Vaelor felt his wolf pushing harder beneath his skin.

One wrong word.

One wrong touch.

And he'd shift right there in the office just to tear another male away from her.

Over a human.

Christ.

"Shift and talk," Vaelor ordered sharply.

The large gray wolf lowered his head immediately.

A second later, Leonard stood there instead, dragging a hand through his dark hair.

"The council knows what happened with Alina."

Vaelor's expression hardened instantly.

Leonard sighed.

"And now that you don't have a chosen mate anymore..." He hesitated briefly. "They're organizing a hunt during the next full moon."

Vaelor went completely still.

"They're what?"

"They want you to choose there."

A dangerous silence filled the office.

"The next full moon is in three weeks," Vaelor said flatly.

His fists clenched slowly at his sides.

"I'm not taking a mate from another pack."

"I know."

Leonard leaned back against the wall carefully.

"I'm just warning you."

Vaelor dragged a hand across his jaw.

The council had been pressuring him for years already.

An Alpha without heirs.

Without a Luna.

Without stability.

Now Alina was gone too.

Perfect.

"Carlos's sister is already preparing herself," Leonard added.

Vaelor looked disgusted instantly.

"Raquel."

God.

Absolutely not.

Carlos had spent years trying to push influence into Vaelor's pack through politics, alliances, favors.

Now apparently he wanted to do it through his sister.

"If he thinks I'll let that woman anywhere near my territory, he's delusional."

Leonard snorted quietly.

"Without Alina standing beside you anymore, every ambitious she-wolf is going to start circling."

Vaelor growled low in his chest.

Leonard clapped a hand against his shoulder.

"Just thought you should know before the hunting games begin."

Vaelor nodded once.

"I owe you."

"Nah."

Leonard grinned.

Then his gaze shifted toward the office door.

"So." His smile widened slightly. "Who's the human?"

Vaelor immediately stiffened.

Leonard noticed.

Interesting.

"She's beautiful," he continued casually. "Sweet too."

Vaelor's wolf surged instantly beneath his skin.

"Still available?"

The growl that came out of Vaelor barely sounded human.

"Don't."

Leonard's eyebrows lifted immediately.

Vaelor stepped closer slowly.

"She's under my protection."

Gold flashed through his eyes.

"That makes her part of this pack."

Leonard stared at him for a second too long.

Then slowly smiled.

"Oh."

That scent.

Faint.

Possessive.

Bonding instincts already starting.

Leonard decided immediately to become annoying about it.

"Funny thing is," he said lightly, "her scent's all over me now."

Bad choice.

Very bad choice.

Vaelor slammed the office door open so violently the walls shook.

"Leave."

The word came out as a snarl.

Leonard lifted both hands instantly.

"Okay. Relax."

But he shifted back into wolf form immediately anyway and disappeared before Vaelor actually attacked him.

The second he left, silence crashed into the room again.

Vaelor stood motionless in the middle of it.

Breathing hard.

Because the thought of Claire with another man made something ugly rise inside him instantly.

Violent.

Possessive.

Wrong.

His wolf already accepted her completely.

The animal had decided.

Mate.

Mine.

Only mine.

But Vaelor still hesitated.

Because she was human.

Not wolf.

Not pack-born.

Human.

And somehow that made this harder to believe instead of easier.

If Claire had been a wolf, he probably would've accepted it already.

Instead fate dropped her into his life the exact moment the council demanded he claim a mate.

Cruel timing.

Impossible timing.

"No," Vaelor muttered aloud. "Impossible."

"Talking to yourself now?"

Kaelen walked into the office looking mildly concerned.

Vaelor exhaled sharply and dropped into his chair behind the desk.

"No."

A pause.

"Thinking out loud."

Kaelen studied him carefully for a second.

Then—

"I passed Leonard outside."

Vaelor's head snapped up instantly.

"He already left?"

"Yeah."

Kaelen crossed his arms.

"But before leaving, he licked Claire's face."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Then—

"What?"

Vaelor moved so fast the chair nearly tipped backward.

Kaelen watched with open amusement now.

"He seemed very friendly."

Vaelor was already halfway to the door.

"Is she still outside?"

"No idea."

Kaelen leaned casually against the wall.

"But maybe stop for one second and think about what exactly you plan to do here."

Vaelor stopped abruptly.

Because Kaelen was right.

What exactly was he planning to do?

Claire was free.

Human.

Not claimed.

Not his.

Yet.

The realization hit hard enough to drag him back into the office slowly.

Kaelen's expression shifted immediately.

There it is.

Finally.

Vaelor dropped heavily into the chair again and rubbed both hands down his face.

"I was already thinking about it before you came in."

Kaelen waited silently.

Vaelor stared down at the desk.

"Do you think fate brought her to me now for a reason?"

Kaelen smiled immediately.

"Your mate?"

Vaelor didn't answer right away.

Didn't need to.

Kaelen already knew.

"Seems obvious to me."

"A human?" Vaelor muttered. "Not even a wolf."

Kaelen frowned slightly.

"That's the strange part."

Vaelor looked up.

"My wolf accepted her immediately." His jaw tightened. "The man didn't."

"That makes no sense," Kaelen said honestly. "Usually it's the opposite."

Vaelor leaned back slowly.

"I know."

His wolf wanted Claire constantly.

Wanted her beneath him.

Wanted to bite her throat every time another male looked too long.

Even seeing Leonard enjoy her touch nearly drove him insane.

Meanwhile the rational part of him still searched desperately for reasons this couldn't be real.

Kaelen exhaled quietly.

"You know," he said eventually, "Alina was right about one thing."

Vaelor grunted.

"What?"

"A pack only functions properly when its Alpha does."

The office fell quiet again.

Kaelen's voice softened slightly afterward.

"You need to think about yourself too."

Vaelor closed his eyes briefly.

For years he'd ignored that entirely.

Duty first.

Pack first.

Always.

And now fate dropped Claire Dawson directly into his territory like a challenge from the gods themselves.

"If she's really your mate," Kaelen continued, "does it matter whether she's wolf or human?"

Vaelor opened his eyes slowly.

No.

It didn't.

Not even a little.

Because the second he imagined someone else touching her—

his wolf wanted blood.

Vaelor's gaze darkened instantly.

"If she's mine," he said quietly, "then she's mine."

A growl vibrated through the room.

"Only mine."