In less than a heartbeat, Ryder stormed forward. His body collided with Daniel’s, shoving him so hard the belt slipped from his grip and clattered against the floor.
“How dare you lay your hands on her!” Ryder’s voice thundered. His chest rose and fell violently, his eyes blazing as he seized the fallen belt. Without hesitation, he cracked it across Daniel’s shoulder, the sound echoing like thunder in the chamber.
Daniel staggered back with a hiss of pain. “Alpha Rhett asked me to do that!” he said, clutching the welt rising on his skin.
Ryder’s head snapped toward Rhett. “Why?” The single word was sharp, demanding, laced with the promise of violence.
The tension in the room thickened instantly. Rhett straightened from the wall, his eyes narrowing as he met Ryder’s stare. “Because she
