Chapter 93

True to his vow, Marco remained resolute in the face of Jose's escalating attempts at intimidation and dominance over the weeks that followed. No matter how close the sinister pack leader lurked, no matter what taunts or threats he lobbed, Marco refused to yield an inch.

"We do not bow to tyrants or fanatics," he growled to Eve in the wake of one particularly brazen confrontation. "Not now, not ever."

Eve shuddered, pulling Sofia a little closer against her side. The young girl's eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and admiration as she watched her father - the mighty pillar of strength and wisdom who had been her universe since birth.

"Why does the mean man want to hurt us, Papa?" she piped up in a small voice. "We didn't do anything wrong."

Hearing the plaintive confusion in his daughter's words lanced straight through Marco's heart. He immediately crossed the room and dropped to one knee, e