Protecting Her Novels & Stories

she spoke softly, then rested her head on my shoulder. I ran my fingers through her golden locks to sooth her, just as my mother would do to me. “It’s okay Ally.” I lifted her chin so that her gaze would meet mine again. “We are not going to let anything happen to you. Alpha Jackson and Beta Logan are out there looking for all the bad people. And as long as you’re here, you have me and Gamma Liam and Ayla, and all of us to protect you.” I smiled at her. She smiled back at me and got comfortable on my lap again. I went back to running my fingers through her hair as I turned my attention back to the computer to go over the pack finances.

She wipes away her tears with the back of her hands, and she warns me. “Let me tell you something, Henry Nosrevi… You can take anything I have, you can take everything away from me, my money, my house, my car! Just Minerva… You can’t take Minerva away from me! No matter how you are going to steal it from me, I will not let you have Minerva! I will protect Minerva! I will protect it until the day I die!” As she finishes her words, she simply puts herself back in her clothes, picks up her clutch purse, and dashes out of my bedroom.

Her body trembled. She looked down again immediately. “I…” she tried. But her voice broke. He waited. She swallowed. Her fingers tightened. “Speak,” he said quietly. She opened her mouth. But no words came out. Tears filled her eyes again. He watched her carefully. “You are protecting him,” he said. It was not a question. It was a statement. She shook her head quickly. “No…” “Then why are you silent?” he asked. Her breathing became uneven. “I am not protecting anyone,” she whispered.

Something simpler. Human. Protective.

But freedom doesn’t mean I won’t protect what’s mine. I trust her, but I don’t trust the world around her. She’s young, beautiful, and innocent—men will want to get close to her. They always do. So yes, I’ll have my people watching her, following her every move if necessary. Not to control her… but to guard her. To make sure no one touches her, no one hurts her, and no one steals her away. At least she needs someone who can protect her physically. And until she understands how dangerous this world is, that someone will be me.

Every subtle movement, every tilt of her head, tells me she is calculating each step, measuring every risk, and considering every person who crosses her path. I know she is trying to protect herself from the world and from us, and I cannot stop my chest from tightening at the thought. Her breathing is shallow but controlled. I can see her counting each inhale, each exhale, as if trying to steady the whirlwind inside her. I know she is exhausted. She has been running, hiding, thinking, surviving, and I see it in the tightness of her shoulders, in the way her fingers twitch against each other. She has learned to protect herself in ways I cannot. And yet, my instinct to shield her, to guard her

She stands there, arms crossed, eyes filled with something I can’t quite place. I'm confident she'll be safe. Achilles is almost more protective of her than I am, and he's the best person to look after her.

She looks completely shaken. "It’s okay, baby. I will protect you," I assure her as I use my thumb to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. "But there’s so little I can do if I can’t mind-link you. I want you to be able to reach out to me whenever you are in danger." "No. No, Kieran, I am not ready to be marked," she quickly says.

“You were easier to imagine quieter.” “And you were easier to imagine dead.” Her expression went flat. She started circling me now, trying to find a way around me to the shield. I stepped with her every time. “No,” She gave me an innocent look. “No what?” “You don’t go near them.” Her brows lifted. “Or what?” “You’ll find out.” She snorted. “Look at you. Playing protector of the universe. White dress all torn up, hands shaking, trying to stand in front of real danger like you belong in it.”

Moving to a new city and leaving everyone and everything behind are other things she had to do. I release a breath that I don’t even know I’m holding in great relief. This makes sense as to why she did not want me to know who she really was. It isn’t that she’s trying to be rude or cross; she’s just trying to protect herself. Again my heart breaks for her. She’s trying to keep herself safe. There is no way that I can fault her for that. No way that I cannot be proud of her. She is doing everything she can to try and get away and live, and now that I know, there is no way I’m letting her do this alone.