Lyra's breath caught in her throat. Of all the triplets, it had to be him, the most volatile, the most unpredictable, and the one who hated her most.
"Come out," he commanded, not bothering to look in her direction.
She stepped out from behind the tree, her legs shaking so badly she wondered if they would hold her. Alpha Knox stood with his back to her, his naked form silhouetted against the moonlight, muscles tensed as if ready to attack again.
"Thank you," she whispered, the words catching in her throat. "You saved my life."
He turned so fast she barely saw him move. In a heartbeat, he was in front of her, his hand at her throat, pushing her back against the tree trunk. The bark scraped painfully against her spine as he pinned her there, his naked body inches from hers, radiating heat and fury.
"Do not flatter yourself," he snarled, his face so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. "I would watch you die a hundred times if I must."
His eyes were wild, pupils dilated with the lingering rage of his wolf. Blood dripped from his lips onto her collar, staining the already dirty fabric.
"I was merely averting a potential danger to my pack," he growled. Then, his eyes bored into hers with accusation. "What were you doing out here? Luring them into pack territory? What is your plan, little Thorne?"
His accusation hit her like a slap. "What? No, I—"
"Spare me your lies," Knox hissed, his face inches from hers. "Three rogues this deep in our territory? And you just happen to be wandering alone at night?" His eyes narrowed to slits. "What the fûck is your plan? Finish what your brother started?"
"I did not lure anyone," she gasped, struggling to breathe under the pressure of his grip. "I swear it! I was working in the vineyard—Alpha Kade's orders. I was just heading back."
"At this hour?" Knox's voice dropped dangerously low. "You expect me to believe—"
"The security guards—" she started, desperate to explain.
"Shut up." He cut her off with a snarl, the hand at her throat tightening enough to make her vision go white for a second. "I do not care for your excuses. You are a blight, Lyra. And now you have brought chaos to my borders. You are coming with me. Now."
He released her so suddenly that she nearly collapsed. Then, he grabbed her arm in a bruising grip and dragged her through the trees, setting a brutal pace. She stumbled, half-strangling on fear and humiliation, but he did not slow, not even when she caught her foot and went sprawling once. He just yanked her to her feet again, his fingers digging into the meat of her biceps.
They reached the eastern gate, and Marcus Reid came running towards them with a long, burgundy robe, handing it to Knox. Knox threw the robe over his shoulders.
"Follow me," he growled at Marcus.
He hauled her through the gates and into the courtyard, where the lamps burned all night and the dirt was raked clean each morning. The moment they reached the center of the courtyard, Knox shoved her forward so hard she hit the ground, scraping her palms. Marcus stood off to the side, head bowed, hands clenched behind his back. She realized he was careful not to look at her.
Above them, windows flickered with lamplight. In seconds, the yard was filled with bodies of pack deltas, omega girls in sleepy tangles of linen, even a few high-ranking delta warriors with their hair still wet from the washroom. They circled in, forming a ring. She kept her eyes down, but the whispers crawled over her skin.
She is covered in blood. What did she do? Is that Thorne's sister?
The crowd parted as Alpha Kade emerged from the main house, trailed by Beta Gareth and half the council. He was dressed in nothing but a white shirt, and his hair was still perfect; every inch of him was still neat. He surveyed the scene with the same dead-eyed calm he used to check a scroll.
He came to a stop in front of her, his gaze passing over Knox, then Marcus, and finally landing on her.
"Report," Kade said.
"Three rogues at the eastern boundary," Knox said. "I neutralized all three." He jerked his chin at her. "Found her standing at the center of it. Alone."
The hum of the crowd sharpened. Kade considered her, then turned to Marcus. "How did they get through?"
Marcus stepped forward and spoke in a shaking voice. "We left the north checkpoint manned, Alpha. Only the eastern perimeter was on patrol rotation. Vaughn, Beck, and Pieter were on duty."
She knew them. They were the guards from the security post, the ones who had tried to drag her into the room back at the vineyard, gnashing and rutting like animals.
Kade nodded. His face was unreadable, but she saw the cold, dangerous glint in his eyes. "Summon them."
Someone sprinted off. In less than a minute, Vaughn and the other two guards were dragged into the courtyard. Their faces were flushed and their shirts misbuttoned. Vaughn was bare-chested. There were lipstick smears on his neck. All three reeked of sweat, sex, and cheap alcohol.
Kade's jaw ticked. "Vaughn, Beck, Pieter. Explain."
The men glanced at each other, realizing there was no escape. Beck tried to speak, but his voice was papery. "We…we saw nothing, Alpha. The perimeter was clear. The girl...she is lying—"
With no warning, Knox moved. That was the only word for it. One second, he was standing next to her, the next he was across the yard, his hand buried in the soft flesh of Beck's throat. Beck did not even cry out; he just gurgled once as blood fanned across his shirt. Knox let him drop, then ripped into the next guard, Pieter, with his bare hands; claws out, teeth bared, jaws snapping once, twice, until the man's head slumped forward and half his body was split open at the chest.
Vaughn tried to run. He made it two steps before Knox hurled him to the flagstones, pinned him, and in one blur of motion, ripped his throat out with his teeth. A spray of blood arced through the air, splattering down Lyra's face and arms. She was frozen. The courtyard was silent, except for the wet sucking sounds and the thud of bodies hitting stone. The other wolves did not move. No one breathed.
Knox stood, slick and crimson, his chest heaving. He wiped his mouth with a backhand, then glared at the crowd. His focus landed on Kade, who merely studied the carnage with the indifference of an aristocrat considering the state of his lawn.
"I cannot afford another Elias Thorne in my pack," Knox said, his voice raw and cold. "I will not have weakness at the gate. This pack is all that matters."
He did not look at anyone again; he just stalked away, the robe swirling blood onto the earth behind him.
Kade stood there a moment, face unreadable. Then he signaled a pair of gammas. "Clean this up," he said, then looked at Maggie. "Take her to the healer."
Then he walked away, leaving Lyra on her knees, covered in blood that was not hers, as the pack watched in stunned silence.