I was barely controlling myself. Barely holding back the shift that would turn me into a creature of fur and fangs. My hands had started to sprout claws before I forced them back with enormous effort. My teeth felt too sharp in my mouth. My vision was tinted red.
Aurion stepped closer to me. His own expression was calculating as he assessed the room with tactical precision, reading the nobles, analyzing the power dynamics, identifying the trap that was being laid.
“Punish her!” Amaia shrieked from her chair with theatrical outrage. “Look at her! She shows no remorse! No respect! She should be imprisoned for what she did to me! She should be whipped!”
But I was not looking at Amaia. I was looking at Wen.
She was flushed. Her cheeks were bright red. She kept shifting from one foot to the other in a way that suggested discomfort. Her breathing was slightly elevated. Her pupils were dilated. She looked... wrong. Not like herself.
Something was very wrong.
“Is everything okay?”I sent the thought through the bond carefully, trying not to alarm her but needing to know.
She jumped slightly when my voice entered her mind. Her eyes found mine across the room. They were slightly glazed and unfocused in a way that made my wolf whine with concern.
“I feel... weird,” she sent back. Each word came individually and spaced out as if it was taking enormous effort to form coherent thoughts.
I frowned. What did she mean by weird? Was she ill? Injured? Had those guards done something despite Torin’s assurance? I would kill them all if they had touched her inappropriately.
“She should be hanged for this offense!” One of the councilmen snarled. Lord Matthias, another Andreas sympathizer with delusions of importance. “Make an example of her! Show that humans cannot assault their betters without consequence! Show that you are strong!”
“I dare you,” I growled. My wolf was too close to the surface. My control was slipping by the second. “I dare you to fucking try.”
“Why would you let this go unpunished?” Matthias demanded. His face was red with outrage. “She assaulted a noble lady! In front of dozens of witnesses! If you do not enforce consequences, you show weakness! You prove that Andreas was right about you!”
That was when I scented it.
Sweet and delicious and intoxicating beyond anything I had ever smelled. The scent hit me like a physical blow that made my wolf howl with desperate need, made every instinct I possessed scream at me to claim her, protect her, get her away from this room full of unmated males immediately.
The scent was coming from Wen.
Oh gods. Ohfuck.
My wolf went completely insane, throwing itself against my control with violence that made my bones ache. It was screaming at me to shift, to take our mate away from this room full of unmated males who could also scent her now, who were starting to notice the change in the air.
I knew what this meant. Had known it was coming eventually. Had hoped desperately that we would have more time before it happened. Time to prepare, to secure her somewhere safe, to warn her properly about what was coming.
She was entering her heat. Her first heat. The strongest one. The one that would drive every unmated male within scenting distance absolutely mad with need.
I made a decision. The only decision that mattered anymore.
Politics could go to hell. The council could go to hell. Andreas and all his supporters could go straight to hell. My mate needed me and needed protection, and I would give it to her regardless of the consequences.
“Because the human outranks everyone in this room except me,” I growled. Let my eyes stay red and glowing. Let my alpha power fill the chamber until the air felt thick and several weaker wolves whimpered. “Gwendolyn Woods is my fated mate. She will not be punished for defending herself against insult. And if you-” I turned my glowing eyes on Amaia. “If you ever speak to her again in that manner, woman, you will not see the light of day again. You will regret the day you decided to speak ill of my mate. The same goes for every fucking person in this room. Do I make myself clear?”
Complete shocked silence descended on the chamber.
Amaia’s mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. Her face had gone pale.
“I want everyone out of this room. NOW.” The last word came out as a roar that made several nobles stumble backward. “GET THE FUCK OUT!”
Everyone scrambled. Nobles rushed for the doors in a panicked mass. Council members fled without dignity. Even Corvei, who had witnessed countless conflicts in his long life, moved with unusual haste toward the exit.
I stalked toward Wen. Several males had paused near her. Were scenting the air. Their pupils were starting to dilate. Their wolves responding to the unmated female in heat despite their better judgment.
I growled and physically shoved one of them. Hard enough to send him stumbling into the wall. “OUT!NOW!”
That got them moving with renewed urgency. The room cleared in seconds. The massive doors slammed behind the last fleeing noble with a resounding boom.
