I leaned back against the wall, and waited for Cassy's return. The moment her retreating form disappeared around the corner, Matt reappeared at my side, a shadow falling over my awareness.
"What did you learn?" I asked, my gaze still fixed on the hallway Cassy had vanished down.
Matt sighed, his own shoulders slumping against the wall. "It's bad." My fists clenched. I'd already suspected as much, but hearing it out loud was a different kind of blow.
A jolt of fear and anxiety shot through me, and I instinctively pressed a hand to my chest, trying to push back the unease. Matt raised his eyebrow at me but continued.
"From what I gathered, Josh basically isolated her the moment her mom and she joined the household," Matt said. As he spoke, I continued to rub my chest, the feeling of anxiety a growing, unwelcome presence, overlaid with a resigned acceptance.
"You okay, man?" Matt questioned and pulled my attention back.
I straightened immediately as another jolt, this time of profound despair, swept over me. This, I realized with dawning horror, wasn't my own. It was Cassy's, transmitted directly through the bond.
"Cassy." I said, a breath catching in my throat, and launched myself down the hall. Another, more forceful, sensation flooded the bond, and with it, Cassy's voice, clear as a bell in my mind: *DERICK!*
Her cry for help spurred me on, and I surged toward the bathroom, Matt's presence entirely absent from my awareness.
The bathroom door loomed, a solid barrier between me and Cassy's terror. It was locked. A low growl rumbled in my chest. My hands, already burning with a cold fury, slammed against the wood. It wouldn't budge. The despair that had washed over me intensified, twisting into a ravenous need to protect.
Without a second thought, I unleashed the full force of my Alpha strength, the wood groaning and splintering under the impact. The door burst inward, revealing the horrifying scene. Josh, his face contorted in a snarl, had Cassy pinned against the sink, his hand around her throat. Her usually vibrant green eyes were wide with fear, her delicate frame trembling.
My wolf surged, a tidal wave of possessiveness and rage. He dared to touch my mate. My vision blurred with crimson, the world narrowing to Josh, my fangs elongating, a guttural roar tearing from my throat.
Matt burst through the shattered doorway behind me, his voice a desperate plea, "Derick, no! You have to stop!" His words were a distant echo against the roaring in my ears. Josh's scent, thick with Cassy's fear and his own aggressive dominance, was an unbearable affront. My hands, no longer simply hands but weapons of pure, unadulterated fury, reached for him.
"Get off her, Josh!" Matt's voice, laced with an urgency I'd rarely heard, managed to cut through the haze of my rage. He lunged, not at Josh, but at me, his strong arms wrapping around my chest, trying to restrain my explosive power. His attempts felt like trying to hold back a hurricane. The bond flared again, not with Cassy's terror this time, but with a faint, desperate whisper of her name, a plea for me to be careful, to not lose myself. That faint connection, that fragile thread of her concern, was the only thing keeping me from ending Josh's life right there and then.
Matt's grip tightened, his own wolf a powerful anchor against my storm. It was a struggle, a brutal dance of wills, but the sheer force of his protective instinct, mirroring my own, was just enough. The crimson haze began to recede, leaving behind a raw, throbbing ache. I could feel Cassy's fear still, a phantom limb of sensation, but now it was overlaid with a nascent plea, a desperate whisper of sanity. It was her, her essence reaching out, a fragile shield against the encroaching darkness of my rage.
"Josh," I rasped, my voice still a growl, "you will regret this." The raw power still coiled within me, but Matt's steady hold, and more importantly, Cassy's silent plea, were tempering the blaze into a white-hot ember.
Reluctantly, painfully, I forced my fingers to unfurl from Josh, my knuckles still bone-white. Cassy, suddenly limp and wheezing, detached from his hold. Matt's entire focus shifted, his hands now a tender anchor for her, his concern a palpable presence. I observed this unfolding, my own body still thrumming with the echo of rage, as Josh stumbled backward, his eyes mirroring a shock and a creeping, fearful understanding. It was in that stark instant that I recognized my mask had fallen away amidst the disarray. The air in the bathroom was thick with tension, the lingering scent of fear and my own unleashed fury. Cassy's breathing was shallow, her eyes fluttering open, finding mine. A weak smile touched her lips, a fragile beacon of resilience. "Derick," she whispered, her voice barely audible, and the sound, so full of both pain and love, was a balm to my raw nerves. The fury didn't vanish entirely, but it retreated, leaving behind a fierce, unyielding protectiveness, a promise etched into my very soul.
With a step back, Josh snarled at me, issuing a clear challenge. I was ready to answer it, until Cassy stumbled into my embrace. The sudden surge of her warmth and the comforting scent of her washed over me, obliterating everything but the need to see to her well-being.
Matt stepped between us, ready to face Josh's challenge on my behalf, just as the bathroom began to fill with people. We all turned to see Alpha David and his warriors behind us. Their gazes landed on Josh first, then flared with fury as they fell upon me, only for realization to quickly dawn.
I scooped Cassy into my arms, cradling her against my chest. Shifting my position, I turned away from Josh and Matt to face Alpha David directly. His expression flickered with a mixture of emotions – surprise, concern, perhaps even a touch of something else – as his eyes swept over me, then Josh and Matt, before finally landing on Cassy, held securely against me.
Alpha David's gaze finally settled on me. "Crown Prince Alpha Derick," he stated, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What brings you here?" Suspicion was plain on his face.
My voice, rough but steady, was a deliberate counterpoint to the lingering thunder within me. "I am here because Cassy needed me, Alpha David. And I found her in distress." My gaze swept towards Josh, a silent accusation hanging heavy in the air, before returning to the Alpha. The warriors behind him shifted, their initial aggressive stances softening into a watchful caution as they processed the scene, the evident distress of Cassy, and the undeniable presence of their Crown Prince.
Alpha David's eyes, sharp and assessing, lingered on Cassy's pale face, her small hands clutching my suit jacket. He understood, then. The suspicion on his face began to morph into a different kind of awareness, one that acknowledged the gravity of what had transpired and the primal instinct that had driven my actions.
He inclined his head, a concession of sorts. "We will discuss this privately, Derick. For now, ensure Cassy is tended to." His gaze flickered again to Josh, a silent warning that held the weight of his authority. The tension in the room remained, a palpable force, but the immediate confrontation had been diffused, replaced by a brewing storm of questions and consequences.
That was the breaking point. Though Cassy was now quiet in my arms, the echo of her fear and trauma pulsed through our bond. And this Alpha had the audacity to presume he could dictate my actions. My cover was already compromised, Cassy was injured, and Josh still met my gaze with an infuriating defiance. I couldn't hold back any longer. Releasing my Aura, I let it flood the room. In that instant, every werewolf present fell to their knees before me, and Cassy let out a soft gasp from my embrace.
My steps were steady as I approached Alpha David, crouching to meet his eyes with Cassy still held tightly against me. "We will discuss nothing," I declared, the anger finally bleeding into my tone. "You, a mere pack Alpha, have no jurisdiction over me." My aura surged forward then, a palpable pressure aimed directly at David and when he finally submitted, I rose again. My lips pressing into Cassy's neck, into the familiar territory of my mark, drawing a deep breath. When I pulled my aura back, the room exhaled in a collective gasp.
Once her scent had finally soothed me, I looked back at Alpha David. "I'm leaving with my mate," I said, my words absolute. "And take this as your only warning." My attention shifted to Josh, a snarl contorting his face as he started to rise. The impulse to rend him limb from limb was overwhelming, but Cassy's trauma, her deep-seated grief and fear, held me in check. I couldn't compound her suffering.
I held Josh's gaze, my eyes narrowing, waiting. With evident reluctance, he finally looked away, submitting. The tension broken, I turned and carried Cassy past the kneeling Alpha and his warriors, Matt walking behind me.