Daxon Stormclaw POV

“She’s feral,” Rylen muttered as we stepped into the cool night air, the door to The Hollow Spot swinging shut behind us.

“No,” Jace added, licking salt off his fingers, “she’s psychotic. That chick looked ready to rip Vaela’s throat out with her teeth. Hot, but terrifying.”

I didn’t say anything.

Mostly because my jaw was still clenched so tight it hurt.

I kept seeing it.

Her eyes.

That flash of silver.

That raw, guttural snarl. Like it was coming from something ancient inside her, not just a wolf. And when I pulled her off Vaela, when she turned on me, baring her teeth, wild and furious, it felt like getting hit by lightning.

My wolf had jumped. Not like, “oh shit, fight incoming,” more like… we know her.

But we don’t.

And we shouldn’t.

“I’ve seen a lot of rage shifts,” Rylen continued, clearly enjoying the drama. “But that? That was some next level divine wrath shit. Like… she had murder in her blood, bro.”

“She didn’t shift,” I said quietly.

They both stopped walking.

Jace cocked his head. “What?”

“She didn’t shift,” I repeated. “No full transition. No fur. Just her. Her eyes changed, her voice dropped, her energy went nuclear, but she didn’t shift.”

Rylen looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “Okay, but why are you noticing that?”

I ignored him.

Because I didn’t have an answer.

Because my skin still burned where I touched her waist.

Because I could still hear her snarl in my ears.

Because for a second, when our eyes locked…

It didn’t feel like I was restraining her.

It felt like I was trying not to fall into her.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

“She’s not even an alpha,” I muttered. “She’s just a… rogue case the Gamma couple took in after Caelan died.”

Rylen raised a brow. “Dude. She just full body tackled your sister and almost took out a royal table. Pretty sure we can stop pretending she’s a harmless omega.”

“She won’t submit,” I snapped. “She never has. She’s mouthy, stubborn, always thinks she’s smarter than everyone. She’s not..”

“Y’know,” Jace said, smirking, “you say a lot of words for someone who ‘hates’ her.”

I glared. “I do hate her.”

“Right. That’s why your voice drops a whole octave when you say her name.”

“I’m serious. She’s always challenging me. She won’t obey. She never flinches. She gets under my skin like a thorn that won’t come out.”

“Like a mate?” Rylen said casually.

I stopped walking.

Both of them bumped into me from behind.

“Don’t.”

“C’mon, bro. It’s not the worst thing in the world.”

“She’s not my mate,” I growled. “If she were, I’d know.”

Wouldn’t I? Fated mates were rare and if I hadn’t found her by now I likely wouldn’t. There’s no way. No possible way. I shook my head definitively. Nope.

My wolf was quiet.

Too quiet.

And suddenly, I hated the silence more than I hated her.

By the time we pulled into the Stormclaw estate..less “home” and more fortress with mood lighting..I was still chewing on the ghost of Elowen’s snarl.

The whole damn drive, Rylen and Jace wouldn’t shut up.

“You should’ve let her finish choking Vaela,” Jace said, cracking his knuckles as we walked through the carved obsidian front doors. “Would’ve been the most peaceful dinner this year.”

“You say that like you wouldn’t have pissed yourself,” Rylen snorted.

“I would’ve clapped, actually.”

“Both of you shut the hell up,” I muttered, stepping into the grand hall.

It was dark stone and silver chandeliers. Faint moonlight spilled in from the glass ceiling. My mother’s touch was in every sleek surface, every expensive art piece no one understood.

And standing dead center under the spiral staircase, arms crossed, wearing a look that could freeze lava…was

Alpha King Draven Stormclaw.

My father.

Of course.

“Boys,” he said, voice cold as iron. “Out.”

Rylen and Jace didn’t need to be told twice. They practically vanished, not even pretending to be subtle about it.

I didn’t move.

Draven stepped forward slowly. No shouting. No drama.

Just presence.

Alpha to the bone.

And for once, he didn’t look like he was ready to rip someone’s throat out.

Yet.

“I got a call,” he said quietly. “From Marnie. And Mina. And half the damn teenagers in town.”

“Of course you did.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You gonna tell me what the hell happened with Elowen Thorne… or do I need to pull it from your skull?”

I rolled my shoulders, jaw tight. “She was provoked.”

His brow lifted. “By?”

“Vaela.”

A beat of silence.

Vaela Stormclaw POV

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