Savannah was far more valuable to me than she could ever imagine. I watched her from birth, growing into a striking, determined young woman. I molded her, groomed her for the role I required. Now, she’d come back to me as nothing more than damaged goods. I sneered at the thought, my teeth grinding in my jaw. No matter. Once she was within my grasp, Dominic could do with her as he pleased. A less virtuous wife would be his price for more power and influence. He’d take what I offered. My pulse quickened as I imagined her locked in the icy grasp of a life she never wanted. The thought of that cage around her was sweet. Very sweet.
The office felt colder as my plans solidified. Ms. Day’s information was valuable, but I wouldn’t underestimate Savannah’s resourcefulness again. I’d thought her broken, but she had the gall of a thousand wild wolves. She ran when I thought her too weak to walk. I turned my thoughts back to Karen Day. The woman wanted Savannah gone for some reason. I could use that to my advantage. It’s obvious she would secure Savannah for me until my men could get to her. Even if she sensed something wasn’t quite right, Savannah wouldn’t see us coming. I would move fast, exploiting the gap in their defenses. With Bronc and Bridger on the road, she’d have nowhere to turn. Her capture would be a mere formality. I grinned at the thought, my eyes dark with anticipation.
I imagined how Savannah would react when she realized how hopeless her situation was. How futile any attempts at escape were. I allowed myself a moment of satisfaction, letting the certainty of her capture wash over me like an incoming tide. Then, my mind churned with logistics. My team of mercenaries and a few of Callum’s most brutal men were more than capable of seeing this through. There’d be no negotiation, no second chances. In fewer than forty-eight hours, she’d not be returning to her nice comfortable family home, but she’d be in the home of her future husband.
The phone felt like lead in my hand as I dialed Karen Day. Her voice was brisk, tinged with expectation. “Ms. Day,” I said, my words sharp as blades. “We’ll do this my way.” I heard her breath catch, her compliance immediate. She would secure Savannah at the school, unaware of what awaited. “If she’s not there…” my voice trailed off, letting the implied threat hang like a noose. She assured me that she wouldn’t fail. The desperation in her tone was music to my ears. We agreed on a time, a place, the details etched in the cold steel of my intentions. Two days. That was all the time Savannah had left. As I ended the call, I allowed myself a dark, triumphant smile. “Two days,” I repeated to the empty room. “In two days, she’s mine.”
I summoned Callum to my office immediately after ending the call with Karen Day. He entered with military precision, standing at attention before my massive oak desk like a blade unsheathed, posture rigid beneath his tailored suit. When I told him Savannah had been found, his face twisted into something feral. Good. Let him burn with rage; it would sharpen him for what came next. As he paced like a caged wolf, spewing fantasies of tearing Iron Valor apart limb by limb, I leaned back in my chair and let myself taste the sweetness of inevitability.
We discussed logistics, talked about assembling that team of mercenaries, arranging our private jet to Amarillo, and infiltrating Iron Valor territory. I noted Callum’s particular eagerness for violence against his sister, even more extreme than my own tendencies. The room grew darker as evening approached, but neither of us moved to turn on more lights; our planning continued in growing shadows. By sunset, we’d finalized our extraction plan. “In hours, Savannah will be in the hands of her future husband, and there’s not a goddamn thing she nor anyone else can do to stop it.”
Callum’s eyes blazed with hatred. He wanted nothing more than to crush the Iron Valor Pack under his boot heel. His rage was a living thing, snarling and hungry, eager to sink its teeth into anythreat to our power. “We go in hot,” he insisted, his voice cutting through the darkening room like a blade. “Hit them hard, fast, and leave nothing standing.”
I considered his proposal, knowing the kind of brute force he loved. But I had always preferred precision over chaos, even if the result was the same. “The goal is her extraction, remember?” I reminded him, my tone icy and detached. “Do not let your eagerness destroy our prize. Your sister’s suffering belongs to Dominic first.” His jaw twitched at that—not out of mercy for Savannah, but frustration at delaying his sport with her.
His jaw clenched, muscles tight with barely suppressed fury, but he nodded. He understood that our family’s legacy, our future, depended on Savannah’s return and her marriage to Dominic. He would not fail me, though I had no doubt he’d want to leave a trail of destruction in his wake. I didn’t think this was in our best interest, either. “Callum, we need to be forward-thinking here. We’ll have our day against Iron Valor. But an unprovoked attack against their men will cause us grief with the Council. They will come for us. We’ll exact our revenge in good time, son. Taking Savannah out from under their noses will be sweet enough for now.”
He nodded in agreement. Despite his penchant for violence, Callum was a strategist and understood the game. “Yes, father. You’re right. I just want to punish them for taking what is ours.”
“In good time, son.”
We refined our strategy until it gleamed like a scalpel: swift infiltration during Iron Valor’s leadership void, minimal engagement…but maximum humiliation for those who’d dared harbor her. Callum grinned when I emphasized stealth over slaughter—not because he cared for subtlety, but because he knew what awaited Savannah once she was shackled in our jet’s cargo hold en route to Dominic’s estate. His fingers drummed against my desk as we spoke, already itching to leave bruises on her arms when hehauled her away from whatever pathetic rebellion she’d built there among those fools who called themselves wolves.
We moved through each step of the plan; the timing of arrival, the moment of their strike. My office felt like a war room, every detail calculated and deliberate. The shadows deepened as the sun sank lower, and I could see the violent gleam in Callum’s eyes as he imagined the delicious victory of finally capturing his sister. “She’ll regret running,” he said, a savage promise in his voice. “We’ll make sure of it.” He spat the words out like they burned his tongue, the contempt in his voice almost palpable.
“Once you have her, we move quickly.” My voice was as dark as the room around us, each word precise and exacting. “A quick departure will leave Iron Valor reeling. The Alpha and her mate being away will make it so much easier. But the other members of his pack will be there. His enforcers. So stealth is still paramount.”
The strategy appealed to Callum’s ruthless nature, the efficiency of it satisfying him as much as the violence would. “We’ll be ghosts,” he said, a grin stretching across his face. “In and out before they know what hit them.” He was eager, ready to unleash the kind of brutality that I’d seen him hone over years of training and expectation. It was his gift, cruel and unyielding.
The room grew colder as evening stretched on, but I hardly noticed. My focus was singular; the certainty of success a warm glow in the back of my mind. Savannah’s defiance would be her undoing, and Callum and I would see it through. The Iron Valor Pack was formidable, but they would never expect this.
Callum left to gather the men and prepare the jet. His exit was swift, full of the promise of blood and victory. I sat alone in the darkened office, the pieces of the plan clicking into place like the final stages of a long, complex game. I had a call to make. Dominic would be happy to know that his bride was only hours from being secured. I considered inviting him to ride along. I relished the idea of seeing her face when she realized all the months of running still resulted in her falling into the hands of theman I had chosen for her. Dominic and I would be waiting on the plane when tomorrow, she’d see the futility of her choices, the inevitability of her fate. And tomorrow, she’d learn what happens when a Calloway tries to run.
The cold bite of night meant nothing compared to the warmth blooming behind my ribs as I sat alone afterward—a king already tasting victory on his tongue while plotting which pieces of Iron Valor to burn next…once their precious stolen princess was gone.
Chapter 12
Savannah
The morning Menace left for Birmingham with Bronc, the air clung to me like static, all prickling unease beneath forced calm. I didn’t know if my father was still looking for me, but Menace’s reassurances hummed in my head like a mantra: You’re safe. He’d unloaded my suitcase and gotten me settled into one of the guest rooms at Bronc and Juliet’s in the early hours of the morning. Then, he kissed me hard just inside the doorway to the room, his grip possessive yet trembling, as if letting go might unravel him. “Juliet’s got you,” he’d said, voice rough. “Arsenal is gonna be staying with you.” I nodded as I eased my death grip on the lapels of his suit coat. He and Bronc were dressed for business—if I had to guess, I’d say he was in a Tom Ford suit—navy blue, crisp white shirt, matching vest and tie. This man was more handsome than any man I’d ever laid my eyes on. They’d look right at home in the presence of their king.
Juliet and I walked our men out to Bronc’s truck outside their cabin and gave them one last kiss goodbye. Bronc briefly gave Arsenal some last-minute instructions as Juliet and I walked back to the large front porch. We turned and gave a final wave as the truck pulled out and down the dusty road toward the pack’s private airstrip about five miles deeper in pack territory.
“Everything is going to work out Savanah.” Juliet’s voice was warm and reassuring. Her hand on my shoulder a comfort.
“You don’t know my father. He’s not a man who considers losing an option.” I told her. I swear I hated to sound like a pessimist. In my soul, I wanted to be that person who looked at the possibilities and not the obstacles. One day, hopefully that could be me.
Juliet looked me in the eye. “I may not know your father, but I know Menace. That man loves you. With that love comes utter devotion and fierce protection. And I also know Bronc. You are Iron Valor Pack now. He is your Alpha. And he isnotan Alpha that lets any member of his pack come to harm if it is within his power to prevent it. Trust that they will do all that is in their power to keep you safe and out of the hands of your father and King Dominic Madison.” I wanted to trust in them. I really did. There was no point in worrying about something beyond my control. We’d worry about my father when and if the time came.
It had been two days since Menace and Bronc had left for Birmingham. This morning after Arsenal dropped me off for work, walking into the school felt like walking into a hornet’s nest—fluorescent lights buzzing, hallways thick with the sour tang of burnt coffee. Something just feltofffrom the moment I stepped inside. Karen smiled at me.Smiled. Her lips stretched too wide, like a predator playing with its prey. “Morning, Sawyer,” she chirped, handing me a latte I didn’t trust. The other teachers—usually icy as January—nodded warmly too. My skin crawled, but I buried suspicion under hope: maybe Menace threatened them.
My classroom was my sanctuary. New violins gleamed in the corner—Menace’s doing, subtle as sunrise. He’d been sneaking in instruments for weeks: a cajón drum one day, a few flutes the next.I ran my fingers over the polished wood, smiling despite myself. This man memorized my Amazon wishlist. The kids’ laughter during lessons soothed me, their off-key renditions of “Hot Cross Buns” weirdly grounding. For a few hours, I almost forgot the lie I was living—Sawyer the music teacher, not Savannah the runaway heir.
Lunch with Gabby was my lifeline. She slid into the seat across from me, tossing a bag of Takis between us like contraband. “Spill,” she said around a mouthful of chips.
“Who died to make Karen human?” I snorted but didn’t answer. Gabby didn’t know who I really was, and I hated that. But it was too dangerous for her to know. She’d learn when everyone else did I supposed. “She has been nice to me all day. It’s weird. And ‘the Karens’ have been all smiles, too. I’m afraid Menace has maybe told her to back off or something. Which I hate.”
Gabby laughed, mouth full of snack treats. “Oh yeah, how awful. Your big gorgeous mate running interference with the big bad wolf. How terrible.” She winked.
