Mated to the Savage Enforcer

CHAPTER 1: THE SCENT OF A TRESPASSER ​The golden rule of the Nilgiri Pack was simple: Keep the teeth hidden, and keep the humans out. ​As the Pack Enforcer, my job wasn't just to enforce the law—it was to enforce it with blood if necessary. At six-foot-four, with enough scar tissue across my knuckles to tell a hundred bad stories, no rogue or human ever dared step into my sector twice. ​Until her. ​It was three in the morning, and the forest air was heavy with humidity, smelling of damp soil, crushed pine needles, and incoming rain. I stood on the edge of the ravine, my canvas jacket damp from the mist, tracking a scent that didn't belong here. ​It wasn't a rogue wolf. It wasn't a lost tourist on the Kodaikanal trail. ​It was hot skin. Crushed wild cardamom. Fresh mint. And an intoxicating, sweet human warmth that made the beast behind my ribs slam itself hard against my sternum. ​Mate, the wolf roared inside my mind, its golden claws digging into my subconscious. Ours. Find her. ​"Shut up," I growled aloud, clutching my head as a sharp wave of heat scorched through my veins. A human? It was impossible. A human couldn't be a werewolf's true mate. The Elders would skin us both alive. ​I melted into the thick fog, my boots silent as I tracked her scent up the dangerous ridge toward the abandoned colonial cottage. The property had been empty for years, surrounded by dark woods and ancient cedar trees that no sane local ever ventured near after sunset. ​Through the broken wooden fence, I saw a warm light flickering from the ground-floor window. ​My heart hammered against my ribs—a frantic, heavy rhythm I hadn't felt in thirty years. I scaled the massive cedar tree near the porch without making a single rustle, crouching on a thick branch directly outside her open window. ​Inside, she stood in front of a small copper mirror. ​She wore a soft, thin white tank top that clung to the curve of her waist and short fleece shorts that exposed long, sun-kissed legs. Her dark, wavy hair was pinned up haphazardly, exposing the slender, pale column of her neck. ​Every breath she took pulled the sweet, hot scent of her straight into my lungs. My fangs elongated, pressing painfully against the inside of my bottom lip. My vision flared into a razor-sharp, golden hue as the wolf fought to break through my skin, desperate to jump through the glass and claim what belonged to us. ​Touch her, the beast growled, practically drooling at the back of my mind. Mark her neck. Make her scream our name. ​I gripped the wet wooden sill of the roof so hard the timber splintered under my fingers. Control it, Kabir, I forced into thinking. She's a fragile human. You'll snap her in half. ​Suddenly, she stopped brushing her hair. ​She froze, her dark, almond-shaped eyes fixing on her reflection in the mirror. She didn't look terrified, but her chest rose and fell rapidly, her rose-tinted lips parting slightly. ​"I know someone is out there," she whispered into the quiet room. ​Her voice was a smooth, velvety purr that sent a violent surge of heat straight to my lower stomach. ​She turned slowly toward the window. Rain began to pour from the sky, heavy and sudden, splashing against the roof tiles. She walked right up to the open pane, leaning her forearms against the wooden frame. She was mere inches from where I crouched in the dark shadows above her. ​"I can feel you looking at me," she murmured, her dark eyes scanning the pitch-black canopy. She ran a soft hand down her exposed collarbone, her breath coming in shallow, heavy hitches. "It makes my skin burn..." ​My jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked violently in my cheek. The sheer restraint required not to drop down, pin her against that wall, and sink my teeth into her pulse point was tearing my soul in two. ​Before I could back away into the safety of the dark forest, a loud, bone-chilling roar echoed from the deep ridge behind her cottage. ​It wasn't a storm sound. It was the brutal, hungry howl of a rogue wolf—and it had caught her scent, too. ​Meera gasped, stepping back in shock as two glowing red eyes emerged from the treeline right at the edge of her lawn. ​The rogue lunged for the porch. ​No one touches what is mine. ​I didn't think. I dropped from the branch, landing heavily on the wooden porch right between the monster and her door, my bones cracking as my human frame violently expanded into a massive, shadowy silhouette.