Third Person's POV The man had already taken down several of Magnus's pack brothers. Were it not for his opportunistic strike in the masquerade, seizing Aysel, he would have already met the Shadowbane Alpha's wrath-or worse, the cold embrace of the sea below. Magnus's eyes, black and fathomless like a midnight river, radiated a predatory chill that left no doubt: any misstep, any hesitation, would be punished with bone-shattering precision. "Aysel," he growled, voice low but carrying the weight of the entire Shadowbane Pack. Oddly, the calmest and most dangerous among them-Aysel herself-was also the most composed. She uttered his name softly, almost like a lure. Before Magnus could react, she shifted her weight and tumbled backward. The kidnapper, unprepared, slammed into her shoulder, striking his chin and tipping him backward. Aysel's back hit the empty air for a heartbeat, leaving the intruder scrambling to grip the railing. His hands found nothing, and with a wet, final splash, he was swallowed by the sea. But Aysel, too, fell over the rail-only to be caught at the last instant by Magnus's immense hands, muscles taut as steel, pulling her into his solid, unyielding embrace. Her eyes shone like the moon reflecting on the waves. "I knew you'd catch me." Magnus's face was unreadable, though his dark gaze betrayed a flash of terror he rarely allowed himself to feel. "Aysel, who told you to risk yourself?" he ground out through clenched teeth. One second more, one heartbeat, and... Aysel blinked innocently, tailing the corner of her lip with her sharp wit. "But you would have saved me from the sea anyway, wouldn't you?" Magnus froze. Serena, who had witnessed the last perilous moment, could only gape, caught between admiration for Aysel's unhesitating trust and shock at her audacity. Few could ever put their life entirely in another's hands-and Aysel had done so with Magnus, the continent's fiercest Alpha, unflinching. Even the invincible Magnus, seasoned through countless hunts and battles, had felt a fear he could not shrug off. His grip on Aysel tightened, a silent confession: her life mattered more than any personal pride or risk. Sensing his unrest, Aysel tapped his broad back gently, her voice softening with understanding. "So, you don't want me harmed. I get that. And just now, if I hadn't acted, you would have risked yourself to create an opening, wouldn't you?"Without restraint, Magnus could conquer any battlefield, any pack-but with Aysel, he chose the slow, cautious, clumsy methods of a guardian Alpha protecting the most precious member of his pack. "I don't want you hurt either," she murmured, voice carrying the warmth of a packmate. Magnus said nothing, simply held her tighter. Once the storm of adrenaline faded, Serena stepped forward, face pale. "Were they targeting you two?" Aysel shook her head. "I don't know. But Serena... there are more of them. This ship... there could be another wave of intruders we haven't seen." Serena's expression hardened. The man who had grabbed Aysel in the ballroom, the others Magnus had dispatched... all were only part of the threat. Aysel could feel it: there had been more in the ballroom than just the one attacker. Otherwise, the distraction and the knife pressed to her side to avoid hitting a child would never have occurred. Magnus could have intercepted her before leaving the hall. Serena ground her teeth. "Damn it!" She had assumed the heaviest hitters were safe, that nothing else could go wrong. Yet reality proved far more dangerous. From the moment someone accepted bribes to distribute invitations, she should have sensed the looming threat. The night, and the hunt, were far from over.