Chapter 8 I Can Wait as Long as It Takes

Kieran scrambled to his feet. His chest screamed with pain. He could barely breathe.

He looked up. Met Derek's golden eyes. Something deep in his soul began to shake violently. Every wolf instinct in his body screamed at him to run. He curled in on himself without thinking.

Pure bloodline suppression. The absolute crushing force of a higher-ranked wolf over a lesser one.

"Who... who are you?" Kieran's voice trembled. He raised his hand. Wiped the blood from his mouth.

Among Alphas his age, he was nearly unbeatable. The only ones who could put him down were the legendary Grim Pack. The supreme royal bloodline of the Lupine Realm. Standing above all other clans. Existing only in ancient legend.

Leanna clutched Kieran's arm with both hands. Face drained of color. Whole body shaking.

Kieran looked at Serena standing beside Derek. Jealousy inside him went completely wild.

A woman who used to kneel at his feet. Obey his every word. Now she'd turned around and attached herself to another man?

He smiled. Cold and cruel. Words cutting like a blade. "Lena, I have to hand it to you. A few days away from me and you've already crawled into a man like this one's bed?"

"Sir, I'd advise you not to be fooled by that innocent face of hers. This woman let me use her countless times. She was pathetically eager to please me in bed..."

Bang.

The words weren't even out of his mouth. Derek's fist slammed into his gut. Kieran flew backward. Like a ragdoll.

"Watch your mouth."

Derek stood over the man on the floor. Gaze cold and indifferent. Alpha pressure radiating off him so intense that the chandeliers on the entire floor trembled faintly.

"I don't care what she's been through."

"From today on—whoever makes her shed a single tear, I will wipe out their entire clan. Blood for blood."

Kieran curled up on the ground. Coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Three broken ribs. His whole body on fire. The force behind that punch carried the unmistakable suppression of royal blood. Overwhelming. Suffocating. The kind that made you feel like he could erase the entire Sawyer Pack with a snap of his fingers.

"Get out."

Derek said it in two flat words.

Leanna screamed. Scrambled to haul Kieran's bloodied body up. The two of them fled the room. A wretched mess.

The office finally went completely quiet.

Derek turned to Serena. The violence that had been churning in his eyes vanished in an instant.

He raised his hands. Cupped her face. His thumbs gently brushed over the shallow scratch marks on her cheek.

"I'm sorry." Derek's voice was low and rough. "I should have dealt with that piece of trash sooner."

Serena shook her head slightly. Pressed her hand over his wrist. Calmed him.

"Derek, take a breath. If you kill Kieran inside Mistfir Vale, the Grim Pack and the Sawyer Pack will go to full-scale war. The entire wolf world will be thrown into chaos."

Derek didn't answer. Instead, he suddenly dipped his head. Pressed his nose into her hair.

The sweet, clean scent of chamomile flooded his chest. That wild, restless heart of his went still. Like a miracle.

"You know how it is, Serena." His voice was rough against her hair. "When it comes to anything involving you, I've never been able to stay calm. Not once."

Ariadne stood awkwardly nearby. Acutely aware of the charged, intimate atmosphere between them.

"So, um... Serena, I'll go sort out the documents. You two take your time."

Ariadne gave a tactful smile. Slipped quickly out of the room.

Derek watched her go. Turned. Locked the door behind her.

He turned back. Pulled Serena into his arms. Held her tight.

Serena could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest. The aggressive, possessive scent that was uniquely his. The scent of a top-tier Alpha.

That faint trace of chamomile. The scent that belonged only to her. For over a decade, it had been his only cure.

Something long-suppressed stirred deep in Derek's chest. His wolf teeth ached with the urge.

He was barely holding himself back. Every instinct screaming at him to press her down against the desk. Tear away everything between them. Mark her neck with a mate bond that would never fade.

But he held on.

He just buried his face in the curve of her neck. Breathed her in. Drawing in her warmth like a man starving for it.

Serena felt slightly suffocated in his grip.

She had never been comfortable with this kind of closeness. Not even with Derek. The man she was engaged to.

She pressed her hand against his chest. Slowly. Steadily. Pushed him back a little.

"Thank you, Derek. If you hadn't been here today, Ariadne's case would have been a nightmare to handle."

Her tone was polite. Deliberately distant.

Derek looked into her cool, clear eyes. Something in his chest took a heavy blow.

He didn't step back. He stepped forward. Closed the distance until she was backed against the wall. Completely in his shadow.

"How much longer are you going to keep being so formal with me?"

He reached down. Took her left hand. Pressed his lips to her knuckles. Reverent. Almost humble.

"Serena, I've been waiting for you for years. Since the day you awakened at fourteen, I've been waiting."

Serena's heart lurched. She looked away instinctively.

In her mind, Derek had always been like an older brother. The heir to the Grim Pack who had silently stood behind her after her parents disappeared. The only one who ever had.

She had always assumed their engagement was nothing more than a political arrangement between clans. A duty he had to fulfill as the royal heir.

It had never crossed her mind that this man—who stood at the very top of wolf society—had been carrying feelings this deep for her all along.

"Derek, I'm sorry." Serena took a slow breath. Stepped around his words. "I just got out of something really bad. I need time to put my life back together."

"Between us... can you give me a little more time?"

A flicker of hurt crossed Derek's eyes. Gone. He reached up and gently ruffled her hair. Gaze full of quiet tenderness.

"However long it takes. I'll wait."

Serena slipped out of the lounge as quickly as she could manage. Her heart pounding out of control.

She found Ariadne waiting in the main office area.

Ariadne was holding a milk tea. Grinning at her with a knowing look. "The way that man looks at you—like he wants to lock you away and keep you all to himself. When's the ceremony? I am absolutely going to be your maid of honor."

"Stop making things up. Nothing's been decided." Serena pressed her fingers to her temple. Started rifling through the papers on the desk. "Right now the only thing that matters is your case..."

She stopped.

She tore through every folder on the desk. Once. Twice.

The defense materials. Covering Ariadne's right to housing. The clan resource allocation. All of it. Gone.

"What's wrong?" Ariadne caught the look on her face. Rushed over.

"The documents are missing." Cold sweat broke out on Serena's forehead. "All the original evidence. The transaction records showing the Sawyer Pack pocketing your benefits. Everything was in that file."

Ariadne went white.

That file was her only hope. As an Omega at the bottom of the clan hierarchy, without that evidence she wouldn't just lose her winter supplies. Kieran would have her banished from the territory on charges of colluding with an outside lawyer.

And the wilderness was merciless. Banishment was as good as a death sentence.

Serena's head snapped up. She looked toward the direction Kieran and Leanna had fled. Her eyes went ice cold.

"Damn it. When did they make the switch?"