“An Alpha protects. An Alpha punishes.”
I didn’t sleep after that.
Not with her scent still trembling in the air, sharp with fear. Not with the memory of another wolf’s hands on her skin. Not with the sound of her strangled gasp replaying in my head like a curse.
Aria was finally resting, curled against my chest, the blanket pulled tight. Her breathing evened out, but every so often she whimpered in her sleep and my claws slid out instinctively.
I pressed a kiss to her hair and slipped from the bed.
There are lines even wolves don’t cross.
He crossed one.
And I was going to make sure every single wolf in this territory understood the cost.
⸻
The night was cold as I stepped into the courtyard. The sentries stiffened at my presence but didn’t speak. They could smell the storm rollin
