The sky had turned a sickly shade of gray, the kind that made the earth itself seem to hold its breath. In the aftermath of the ambush, the forest was silent but not the comforting kind. This silence screamed.
Theron paced the war room, blood still crusted on his knuckles, his shirt torn at the collar where a Forsaken's claws had grazed him. He hadn't even bothered to change. He was vibrating, a coiled spring of rage and something more dangerous than fear.
Noah sat on the edge of the oak table, legs crossed, arms braced behind him as he watched his mate like a storm watcher. "You need to stop pacing. You're making the walls anxious."
"I can't think straight when I know they're still out there," Theron growled. "That they touched you. That they marked our land like it's theirs."
Noah tilted his head, a slow, teasing smile playing on his lips despite the tension. "You're sexy when you're murderous, you know that?"
Theron stopped cold. Turned.
That look in Noah's eyes it wasn't just flirtation. It was challenge. Desire. Defiance.
He moved in an instant, caging Noah between his arms and the heavy table, his body all heat and barely restrained fury. "You're playing a dangerous game, little omega."
"Funny," Noah murmured, fingers grazing the torn seam of Theron's shirt, nails barely scratching skin beneath, "I thought I was the game."
Theron growled, low and vibrating in his chest. "You keep testing me like this, and I'm gonna remind you exactly who you belong to."
"Then remind me," Noah whispered, breath hitching.
That was all it took.
Theron kissed him like a man losing control because he was. Teeth clashed, lips bruised, hands roamed with a desperation born from near-loss and the wild fear of what still hunted them. Noah met him with equal fire, his legs locking around Theron's waist, pulling him closer, devouring every growl from his Alpha's mouth.
"Say it," Theron rasped, mouth dragging down the side of Noah's throat. "Say who you belong to."
Noah gasped, tipping his head back. "You. Always you."
And god, Theron could've claimed him right there on the war table but the knock on the door shattered the moment.
A beta stood just outside, hesitant. "Alpha… the council is demanding answers. And reinforcements."
Theron didn't move from Noah's body, but his voice snapped like a whip. "Tell them they'll get both. When I'm fucking ready."
The beta vanished without another word.
Theron turned back to Noah, brushing hair from his flushed face. "I need to go. I need to secure the borders, keep you safe"
"I'm coming with you."
"The hell you are."
"You're not locking me away like some breakable thing, Theron. I fought with you. I bled for this pack. You're not doing this alone."
Theron stared at him, jaw clenched. But in the end, he didn't argue. He couldn't not with that fire blazing in Noah's eyes. The same fire that had made him fall in the first place.
"Then stay at my side," Theron said, softer now. "Don't leave it. Not for a second."
Noah nodded. "Always."
They left together, stepping into the cold air as the blood moon rose high casting the world in red and shadows. At the gate, warriors lined up, tense and silent, waiting for command.
Theron stood tall, his arm brushing Noah's as he addressed them.
"The Forsaken have returned," he announced. "They want to tear down the order we built. They want chaos. But they'll find only death here."
A howl rose in answer.
And then another.
And another.
Theron's voice dropped low as he looked at Noah. "We start tonight. We send them a message."
Noah licked his lips, smirked. "And what's the message?"
"That no one touches what's mine."