Chapter 32. Blood at the Gate

The cold tension at the gate had been political; now it was visceral. Gerald's hand, flashing out toward Aria, struck the heavy iron bars with a dull, sickening CRACK, but the impact was merely sound. The intent, however, struck Kade like a physical blow. It was the casual, effortless malice of a predator reaching for prey, an action that stripped away all pretense of legal maneuvering and revealed the underlying, inexcusable cruelty.

The rage that surged through Kade was not born from the political dilemma of the Stabilization Mandate, but from the deep, territorial instinct of the Alpha to protect what was irreversibly his. It didn't matter what title Aria carried—Ward, Asset, or even the dreaded legal term Property—she was under his roof, under his protection, and the human had dared to issue a threat of violence against her person.

In that instant, every lesson Kade had learned about political restraint, every weary concession he had made to the Council