The Alpha's face hardens. He can't believe his ears and now stands fully. His imposing aura expands like wildfire. "You would betray your family? Betray the pack for a mere girl?"
Darien stands even straighter. "Yes, Father. Yes. Because she's worth more than your idea of power. More than your rules. More than your pride. We…" He stops, seeing the subtle twitch in his father's lips. "We are fated to her. And she has a right to live, to be heard, and to be defended."
Silence crashes into the room like a slammed door.
The Alpha's expression calcifies. His jaw flexes once and Darien swears the temperature in the study drops several degrees. Morgan shifts his weight, trying to look unfazed, and Grayson is practically vibrating with the effort of not bolting straight through the nearest window.
Kairos murmurs in Darien's head. "He's about to blow. I can already hear the vein in his forehead packing its bags."
