---
The glowing eyes outside didn't blink.
Three rival wolves, huge and silent, watched Mira like prey.
The porch light flickered, shadows stretching long across the forest floor.
Mira tightened her grip on Arden's arm.
Her heart hammered so hard she could barely breathe.
"Stay behind me," Arden murmured, voice dropping into a lethal growl she hadn't heard before.
Not protective.
Possessive.
The pack gathered behind him, low growls rising like a storm.
"Arden," Mira whispered, "what do they want?"
He stepped forward, shielding her completely with his body.
"You," he said simply.
A chill ran through her.
One of the rival wolves shifted, bones snapping, fur melting away.
From the shadows emerged a tall, scarred man with eyes like molten gold.
The rival Alpha.
"Human girl," he said with a slow smirk, "you must be something special. The great Arden Blackwood is willing to break the law for you."
Mira tried to stand tall, but her knees shook.
Arden growled, "Try speaking to her again and I'll tear your throat out."
The rival Alpha chuckled.
"Oh… protective already? That's cute. And stupid."
Calen, the jealous pack member from earlier, suddenly stepped beside Arden, half-shifted, teeth bared.
Arden didn't tell him to stand down.
That's how serious this was.
The rival Alpha tilted his head.
"Let me see her," he said. "Let me scent her."
Arden's roar shook the porch beams.
"She is mine."
The rival Alpha's smirk widened.
"That's what I wanted to hear."
He snapped his fingers.
The two wolves beside him lunged.
---
The Fight That Shouldn't Have Happened
Arden pushed Mira backward into the house and slammed the door behind her so hard the walls shook.
"Don't move," he ordered.
"Arden—!"
"Don't. Move."
Then he shifted.
Not slowly.
Not gracefully.
Not like last time.
This time his wolf exploded from him, raw and powerful, a flash of silver and fury.
The sound alone made Mira's breath catch.
She ran to the window.
Outside, chaos erupted.
Arden collided with the first wolf mid-charge, throwing it off the porch with a brutal snap of jaws. The second wolf attacked from behind, clamping its teeth into Arden's shoulder.
"Arden!" Mira cried, banging on the window.
Calen leapt onto the second wolf, ripping it away from Arden.
Another pack member shifted and attacked from the left.
But the rival Alpha didn't move.
He stood perfectly still, eyes locked on Mira through the glass.
A predator.
Calculating.
Interested.
Mira stumbled back from the window, breath trembling.
"Why me?" she whispered.
The rival Alpha smiled darkly—even from a distance she could see it.
Because challenging Arden meant power.
And nothing challenged an Alpha more than his mate.
---
The Aftermath
Minutes felt like hours, but eventually the snarling grew distant. The rival wolves retreated into the shadows, limping, defeated but not discouraged.
A warning, not a war.
The door burst open.
Arden shifted back mid-step, falling to one knee, blood dripping down his shoulder and chest. Mira rushed to him, dropping to the floor, her hands flying to his face.
"Arden, you're hurt—"
"Mira." His voice cracked on her name. "Are you okay? Did they touch you?"
"No—no, I'm fine—Arden, you're the one bleeding!"
He grabbed her wrists, pulling her closer, eyes blazing with fear and relief.
"If anything had happened to you," he whispered, "I would have lost my mind."
Her throat tightened. "Arden…"
He rested his forehead against her stomach, arms wrapping around her waist, holding her like she was the only thing anchoring him to this world.
"Mira," he breathed, voice shaking in a way that shattered her, "I can't— I can't lose you."
Her fingers slid into his hair instinctively, gently, tenderly.
The Alpha who terrified everyone was shaking in her arms.
"Look at me," she whispered.
He lifted his head.
Their faces were inches apart.
"I'm here," she said softly. "I'm not going anywhere."
He cupped her face with a blood-stained hand, eyes burning with something deeper than desire.
"Don't promise me that unless you mean it," he murmured.
"I do," she whispered.
His breath hitched.
He leaned in—slowly, like he needed permission—
And Mira gave it.
She touched his cheek, guiding him closer.
Arden's lips met hers in a kiss that wasn't like the first.
Not desperate.
Not claiming.
But broken.
Relieved.
Almost reverent.
His hands slid to the small of her back, pulling her into him carefully, as if afraid she might fade. Mira melted into the warmth of him, into his strength, his trembling breath, the wild beat of his heart.
When the kiss finally broke, Arden rested his forehead against hers, eyes closed.
"They'll come back," he said quietly.
"And next time… they'll come for you."
Mira swallowed hard. "Then teach me. Help me fight. Help me survive your world."
His eyes snapped open—bright, fierce, full of both fear and pride.
"You want to learn?"
"Yes," she whispered. "With you."
Arden stood slowly, lifting her hand to his lips.
"Then tomorrow," he said, voice low and intense,
"your training begins."
--