Chapter 41

Darren

Everything happened in a blur, even for my own keen werewolf senses.

The dogs charged, their wild eyes locked onto Lucas like predators zeroing in on prey. Foam dripped from their jaws, their pupils blown wide. My muscles tensed, instinct screaming at me to move—to get between them and Lucas, to protect him with everything I had.

But before I could even react, another form was throwing itself into their path.

Aria.

Her body collided with the nearest dog—a German Shepherd that had seemed harmless and sweet just moments ago, but now looked like it had gone feral. I watched in horror as its teeth sank into my mate’s calf like a knife slipping through butter.

Aria’s scream cut through the din, but it wasn’t just any scream. It was piercing, otherworldly—unlike anything I’d ever heard before. And the effect was immediate.

Suddenly, every single dog froze mid-attack, their ears perking up as if they had just been commanded by a high-pitched dog whistle. Even my own ears ached with the sound, and Lucas jammed his palms over his to keep the screech out.

Then…

The dogs sat. All of them. At once.

The sudden silence was deafening.

“What the hell?” I heard Liam mutter from somewhere behind me, but the words barely registered. My focus was entirely on Aria.

She started to stumble, her leg giving out from under her, and I surged forward, catching her just before she hit the ground. My hands found her waist, steadying her. Blood soaked through her pant leg, staining the ground beneath her. Some of it got on me, but I didn’t care.

“Let me see,” I murmured, moving the crimson fabric aside.

“I’m fine,” Aria insisted through gritted teeth, but her focus wasn’t on me. Before I could stop her, she was wrenching herself away from me and dropping to one knee beside Lucas.

“Lucas, are you okay?” She grabbed him, turning him this way and that to inspect him for injury. “Did any of them hurt you?”

The concern in her voice twisted something deep in my gut. This was the same girl who, according to Sarah, had once been a stone’s throw from evil. Yet here she was, throwing herself in harm’s way for a child that wasn’t even hers.

Lucas hiccupped, shaking his head as he wiped at his tear-streaked cheeks. “N-no, but you’re bleeding!”

“It’s nothing,” Aria lied, giving him a gentle smile. “Just a scratch.”

But she was far from fine. And I wasn’t going to stand there and let her pretend otherwise.

Before she could protest, I scooped her up into my arms, cradling her against my chest. “Medical tent. Now.” I turned to Liam. “Get Lucas the hell out of here. And find out what happened with those dogs!”

Liam nodded, clenching his teeth. “Yes, Alp—Mr. Avarise.” Without another word, he grabbed Lucas’s hand and pulled him away. I didn’t linger to watch the confused and terrified dog owners wrangle their dogs, who had returned to playing peacefully on the lawn like nothing had happened.

“Darren, put me down!” Aria snapped, squirming in my grasp as I carried her away.

The sight of her blood was making it harder and harder to ignore the surge of possessive protectiveness that swelled inside of me. I could feel my wolf roiling against the confines of my chest, furious that something like this had happened to our mate.

Thankfully the wound on her leg wasn’t too deep, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t taking any chances. I pushed my way into the medical tent, ignoring the startled looks from the EMTs who rushed forward to help.

“Leave us. I’ve got this,” I snarled, my voice sharp enough to make them back off without question.

“This is ridiculous,” Aria muttered as I set her down on one of the cots. “I told you, I’m fine. It barely even hurts.”

I ignored her, kneeling in front of her and carefully rolling up the blood-soaked fabric of her pant leg. The bite mark was red and angry, although not quite as bad as I had feared. Still, it was enough to stir something dangerous and instinctive inside of me, something I had to struggle to keep contained as I began cleaning the wound.

Aria winced slightly but said nothing as I worked, her eyes fixed on the cot. She didn’t want to look at the blood, and I didn’t blame her.

“You know what’s weird?” Aria said after a long silence. “I’ve never been bitten by an animal before. Not even when I was little.”

I paused, my fingers stilling for a moment as I looked up at her. “Never?”

She shook her head. “No. Especially not a dog.” As she spoke, her eyes took on a faraway look. She opened her mouth as if she were about to say something else, but then quickly snapped it shut again. I could sense that there was more she wasn’t letting on.

But before I could dwell on it, the tent flap was shoved aside, and Liam stormed in. The nearby EMTs, who were watching with worry and confusion, left when I nodded to them.

Once we were alone, Liam held up a plastic baggie containing what looked like dog treats. “Alpha, you need to see this. One of the dog owners said their dog went berserk right after eating one of these.” He tossed the bag onto the ground where I was kneeling.

I stiffened as I looked down at the familiar ‘LL’ stamp with a paw print in the center of the bone-shaped treats. Lunar Labs.

“Those were the complimentary treats we were handing out,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

Liam nodded. “Yeah. Every single one of the affected dogs ate at least one of these. I think someone may have tampered with them.”

Aria’s breath caught. My jaw clenched so hard I thought I might crack a tooth. “Get them tested. Now. And recall all of them. I don’t care what it takes—offer free toys, refunds, whatever you need. Just fucking handle it.”

Liam didn’t hesitate to obey. “On it,” he said, already turning to leave. But before he could disappear, Aria’s voice stopped him.

“Wait.”

Liam froze, and I turned my attention back to her. She was frowning at me, her gaze locked on my leg. “Darren… you’re bleeding.”

I followed her line of sight and cursed under my breath. Sure enough, a red stain was quickling spreading across the fabric of my pant leg, although I knew it wasn’t from the dogs. It was from her. The mate bond was reacting—her wound had caused an identical one to appear on me.

Shit.

“Oh. It’s nothing,” I said quickly, although I could feel my Beta bristling behind me, no doubt furious that his Alpha had gotten injured thanks to having a human mate who couldn’t heal—and now this wouldn’t heal until her matching wound did. “It’s just a scratch.”

“Are you sure?” She reached out toward my knee to inspect the wound. But I stepped back, avoiding her touch. I didn’t want to worry her right now or make her feel guilty for it.

“Positive. You focus on yourself, okay?” I didn’t give her a chance to argue as I turned back to Liam. “Get those treats tested immediately. I want results tonight.”

Liam nodded sharply and hurried out of the tent, leaving the two of us alone again.

Hours passed after that. By the time we managed to smooth things over with the affected dog owners and get Aria home to rest, the exhaustion was starting to set in. But there was no rest for me. Not yet.

Liam walked into my office much later that evening, long after everyone else had gone home for the night. His face was grim as he dropped the lab results on my desk.

“The treats were laced with a stimulant,” he said. “One that was specifically designed to make dogs go feral.”