Dorian dragged in a breath and forced himself upright, spine locking into place through sheer will.Dropping now wasn’t an option.Not here.Not when their mate was less than ten feet away and completely unaware of what had just snapped into place, and a potential threat standing in front of her.
The bears had warned them it would be overwhelming.The tigers had laughed and called it brutal.None of them had mentioned how hard it would be just to stay standing.
Dorian met Rafe’s gaze, the connection between them tight and electric.
They buried it, walled it off with discipline, duty, and the kind of control that had kept them alive through wars, hunts, and blood-soaked operations.The bond didn’t disappear.It settled.Coiled and watchful.A living thing under their skin.
They would choose calm.They would choose control.They would not spook her.
And they would never leave her unguarded again.
The rogue spoke quietly, voice pitched low and even, careful to keep his hands visible, his posture non-threatening.He wasn’t here to frighten her.He was here to deliver information and get out alive.
“You shouldn’t still be here,” he was saying.“You’re marked.”
Riley froze.
Dorian’s jaw tightened.
“For capture,” the rogue continued, almost apologetic.“Not by me.I’m just giving you a warning.”
Riley’s hands clenched on the counter.“How did you find me?”
The rogue hesitated, just long enough to matter.“Someone powerful is pulling in favors and playing a lot of dealt cards.They are calling in debts that shoulda stayed buried.One of them landed on me.”
“How long do I have?”she asked.
“You get two days,” he said.“That’s all I can buy you.”
“Will you tell them where I am?”Dorian hated hearing the tremor of fear in her voice.
Silence.
Then, quietly, “I have to.”
Riley swallowed hard.“Thank you, for warning me.”
The rogue nodded once and turned toward the door.
Dorian waited until he stepped outside.
Then he moved.
Rafe caught his arm for half a second, a wordless question.
Dorian shook his head once.Stay.
Rafe didn’t argue.He faded back into the store’s blind spots, eyes on Riley, body coiled and ready.
Dorian followed the rogue into the night.
The man had no idea he was being hunted.
That was the thing about wolves.
When they wanted you to know they were there, you felt it in your bones.
When they didn’t?You never knew until you were on the ground.
