My gaze settled on Iris.
My eyes lingered on Cassian’s arms around her.
I couldn’t explain how I felt seeing that but I pushed it aside now.
My eyes traveled to her cloth, which was torn and the dirt on it.
Her hair was tangled, there was a scrap on her cheek and her eyes showed fear.
Something inside me snapped.
Something had happened here, I could feel it.
My hands clenched tightly and the muscles in my jaw tightened.
My wolf surged violently beneath my skin.
Mine.
The growl echoed through my mind.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
The word became a roar.
My wolf demanded blood.
Someone had touched her.
Someone had put fear in her Someone had dared to put their hands on his mate.
For one terrifying moment, he wanted to tear the entire fortress apart until he found the one responsible.
No questions or mercy.
Just blood.
A lot of blood.
That was what my wolf wanted.
My breathing remained steady and controlled.
I didn’t show any emotion but inside, fury was spreading through him like wildfire.
The kind of fury that had earned me, my reputation.
The Alpha’s Blade.The King’s Executioner.
The warriors feared my anger because they knew something most didn’t.
I was never dangerous when I shouted.
I was dangerous when I became quiet and right now, I was very quiet.
“Who touched her?” My voice carried across the area.
No one answered.
Not because they didn’t want to because they couldn’t.
Nobody knew.
That only made it worse.
My gaze swept across every warrior present.
Each lowered their eyes immediately.
Nobody wanted to be the focus of my attention tonight.
Smart.
Because if anyone tested my patience, even slightly…I wasn’t entirely sure what I would do.
“Hades.” Cassian’s voice broke through the silence.
He was the only person that knew me too well and that could speak in a situation like this.
I ignored him, my eyes remained fixed on Iris.
She looked pale and despite her obvious effort to remain composed, I could see the fear in her eyes.
Whatever happened must have really scared her and then the realization struck harder than expected.
She had been alone.
No one had been there.
My stomach twisted.
An unfamiliar feeling settled over me.
Guilt?
The emotion infuriated me because it implied weakness.
Things I rarely allowed myself to feel.
“She’s hurt.
Let’s take her inside first and we can talk” Cassian’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
A growl escaped me.
Cassian was right.
My legs moved on its own accord and soon I was standing in front of Iris.
Cassian removed his arm from around her and shifted.
When I crouched, her scent hit me immediately.
My anger and thoughts vanished.
Something was different.
I frowned.
The familiar scent was still there.
Soft, warm and human but beneath it, there was something else.
Something I had never smelled before.
My eyes narrowed.
The scent reminded me of the earth, herbs.
My wolf went completely still.
I pushed those thoughts away from my head and my gaze dropped to her wrist.
There was a mark.
Was it there before?
For a brief second, I saw a faint silver on her wrist and then it vanished.
I froze.
I did not imagine I was seeing things and when I heard a sharp inhale from behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder and met Cassian’s eyes.
My eyes returned to Iris who shifted slightly.
“What happened?” I asked.
My voice came out quieter.
Iris swallowed.
“There was someone here.
They tried to kill me?” My jaw tightened.
“Did you see their face?” “No.” “Did they speak?” “No.” Another dead end.
The fury returned immediately.
My wolf paced restlessly.
He was searching for a target.
Any target.
He needed someone to punish and destroy.
Anything to ease the violent pressure building inside him.
Instead, I straightened.
“Did they have any distinct scent?” I asked.
Iris shook her head.
“I don’t know if he has a scent” she said quietly ans that’s when I remembered she was not a wolf and so she couldn’t detect a scent.
“Lockdown the fortress” my voice echoed.
Shock flashed across several faces.
“Hades” Cassian warned quietly.
Too late.
The decision had already been made.
My voice echoed through the clearing.
“Now!” The warriors began scrambling and each went in different direction.
“The forest should be searched, I need the culprit by tomorrow morning or else someone would go in for it.
Every room must also be searched.
Every corridor and nobody leaves” I ordered.
My gaze swept over the warriors.
A few warriors exchanged glances because they understood what this meant.
The attacker wasn’t outside.
It was one of them.
I intended to find out who.
Even if I had to tear the entire pack to do it.
“If I discover anyone withholding information…” my voice dropped lower.
“I will consider it involvement.” Everyone knew exactly what happened to wolves who betrayed him.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Satisfied, I turned back toward Iris.
My wolf wanted blood and he was going to get that.
“Hades.” Cassian spoke again more firmly this time.
Finally, I looked at him.
“She’s hurt” The words dragged my focus back to Iris.
A growl nearly escaped me not because of her.
It was the fact that Cassian was right.
She was still watching me.
Her expression a mixture of fear and confusion.
It reminded me how vulnerable she was.
Without another word, I bent down.
One arm slid beneath her knees and the other behind her back.
Then I lifted her effortlessly.
She was so light.
She froze.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
I didn’t look at her.
“Carrying you” Her mouth opened and closed.
Then opened again.
“I can walk.” “No.” My answer was immediate and final.
“I—” “No.” This time, she fell silent.
Probably because she recognized the seriousness in my voice or maybe because she could feel the tension radiating from me.
As I walked with her in my arms, I was barely containing my fury and the urge to find the attacker.
The urge to make them suffer.
My wolf wasn’t calming down.
If anything, carrying her made it worse because now he could feel how small and fragile she was.
How easily things could have ended differently tonight.
The thought made something dark move inside him.
Whoever had attacked her had made a mistake.
A very big mistake.
They hadn’t failed to kill a human and they had touched something that belonged to me.
I intended to remind them exactly why wolves called me the Alpha’s Blade.
Even if I had to drown the fortress in fear to do it.
As I carried Iris toward the house, only one thought remained.
One simple promise and vow.
Someone had tried to take what was mine and now I am going to hunt them.
The moment we reached her door, I kicked it open with my leg.
Iris jerked in my arms.
I walked further inside.
“You can drop me now” her voice was low.
I reluctantly set her foot on the floor.
“T-thank you” she stuttered.
She was staring at the ground, she was intentionally avoiding my eyes and I saw her cheek.
The cut was not too deep.
“Sit!” My voice came out sharper than I intended.
She looked up at me with fear in her eyes.
“I don’t like repeating myself” she moved immediately.
I went to the bathroom and got water and took a clean rag.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had stayed in this room for long but I could still remember the position of things.
My jaw tightened as I tried to shift those memories aside.
I soaked the rag into the water and raised my hand to her face.
“I-I can do this” “Sit still!” I started to clean the blood her face gently.
I noticed how tensed she was, she played with her fingers and looked everywhere except at me.
“What were you doing outside by that time?” “Huh?” She acted surprised, like she didn’t believe I was talking to her.
“Sorry, I couldn’t sleep and so I went out” “You have a hard time sleeping?” “Yes..No…” she scrambled “Which one is it?” “Sometimes, I find it difficult to sleep and today was one of those days” “And the other day with Cassian?” I blurted out.
I don’t even know why I asked that question.
Something about seeing them that day made my blood boil.
“Not really.
I just wanted to talk to Cassian” my hands clenched.
I didn’t like the sound of that.
Not one bit.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if something was going on between them but I stopped myself.
If I asked that, it would mean that I care.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had feelings for him.
Did he return those feelings too?
“Alpha” her little voice pulled me out of my thoughts and that’s when I realized I had paused.
“Thank you” she said with a bow.
“You can thank me later” I turned around and left.