“After is after.” My voice carries the edge that ends discussions. “Right now, we focus on the threat we know about.”
Callum shifts his weight, a subtle tell I’ve learned to read. “The pack’s uneasy, Dane. Having her here, giving her access—“
“Noted.” I don’t need to explain myself. My authority isn’t up for debate.
I move toward the door. “Secure the perimeter. Double the night patrol. If Phil left any surprises, I want them found.”
Outside, the night air hits my face with a cold slap. Nova’s already cutting across the compound toward her cabin, stride purposeful, not looking back. Smart. Distance is good right now.
But I don’t head for the perimeter. I stand there watching her go, her scent still in my lungs.
Everything about her is a test. And every test feels personal, not tactical.
That’s the real problem.
I turn my back on the lodge, but I don’t escape the pressure. Kari and Callum’s footsteps crunch through the frozen grass behind me, persistent as vultures.
Kari doesn’t wait for preamble.
“You’re playing with fire,” she says, her voice pitched low but hard. “That woman walks in here, points fingers, and suddenly she’s calling the shots?”
I keep my eyes fixed on the treeline. “Drop it, Kari.”
“She’s right,” Callum adds, his bulk shifting beside me. “Half the pack is talking. You’re protecting her. You made that really clear in there.”
The words hit like a match to gasoline. Something snaps inside me—a restraint I’ve been holding since Nova walked onto myterritory. I turn on both of them with the full weight of Alpha energy flooding my voice.
“Say that again. Either of you. To my face. And I’ll remind you what a challenge looks like.”
The words hang between us like ice crystals. Kari’s eyes widen, then drop to the ground. Her posture shifts from confrontation to submission in an instant. Callum takes half a step back, throat working silently, his amber eyes dimming as he breaks eye contact.
“I didn’t mean—“ Callum starts, then stops. His shoulders tense, but he knows better than to push when I’m like this.
Kari remains frozen, barely breathing.
“She stays,” I say, my voice low and final. “That’s not a request. That’s not up for debate. That’s how it is.”
Ben has paused thirty yards away, Nova beside him. They both watch the standoff, neither moving.
Kari’s jaw clenches. “I wasn’t challenging—“
“Sounded like it.” My voice doesn’t rise, but the pressure behind it doubles. “You think I’ve lost control? That I can’t see what’s happening in my own pack?”
“No, Alpha.” The formality tastes like surrender in the air.
“Then do your job. Secure the perimeter. Report back at dawn.” I turn to Callum. “You too. Eastern boundary, all the way to the river. Now.”
They both hesitate for a fraction of a second—just enough to register the rebellion—before they peel away, disappearing into separate corners of darkness.
I breathe in the cold air, feeling my pulse hammer against my ribs. That display wasn’t planned. Wasn’t necessary. Wasn’t even about them.
I walk toward the comms shack, needing distance from the lodge and the watching eyes. My boots sink into half-frozenmud. The night wraps around me like a shield, familiar terrain where I should feel steady.
I don’t.
Nova’s scent lingers in the air—pine and magic and something unmistakably female. My wolf stirs, wanting to track it back to its source. Wanting to find her cabin window and look in. Wanting things an Alpha can’t afford.
I clench my fists and stare at the dark outline of the perimeter cabin. No lights visible yet. Just the knowledge that she’s there, and I’m here, and somehow the distance isn’t enough.
