Magnus's POV I returned late tonight. The pack council meeting had dissolved into another night of blood-warmed liquor and too many hollow toasts. Jackson was meant to drive me back to the Shadowbane estate-but halfway through the ride, I changed my mind. "Turn around," I said. He blinked. "Sir?" "Moonvale. Aysel's den." He didn't argue, though the scent of confusion was thick in the car. I caught his mutter under his breath-something about me being addicted, something about a great Alpha who preferred a small, cramped apartment over his own territory. He wasn't wrong. Since Aysel stepped into my orbit, even my temper had begun to heal. The pack called her a blessing. Jackson called her my downfall. When we reached the building, I dismissed him with a kick before he could start another sermon. His pulse spiked-fear, pity, amusement, all tangled together. Poor fool. He didn't know I was the one who should be afraid. The drunk Alpha is never kind, especially not to the one who owns his mind. Inside, darkness greeted me like an old wolf. The air was quiet, save for the soft rhythm of her breathing. The lights were off, yet I could see well enough-the faint glow from the street painted her silhouette on the couch. Curled small, fragile, like she always did when her world turned heavy. The wolf in me stirred. I didn't bother with the switch. I locked the door, crossed the room, and gathered her up. She stirred only when her body met my chest, her scent cutting through the last traces of alcohol. Wild jasmine. Moonlight. Home. She startled awake, fists flying. I caught her hand easily, pressing it against my heart. "Easy," I murmured. My voice came out rough, more growl than words. "Magnus-what are you doing? Let me go." Her voice trembled against my collarbone. Instead, I tightened my arms around her. She fit perfectly there-too perfectly. I brushed her hair back, touched her cheek, traced the soft line of her neck. My senses flooded with her warmth, her heartbeat, her trust. I shouldn't have, but the wolf in me-Rafe-didn't care for restraint. No perfume. No deceit. Only the pure, clean scent of the girl who'd never bowed to power. It soothed something feral inside me, and I found myself breathing her in, again and again. "You've been crying," I murmured. "Someone came here?"She blinked, startled. "How did you know?" I smiled against her skin but didn't answer. Her den reeked faintly of another presence-a polished female scent, cloying and foreign. Someone had dared step inside my Moonvale wolf's home. She sighed, voice cracking. "It was my mother. She came to tell me about the banquet. They want to announce my bond with Damon." The words slammed through me like a silver bullet. For a moment, the air itself seemed to bow under the pressure. The alcohol fled my veins, leaving only the beast. So that was it. The Moonvale and Blackwood Packs, sealing their pretty little alliance with her name. They would parade her like a trophy, and I was meant to stand aside. I let out a low laugh-humorless, sharp. My claws ached beneath my skin. "Then we'll go." She turned, confused. "We?" "Yes, little moon. I'll go with you." My hand found a strand of her hair, twisting it slowly. "If they're so eager to host a spectacle, we'll give them one." "But-the Shadowbane gathering-your family-" "Let them wait." My smile was wolfish, half promise, half threat. "We'll show face at both. Wouldn't want to disappoint anyone." Her breath caught. She couldn't read the intent behind my voice; she only saw the hunger-the restless, reckless glint in my eyes. I tilted her chin up, brushing my nose against her cheek. "What's wrong, Aysel? Don't want me there?" My thumb ghosted over her lips, and she shivered. Her answer came soft, tremulous. "Of course I do." In the dark, she smiled-quietly, cunningly. The kind of smile that said she understood exactly what it meant to have a wolf at her side. She didn't need to be pure. She needed to survive. Later, I let her go, settling onto the couch while she disappeared into her room. Her scent lingered on my skin, pulling me deeper into a sleep that was anything but peaceful. Tomorrow, they'd remember what it meant to provoke the Alpha of Shadowbane.