The heat ebbed to a low simmer by midday, leaving me limp and boneless in the nest of furs. My body ached in ways that felt permanent. Deep bruises marked my hips. A constant throb lingered between my thighs. My rim stayed tender and slightly gaping even after hours of rest. The alphas had cleaned me again, fed me small bites of bread and fruit, and let me sleep between them. Their warmth had been a cage I no longer fought.
But the peace shattered when the den door slammed open.
One of the pack betas, Rorik, tall and scarred, Thorne's second-in-command, strode in without knocking. His face was grim. His jaw stayed tight. He carried the sharp scent of pine, snow, and blood.
Thorne sat up instantly. His arm tightened around my waist. Aurelius growled low in his throat. Cassian rose to his feet in one silent motion. He already reached for the blade strapped to his thigh.
"Border breach," Rorik said. His voice stayed clipped. "Kael's pack. Three scouts. They crossed the northern ridge at first light. They left a message carved into one of our sentries."
Thorne's expression turned to stone.
"What message?"
Rorik's gaze flicked to me for a brief moment, assessing, then returned to Thorne.
"'The silver-eyed prize belongs to the stronger.' They want him. They know what he is."
My stomach dropped.
Silver-eyed. Moon-born. The rare trait my mother had died hiding. I had always known it made me valuable. A breeding prize. A status symbol. But hearing it spoken aloud in this room made it real.
Aurelius's hand clenched on my shoulder. Hard enough to bruise.
"They will not touch him."
Cassian said nothing. His amber eyes had gone flat and cold. The quiet before violence.
Thorne stood. Naked and unashamed, his body still marked with the scratches and bites from last night.
"How many scouts?"
"Three. Two dead. One escaped with a broken leg. He will not make it far."
Thorne nodded once.
"Double the patrols. Seal the eastern pass. Tonight we mark him publicly. Let every pack within a hundred miles know he wears our claim."
Rorik hesitated. "Public claiming? In the circle? With the heat still on him?"
Thorne's gaze slid to me. Dark. Possessive.
"Especially because the heat is still on him. They want the moon-born omega? They will smell what belongs to us from miles away."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Public. In the circle.
The pack's ritual ground, a stone amphitheater carved into the mountain, ringed by torches and pack members. Where challenges were issued. Bonds were sealed. And omegas were claimed before witnesses.
I had heard stories. I never imagined I would be the center of one.
Aurelius leaned down. His lips brushed my ear.
"You will take us in front of them all. On your knees. On your back. Knotted. Marked. Dripping with us. No one will doubt who owns you."
Cassian moved closer. His hand cupped my jaw. His thumb pressed my lower lip.
"They will see," he said quietly. "And they will leave. Or they will die."
Thorne crouched in front of me. His pierced cock hung heavy between his thighs. It already thickened at the thought.
"The heat will rise again tonight. We will use it. We will knot you in the circle until your cries echo off the stones. Until the scent of our release coats every inch of you."
I swallowed. Slick gathered fresh between my legs at his words. My body responded even as my mind recoiled.
"And if they come for me?"
Thorne's smile was slow. Dangerous.
"Then we kill them. And we fuck you on their corpses if we have to."
Aurelius chuckled darkly.
"Romantic."
Cassian's hand tightened on my jaw.
"No one takes what is ours."
Thorne stood. He looked at Rorik.
"Prepare the circle. Torches. Guards. Tell the pack. Tonight we remind everyone why this territory is ours."
Rorik nodded once and left. The door thudded shut.
Silence fell.
Thorne turned back to me.
"Rest now. Eat. You will need strength."
I stared at the three of them. Thorne's unyielding dominance. Aurelius's volatile hunger. Cassian's quiet, lethal promise.
The heat stirred again. Low. Insistent.
Tonight they would take me before the entire pack.
Knot me. Claim me. Mark me.
In front of witnesses.
And the rival pack would smell it from across the border.
Part of me wanted to run.
The rest of me, deeper and darker, wanted to be seen.
Wanted to be owned.
In front of everyone.