Their eyes locked on Dakota.
Not as a person. Not as a Luna.
As a mate.
Mine.
The word poured from every line of their bodies—every tensed muscle, every frantic twitch of their tails, every feral gleam in their eyes.
They lunged.
Dakota didn't scream. There was no time. She twisted instantly, yanking Takoda's small sleeping form tight against her chest, curling her body around the child like living armor. Her shoulders hunched forward, spine hollowing to shield the pup completely. Takoda stirred with a faint, sleepy whimper, eyelids fluttering once, but she did not wake.
Impact came like thunder.
Kade shifted mid-stride.
His transformation was nothing like theirs—no chaos, no desperation. It was controlled, terrifyingly graceful, as if his wolf had simply stepped forward into the world it already owned. His body expanded with deep, wet sounds of bone and muscle reshaping. Fabric shredded. The couch itself creaked and shifted under the sudden weight of his presence.
