Dante's POV
Time stopped.
Dante watched the human's finger tighten on the trigger. Watched it move toward the point of no return. Watched the girl on the ground, his girl, his mate, about to die in front of him.
His wolf didn't wait for permission.
It exploded out of him like a bomb going off inside his chest. Dante felt his bones snap and reform, felt his skin tear as fur ripped through, felt the animal side of himself take over completely. There was no transition, no moment of control. Just rage and need and the primal knowledge that his mate was about to die.
He launched himself forward mid-shift.
The bullet fired.
Dante felt it graze his shoulder as he leaped, burning through fur and flesh like a brand. The pain registered somewhere distant, somewhere that didn't matter. All that mattered was the human and the gun and the fact that he was about to tear this bastard apart.
He hit Marcus in mid-air as a full-sized black wolf, all fangs and claws and fury.
The human screamed.
The gun went flying. Marcus went flying. Dante went on top of him with his jaws open wide, ready to rip his throat out and finish this.
The human made a sound like a dying animal.
Dante's wolf wanted to respond. Wanted to finish it. Wanted to make sure this male could never hurt their mate again.
"STOP."
Kael's Alpha command slammed into Dante like a physical force.
It froze him mid-kill, his fangs inches from Marcus's throat. Every muscle in Dante's body locked up tight, forcing him to obey even though his wolf was screaming in protest. The animal inside him wanted to fight the command, wanted to finish what he'd started, but pack law was pack law.
An Alpha's command couldn't be disobeyed.
Dante forced his wolf back down, fighting every instinct that wanted to stay in this form and protect his mate. His bones snapped and reformed again as he shifted back to human. The change left him bleeding and naked and shaking with adrenaline.
Behind him, Serena was screaming.
"What is happening? What are you? What are you?" Her voice was high and terrified, the sound of someone watching their world break apart in real time.
Dante wanted to comfort her. Wanted to explain everything. Wanted to tell her that she was safe, that he would never let anything hurt her, that he would burn the entire world down to keep her safe.
But she was looking at him like he was a monster.
Marcus was gasping on the ground, bleeding from where Dante's claws had torn into him. The human was alive. That was going to have to be enough.
"It's okay," Dante said, trying to make his voice gentle even though he was covered in blood and his body was still vibrating with the need to kill. "You're safe now."
"Your eyes," Serena whispered. She was staring at him, her hazel eyes wide with shock. "Your eyes are glowing."
They probably were. Dante hadn't fully shifted back to human. Part of his wolf was still there, still close to the surface, still desperate to get to her.
Kael moved closer, his voice the calm one, the controlled one, the voice that made people listen.
"We are werewolves," Kael said simply. His words were like stones dropping into still water. "You crossed into our territory. You are safe now."
The girl's mouth opened and closed. No sound came out.
Dante could feel the mate bond between them vibrating like a plucked string. She was terrified. She was confused. She was overwhelmed by everything happening all at once. He could feel it all through the connection because that's what the bond did. It let him feel her, know her, understand her in a way that went deeper than words.
"What?" Serena's voice came out small. Broken. "Werewolves aren't real."
"We're real," Dante said. He wanted to go to her, wanted to hold her, wanted to show her that she didn't need to be afraid. "And you're ours."
The moment he said the words, he felt them lock into place. Felt them become true in a way that nothing else had ever been true. This girl, this human, this broken girl who'd run through the forest for her life, was their mate. The person they were bound to. The person they would die for.
Both of them.
Serena's eyes rolled back.
"No, no, no," Dante said, moving toward her. But he was too slow. Her body went limp, her consciousness shutting down like it couldn't handle what was happening anymore. The mate bond, the transformation, the shock of everything, it was too much for her untrained human mind.
She collapsed.
Dante caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her against his bare chest. He could feel her heartbeat against his ribs, racing and panicked even in unconsciousness. Could feel the pulse of the mate bond connecting the three of them now. Him. Kael. Her.
"What do we do?" Dante looked at his brother.
Kael was staring at the unconscious girl like he was trying to solve an impossible puzzle. His expression was hard but underneath it Dante could feel his emotion through their twin bond. The same shock. The same need. The same realization that they were completely and totally screwed.
"We take her to the house," Kael said finally. His voice was steady but Dante could hear the strain underneath. "We figure this out."
"Figure what out?" Dante asked. He was still holding her, unable to make himself let go. "She's our mate, Kael. Both of us. That's not something you figure out. That's something you accept."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Pack law says we can't."
"Then we break the law."
"You know what happens if we do that. Civil war. People die. Everything Dad built gets torn apart."
Dante looked down at the girl sleeping in his arms. She was so small. So fragile. So completely at their mercy. And she was theirs. Every fiber of his being knew it. Every instinct screamed it.
"Some things are worth breaking the law for," Dante said quietly.
Kael didn't answer. He just looked at the unconscious girl with an expression Dante had never seen on his brother's face before. It was need mixed with terror mixed with something close to love, all tangled up together and impossible to separate.
Marcus groaned from where he was lying on the ground.
"What about him?" Dante asked.
"The cells in the compound," Kael said. "We hold him until we figure out what to do with him."
They were going to have to carry him back. They were going to have to explain to their mother why they'd brought home a human girl and an abusive ex-boyfriend. They were going to have to deal with pack law and Council demands and everything that came with a forbidden mate bond.
But right now, in this moment, Dante had the girl cradled against his chest and he wasn't letting her go.
Kael shifted back to his wolf form. The massive dark gray beast that was their Alpha, their leader, their other half. Dante followed suit once he was sure Serena wouldn't slip from his arms. They ran through the forest like ghosts, two massive wolves carrying their impossible mate and the human male who'd tried to kill her.
Toward the pack house. Toward their fate.
Toward the moment that would either save them all or destroy everything they'd ever known.