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His free hand scrabbled at the wall, his nails scratching the paint. “You’re hurting me.”

“You haven’t begun to feel what I’m going to inflict on you.”

The bedroom door creaked behind me. Niles’ voice cut through the dark, rough with sleep and confusion.

“Deadeye? What’s happening?”

I reeled in the darkness I wanted to unleash, refusing to show my mate what I was truly capable of. Never wanted Niles to see that side of me, even if the prick I trapped against the wall deserved to be put down.

“Stay back.”

“But—” He must’ve seen the figure because his voice sharpened. “Is that the guy from 3D? Oh god! Oh god, he was in here, with us?”

“Call the police,” I said.

“I’m calling.” He hurried from the room, then I heard fumbling sounds. The clatter of his phone being grabbed from the nightstand. I heard his voice go high and fast as he spoke to the dispatcher.

“Consider yourself lucky your organs are still intact. If Niles hadn’t been here, I’d be burying your corpse where no one could find it.”

The neighbor stopped struggling. His body went limp against the wall, his breathing shallow and uneven.

“If you ever come near him again,” I said, voice low, “if you ever look at him, ever think about him, I will end you. Do you understand me?”

“I understand.”

“Say it,” I snarled, my canines so close to his throat I could taste the kill.

“I understand. I won’t go anywhere near him again. I swear I won’t.”

“They’re on their way,” Niles said from behind me, his voice wavering. “Ten minutes. They said ten minutes.”

I didn’t loosen my grip. The neighbor stayed pinned, and I stayed where I was, my arm pressed against his back, my hand locked around his wrist. The minutes dragged. Niles hovered in the hallway, his breathing too fast, his phone clutched in both hands.

“I can’t believe you broke in,” Niles said. “I locked the door. I always lock the door. How did he get in, Lurch? Start talking or I’ll slap you upside the head with my phone.”

“Credit card. Cheap lock.” I glanced over my shoulder. His face was pale, his eyes too wide, and he was wearing my cut over his T-shirt and pajama bottoms. Fuck if he didn’t look good in my leather. “You okay?”

“No. Yes. Ask me in a week.” He wrapped my cut tighter around himself. “He was going to—if you hadn’t been here—”

“I was here.” I knew exactly where his mind had gone, and I wanted that horrific thought out of his head.

“If you hadn’t stayed—”

“I stayed.”

Blue and red lights washed through the windows, painting the walls in alternating color. My canines receded. Footsteps pounded up the stairs, then two officers appeared at the doorway I hadn’t bothered to close. I released the neighbor when one of them pulled out a set of handcuffs.

My wolf wanted a different outcome. Not in front of our mate. Never let him see the violence we’re capable of.

Niles gave his statement in a voice that started shaky and grew steadier as he talked. He gestured toward the door, the lock, the hallway where the man had stood yesterday.

The officers took notes. They asked questions. We followed them down mostly to breathe fresh air. The neighbor—his name was apparently Morton—was placed in the back of the patrol car, then lowered his head, refusing to look our way.

Good. That meant he’d taken my threat seriously.

One of the officers mentioned a record. Breaking and entering wasn’t his first criminal act.

Niles stood in the doorway of the apartment building, watching the car pull away, hugging my cut like a lifeline.