my rage before being consumed by it entirely.

'KILL HIM,' Conri roars in my mind, his fury matching my own but distilled to its most primal form. 'HE TOUCHED WHAT'S OURS.'

For once, there is no internal debate, no calculation of political consequences or pack dynamics. There is only the offence and the punishment it demands.

Sophia's eyes lock with mine across the room, wide, frightened, but still burning with that stubborn defiance that drew me to her from the beginning. A bruise darkens on her neck where Lucian's fingers pressed too hard, and the sight of it sends another wave of rage crashing through me.

Lucian's head snaps toward me, his expression shifting from lustful rage to dawning horror as he realises who has interrupted his attack. Blood streams from his shattered nose, dripping onto the collar of his uniform. He releases Sophia instantly, taking a step back as if distance will somehow save him now.

"Alpha," he starts, his voice nasal and choked with blood. "I was just…"

I'm across the room before he can finish the sentence, my hand closing around his throat and lifting him off the ground. Sophia sinks to the floor now that the immediate threat is gone, pulling the remnants of her dress around herself.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" My voice is deadly calm, a stark contrast to the killing rage coursing through my veins.

Lucian claws at my arm, his feet dangling uselessly as I hold him suspended with one hand. His face begins to redden as his air supply dwindles.

"She's... unclaimed omega," he chokes out when I loosen my grip just enough to let him speak. "Traditional... law... says..."

I slam him against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster, books tumbling from nearby shelves. "Traditional law?" I repeat, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You dare cite tradition to justify touching what's mine?"

"Not... marked," he gasps, still somehow believing he can talk his way out of this situation. "No... claiming bite..."

I lean closer, letting him see the death in my eyes. "Everything in this territory is mine, Lucian. Everyone knows this. Everyone respects this." I squeeze harder, watching his eyes bulge. "Everyone except you, apparently."

Sophia remains frozen on the floor, watching us with wary eyes. I can smell her fear, not just of Lucian now, but of me as well. Of the violence she's witnessing. Part of me wants to calm her, to reassure her, but Lucian requires my full attention first.

I slam him against the wall again. "Did you really think you could touch her and live? Did you imagine I wouldn't tear you apart for daring to put your hands on what belongs to me?"

"Council... at border," he wheezes, desperation making him foolish. "Might... take her back... wanted... taste first..."

His words ignite a fresh wave of fury so intense that my vision momentarily edges with red. I hear a low, feral growl and realise it's coming from my own throat.

"You are nothing," I tell him, each word precise and deadly. "Less than nothing. Decades of service to this pack, thrown away because you couldn't control your base instincts."

As I speak, one of his still-extended claws digs into the back of my hand, drawing blood in a last desperate attempt to free himself. The pain is insignificant, barely registering through my rage, but the action itself, the final act of defiance, of damage to what is mine, seals his fate.

Without further words, I adjust my grip and twist sharply. The crack of Lucian's neck breaking echoes through the library, a sound as final as a judge's gavel. His body goes limp in my grasp, eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. I let him drop to the floor, a discarded thing of no further consequence.

Only then do I turn my full attention to Sophia. She's pressed herself against the bookshelf, eyes wide as she stares at Lucian's body, then at me. The fear in her scent sharpens, mingling with shock and something else, relief, perhaps, or grim satisfaction at her attacker's fate.

"Did he hurt you?" I ask, my voice gentler now as I approach her slowly, conscious of how I must appear to her, hands bloodied, violence still radiating from every line of my body.

She shakes her head, eyes downcast in a submissive gesture I haven't seen from her before. "Just the bruises, Alpha Zane." Her voice is small, vulnerable in a way that stirs something protective in me.

I crouch before her, tilting her face up with two fingers under her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes. "He will never touch you again," I promise her. "Nor will anyone else who values their life."

She nods, a slight tremor running through her body. The torn dress barely covers her, and bruises are forming on her arms, her neck, her collarbone. The sight of them makes Conri growl with renewed anger.

"Let's get you out of here, little wolf," I say, softer than I've spoken to her before. Without waiting for a response, I scoop her up into my arms, cradling her against my chest. She's light, too light, her body tense at first before gradually relaxing into my hold.

'Protect her,' Conri urges, his rage giving way to fierce protectiveness. 'Keep her safe.'

'We will,' I assure him as I carry Sophia from the library, leaving Lucian's body for others to deal with. I'll send someone to clean up later. For now, Sophia is my only concern.

I mind-link Lyra as we move through the corridors. 'Send a healer to Sophia's suite. Now.'

'Yes, Alpha,' comes her immediate response. 'Is she badly hurt?'

'Bruises,' I reply tersely. 'And shock. Lucian attacked her. He's dead.'

A pause, then: 'I'll come myself. And I'll send someone for the body.'

Pack members we pass flatten themselves against the walls, eyes lowered, sensing my barely contained fury. None dare ask questions, though I feel their curiosity like a physical thing. News of Lucian's death will spread quickly, along with the reason for it. Good. Let it serve as a warning to anyone else who might consider touching what's mine.

In Sophia's suite, I lay her gently on the bed, reluctant to release her but knowing she needs space. Her fingers grasp at my sleeve as I start to pull away, surprising me.

"Your hand," she whispers, eyes fixed on the wound Lucian's claw left on my skin. "You're bleeding."

Before I can respond, she runs her finger over the cut. The sensation is strange, a warm tingling that spreads from the point of contact. I watch in fascination as the wound stitches itself closed under her touch, not even a scar remaining to mark where it had been.

"Thank you," I say, genuinely impressed by this display of her healing abilities. Another reason the Council values her so highly, another gift that makes her extraordinary.

She doesn't respond verbally, just leans forward until her forehead rests against my chest, her body trembling slightly with delayed shock. I hesitate, then place my hand on her hair, stroking it gently.

We stay like that, neither speaking, until Lyra arrives with healing supplies. Only then do I reluctantly step back, allowing the healer to tend to Sophia's bruises while I stand guard nearby, unwilling to let her out of my sight again.

Tonight, I decide, watching Sophia's eyes drift closed as exhaustion claims her. Tonight, I will make the claiming official. No one will dare touch her once my mark is on her skin.

No one will question who she belongs to.

Not the Council.

Not my pack.

No one.