Page 63 of The Werewolf’s Wrong Mate

Because of me. Because my wolf had taken one breath and found the thing every law said could not exist inside human skin.

“I will not let you dispose of her,” I said.

Sava went still but Ronan didn’t. The door behind him felt suddenly farther away, as if the room had stretched to fit the size of the threat I had just made.

“You do not have the authority to stop me if pack survival requires it,” Ronan said.

I met his eyes. “I have the ability.”

A muscle moved in his jaw. The truth stood between us again. Ronan could command the pack. He could order guards. He could use law, council, secrecy, and every old oath I had made to him. But if I chose to put my body between Cassie and death, ability became the only language that mattered.

“You would turn on your Alpha for a human woman you met last night,” he said.

“No.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I would turn on anyone who tried to kill a helpless woman because my mistake made her inconvenient.”

That was true. It was not the whole truth.

Ronan knew it. My wolf knew it.

Cassie shifted beneath the sheet, and her lips parted around a rough breath. All three of us looked at her. For several seconds, the only sound in the room was the monitor and the sea wind pressing against sealed glass.

Ronan spoke without taking his eyes off her. “Then do not make her inconvenient.”

He turned toward the door and opened it. The hallway outside went silent so fast it might have been waiting on the other side of his palm. I smelled six wolves. Maybe more beyond the bend. Malrec was not there now, but Cormac was. Two young guards. A council messenger. Lucien farther away, carrying human coffee, human nerves, and the perfume of Cassie’s mother on his sleeve.

Ronan stepped into the threshold.

“Cassie Morgan remains under medical care,” he said to the hall. “No council access until I call for it. No speculation near this door. No mention of mercy, execution, containment, or the full moon within hearing. Anyone who tests my patience today will find out whether I have more of it than my brother.”

He closed the door before anyone answered.

Sava gave him a flat look. “That last part was subtle.”

“They needed subtlety?”

“No. They needed tranquilizers.”

Ronan ignored that and crossed to the table near the window, where the nurse had left a tray of water, medicine, folded cloths, and Cassie’s sealed belongings.

He picked up her phone again.

My wolf didn’t like his hand on it.

Ronan noticed without looking at me. “You are going to survive me holding a phone.”

“I make no promises.”

His gaze flicked up. For the first time since dawn, there was almost humor in his face, but it disappeared quickly.

“Her father sent another message,” he said.

“What does it say?”

Ronan looked at the screen. “It says, ‘Paprika received. I am staying. Your aunt is being Linda. Blink twice if I need to commit a felony.’”