DRAVEN'S POV.
"You can't go alone," I said, tone shifting into the Alpha she kept forgetting I was. "Not through the forest. Not with what stalks those roads. I'll have soldiers follow behind you. You won't see them. They won't bother you. But they will keep you alive."
"I don't need an—"
"You do."
I didn't yell or commanded. I just told the truth.
Because I knew the creatures that lurked between kingdoms. I knew the rival packs.
I knew the enemies who would love nothing more than to take her simply because she mattered to me.
She hesitated, with storm in her eyes, then exhaled a trembling breath.
"Fine," she murmured. "But they don't get to tell me where to go."
"They won't," I said.
And then, because the universe hated timing, a guard sprinted down the hall, pale and breathless.
"My king—urgent!" he gasped. "The southern tower requires you immediately. There's…there's been a breach."
A low growl swelled in my chest. Not now.
"Handle it," I said.
